I do what it takes...

i've seen people contrast yunmeng shuangjie by arguing that, while wei wuxian comes across as a rebel and jiang cheng comes across as highly mindful of social norms, in reality their social abilities are the opposite: that, in reality, it is wei wuxian who is socially apt and jiang cheng who is socially incapable.

for some fans, this then translates into political ability. these fans argue that it is wei wuxian and not jiang cheng who is capable of making connections.

come on now. this makes no sense. in fact, i'd go as far as to say that the story of MDZS as it is written is only possible if jiang cheng is actually better at making long-term connections - political connections - than wei wuxian.

certainly, wei wuxian is more personable and fun to interact with than jiang cheng; certainly, if everyone was a kid on a school playground, then most of the other kids would probably prefer to play with wei wuxian over jiang cheng. and yet, the world of MDZS is a bit more complicated than a school playground. wei wuxian might be more friendly and social than jiang cheng, but in no way does this translate to actual political ability.

it is true that wei wuxian most likely made a large number of friends at the cloud recesses lectures (such as one nie huaisang), before he was expelled for punching jin zixuan. one might then want to call these friendships future political connections. based on this, one might then expect that, after leaving yunmeng jiang to protect the wen remnants, wei wuxian would have some connections to cash in on.

and yet, this did not happen. where were these supposed "connections" when wei wuxian left yunmeng jiang to defend the wen remnants? where were these "connections" when wei wuxian was living in the burial mounds with no one but a bunch of escaped POWs, all for the sake of what was just? and where were these supposed "connections" when the entire cultivation world showed up on wei wuxian's doorstep, calling for his head?

the whole point of the first chronological half of the story is that wei wuxian stood alone. when wei wuxian chose to do what was right over what was easy, he stood alone. when wei wuxian chose to protect the innocent, he did so alone. and when wei wuxian refused to give up on the wen remnants, severing his single strongest political tie in the process - he ended up standing alone against the rest of the cultivation world. no one came to save him. no one even came to stand by him. none of the connections he made before his downfall as the yiling patriarch - save for one, which only stepped up after he died once - actually ended up lasting.

therefore, one can only conclude that, for all his friendliness and inherent likability, wei wuxian actually isn't all that great at forming and maintaining useful political connections. no matter how much people might like him at first, for almost everyone, he's ultimately too politically inconvenient to stand up for.

(funnily enough, the fact that almost all of wei wuxian's connections save a handful were fair-weather friends is highlighted by wei wuxian himself, in the following exchange during the second siege:

One of the cultivators standing at the forefront of the formation said, with bitter grief, “Wei Ying, you truly disappoint me. To think I used to admire and look up to you! I even said that, if nothing else, you were a founder, someone who established the first generation of your own sect. It’s almost nauseating, in retrospect. From now on, you and I stand in opposition!” Wei Wuxian was taken aback by this speech at first but then burst into hysterical laughter. “Ha ha ha ha….” He laughed so hard he could barely breathe. “You admired me? You say that, but why did I never see you, back when you admired me? And when everyone began to bay for my blood, you popped up waving your little flag to cheer in support!”

MDZS Seven Seas translation, Book 4, Chapter 18: Night Flight)

meanwhile, the plot of MDZS is fully impossible if jiang cheng is bad at making political connections. first, consider what happened right after the massacre of lotus pier: the golden core transfer happened, wei wuxian was thrown into the burial mounds, and then three months later jiang cheng and lan wangji found him again. by that point, jiang cheng had already called enough new disciples to his banner that yunmeng jiang was considered a contributor to the sunshot campaign. given that jiang cheng had literally no one by his side after the fall of lotus pier save jiang yanli, it is highly unlikely that jiang cheng would have been able to recruit this many new disciples if he had no interpersonal skills.

(one could potentially make the case that jiang yanli recruited the new disciples, but i find this difficult to believe. people in this time period would assess the strength of a political organization - one asking them to do something as dangerous as go to war for them - by the quality of that organization's leader. not by the quality of the leader's sister who would have inevitably married out of the organization. sucks to suck but that was how things worked back then.)

furthermore, jiang cheng rebuilt lotus pier. jiang cheng rebuilt lotus pier from literally nothing. some jc antis like to argue that wei wuxian contributed more to the rebuilding of lotus pier than jiang cheng, but this is absurd: wei wuxian was only around during the postwar period for 1-2 years at most before he left for the wen remnants, and a few years after that he was dead. after wei wuxian's defection, and then in the 13-year time period between wei wuxian's death and his resurrection, who was left in lotus pier? was in charge of lotus pier? who was running lotus pier so efficiently that, by the time of wei wuxian's resurrection, yunmeng jiang had gone from what wang lingjiao called a joke to one of the strongest sects in the jianghu?

of course - none other than jiang cheng.

this level of political rebuilding, for an organization that was literally decimated less than 20 years ago, is only possible if the leader of said organization is highly politically capable. during the 13 year timeskip, jiang cheng as yunmeng jiang's leader would have had to deal with rival sect leaders, make alliances with other sects, strike deals with other sects, and keep a constant awareness of the political landscape. all of this is only possible if jiang cheng is capable of making useful political connections. frankly, i think fans are putting too much emphasis on jiang cheng's surface-level mannerisms (which he also is only showing because wei wuxian is around, lbr), and too little focus on simple logic. if jiang cheng did not have the ability to make political connections, then yunmeng jiang would have collapsed.

it's easy to read MDZS and conclude, based on a surface-level analysis, that wei wuxian is better at making connections than jiang cheng. yet this take is at best shallow and at worst actively misses all the main points of the novel. for all his charisma, sociability, and wittiness, wei wuxian is actually not that socially apt - if he were, he and the wen remnants would not have died. and - for all of his snappishness, grumpiness, and irritability - jiang cheng is actually not a social klutz - if he were, yunmeng jiang would not have survived to see wei wuxian's resurrection.

the socially-apt underdog you're thinking of is jin guangyao.

Because Wei Wuxian *is* socially adept. The reason he’s not politically adept is likely three fold- he’s the son of a servant who was kicked out of school, not the martyred last heir of a respected sect the way Jiang Cheng is. Wei Wuxian has been able to make rebellious and personal social actions in a way that Jiang Cheng hasn’t, because Wei Wuxian’s actions can so often be either dismissed as those of an unruly ward, someone who will not inherit power. Wei Wuxian’s actions of course do have political influence- in punching Jin Zixuan he inadvertently ends Jiang Yanli’s engagement. His choice to save Mian mian leads to Wen Ruohan targeting Lotus Pier as the first casualty of the war. In standing by the Wens, it has political ramifications for the Jiang sect that requires Jiang Cheng to fully distance himself from Wei Wuxian. In going to his nephew’s 100 day celebration, Wei Wuxian walks into an ambush and puts the Wens in a great deal of danger, ultimately leading to Wen Qing and Wen Ning needing to take responsibility with their lives. Wei Wuxian makes individual personal decisions that he doesn’t realize are political decisions until the consequences come due. He is someone who consistently underestimates is own power and influence.

Two, Wei Wuxian is coded as neurodivergent. He goes against the grain, can’t sit still, follows his curiosity into taboo, he talks too much for others’ taste, spends long hours fixating on new inventions, had a canonically terrible memory, and follows keenly held rules of justice -often to his and his family’s detriment. Whether this neurodivergence is simple genius, a complex reaction to the many traumas in his life, or ADHD, it’s hard to say, but it gets him into trouble and makes him a risky ally to side with, even if it makes him quite fun at parties. Three, he’s queer. Growing up queer and being queer in social spaces, even when closeted to oneself, presents itself in subtle ways that others somehow pick up on. It can be isolating and a point of othering that’s difficult to place. In being too ostentatious, too flirty or comfortable with the opposite sex, too *something* that others can’t quite put their fingers on. These othering traits often make Wei Wuxian a character to others- fun to watch, enrichment in the social landscape, but a risky ally to side with when the chips are down. Wei WuXian likely developed his charm, his friendliness, and his casual treatment of his own trauma in reaction to being so often othered and maligned from a young age. People enjoy being around someone funny and positive, and Wei Wuxian knows, as all humans do, that being alone is dangerous. But how many neurotypical people enjoy the “quirky” antics of their autistic or ADHD friend until it becomes inconvenient? How many straight women love their gay best friends until it’s time to march? How many of the sect leaders loved Wei Wuxian’s demonic cultivation until it wasn’t under their command?

And yes, while it shows political aptitude that Jiang Cheng rebuilt a decimated sect in under 20 years, he had resources. He likely pulled from the influx of sect refugees brought in by Lan Xichen, and paid for much or the rebuilding with resources looted from Wen Ruohan in the war (with Wei Wuxian being a major tool for that purpose). Jiang Cheng in later years is said to not be able to get a wife because of his temper (which, even under asexualJiangCheng headcannons, not having a wife as the sole heir to your recovering sect is… a bad political move) , he is notably the only sect leader of a great sect not included in the sworn brotherhood of the other great sects, and the people of Yunmeng won’t trust him to handle cultivation problems because of how frequently he kidnaps people to torture under suspect of being WWX. These are not necessarily the actions of someone politically or socially adept… though Jiang Cheng seems to rely mostly on intimidation, and this is a form of political aptitude I suppose.

the first reblogger's last paragraph is honestly very ???? because so much of it is just. how do i say. factually incorrect.

And yes, while it shows political aptitude that Jiang Cheng rebuilt a decimated sect in under 20 years, he had resources. He likely pulled from the influx of sect refugees brought in by Lan Xichen,

i'm sorry when did lan xichen bring into yunmeng jiang an influx of sect refugees???????? where in the text of the novel did this happen?????

and paid for much or the rebuilding with resources looted from Wen Ruohan in the war (with Wei Wuxian being a major tool for that purpose).

it is canon that, by the time wei wuxian rejoined jiang cheng during the sunshot campaign (3 months after he was dropped into the burial mounds by wen chao), jiang cheng had already gathered disciples to his banner. this was far before the fall of qishan wen, so jiang cheng would not have been able to pay them with "resources looted from wen ruohan," given that he is not a time traveler. [jiang cheng's ability to call disciples to his banner during wartime], thus, logically cannot have had any causal relationship with any resources looted from wen ruohan, and jiang cheng must have had the ability to call disciples to his banner without having these looted resources on hand.

Jiang Cheng in later years is said to not be able to get a wife because of his temper (which, even under asexualJiangCheng headcannons, not having a wife as the sole heir to your recovering sect is… a bad political move) ,

i'm going to be so fr right now none of the major named sect leader characters post-timeskip save for jin guangyao (married his sister) have wives. nie huaisang doesn't have a wife. lan xichen doesn't have a wife. so if this is a bad political move then everyone is flopping in the same way.

meanwhile, MXTX has directly stated in an interview that she dislikes naming female characters. i wonder if jiang cheng, lan xichen, and nie huaisang all being unmarried post-timeskip has anything to do with this preference.

and the people of Yunmeng won’t trust him to handle cultivation problems because of how frequently he kidnaps people to torture under suspect of being WWX.

the innkeeper of yunping won't trust yunmeng jiang to handle supernatural problems (not cultivation problems because the common people are not cultivators) because an acquaintance of an acquaintance had once walked in on jiang cheng whipping someone (for unknown reasons) in lotus pier, which had promptly scared them off. this feeds into the rumors that jiang cheng kidnaps people to torture under suspicion of being wei wuxian....in the same setting where it is "commonly known" by the public that wei wuxian ate children.

meanwhile, while not handling the supernatural problems faced by the general public is problematic morally, the text of MDZS in fact goes out of its way to establish that this poses no problem to a sect politically. canonically, sects are entirely able to ignore "normal" hauntings in favor of nighthunts that build personal clout because there are no political consequences for this behavior. the reason why lan wangji and later wei wuxian are remarkable for "going where the chaos is" and actually helping the common people with hauntings is remarkable is because there is no personal reward for doing so.

These are not necessarily the actions of someone politically or socially adept… though Jiang Cheng seems to rely mostly on intimidation, and this is a form of political aptitude I suppose.