First things first: Nirvana in Fire takes place in a fictional kingdom in about 6th century China. The kingdom in question is Da Liang (sometimes called Great Liang). As was the custom in the olden days, it exists in a state of near-constant warfare with neighbouring lands.
The capital city of Da Liang is called Jinling. That’s where most of the action takes place.
The country is ruled by the Emperor. This dude:
His name is Xiao Xuan, but hardly anyone ever uses it, so that’s not actually super relevant.
The emperor has lots of relatives: grandmother, siblings with their offspring, and children from his various wives. These people are relevant to the plot in different ways, so I’ll give a quick rundown, not in order of their importance. In fact, this whole character list is not in order of importance, since I expect the actual protagonist will only show up somewhere towards the middle ^^
Okay, so on the subject of Nihuang being a princess (郡主)*:
*this is accumulated over years of watching Chinese drama and general immersion and osmosis learning so take it with a grain of salt.
In terms of Chinese ruler/nobility (and I want to emphasise this is broadly speaking; each dynasty would have its own nuances), 帝 is emperor and 王 is technically king, and emperor outranks king (i.e. NOT the same thing).
Historically, Chinese emperors ruled the so called tianxia 天下, i.e. EVERYTHING, so for example, they would call European monarchs 王 (still do), i.e. Chinese emperor is >>>>>> European kings. The idea then is that European countries were essentially vassal states being ruled by a king under the emperor. (Yes, Chinese emperors were full of themselves.) You see this more “formally” with Korean kings being 王, and there is a long saga in Vietnamese history of rulers alternating between 王 and 帝 in attempts to break away from Chinese rule.
Orignally, after 王 the hierarchy goes gong/duke 公 who rule a fiefdom, then below that is hou/marquis 侯 and that’s about as relevant as it gets when talking about NIF. Basically each would rule over a portion of land successively subordinate to the other. Then Qin Shi Huang came along and claimed himself the title 帝 who rules over the aforementioned Everything.
王 as a title when given to emperor’s sons are courtesy titles, because 王 is directly below 帝, though they probably do own lots of land as a result.
So what does this have to do with Nihuang? Well.
Daughters of emperor 帝 are gongzhu 公主 and daughters of kings 王 are junzhu 郡主, and both are translated into English as princess, which does makes sense because emperor’s granddaughter is usually 郡主, because her father would be the emperor’s son 王.
In terms of Nihuang, while she’s not directly the emperor’s granddaughter, her brother is a 王 which probably means her father most likely was as well. So she is the daughter of a 王 which makes her 郡主. The likely explanation is that her land is a vassal state under Da Liang.
Thank you so much for this explanation! This was super interesting and informative!
I’ve actually got another question about this, if I may ^^ With all of that in mind, how likely is it that Nihuang is directly related to the emperor? It was my assumption that, while she’s not his daughter, she might be a blood relative of some sort, given that he didn’t try to marry any of his sons to her despite being adamant to curb her power/keep her close to the capital. The possibility of such a marriage isn’t even mentioned in all that scheming, so I got curious!
I think if you go back enough years, they are probably interrelated in some way. I mean, this is a world where Jingrui has two sets of parents, and kinship in this time is always convoluted. Actually I think it’s more than likely that Nihuang is some sort of distant relation of the royal family.
(Even then…it doesn’t seem like it’s that much of an issue to marry your cousin-whose-surname-isn’t-the-same-as-yours aka biaoge/mei/jie/di though I’m not sure that extends to what in English would be called first cousin. It seems like everyone in the same generation as you can be called biaoge/mei/jie/di if you want badly enough to claim the kinship so the marriage thing could be for like second cousin or something…
That said, and I think this is probably why marriage with the princes weren’t involved, the emperor’s sons (ones we care about anyway) are all married, so Nihuang can’t be their wife, she’d only be a concubine, and she’s important enough strategically and politically that that won’t fly.)
My first thought was, wait, Prince Jing and Prince Ning aren’t married, but the emperor is probably in no hurry to make Prince Jing of all people more powerful by connecting him with Yunnan’s army, and Prince Ning might’ve looked like an affront to Nihuang because he wouldn’t be able to keep up with her... He was considered eligible enough for the Southern Chu princess, but possibly Nihuang is a different kettle of fish.
First things first: Nirvana in Fire takes place in a fictional kingdom in about 6th century China. The kingdom in question is Da Liang (sometimes called Great Liang). As was the custom in the olden days, it exists in a state of near-constant warfare with neighbouring lands.
The capital city of Da Liang is called Jinling. That’s where most of the action takes place.
The country is ruled by the Emperor. This dude:
His name is Xiao Xuan, but hardly anyone ever uses it, so that’s not actually super relevant.
The emperor has lots of relatives: grandmother, siblings with their offspring, and children from his various wives. These people are relevant to the plot in different ways, so I’ll give a quick rundown, not in order of their importance. In fact, this whole character list is not in order of importance, since I expect the actual protagonist will only show up somewhere towards the middle ^^
Okay, so on the subject of Nihuang being a princess (郡主)*:
*this is accumulated over years of watching Chinese drama and general immersion and osmosis learning so take it with a grain of salt.
In terms of Chinese ruler/nobility (and I want to emphasise this is broadly speaking; each dynasty would have its own nuances), 帝 is emperor and 王 is technically king, and emperor outranks king (i.e. NOT the same thing).
Historically, Chinese emperors ruled the so called tianxia 天下, i.e. EVERYTHING, so for example, they would call European monarchs 王 (still do), i.e. Chinese emperor is >>>>>> European kings. The idea then is that European countries were essentially vassal states being ruled by a king under the emperor. (Yes, Chinese emperors were full of themselves.) You see this more “formally” with Korean kings being 王, and there is a long saga in Vietnamese history of rulers alternating between 王 and 帝 in attempts to break away from Chinese rule.
Orignally, after 王 the hierarchy goes gong/duke 公 who rule a fiefdom, then below that is hou/marquis 侯 and that’s about as relevant as it gets when talking about NIF. Basically each would rule over a portion of land successively subordinate to the other. Then Qin Shi Huang came along and claimed himself the title 帝 who rules over the aforementioned Everything.
王 as a title when given to emperor’s sons are courtesy titles, because 王 is directly below 帝, though they probably do own lots of land as a result.
So what does this have to do with Nihuang? Well.
Daughters of emperor 帝 are gongzhu 公主 and daughters of kings 王 are junzhu 郡主, and both are translated into English as princess, which does makes sense because emperor’s granddaughter is usually 郡主, because her father would be the emperor’s son 王.
In terms of Nihuang, while she’s not directly the emperor’s granddaughter, her brother is a 王 which probably means her father most likely was as well. So she is the daughter of a 王 which makes her 郡主. The likely explanation is that her land is a vassal state under Da Liang.
Thank you so much for this explanation! This was super interesting and informative!
I’ve actually got another question about this, if I may ^^ With all of that in mind, how likely is it that Nihuang is directly related to the emperor? It was my assumption that, while she’s not his daughter, she might be a blood relative of some sort, given that he didn’t try to marry any of his sons to her despite being adamant to curb her power/keep her close to the capital. The possibility of such a marriage isn’t even mentioned in all that scheming, so I got curious!
First things first: Nirvana in Fire takes place in a fictional kingdom in about 6th century China. The kingdom in question is Da Liang (sometimes called Great Liang). As was the custom in the olden days, it exists in a state of near-constant warfare with neighbouring lands.
The capital city of Da Liang is called Jinling. That’s where most of the action takes place.
The country is ruled by the Emperor. This dude:
His name is Xiao Xuan, but hardly anyone ever uses it, so that’s not actually super relevant.
The emperor has lots of relatives: grandmother, siblings with their offspring, and children from his various wives. These people are relevant to the plot in different ways, so I’ll give a quick rundown, not in order of their importance. In fact, this whole character list is not in order of importance, since I expect the actual protagonist will only show up somewhere towards the middle ^^
Grand Empress: the emperor’s grandmother. Super old, forgetful, but still likes to be surrounded by young people and cares about all of her grandchildren, though she may not remember who any of them are. Likes giving them sweets and recommending marriage.
Dowager Empress: the emperor’s mother. She’s dead now and only appears in one scene, but that one scene is enough to conclude that she was a piece of work.
Grand Prince Ji: the emperor’s brother. Stays out of politics, prefers music, dancing and drinks.
The Crown Prince, Xiao Jingxuan: the emperor’s eldest surviving son. Really keen to keep his place as Crown Prince and eventually inherit the throne. Engaged in a power struggle with his half-brother Prince Yu, and as such makes sure to recruit supporters to his side. Cultivates a number of ministers in a quid pro quo arrangement. Resides in the Eastern Palace, hence references to his plots as “plots by the Eastern palace.”
Noble Consort Yue: the Crown Prince’s mother, favoured by the emperor for many years, which is one of the main reasons why her son is this high in rank. Manipulative, ruthless and much smarter than her son.
Empress Yan: the emperor’s wife, high in status thanks to her official position but lacking the emperor’s favour. Comes from a very respected family. Has no children of her own and so adopted Prince Yu. Likes power.
Prince Yu, Xiao Jinghuan: the sixth prince and emperor’s other very prominent son, fighting tooth and nail to supplant the Crown Prince and get to the throne. People say he resembles the emperor the most.
Prince Yu’s wife: confusingly calls the empress her “mother,” but that’s just a polite form of address. Her hobbies involve loving Prince Yu and helping the empress plot with him. Her brother is the head of the Review Court, which forms some branch of the judiciary. He’s a useful connection for Prince Yu to have.
Marquis Yan, Yan Que: the empress’s brother. Used to be great friends with the emperor in his youth, still very influential in court when he bothers to make an appearance, which is rarely.
Yan Yujin: the son of Marquis Yan, so the empress’s nephew. A wealthy youth with an amiable disposition and without a particular occupation, not bad at martial arts. Is into music and courtly gossip.
Concubine Jing: one of the emperor’s low-ranked concubines. Very mild and calm. Is a skilled doctor. Hobbies include making herbal concoctions and being more perceptive than people give her credit for. Mother of Prince Jing.
Prince Jing, Xiao Jingyan: a low-ranking prince, out of favour with his father the emperor. Has spent many years in functional exile on military campaigns. Known for his stubbornness and temper; unbending in his views on right and wrong. Dislikes scheming and strategists, because he blames the death of his childhood best friend, Lin Shu, and his beloved elder brother Prince Qi on a schemers’ plot.
Lin Shu, often referred to as xiao-Shu: Prince Jing’s childhood best friend and young marshal of the Chiyan army. One of the many people implicated in the rebellion case involving this army twelve years ago and sentenced to death for treason. Related to the imperial family through his mother, one of emperor’s sisters.
Grand Princess Jinyang: Lin Shu’s mother, the emperor’s sister. Committed suicide twelve years ago, once she learned her husband and son were executed for treason.
Lin Xie: Lin Shu’s father and Princess Jinyang’s husband. Commander of the Chiyan army, accused of rebellion and executed for treason.
Consort Chen, Lin Yueyao: Lin Xie’s sister. Married the emperor and was favoured by him. Best friends/all but sisters with Concubine Jing. Mother of Prince Qi. Committed suicide after his death.
Prince Qi, Xiao Jingyu: now-dead former Crown Prince. Implicated in the Chiyan rebellion case and forced to drink poison in his prison cell twelve years ago.
Consort Hui: yet another of the emperor’s many consorts and concubines. Timid and bullied by the empress. Prince Jingting’s mother.
Prince Ning, Xiao Jingting: a low-ranked prince. Due to unspecified health problems, is not fit to rule, so he’s out of the running for the throne. Not involved in politics.
For the record, the emperor has a few more wives and sons who are even less relevant to the plot and aren’t worth mentioning.
Grand Princess Liyang: the emperor’s sister, still alive. Lives fairly quietly and focuses mostly on her family. Thinks a lot more than she says. Married to Marquis Ning, has three children with him.
Marquis Ning, Xie Yu: prominent military man, commander of the Capital Patrols, which is basically an army responsible for order in the city. Trusted by the emperor. Has managed to maintain the appearance of impartiality in the power struggle between the Crown Prince and Prince Yu, but in actual fact he’s one of the main forces shoring up the Crown Prince’s side.
Xie Bi: the younger son of Xie Yu and Princess Liyang. Unwitting of his father’s allegiances, supports Prince Yu.
Xiao Jingrui: Xie Bi’s elder brother, the firstborn son of Xie Yu and Princess Liyang. Pretty great at martial arts, sensitive and loyal. Best friends with Yan Yujin.
His story involves complex not-quite-switched-at-birth shenanigans, so it’s unclear which family he’s related to by blood: the one of Xie Yu and Princess Liyang, or the Zhuos, a family of prominent martial arts experts. Since his birth name is unclear, the emperor gave him his own last name (Xiao). The emperor also decreed that both families should share him, which they amiably do. This has brought the families so close that now Jingrui’s younger sister from the Xie side, Xie Qi:
... is marrying Jingrui’s elder brother from the Zhuo side, Zhuo Qingyao:
Zhuo Dingfeng is Qingyao’s dad and Jingrui’s other father. He heads the very influential martial arts sect called the Tianquan Manor.
He and his family are part of the so-called pugilist world/jianghu, meaning the world of Chinese martial arts experts. This world operates outside normal society, but happenings in it are still known in the capital, since the martial experts are renowned for their badassery and useful to those who can strike an accord with them. The Tianquan Manor is one of the two powerful plot-relevant sects.
The other one is the Jiangzuo Alliance.
The head of the Jiangzuo Alliance is Mei Changsu, who is the actual protagonist of this story.
Despite his leadership of a powerful martial arts sect, he knows no martial arts himself and is physically frail. Also very clever. He engages in wearing lovely fur cloaks, ignoring his doctors’ orders and plotting from behind an impeccable poker face.
Fei Liu: Mei Changsu’s young and super loyal bodyguard. Exceptionally talented at martial arts. Is into protecting Mei Changsu, eating melons and arranging flowers.
Li Gang: Mei Changsu’s second-in-command, kind of. Runs his household and take care of a lot of things. Very loyal. Spends a lot of time worrying about Mei Changsu’s health.
Zhen Ping: a badass martial arts expert, part of the Jiangzuo Alliance.
Uncle Thirteen: a composer by day, a Jiangzuo Alliance spy master by night. From an entertainment house in the capital called the Miao Yin Court, runs a web of information that feeds back to Mei Changsu, with no one being the wiser.
Gong Yu: a renowned music performer working with Uncle Thirteen, both on the music and on the spying. Is also part of the Jiangzuo Alliance.
Tong Lu: another person working for the Jiangzuo Alliance. Pretends to be a harmless vegetable vendor, is actually delivering lots of information to Uncle Thirteen.
Mei Changsu is also friends with Lin Chen, this dude:
He excels at knowing things, healing people and shit-stirring.
He is the head of Langya Hall, meaning a kind of ancient Google. The people who work there collect and store all possible information, to then dish out to requesters for a price. They also publish annual lists of the awesomest fighters, most beautiful ladies, greatest scholars, etc.
Mu Nihuang: everyone refers to her as a princess, but she’s not actually the emperor’s daughter. She comes from the influential House of Mu in the Yunnan province and commands an army of 100,000 men, all very loyal to her. Her army defends Da Liang from an enemy country to the south, Southern Chu. As a young girl, she was betrothed to Lin Shu, and technically still is, but only because nobody bothered to break the engagement after his death.
Mu Qing: Nihuang’s younger brother, whom she practically raised. Adores his sister.
Meng Zhi: the commander of the Imperial Guards (basically, in charge of protecting the emperor) and the best fighter in the kingdom. Served in the Chiyan army for a while, but was transferred out before the shit hit the fan.
Lie Zhanying: Prince Jing’s second-in-command. Accompanied him on many a military campaign.
Qin Banruo: Prince Yu’s strategist. Clever, beautiful and ruthless. Maintains a spy network through a pleasure house she runs. Inherited the spy network from her teacher.
Duke Qing: an influential military dude and a major supporter of Prince Yu. At the very start of the show he’s already embroiled in a scandal over lands he has unlawfully appropriated, and the Crown Prince’s side is happily digging his grave so as to deprive Prince Yu of this powerful ally.
Xia Jiang: head of the Xuanjing Bureau, which is like the FBI? except if the FBI were loyal only and exclusively to the emperor. The bureau and its members pointedly take no part in the princes’ fight for the throne. The emperor places a huge amount of trust in Xia Jiang.
Xia Dong: an executive officer at the Xuanjing Bureau, a pupil of Xia Jiang. A badass investigator. Still loyal to the memory of her husband, Nie Feng, whose death via betrayal was one of the early acts in the Chiyan army rebellion case.
Xia Qiu and Xia Chun: two other major officers of the Xuanjing Bureau, also Xia Jiang’s disciples. Luckily, it’s not important to keep track of which is which.
Gao Sheng: the city magistrate who gets to investigate, like, crime in general:
Constable Zhang, the magistrate’s assistant:
Shen Zhui: a Ministry of Finance/Revenue official with a good head on his shoulders. It’s worth remembering him.
Cai Quan: a Justice Ministry official with a lot of feelings about justice. It’s worth remembering this one, also.
There’s also a whole bunch of ministers of whom we may as well keep track, though honestly it’s not always necessary:
Luo Zhijing, Minister of Finance/Revenue: supports the Crown Prince.
Qi Min, Minister of Justice: supports Prince Yu.
He Jingzhong, Minister of Personnel: supports Prince Yu.
Chen Yuanzhi, Minister of Rites: supports the Crown Prince.
Li Len, Minister of Defence/Martial Affairs: supports the Crown Prince.
Minister of Public Works: supports Prince Yu. (Apparently does it discretely enough that I don’t recall seeing him on screen ^^)
Minister Liu Cheng from the Grand Secretariat: stays out of the princes’ fight for the throne.
His granddaughter, Miss Liu, becomes relevant at one point:
Then there are the foreign powers:
Da Yu: an enemy kingdom, historically the biggest enemy of Da Liang, though they haven’t been any trouble for the last 12 years. They suffered a crushing defeat all those years back and have been sitting in relative quiet. We don’t trust them tho.
Hua kingdom: it no longer exists, because it was defeated by and assimilated into Da Liang some time ago. Some members of the Hua tribe are still cross about this. Notable personalities from there include the two now-deceased princesses, Princess Linglong and especially Princess Xuanji, who plotted fiercely for the kingdom’s resurgence.
Northern Yan: an enemy kingdom. Their previously unexceptional Sixth Prince was recently named the Crown Prince to the surprise of everyone around. The assumption is that some very clever strategist helped him onto the throne.
This warrior, Baili Qi, is from there:
As is this dude whose name I don’t know. He’s an official/diplomatic representative from Northern Yan:
Southern Chu: yet another enemy kingdom. Some 20 years ago, the prince of this kingdom was held as a hostage in Da Liang. He went back since and became the ruler. There are constant wars/skirmishes on that border, and Nihuang’s troops in the province of Yunnan keep them in line.
Duke/Prince Ling, Wen Xian is from there.
As is Princess Nian Nian, the ruler’s daughter.
There are of course more characters, but their identities are less confusing/less important to the plot, and I had to draw the line somewhere ^^ Hopefully, this already helps!
