This has probably been said before, but I keep thinking about how Nie Huisang came up with his masterplan. Like he finds out how his brother died and is trying to figure out how to get revenge. His first thought was probably to go to Lan Xichen and get his help, because this was his brother’s other sworn brother and someone who is known for his morals and righteousness. But then, he probably thought about how Jin Guangyao would be able to convince Lan Xichen easily, because they are also sworn brothers and Lan Xichen is too trusting.
So, my thought is his second choice was probably Lan Wangji, because he has the same reputation as Nie Mingjue of not accepting any injustice and would probably be the only person able to convince Lan Xichen of Jin Guangyao’s lies and help him see reason. But Lan Wangji was still bedridden and in seclusion. Then I think that Nie Huisang probably finds out the reason why Hanguang Jun is in seclusion, like what he did for Wei Wuxian and all that it entails.
And then he’s at a loss, because he can’t think of anyone else who could help. Maybe Wei Wuxian would have helped, but he is dead now. And Jiang Cheng literally led a whole siege against his adoptive brother all because of reputation so also not a choice.
My thought is that he then decides to bid his time and tries to find more clues, get closer to Jin Guangyao to find a chink in his armor, anything that could give him a way to get his revenge. And then he meets Mo XuanYu and that’s when things finally fall into place.
My headcanon is that Mo XuanYu probably saw Nie Mingjue’s head in Jin GuangYao’s treasure room while looking at the Yiling Patriarch’s manuscripts. He found out about all of the things that Jin Guangyao did and it drove him crazy, along with being kicked out and being treated like trash.
So, Nie Huisang goes to look for him after hearing about him going crazy and getting kicked out and then Mo Xuanyu probably tells him all of what he saw and learned. And hearing about the Yiling Patriarch manuscripts, Nie Huisang remembers again about the one person best equipped to handle the investigation, Wei Wuxian. And now he has a way to bring him back.
So, he convinces Mo Xuanyu to do the sacrifice, but not just any day. He convinces him to do it when the Lan Sect juniors were set to go to Mo state. Not any other sect, it had to be the Lan sect, because he knows that Hanguang Jun would be close, and he knows that Wei Wuxian would need someone to help him investigate and protect him. And who better than the one person who loved him enough to take 33 discipline whips from his clan for him.
So in conclusion, my thought is that Nie Huisang didn’t just want to bring Wei Wuxian back, he wanted to bring him back and get him together with Lan Wangji. And I like to think that he did it with the mentality of “Wei Wuxian, sorry I’m bringing you back to deal with this mess for me, but I’m hoping getting you together with Lan Wangji will be payment enough”
Today is Earth Day and since I can never pass up an opportunity to make a good pun, I’m going to analyze the physicality/fighting style of everyone’s favorite earthbender, Toph Bei Fong.
Toph is unique in her usage of Chu Family (Zhujia/Chugar) Southern Praying Mantis Style (tanglangquan/tonglongchuan) kung fu, as opposed to the Hung Gar style kung fu (a popular style that is used by one of the most famous martial artists of Chinese folklore and protagonist of many a wuxia film, Wong Fei Hung) every other earthbender in the series uses. Unlike Hung Gar, which is heavily external and thus relies on physical strength, Chu Gar Tonglong is an internal style that emphasizes turning your opponent’s strength against them. This synchronizes with Toph’s preferred method of combat, which is deeply rooted in counter-attacks.
Chu Gar Tonglong is a very unique martial art, characterized by its bizarre rhythm and unconventional movements. It’s been compared to the Drunken Fist, only without the seemingly off-balance aspect. Unlike Azula’s Chachuan, Chu Gar Tonglong is not a particularly elegant or beautiful style (in fact, some martial artists even refer to it as the fighting style of the undead due to its off-putting movements), which also makes sense given Toph’s rough exterior.
Other characteristics of Chu Gar Tonglong include:
1. Striking in rapid succession, without withdrawing your limbs to their initial position
2. Bent elbows, like those of a mantis, hence its namesake (Unlike Northern Praying Mantis, Chu Gar Tonglong does not commonly use the “mantis fist” that most people associate with mantis-style)
3. Stances usually involve the feet separated wider than shoulder-width apart, with the majority of your weight on the front leg. The back leg is slightly curved and enables maneuverability.
4. Close-range combat with a heavy emphasis on arm and hand strikes. Typical uses of the hands include…
Slicing strikes
Exploding fingers from the fist
Claw-like raking actions
Hooking and deflecting hands
Elbow strikes
Outward strikes of the knuckles
5. Simultaneous offense and defense with every strike. Again, this is very fitting with Toph’s preferred method of counter-attacks.
In contrast with Northern Tonglong, Chu Gar Tonglong is very grounded and places almost zero emphasis on kicking techniques. The few kicks there are are very low to the ground, and usually aimed at the opponent’s ankles.
This suits Toph well, due to her blindness and her need to “see” with her feet, as she would require both feet on the ground as frequently as possible, which would make high kicks and flying kicks not ideal for her to use.
In short, Chu Gar is a close-range internal style well-suited for those who don’t possess particularly high physical strength, are fast with their hands, and prefer to remain grounded. Its no-frills approach to fighting and equal emphasis on both offense and defensive maneuvers make it a very unique martial art, and perfectly suited for Toph’s gruff and belligerent personality.
I’ll write more on Toph’s non-combat physicality some other time.
Random Trivia!
Even though Bei Fong sounds very similar to the Chinese phrase meaning “north” (beifang), Toph uses a Southern fighting style.
Chu Gar Praying Mantis is a dying art. There are very few teachers left in the world who know this style and even fewer who are willing to pass it on. Martial arts enthusiasts and Toph lovers should go seek out a Chu Gar master and learn the art while they still can.
Happy Earth(bending) Day!
Since I have exactly zero knowledge of martial arts, this post was very eye-opening.
yes yes act of heroic sacrifice or extreme lengths or questionable writing choices or whatever! this just keeps happening!! rite of passage for lawyers
jedi who do three point landings from eight floors up and make the earth shake. jedi who seem like they move silently because they can blur just the edges of your awareness so you never hear them coming. jedi who move as fast and sudden as a predator going in for the kill and they can be on you before you can blink. jedi who can hide underwater for almost an hour breathing the force instead of air. jedi who always catch things before they hit the floor almost like they knew it was going to fall
i just think that if you can draw on the force at the heart of the universe to enhance your physical capabilities, you should get to be a little scary about it
the thing about jedi is that they grow up surrounded by other jedi, so i think younger padawans must forget how this looks to other people all the time, and older jedi probably have to curb it a little in polite society, which gives you potential great moments where they suddenly show what they can really do
