Echoes of Antiquity: A Grand Overview of Traditional Xianzhou Folk Culture — Vidyadhara Elegies

Neither Xianzhou Chordophone players nor Foxian Drum Chanters really pay much attention to melody. Xianzhou locals focus on their playing of the chordophone, rather than singing, while the foxians focus on lyrics, often beating the drum along to the same melody for the whole song. The Vidyadhara locals are different: They use only a simple castanet for their instrument, relying on extremely diverse sets of melodies. But if you're a cheery listener who doesn't particularly like to hear tales of suffering, and you see a Vidyadhara local take up their castanet to start clacking and singing... Then I humbly advise you to run for the hills! As what follows may just be unbearable for you.

It's because Vidyadhara elegies can be said to represent all of the most tragic aspects of Xianzhou culture. When singing of love, Xianzhou Chordophists sing of schoolyard crushes, foxians chant of unbridled passion, but the Vidyadhara players sing about loves lost. Similarly, the heroes of Xianzhou songs are chivalrous and courageous, the foxian heroes drive out treacherous evil, but the Vidyadhara players sing of pyrrhic victories. Vidyadhara elegies suit a tragic tone, and they only have a handful of happy endings. Most performances leave listeners with a bitter-sweet taste.

Now that I think about it, Vidyadhara elegies originate from an era of great unrest for them, and perhaps this commitment to the tragic form comes from such times of turmoil. Several hundred years ago, there was once a Vidyadhara player named Ling Jie who sang two operas which went sensationally viral aboard the Xianzhou Luofu: "Dragontooth Tales" and "Fateful Rebirth." "Dragontooth Tales" is a heroic epic with a tragic ending, while "Fateful Rebirth" tells of the ill-fated romance between a Xianzhou local and a Vidyadhara local that can only end in tragedy for all. Nowadays, Ling Jie has been hatched and reborn, but her works have not been lost.

Countless Xianzhou residents follow in the footsteps of Ling Jie and study these elegies, many of whom are not even Vidyadhara themselves. In this day and age, whenever you hear someone singing a Vidyadhara elegy in Xianzhou, they'll almost definitely claim to be a devoted disciple of Ling Jie. That's why I always thought that Ling Jie's rebirth was different from other Vidyadhara players. Her culture really does live on forever in the hearts of Xianzhou residents.

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Echoes of Antiquity: A Grand Overview of Traditional Xianzhou Folk Culture — Vidyadhara Elegies is a 1★ material in Honkai: Star Rail, in the “Book” category.

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