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| “ | Body in abyss, heart in paradise. | ” |
— Xie Lian
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Xie Lian (谢怜, Xiè Lián), His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Xianle, is the protagonist of Heaven Official's Blessing.
He was widely known throughout the Xianle nation as the beloved yet strange prince. Never showing interest in what was considered normal for a prince, he simply declared, "I want to save the common people!". Through practice, hard work, and insight beyond his years, he perfected his cultivation and ascended to the Heavens at the age of 17.[1]
After multiple unfortunate events, he was twice banished from the Heavens. 800 years later, he ascended for the third time.[1]
Appearance
"His golden mask fell off, revealing the young and handsome face previously hidden behind it.[1]
In terms of appearance, Xie Lian was considered the peerless beauty of Xianle. His body is described as “smooth and fair like jade”[2] and even though his physical strength is formidable, his body doesn't look "tough"[3].
He is a handsome individual who currently wears a conical bamboo hat in honor of a nameless farmer who showed him genuine kindness and compassion at his lowest point in life. He is also dressed in simple, white Taoist robes[4] and bandages to hide his Cursed Shackles.[2] One of the bandages he wears is his weapon, Ruoye.[5]
In his younger years as a prince, he wore extravagant clothing and also two red pearl earrings, one of which Hua Cheng is currently in possession of. The layers of his God Pleasing Crown Prince robes and the accessories each hold a different meaning as well. The white outer robe symbolizes "divine purity", while the red inner garb symbolizes "canonical tradition". His golden crown stands for royal power and wealth. The white plumes hidden beneath the heart symbolize "flight to ascension" and the loose cordon ribbons along the sleeves symbolize "to carry all lives".
Personality
Youth
As a child of Xianle royalty, he was known to be pampered and spoiled since young.[6] He was kind, beloved and determined to help the common people no matter how it would affect his own status. Though firm in his goal, the issues of the mortal realm often turned out to be more complicated than expected. He pursued multiple attempts at saving his kingdom that did not serve as long-lasting solutions, often faced with the reality that his ideas were difficult to achieve and that he did not have the answer for what his nation needed.[7][8]
His futile efforts led him to become incessantly worried and feeling powerless.[8] The continuous frustration and desperation he experienced caused Xie Lian to even have outbursts of anger at times. Instances of this would be him vigorously trying to kill Lang Ying or him lashing out against Human Face Disease patients.[9] His confidence and strength wavered more and more and during his kingdom's complete fall, Xie Lian spiraled into a sorrowful and helpless state.[10]
First Banishment
Throughout his first banishment from the Heavens, his state gradually worsened.
He continued to care for Mu Qing and Feng Xin and vice versa, but the circumstances tore greatly at their relationship. When Mu Qing ultimately left, Xie Lian held no anger towards him as he doesn't like to force people, though it was only then that Xie Lian realized how much work Mu Qing did for him and his family.[11][12] Soon after, Xie Lian also noticed he had never given Feng Xin any kind of honor or show of gratitude for his service. When Xie Lian does gift him a golden belt, it's partially a form of bribe as he deeply feared Feng Xin would leave him as well.[12]
The gradual decline of their situation and the return of Bai Wuxiang lead to Xie Lian's mental state worsening. This stress and desperation lead him to break his own virtues and drink alcohol, as well as try to steal, though he quickly regretted the attempt.[13] After seeing that Feng Xin refused to give up, he also tried to work hard and cultivate again, but the attempt failed due to what transpired on the spiritual mountain.[14]
Following the one hundred swords incident, Xie Lian significantly changed. He became reserved, cold and impulsively violent. Once Feng Xin left and he found his parents had committed suicide, Xie Lian attempted to take his own life as well, desperately wishing for death.[15]
He eventually turned the built up sorrow and hatred into a revenge plan against Yong'an,[15] burning down the palace with Wuming.[16] Before Xie Lian spread the Human Face Disease to the common people though, he tested humanity's kindness one more time. His faith in the people was then ultimately restored after a farmer helped him out.[17]
Third Ascension
By the time of his third ascension, Xie Lian is a kind and gentle person. Although he acknowledges his abilities, he remains down-to-earth. He never holds his status above others and treats people equally, disregarding status as a sign of one's worth.
He is a compassionate man who's willing to offer his help, being indifferent towards opinions of others. Although he does not care for reputation, he still finds himself often caught in situations that make him unsure whether to laugh or cry, usually when faced with moments that cause him embarrassment or feeling awkward.[5][18]
While he does not forget past grievances, most are usually pushed to the back of his mind, and he doesn't hesitate to save those he's had conflicts with.[19] Similarly, he is loyal to those who are kind to him and those he considers friends. Despite having seen the worst that both humanity and the gods have done, he can also see the best in others. He sometimes has wrong perceptions of people's personalities, but he's usually convinced of their good sides and believes the people he knows even when circumstances may say otherwise.[19]
In the direst of situations, he is still able to remain calm and think up strategies on how to defeat the enemy. However, when faced with Hua Cheng's flirtatious and romantic gestures, he becomes quite flustered.[20] While strategically intelligent and able to see past people's lies and deceptions due to his many years of suffering and witnessing political struggles, he seems partially oblivious to romantic advances.
Trivia
- As a former prince, he is well versed in all the arts such as music dancing and calligraphy. He often sold goods, played instruments and sang songs on the street after his second banishment.
- While he is terrible at household chores such as cooking and sewing,[6] he appears to be decent at fixing houses, building wells, walls and cleaning or patching up his home which was originally a derelict and abandoned shrine.
- In the initial character concept, Xie Lian was supposed to become a flower god in charge of flowers blooming and wilting after being banished.[21]
- His path of cultivation required him to abstain from worldly pleasures such as sex and alcohol.[22] As a result, he was a virgin for 800 years until his marriage with Hua Cheng. While still powerful, his cultivation abilities have decreased significantly after his marriage.
- His private communication array password is "Just recite the Ethics Sutra (written as Dao De Jing in the novel) a thousand times.". Many Heavenly Officials were fooled by this, thinking that they had to actually recite it one thousand times, but in reality, it is just the phrase.[23]
- He whined a lot as a child, insisting on sleeping with his parents, but he eventually stopped doing so.[21]
- Before his banishment, he was a picky eater and had been one since he was a small child.[24]
- In the manhua, Xie Lian's symbolic animal is a bunny as seen in both art by the official artist and actual chapters[25], while in the donghua his symbolic animal is a type of white weasel or ferret as shown in official art.
References
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