Xin Ziyan – Is He Scary Or What?

WARNING: this post is 1) humor-free and 2) contains spoilers.

Every leader needs a loyal and capable adviser, and Xin Ziyan is such to Ning Yi.

Xin Ziyan states to Feng Zhiwei once that he is the kind of man who treats everyone like a stone on his own chess board and would sacrifice any piece necessary to win the game. We did not expect Ziyan to live up to this declaration because truth be told, the Xin Ziyan of the early episodes are – aside from being incredibly clever and quick-witted – no more than a jesting schoolmaster who’s afraid of his wife.

But the more the character is explored, the more we see that Xin Ziyan truly has a ruthless side that enables him to push aside – or eliminate – anyone who stands in his way to the ultimate goal.

His friendship with Feng Zhiwei ends the moment he realizes that she is a real obstacle on Ning Yi’s way. His loyalty to Ning Yi is extinguished as soon as Ning Yi no longer shares his ambition.

Has be been written wrong? Absolutely not (or at least we don’t believe so), Xin Ziyan is a man of ambition and clearly defined goals. And much different from the loyal strategist figures we are used to seeing in historical dramas, Xin Ziyan places his goals above his loyalty. And even though his practicality is frightening at times and his indifference to the lives of others (Zhiwei’s mother, for example ) can seem contradicting with what he preaches, his character is consistent to the foundation established: he ultimately wants a just ruler, who prioritizes the greater good and isn’t easily affected by emotion – everything he believes Ning Yi to be – to be the heir to the throne. To achieve this goal, difficult decisions have to be made; and Xin Ziyan, despite the boundaries he’s set for himself, is bound to make mistakes.

Xin Ziyan, just like everyone in this story, decides to give up at one point because of all the heartbroken occurrences resulted from their battle for the throne. However, unlike most other characters, Xin Ziyan is the one that has achieved all of his goals before giving up, or at least has watched them be done.

By the end of the story, Ning Yi sits on the throne, Feng Zhiwei no longer a burden to Ning Yi, and all of Ning Yi’s enemies defeated – none of which were not on Xin Ziyan’s plan originally. And had Ning Yi demanded it, Xin Ziyan would have punished himself too for the death of Ning Qi’s mother to demonstrate justice – the one thing he and Ning Yi strove to achieve for the kingdom in the first place.

But not unlike other characters, Xin Ziyan does not view himself as a victor. He too suffers many losses along the way and we (QuippeQuest) believe that his biggest loss is Ning Yi’s companionship. A large part of this drama consists of Ziyan and Ning Yi sitting around, sipping tea and chatting about life; they are the kind of friend who read each other’s mind and and share each other’s vision of the world. Of course Xin Ziyan values this relationship. Ning Ji, Xin Ziyan’s later master, is an excellent in every way individual, but he is no Ning Yi to Xin Ziyan.

When he finally admits to this fact, however, the gap between him and Ning Yi has become hopelessly permanent.

If only Xin Ziyan was aware from the beginning that Ning Yi craves love even more than the chance to become a just ruler – family love, true love – because all his life Ning Yi has been deprived of these things, and if only Ning Yi was aware of the length Xin Ziyan would go to achieve the dream he (Ziyan) believed they shared, their ending would have been a lot different.

In the end, no matter how Ning Yi determines to will them both to think that their broken glass of a friendship can return to its former whole and glorious state,  it is sadly always going to stay broken.

Xin Ziyan is the only victor of The Rise of Phoenixes, who probably sits alone in a gazebo somewhere after retiring and wishes he wasn’t.

(So… erm… we’d say no, he’s not that scary, just a really refreshing and multilayered character.)