Yanzhi is one of the minor characters in the drama Ten Miles of a Peach Blossoms. In spite of this, her character and story with Zilan are largely recognized.
In this post, we will examine her character with ten questions that cover flaws, consistency, development, etc. To each question, the answer would be either Yes (1 point), No (0 point), or Kind of (0.5 point).
WARNING: this analysis 1) contains spoilers 2) is humor-free
1. Does she have a story to tell besides romance? Yes (+1)
Yanzhi was born into the Ghost royal family, she doesn’t approve of the way her brothers and father act. Yanzhi’s story mainly revolves around breaking out of the shell, finding herself, and trying to make what’s left of her family do the same. Her love story with Zilan is a very minor part of the story. She gets this point.
1/10
2. Does she make things happen or do things happen to her? Yes (+1)
Throughout the drama, Yanzhi works with different people. Sometimes she helps them, other times they help her. People come to her rescue a few times, but Yanzhi getting rescued isn’t essential to the main plot or her own plot. It’s mainly her decisions and actions that influence her narrative.
2/10
3. Does she take action to accomplish her goals? Kind of (+0.5)
Absolutely. Yanzhi has clear goals – goals that are thrust upon her and goals that she sets for herself and she puts her plans in action. She rescues her oldest brother, saves Lijing’s child’s life, moves out of her house so she wouldn’t have to live under her family’s negative influence. She plans to save Bai Qian in the beginning despite it being against her father’s wish.
The only thing that prevents her from getting a full point is the long period of time she spends in the mortal land without making any changes until Zilan and Xuannü find her.
2.5/10
4. Does she have an interest? No (+0)
Yanzhi doesn’t have any interests, which is understandable because she is a very minor character.
2.5/10
5. Does she act in accordance with her beliefs? Yes (+1)
Yanzhi’s basic beliefs are 1) family should stick together. 2) people are more than how their lineages define them. 3) There is kindness in the world.
Cliché? Probably, but they’re her beliefs. And these beliefs are reinforced throughout. There’s never a time when we don’t see her thriving to make a change, to make people listen.
She also holds on to the beliefs her own clan established about marriage and therefore admits to herself that her union with Zilan is near impossible. This belief respectively also enables her to understand Zilan’s decision to break up.
3.5/10
6. Does she develop throughout the story? Yes (+1)
Yanzhi’s development is done very naturally. She started out as a mischievous princess who’s not that different from her brothers. After the war, she gradually becomes more mature in her decisions, more determined with her goals.
After she meets Zilan, they continue the journey together. Eventually, they learn of each other’s difficulty and let go when the time comes.
4.5/10
7. Does she have a flaw? Kind of (+0.5)
Yanzhi’s major flaw is her tendency to trust and protect whoever she considers family and her kind of irrational belief that they would treat her the same way.
She rescues her evil brother from prison without considering that he is… you know… EVIL, and that his being out of prison can do a lot of damage. Yanzhi also completely lets down her guard around Xuannü. This leads to some situations where she experiences extreme disappointment and where she has to fear for her life.
However, to be entirely honest, Yanzhi has never met with any serious consequences caused by her flaws that enable her character to develop. She is also rescued a lot of times by Zilan.
The flaws are potentially there, but they are not well explored.
5/10
8. Does she have meaningful relationships with other characters besides her love interest? Yes (+1)
Yanzhi is very close with her brother, Lijing. They stick together through a lot of unfortunate events. She is also sympathetic toward Xuannü. Later on, Yanzhi develops a special bond with her niece.
All these relationships are incorporated into every decision she makes, influence her life directly.
6/10
9. Is she consistent? Yes (+1)
Yanzhi is kind, stubborn, biased toward her family no matter what they do. Her ability is also very consistent. We don’t see her do any extraordinary thing that she’s not supposed to know how to do just because the plot needs her to.
7/10
10. Can you define her character by her personality? Yes (+1)
Yanzhi is an optimistic and kind princess who takes a different road from her family to take control of her life and her destiny. She’s stubborn, but isn’t prejudiced, mature, hopeful, and always tends to make the decisions that is most likely to ensure the wellbeing of the people she loves.
SO HOW WELL-WRITTEN HIS YANZHI?
8/10
BOTTOM LINE
Surprisingly, Yanzhi has very strong characterization despite her little screen time. She works toward her goals. She’s motivated and takes things into her own hands. She’s definitely a potential character.
*For more characters, visit the Character Evaluation Page
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