Other anon raises a good point in the cycle of abuse msg about the symbolism of Zidian bc I was just thinking about that as Zidian is quite an unique weapon in the entire canon because of its whip form. Because of its form, it can't be really used in a fair battle between two equals each wielding a sword, and we never see it used this way; instead it's used to punish or hurt people who are unarmed, harmless or unwilling to fight: WWX as MXY, WWX and WN fleeing the ancestral hall, WWX1/2
whipped for WJL’s enjoyment. Worse, it’s even used by JC as a torture tool on demonic cultivators or by YZY to abuse WWX during his childhood. It’s an unjust weapon used only on those who can’t or won’t resist to inflict suffering. So it’s very interesting that at first, it’s YZY’s primary weapon even though she does have a sword before becoming JC’s.2/2
Yeah. Zidian primarily seems to be a weapon of discipline and punishment, a tool to be used by the powerful against the powerless. It’s used in battle, sure, but... by YZY during the fall of Lotus Pier, and she dies soon after unleashing it. By JC, who never wins a single fight against another cultivator without an army at his back or them completely at his mercy. Zidian does not work against someone able and willing to fight back. Which makes sense; regardless of what shows up on TV and in books, whips aren’t much good as weapons! That isn’t what they’re designed for! The addition of electricity might make Zidian a little more threatening, but it’s still a tool for intimidation and control, for beating people and animals into submission, not a weapon. You’re right, it’s very interesting that both YZY and JC, despite having perfectly good swords and YZY at least being known for her skill in cultivation, favour a weapon that... isn’t actually supposed to be a weapon. It’s a tool of intimidation that doesn’t work against anyone of equal or greater standing, and what do we see of its users? YZY, using it to attack a child under her authority but dying and dooming her own sect when her pride causes her to target a woman with an army at her back. JC, capturing and torturing demonic cultivators and attacking WWX but losing any fight he starts against anyone armed and prepared to fight back. Zidian seems, more than anything else, to be a symbol of people who target the weak and through that gain an exaggerated idea of their own power only to be beaten down the moment they try to target anyone who can and will fight back. Or, to put it another way, a symbol of people who grow complacent, used to being the biggest fish in the pond, only to be destroyed when a bigger fish comes along and treats them the way they treat others. I think the only way for the metaphor to become stronger would be if Zidian ended up in the hands of the Wens and was reclaimed when they were beaten down just as they did the Jiangs, passed back to JC who continues the cycle, having learned nothing.
And in this context JL refusing Zidian also carries a lot of symbolism, beyond just rejecting JC’s teachings; he refuses the weapon that is overwhelming against the weak but useless in anything resembling a fair fight in favour of his father’s sword, the fairest weapon he has access to. He’s not just refusing to continue the cycle of familial abuse passed down from YZY to JC, he’s refusing the abuse of power passed down through that line as well. If we want to continue down this line of thinking, it specifically being his father’s sword he chooses to fight with is also important. JZX was a man who ultimately chose to side with the powerless, if only to please his wife. He tried to help WWX and the Wens, at least a little. He failed in the end, but he tried to help them instead of hurting them. So JL is rejecting his maternal uncle’s “abuse the weak and bend over backwards for the strong” mentality in favour of his father’s attempts at going against the strong and helping the weak. This moment can easily be seen as JL deciding that it’s better to die doing the right thing than live by lording your power over those weaker than you, and that’s... that’s very interesting.