#also i'll add alt text to the screenshots but. not today sorry

[astrarche-x]

Ouyang + ethnicity 1: Nanren

for @radiantemperorweek, day 7: free space

Even though I'd argue that the ethinicites and the tensions between them are more of an undercurrent for the Radiant Emperor characters - they're fighting the empire, sure, but they don't pay that much attention to what it means for their identities - it is, for obvious reasons, more pronounced for Ouyang. I wanted to take a closer look at how he approaches the two identities that are both a part of him. What caught my attention is that he never uses the pejorative terms (Hu/Manji) in neither language, which feels like both ethnicities were something he identified with.

Firstly, there's the language: Han'er, that is one of the cruxes of Ouyang's identity. Him being bilingual is fascinating to me, as well as how his attitude towards the languages (Han'er/Mongolian) changes - as he realizes there's no coming back of the sense of belonging, not after so many years. He speaks Han'er fluently, but his accent is ostensibly foreign and it feels weird to him. It's a language that belongs to a dead part of himself, part that - understandably - died when he was taken away from the people he could talk to in this language.

There are other instances of connection with the Nanren culture: firstly, obviously, Ouyang can read characters, which sets him apart from Esen.

And then there are the values: the awareness/knowledge of history, the sense of connection to it...

...and a different sense of honour and familial duty (though how much of it is ethnicity and how much of it is Ouyang-specific is debatable imo).

It's worth noting that despite the Nanren features of his body, his personal style doesn't follow Nanren fashion - on purpose: he feels he doesn't entirely belong and he never will again.

And finally... poor horse :')