SHIFU: Teacher/master. For one’s master in one’s own sect. Gender neutral. Mostly interchangeable with Shizun.
SHIXIONG: Older martial brother. For senior male members of one’s own sect.
YUANJUN: Title for high class female Daoist deity. Can be used alone as a title or as a suffix.
ZHENJUN: Title for average male Daoist deity. Can be used alone as a title or as a suffix.
Other CHENGZHU: A title for the master/ruler of an independent city-state.
GONGZI: Young master of an affluent household
Pronunciation Guide
Mandarin Chinese is the official state language of China. It is a tonal language, so correct pronunciation is vital to being understood! Below is a simplified guide on the pronunciation of select character names and terms from MXTX’s series to help get you started.
Series Names SCUM VILLAIN’S SELF-SAVING SYSTEM （REN ZHA FAN PAI ZI JIU XI TONG）： ren jaa faan pie zzh zioh she tone GRANDMASTER OF DEMONIC CULTIVATION （MO DAO ZU SHI）： mwuh dow zoo shrr HEAVEN OFFICIAL’S BLESSING （TIAN GUAN CI FU）： tee-yan gwen tsz fuu
Character Names SHEN QINGQIU: Shhen Ching-cheeoh LUO BINGHE: Loo-uh Bing-huhh WEI WUXIAN: Way Woo-shee-ahn LAN WANGJI: Lahn Wong-gee XIE LIAN: Shee-yay Lee-yan HUA CHENG: Hoo-wah Cch-yung
XIAO-: shee-ow -ER: ahrr A-: ah GONGZI: gong-zzh DAOZHANG: dow-jon -JUN: june DIDI: dee-dee GEGE: guh-guh JIEJIE: gee-ay-gee-ay MEIMEI: may-may -XIONG: shong
Terms DANMEI: dann-may WUXIA: woo-sheeah XIANXIA: sheeyan-sheeah QI: chee
General Consonants & Vowels X: similar to English sh （sheep） Q: similar to English ch （charm） C: similar to English ts （pants） IU: yoh UO: wuh ZHI: jrr CHI: chrr SHI: shrr RI: rrr ZI: zzz CI: tsz SI: ssz U: When u follows a y, j, q, or x, the sound is actually ü, pronounced like eee with your lips rounded like ooo. This applies for yu, yuan, jun, etc.
Glossary
While not required reading, this glossary is intended to offer further context to the many concepts and terms utilized throughout this novel and provide a starting point for learning more about the rich Chinese culture from which these stories were written.
GENRES
Danmei Danmei （耽美 / “indulgence in beauty”） is a Chinese fiction genre focused on romanticized tales of love and attraction between men. It is analogous to the BL （boys’ love） genre in Japanese media. The majority of well-known danmei writers are women writing for women, although all genders produce and enjoy the genre.
Wuxia Wuxia （武侠 / “martial heroes”） is one of the oldest Chinese literary genres and consists of tales of noble heroes fighting evil and injustice. It often follows martial artists, monks, or rogues, who live apart from the ruling government, which is often seen as useless or corrupt. These societal outcasts—both voluntary and not—settle disputes among themselves, adhering to their own moral codes over the governing law.
Characters in wuxia focus primarily on human concerns, such as political strife between factions and advancing their own personal sense of justice. True wuxia is low on magical or supernatural elements. To Western moviegoers, a well-known example is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Xianxia Xianxia （仙侠 / “immortal heroes”） is a genre related to wuxia that places more emphasis on the supernatural. Its characters often strive to become stronger, with the end goal of extending their life span or achieving immortality.
Xianxia heavily features Daoist themes, while cultivation and the pursuit of immortality are both genre requirements. If these are not the story’s central focus, it is not xianxia. The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, and Heaven Official’s Blessing are all considered part of both the danmei and xianxia genres.
Webnovels Webnovels are novels serialized by chapter online, and the websites that host them are considered spaces for indie and amateur writers. Many novels, dramas, comics, and animated shows produced in China are based on popular webnovels.
Heaven Official's Blessing was first serialized on the website JJWXC.
TERMINOLOGY
ARRAY: Area-of-effect magic circles. Anyone within the array falls under the effect of the array’s associated spell（s）。
ASCENSION: In typical xianxia tales, gods are conceived naturally and born divine. Immortals cannot attain godhood but can achieve great longevity. In Heaven Official’s Blessing, however, both gods and immortals were born mortal and either cultivated deeply or committed great deeds and attained godhood after transcending the Heavenly Tribulation. Their bodies shed the troubles of a mortal form and are removed from the corporeal world.
AUSPICIOUS CLOUDS: A sign of good fortune and the divine, auspicious clouds are also often seen as methods of transport for gods and immortals in myth. The idea springs from the obvious association with clouds and the sky/heavens, and also because yun （云 / “cloud”） and yun （运 / “luck”） sound similar.