(after that conversation [Ganyu] goes and stress-eats violetgrass from Uncle Tian’s “don’t let Ganyu know I made this herb garden specifically for when she needs to destress” herb garden)
@awake-my-oceans okay this is canon to me now thank you
on the entymology of the Liyue Qixing 璃月七星 & its links to astrology
The naming of Liyue's ruling body, the 璃月七星 / "Seven Stars of Liyue", has links to Chinese astrology and the types of characters in the Qixing.
Theoretically, with these links, we can speculate on the characteristics & possible roles of the unrevealed members of the Qixing. This is based on the 紫微斗數 (Zǐwēi dòushù), a form of fortune-telling in China.
The Ziwei Doushu is part of the study of destiny in China (命学Mìng xué), which is closely intertwined with the stars. In this form of fortune-telling, your whole life and future can be read in the stars. It's drawn in a circle like Mona's astrology readings:
And it's probably one of the inspirations for the concept of how “your fate is written in the stars of Teyvat” in Genshin.
Historically astrologers have always played a big role in imperial courts, reading the fate of the emperor in the stars and predicting his successor.
Each of the Qixing titles are named after individual stars in the Big Dipper/北斗(Běidǒu), and bear a different name in ancient Chinese astrology, referred to as a "patron star". Of note, the Qixing's patron stars are all within the 14 major stars which are used to perform readings (except Tianquan & Tianji). Many of these stars symbolise wealth, so I won’t touch on money too much. We alrea dy know the Qixing are the cream of the crop, after all.
In the Ziwei Doushu, the stars of the Big Dipper and the Sagittarius constellation are used to form 144 permutations of natal charts, or birth charts. It's since increased as stars from the BaZi and other astrology practices were implemented into the Ziwei Doushu as well.
The North Star is known as the Emperor Star, and all the stars are "subjects" led by the "emperor". The constellations are viewed as a kingdom, with each constellation performing a role in the empire in service to the emperor.
Different texts represent the Beidou differently, but it has been called the "chariot on which the emperor rides", and that it sits above the Kunlun Mountains (where gods are said to live).
An excerpt from the book The Astromonical Chronicles compiled by Ma Xu describes what concept each star represents in the constellation:
《晋书·天文志》记载，枢为天，璇为地，玑为人，权为时，衡为音，开阳为律，摇光为星。
Tianshu: sky
Tianxuan: land
Tianji: human
Tianquan: time
Yuheng: sound
Kaiyang: rhythm
Yaoguang: star
The arched polar area where the individual stars of the Qixing is located is the political center of the heavenly society.
It is located close to the 天理 [tiānlǐ]: divine justice, or it can also be loosely translated as (天)heavenly (理)principles.
Let's zoom in a little on Beidou:
Notice that the stars located in a arch-formation around the heavenly principles are the dimmest stars: Tianquan, Tianji, Tianxuan and Tianxuan. They are also the stars with the word 天(sky, heavenly) in them.
As we'll see later, these four stars handle more covert/strategic affairs in the speculated structure of the Qixing, while the Yaoguang, Yuheng and Kaiyang appear to fill more executive/operational roles.
Let's start with the stars we already know - Tianquan and Yuheng.
The wenqu star is associated with 天理 [tiānlǐ]: divine justice, or it can also be loosely translated as (天)heavenly (理)principles.
The star is associated with wisdom, intelligence, elegance and knowledge. Culture, being a long-lasting part of society, could be loosely read to reflect Ningguang’s desire to leave a legacy.
The Tianquan is 1 of 2 stars which is not in the 14 major stars of the Ziwei Doushu. Instead, the Wenqu star is one of the six lucky stars that represent luck in your life, which could be a nod to how Ningguang is not your typical Qixing candidate, since she rose to the position through hard work. Or, it could signify that the position of Tianquan can be fulfilled by any qualified person.
玉衡 [yù héng]
Patron star: 廉贞星 [lián zhēn xīng], which can be loosely translated as "integrity, faithfulness"
The lianzhen star is associated with 公关 gōngguān = public relations. This star is stubborn and persistent, representing change and variation, making it difficult to pin down. It's also associated with due diligence, novel thinking and career performance.
Keqing's role of land management seems to differ slightly from the patron star's reputation, although you could take a leap and posit that estate and livelihood management would require a lot of PR to balance people’s needs.
However, the overall personality type the patron star represents seems to fit Keqing's core traits well.
天枢 [tiān shū]
Patron star: 贪狼星 [Tān láng xīng] lit. “Wolf Star”
The tanlang star is associated with multiple masks, guises, and being clever, shrewd. With this star, disasters and happiness rise and fall, intertwined with each other. Often, the individual born under this star is affable and able to build friendships very quickly.
We don't know too much about Uncle Tian's work as the Tianshu beyond security and intelligence, but we do know he did consider Yelan as a potential successor, and she is known for her many guises and shrewdness.
Based on these 3, which seem to be generally accurate to the characters in their roles, we can guess that the other Qixing members would have these characteristics:
天璇 [Tiān xuán]
Patron star: 巨门星 [Jù mén xīng] lit. “giant gate”
The jumen star represents 暗 [àn] = secrets, and 明爭暗鬥 [míngzhēng'àndòu] = both open and covert strife. It was once known as the Dark Star. People of this star are unsociable.
The Tianshu handles intelligence & security i.e. what is most likely external affairs. The Tianxuan could therefore be his internal affairs counterpart, who handles the Qixing’s private issues. After all, the Tianxuan is a bit like an opposite to the Tianshu, and we might probably never know who the Tianxuan is since the intelligence they work with would be highly confidential based on the patron star.
This star signifies honour, rank, and life. It has the ability to remove adversity and distress, and interestingly, is able to mediate the negative energies the Yuheng star might bring.
Perhaps the Tianji is like the treasurer of the Qixing. Someone needs to manage the government budget, and this star is very strongly associated with wealth and financial management.
The Tianji is the other star not in the 14 major stars of the Ziwei Doushu. It’s found within one of the palaces in the Ziwei Doushu’s interpretation of the constellations, but I haven’t found any particular significance on that.
Not to be confused with the Tianquan's patron star (wenqu). Wuqu star is a little bit similar to the Wenqu star, both are about decision making and policies, though Wuqu is less cultured and more unsociable.
The Wuqu star also represents analysis of a situation and making clear-headed decisions and also… the 廟堂 [miàotáng] = imperial court.
The Kaiyang would appear to fit a judge role, if there is a court. Given that Yanfei is a lawyer, there is probably some kind of court in the Ministry of Civil Affairs which the Kaiyang would preside over and uphold the law set by the Tianquan.
Due to the similarities between wenqu and wuqu, I'd also speculate that the Kaiyang may be groomed to be the potential successor to the Tianquan, since they both work in law enforcement and I highly doubt they'd allow any rich Tom, Dick or Harry to suddenly manage the laws of Liyue.
摇光 [yáo guāng]
Patron star: 破军星 [pò jūn xīng] lit. “Break the enemy”
Akin to 戰將 zhànjiàng = a war/battle general/commander/leader
Very interesting that this star is all about war and is typically seen as a misfortune. Although Keqing seems to lead the Millelith in crisis from what we see, it could be just because she is a Vision holder.
The Yaoguang is likely in charge of the Millelith and Liyue's military forces overall, from recruitment to training.
Awright asking the people who’ve done Yelan’s story quest, what is the Tianshu’s job? If Ningguang presides over the laws, Keqing over real estate and construction, what does Uncle Tian do?
