This is a partial translation of an interview given by the author in March 2018, it can be found on her Weibo. There are actually 40 questions in the full interview about all three of her books, her upcoming fourth book and also about herself and her writing in general. I’ve only kept the parts pertaining to Mo Dao Zu Shi for the sake of clarity and because I doubt many people have finished reading all three books. Some parts were a bit confusing, hopefully I got it right…
Mild spoilers for the main story.
Original interview: https://www.weibo.com/6049110380/G7RfoEcj9
Where did Wangxian perform their third marriage bow? How did Lan Wangji call his rabbits?
The names of Lan Wangji’s little rabbits is a secret that only he knows, even I don’t know.
Anyway, Wangxian’s third bow was done before their second time together.
Luo Binghe likes using Immortal-Binding Cable, Lan Wangji likes using his forehead ribbon, what about Hua Cheng? Can the skills of the three be scored? [1]
The most skilled of the three is without a doubt Hua Cheng. He is talented with his words and even more with his actions as well as extremely appealing. Even though Xie Lian is easily embarrassed, he will obediently do anything he is asked.
Lan Er is the hard-working and straightforward type, but that’s all right, Wei Wuxian can tell him himself how to play.
It goes without saying for Luo Binghe. Shen Laoshi, please be a little more patient with him.
What is Wei Wuxian like when he is drunk? Does he act any different than his normal self?
Not really, there’s no big difference between him drunk or sober. It’s not everyone that has a change of personality when drunk, it’s just really over-the-top in the case of the Gusu Lan Sect.
What did Wei Wuxian go through during the three months he spent in Burial Mound? Was there really a mysterious book artefact left there by a master? [2] When Lan Wangji healed Wei Wuxian after the massacre at Nightless City, what did he say to him? How did Wei Wuxian pass the time during the thirteen years he was dead?
Some things that were said were not to be taken seriously, there is no mysterious book from a master. I don’t really like the kind of plot where predecessors do the hard work and plant the trees and their successors can just cool off in the trees’ shade.
Please do your own research.
He was in a confused and chaotic state [3], not quite conscious but not completely unable to feel anything either. It’s like being stuck in an unending nightmare.
When Wen Ning went berserk at Qiongqi Path and Koi Tower, was that an accident for both times? After changing into a fierce corpse, how long can he live?
When Wen Ning attacked at Qiongqi Path, it was Wei Wuxian losing control.
What happened at Koi Tower wasn’t an accident.
It depends on the maintenance.
Is Jin Ling’s courtesy name the one chosen by Wei Wuxian, Rulan [4]?
That’s right. But he never ever uses it. Jin Ling dislikes it because it sounds sissy.
What was the relationship between Cangse Sanren and Lan Qiren and why did she cut off his goatee? Does Lan Qiren have prospects for elderly marriage? What are the criteria Lan Qiren looks for when choosing a spouse?
It was because Lan Qiren was not as understanding and sensible during his youth as compared to now. At some point it resulted in Jiang Fengmian and his servant Wei Changze running into trouble while night hunting and they almost lost their lives. But Lan Qiren deemed that he was only following the rules and that the fault was not his so he refused to apologise, angering everyone. Then Cangse cut off his beard to play a trick on him. To tell the truth, beardless Lan Qiren is still very handsome, there’s no one bad-looking in the Gusu Lan Sect!
It’s unlikely to happen so there is no criterion.
PS. Why are there people asking for Lan Qiren’s spouse criteria…
What is the age difference between Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang and how is their relationship? Was the part of Nie Huaisang’s partner [5] that was mentioned before deleted from the book or was the design simply scrapped?
Five or six years. Although they are half-siblings with different mothers, they get on pretty well.
Scrapped as I found out afterwards that the story remained consistent without adding this character. Adding the character would instead make things difficult and the final result might not have been satisfactory.
[2] That’s how Wei Wuxian explains his demonic powers to Jiang Cheng when he returns from Burial Mound.
[3] 混沌 (Hùndùn) means literally ‘muddled confusion’ and also refers to the primal chaos that existed prior to the formation of the world and in which nothing could be distinguished or perceived according to Chinese classic texts.
[4] Rulan (如兰) means literally 'like an orchid’.
[5] It’s mentioned in an older interview that the author had planned Nie Huaisang to have a subordinate helping him behind the scenes so the meaning was a partner in crime.
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