Daughter of the Moon Goddess

Love is a major influence on many of the novel’s characters, with both good and ill effects. Though most of the story focuses on the way love affects Xingyin, Liwei, and Wenzhi, Chang’e and the former Flower Immortal Lady Hualing are prime examples of love’s devastating power.

A sheltered girl on the isolated moon, Xingyin knew only her mother’s version of love before she fell into the Celestial Kingdom. Chang’e drank the immortality elixir to save Xingyin and herself from a dangerous—possibly fatal—childbirth, and Chang’e, ever devoted to her beloved, pines for Houyi for most of Xingyin’s life. Xingyin is therefore naive in her own love affairs.

Liwei, Xingyin’s first love, is a positive influence on her; he helps free her from terrible servitude, and he treats her as an equal, encouraging her to be honest and true.

Though she knows she can’t be Liwei’s companion forever, Xingyin allows herself to grow comfortable with him and accepts his affection; thus, Liwei’s acceptance of the betrothal to Princess Fengmei breaks Xingyin’s heart. This heartbreak spurs her to join the army, both because of her Familial Duty and to distance herself from Liwei, with whom she can no longer feel comfortable. Despite their strained relationship, her heart remains drawn to Liwei, and her love for him clouds her judgment, such as when she rushes in to rescue Liwei from Lady Hualing (306).

Xingyin’s second love interest, Wenzhi, has a different influence on her. At first, he symbolizes her future. He initially acts as her mentor in the army, and it isn’t until Part 2, Chapters 18 and 19 that she begins to see him in a romantic light. He confesses his love to her in Part 2, Chapter 22, shortly after Liwei reaffirms his love for Xingyin. When Wenzhi invites her to his home in the same scene, he catches her at a moment of uncertainty. She knows she has no future with Liwei. At the same time, she denounces his ruthlessness and his penchant for cruelty. The revelation of Wenzhi’s true identity and goals subsequently damages their relationship, and Xingyin herself must eventually resort to unsavory, deceptive tactics to escape him.

Liwei and Wenzhi are foils for one another, as both find that their love for Xingyin complicates their choices. Unlike his father, Liwei has no interest in concubines, but he accepts a loveless betrothal to fulfill Familial Duty. He is open about his lingering feelings for Xingyin and constantly rushes to her side when she is hurt or in peril, which contrasts with his duty-bound rescue of Princess Fengmei. Liwei’s support of Xingyin’s decision to return the dragons’ spiritual essence is the strongest indication of his love for Xingyin, and he takes the emperor’s Sky-fire bolt for her once she reveals what she has done (472). This cements his decision to choose romantic love over duty. Liwei breaks off his betrothal before visiting Xingyin on the moon, proving his love for her once and for all.

Wenzhi, on the other hand, chooses duty over romantic love, though he tries—or claims to try—to make a place for Xingyin in his quest. He strives to please his father in order to achieve his goals; to that end, he masquerades as a Celestial soldier and lies and manipulates his way to power, using his missions to achieve his own ends. Though he has many characteristics in common with Xingyin on the surface, his ruthlessness sets them apart. His intent to use the pearls for war, against the dragons’ pacifist wishes, disgusts Xingyin, and his skill as a Mind Talent taints their interactions, casting doubt on whether Xingyin’s feelings toward him were real or a product of Wenzhi’s manipulation. Though Wenzhi claims to love her to the end, just as Liwei does, his actions suggest that he will put other needs over her wishes.

The different influences of romantic love are most clear when comparing Chang’e, Hualing, and Xingyin, all women separated from their lovers. Chang’e, the loyal and loving wife, pines for Houyi for years after their separation. She remains faithful to him (and, it is implied, he to her) even after his death, the epitome of the chaste widow trope. Hualing is the scorned woman, who despairs in disgrace after her affair with the Celestial Emperor. After the Celestial Empress scars Hualing’s face in a fit of rage, Hualing hides away, feeling as if she lost everything at once: her beauty, her title, and her lover. Bitter and obsessed with revenge, Hualing channels her rage into kidnapping and attempting to kill Liwei, then pitting Xingyin and Liwei against each other in a battle to the death, forcing them to enact a parody of the revenge she never got. Though Wenzhi claims Hualing was ordered not to harm Xingyin (391), she disobeyed, reflecting the extreme of being led by her emotions.

Though Xingyin also pines for and suffers because of her lovers, she is different from her predecessors. She refuses to let her heartbreak over Liwei define her: “I [am] more than this ill-fated love” (179). Likewise, despite Wenzhi’s betrayal, she remains merciful, refusing to kill him though she has several opportunities to do so. Xingyin herself acknowledges that she is often influenced by her emotions, but she also refuses to let love make her bitter and hateful. Instead, she views one closed door as the proverbial open window to another direction, and slowly convinces herself to think of the future. Xingyin learns by example and by experience what love can do to her, and how to rise above it.

Honor, loyalty, and honesty define important interpersonal relationships in the novel. They influence not just Xingyin, but a plethora of other characters as well, including Liwei, Wenzhi, Shuxiao, the dragons, and even the Celestial Emperor himself. These three characteristics make or break Xingyin’s relationships with various people at different points in the story.

Though Xingyin must keep her identity a secret, she prefers to be honest when she can and expects the same from her friends and loved ones. Chang’e and Ping’er keep secrets from Xingyin for her own safety, but they never lie when she confronts them about it (7). She is hurt that Liwei doesn’t tell her of his betrothal himself, but his honesty toward her, especially regarding his feelings, helps win her over.

In contrast, Wenzhi’s dishonesty about his identity and his political goals turns Xingyin against him. Where she once contemplated confiding in Wenzhi about her true identity, she can no longer view him the same way once his betrayal comes to light. When Xingyin reveals her own dishonesty, she is apologetic, but she maintains that she was as honest with her friends as she could be given the circumstances (345). She is also relieved when she no longer has to lie.

Loyalty is another major component to Xingyin’s interpersonal relationships. Familial loyalty is paramount to her, but other types of loyalty are important to her too. Shuxiao is a valued friend because of her loyalty to her family and to Xingyin. Though Shuxiao expresses joking envy that both Wenzhi and Liwei are attracted to Xingyin (270), she puts Xingyin first on multiple occasions, such as when she only leaves Xingyin alone with Liwei or Wenzhi at Xingyin’s own request. As a supreme gesture of loyalty, Shuxiao brings the Celestial army to defend Xingyin from the Celestial Emperor’s wrath when Xingyin gives him the dragons’ empty pearls. In turn, Xingyin deeply values her relationship with Shuxiao, and she refuses to put Shuxiao’s position and political standing in jeopardy for her own sake.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is honor (and its relative, justice). Xingyin values honor above most things. Honor drives many of her interactions, and is a major reason why she feels so betrayed by Wenzhi’s actions. Xingyin feels honor-bound to return the pearls to the dragons and not to force them into fatal enslavement, to the extent that she gives up blood and half her life force to return their spiritual essence to them (458-59). Wenzhi has no such reservations, kidnapping her and taking the pearls and the Jade Dragon Bow for his own ends (379). Despite this, Xingyin refuses to kill him while he is unconscious after her fight with his half-brother, because such an execution would not be honorable (423). Later, she again refuses to kill him out of respect toward their former friendship and the courtesies he had shown her in the past (426-27).

Xingyin and Wenzhi clash over their perceptions of the Mind Talent power because of their differing views on honor. Xingyin can’t accept the Mind Talent as a gift because all of her experiences with its effects have been negative: inciting a baseless rebellion, forcing an unwanted fight to the death, and falsifying a country border to start a war. She considers this power dishonorable because it takes away personal freedoms of choice and action. Wenzhi, a proficient Mind Talent user, argues otherwise—he claims that Mind Talent is no different from any other tool: “Our magic can heal ailments of the minds, soothe misery, uncover lies, detect ill intent. It can be used in despicable ways—just as Water, Fire, Earth and Air have been channeled into grotesque acts of death and destruction” (388). Wenzhi claims that the Celestial Emperor condemns Mind Talent because he fears it. However, because of Wenzhi’s dishonorable track record and his willingness to push the pacifistic dragons into warfare, his argument does not sway Xingyin, who does not trust Wenzhi or the Celestial royals.

Xingyin’s suspicion of the emperor is proven true when he reacts with rage upon receiving the empty pearls. Despite his dissatisfaction, however, the emperor is honor-bound to keep his part of the deal, lest he be proven a liar and incite a rebellion. Cornered, he reluctantly grants Chang’e her freedom, but with caveats. This way, he keeps his honor on a technicality, just as Xingyin maintains her honor in presenting the pearls to him—after returning the essence to the dragons, thereby keeping both promises she had made. In this way honor is upheld and justice is served.