JingHeng

JingHeng is the slash ship between Jing Yuan and Dan Heng from the Honkai: Star Rail fandom.

Canon
Roughly 1,000-1,500 years or more before the start of Honkai: Star Rail, Jing Yuan and Dan Heng (then known as Dan Feng, his previous life) were members of an illustrious group of Xianzhou heroes known as the High-Cloud Quintet that consisted of themselves, Ren (Yingxing), Baiheng, and Jingliu. ''As the most famous legend in Xianzhou history, the five heroes of the High-Cloud Quintet gathered to fight together. Their feats were almost endless: Driving out the borisin invading Thalassa. Destroying the alliance between the Houyhnhnms and the wingweavers in the Abundance Axis. Even rescuing the Xianzhou Yuque and defeating the living planet Ketu Mirage, preserving the eyes of the Alliance that gaze out to the stars…''

''However, all their achievements were no match for the cruelty of time. The High-Cloud Quintet fell apart after less than a hundred short years.''

- Jing Yuan’s 4th Character Story Also mentioned in his 3rd character story, after proving his mettle as a Cloud Knight, his master, Jingliu, invited him as a part of her team that became known as the High Cloud Quintet that would go on to make history.

However, as many of his voicelines and other tidbits indicate, the group fell apart and was possibly disbanded to what many fans speculate believe was responsible: an event known as the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae, a (currently) unknown sin committed by Dan Feng was the wedge that splintered the group, with Baiheng dying, Jingliu and Yingxing going mad with Mara, and Dan Feng ultimately paying for his crimes by undergoing a forced molten rebirth that ended his life but gave way to Dan Heng’s existence. Though it’s unknown how interconnected these tragedies are, or how they panned out, what’s clear is that they still affect members like Jing Yuan and Dan Heng to the present day.

Topclouded Towerthrust
During the Astral Express’ third Trailblaze mission following their successes in the Herta Space Station and Jarilo-VI, just as the crew was about to disembark for another planet, they instead were drawn into a Stellaron Crisis aboard the Xianzhou Luofu by the Stellaron Hunters. Due to his troubled past with the Alliance, Dan Heng elected to stay behind aboard the Express with Himeko while Welt, March 7th, and Caelus/Stelle went aboard.

However, when it became clear that one of the Stellaron Hunters causing a ruckus was none other than Ren—a former, fellow HCQ member—hellbent on chasing Dan Heng to the ends of the universe, he became alarmed and decided to disembark to help protect his friends from the ghost of his past. Along the way, he meets the mysterious IPC merchant, Luocha, and Sushang, a young Cloud Knightess. Together, they discover a chain of events that reveals the true extent of their Stellaron Crisis. Eventually, Dan Heng’s perils with the makeshift group lead them to the next act of the Trailblaze Mission and in his race to protect his friends.

Upon arriving at the Alchemy Commission, Dan Heng leaves without bidding his newfound companions farewell, urgent to find them before danger does. Encountering several “Vidyadhara Mirage Echoes” that allows him to hear shades of the past, then taking a vessel to Scalegorge Waterscape. It’s there that Dan Heng encounters Ren and Kafka, getting into an altercation with the former that forces him to reveal his true identity as a Vidyadhara, the former High Elder, as well as Yanqing’s involvement.

Once he and Ren defeated Yanqing, Jing Yuan makes his first appearance and it’s revealed that his coordinated plan with the Stellaron Hunters had been deliberate all along, part of Elio’s script and their efforts against The Destruction. He states that he’s remorseful how his “old friends’” departure and reunion in the Xianzhou are under such unhappy circumstances, and that if they’d seen him as a friend, they might’ve informed him earlier. Noting that the Stellaron Hunters’ involvement is largely complete, Kafka ushers Ren away.

Now alone with Dan Heng, Jing Yuan greets him as an “old friend” despite his frosty reception, pointedly reminding the general that he’s not who he appears to be, to which Jing Yuan replies with a wistful apology. Jing Yuan then brings up the possibility of venturing to Scalegorge Waterscape together, Dan Heng ultimately agrees.

A topic of contention that frequently arises between the two is how often Dan Heng asserts to Jing Yuan that Dan Feng is gone and that the man the general once knew is no more. Despite these assertions, Jing Yuan often gently but sagely reminds Dan Heng that it’s difficult for him to know the difference because of what can be interpreted as a deep attachment, for “if words alone were enough to change the heart, the world would be without quarrel,” and Jing Yuan wouldn’t struggle with his old bonds, notably with Dan Feng.

Segueing into the next matter, Jing Yuan offers Dan Heng atonement for Dan Feng’s sins and his own sentiments if Dan Heng can accomplish a great task for him. In order for him to revoke Dan Feng’s banishment edict, Dan Heng would have to do something for him in return and reverse the consequences of Dan Feng’s sin. Yet, in promising to stop seeing Dan Heng as his former incarnation, Jing Yuan goes on a tangent about how he must do difficult things as general, and act for the greater good, insinuating that he doesn’t want to truly let go of the past or Dan Feng.

After informing Dan Heng that his Astral Express friends are waiting for him in the Dragonvista Rainhall, reuniting with them and Fu Xuan. Learning of Phantylia’s nefarious endgame, the Astral Crew reunites and decides on their next course of action. With Jing Yuan’s urging, Dan Heng and the others agree to take on the Lord Ravager for the Luofu’s sake.

Resonating with his past life, Dan Heng unlocks a portion of Dan Feng’s power and parts the waters of the sea washed over the Waterscape in a fantastic display of power, Jing Yuan watching on. With the way cleared, Jing Yuan gives a final order to Lady Fu to relay what might become of him should he perish and to seal off the delve in the event it occurs. As they proceed into the Palace, Dan Heng begins recollecting important details from his past, to which Jing Yuan asks, “Do you remember now?”

Exploring further and unsealing the Three Talons locks to advance further, they finally come upon the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor and begin their battle with Panthylia with Jing Yuan requesting that Dan Heng “watch his back”. When utilizing Dan Heng’s support for the first time—Cloudhymn Roar—Jing Yuan will shout, beset, “Dan Heng… you take it from here!”

Near the climax of the battle, Phantylia declares her desire to turn the team into her Voidrangers and starts with Jing Yuan. Subjecting the general to her power, flooding him with her malice, Jing Yuan unleashes his final gambit to attack her with the Lightning Lord and shouts at Dan Heng to do the same. Leaping with his Cloud-Piercer, the pair coordinate an attack that severs her connection to the Arbor with enormous risk to Jing Yuan’s well-being. Lancing Jing Yuan with his spear, her hold on him is also released and Jing Yuan plummets to the ground, utterly spent.

Dan Heng sprints and catches Jing Yuan bridal-style, safely lowering him to the ground while remaining fiercely protective of the general, holding the man in his arms. While Phantylia dismisses her loss as a mere inconvenience, Dan Heng hovers protectively despite Jing Yuan’s gesture to let him stand, scoffing at her arrogance.

After Phantylia disappears, Jing Yuan becomes weary but teasing as he faces Dan Heng and prods at how the pair can still coordinate their efforts, voice noticeably softer. When Welt confirms that Phantylia won’t be a threat again anytime soon, Jing Yuan remarks how exhausted he is and swoons. Because of how the POV from his eyes is angled on Dan Heng (who appears visibly worried), and how the other begins to angle towards him, it can be assumed that Dan Heng catches Jing Yuan again before he collapsed on the ground.

Miscellany
Coming as a great source of amusement among fans, as things like fan clubs, literature clubs, and fanfiction writing groups are canon within Honkai: Star Rail, one such fan club known as the Mellow-Golden-Mayor Immersia Club focuses on a work of fiction known as Xianzhou Sword Tale. What’s notable is that the story has many allusions to the High-Cloud Quintet, altering the names of members to amusing pseudonyms that are nonetheless obvious to those reading. It is located north of Central Starskiff Haven.

One member created shippy fanfiction based on a fictionalized Dan Heng and Jing Yuan titled ‘Untouchable Lovers’. ''“Dear Mellow-Golden-Mayor Immersia Club: I love the group portraits you built into Xianzhou Sword Tale, especially when they include those two male characters, Jim Yan and Denn Fang—they keep me up at night… So, I’ve been writing my own fanfiction during the nights, ‘Untouchable Lovers’—and I hope you’ll leave comments on it!”

After that, a dramatic tale of love, hate, life, and death twists and turns over the next forty pages. In the end, the two male protagonists die poetically yet tragically in each other’s embrace. You don’t understand why, but [you] feel shocked, as if your first love has been stolen away from you. You put back this manuscript and leave it with the box on the side of the road.'' As of Version 1.2, what’s amusing is that this fanfiction somewhat foreshadowed what would occur in the Trailblazing Quest, including some moments of fanservice.

In the Honkai: Star Rail EP, Samudrartha, near the end shows the footage of Jing Yuan watching on while Dan Heng splits the waters of the Scalegorge Waterscape, a cutscene shown in the Trailblaze Mission, and again when he and the Nameless faced off against Phantylia.

Quotes
"I understand the one I wished to trace… exists now only in memory. But, it’s probably what’s best for him."

- Jing Yuan, About: Dan Heng.

"*Sigh* Raising old nets only darkens the water—an exercise in unhappiness. Perhaps it is your visage, the horns on your head, or the unmistakable air of the high elder that makes the separation nigh impossible for me. [...] You did, but to what effect? If words alone were enough to change the heart, this world be without quarrel. If you wish to rid me of the illusion of Dan Feng, you must do something for me."

- Jing Yuan, to Dan Heng.

"It is as I said: here we stand, so different from one another. Dan Feng is no more, now there is only Dan Heng. But I…"

- Jing Yuan, to Dan Heng.

"All he had seen since his birth was this lightless dungeon. Irrelevant sins bound him to this place, and irrelevant memories engulfed him. He struggled, doing all he could to breathe, trying to grasp a sliver of light in this fathomless ocean. And yet, when the general entered this lightless prison, he saw the gaze of a young man shining brighter than sunlight."

- Brighter Than the Sun lightcone, Dan Heng IL’s official lightcone

"My past enemies are either dead or captured, and my past friends are scattered to the winds. Now that I think about it, I am indeed an old man…"

- Jing Yuan, About: Self.

Fanon
Although a relatively rarer pairing before the release of 1.2, what drew many fans to this ship is the inherent tragedy that comes from losing someone you love, especially when losing that person to death despite them being reborn completely wiped of their memory. Although seen as a subject of speculation, it was confirmed in various parts of 1.2 that Jing Yuan acted in underhanded ways to ensure Dan Feng’s (and later Dan Heng’s) protection after the sedition occurred. Although still speculated upon, it’s strongly implied that Jing Yuan was present at least once in the Shackling Prison after Dan Heng’s forced rebirth and was the one to bring him light for the first time in his new life. Considering how Jing Yuan is the only general alluded constantly to the sun, many believe he is the one mentioned in the lightcone’s description. He also acted as a buffer between the Ten-Lords Commission’s wrath and the Vidyadhara, working in underhanded ways to ensure Dan Heng’s security and release where he could.

Another aspect of the ship that appeals to many shippers is the way people have interpreted the unrequited feelings Jing Yuan has and acts as a general despite them, choosing duty and the happiness of others over his own. Several times during the quest, it was confirmed that he manipulated events to lead to Dan Heng’s revelation of his true form, such as coordinating with the Stellaron Hunters and especially Ren, another former compatriot of his, in order to resolve the Stellaron Crisis and reawakening of the Ambrosial Arbor.

Several times during the Trailblaze Mission, Jing Yuan was characterized as someone who longs for the past, referring to Dan Heng as his old friend and not denying that he misses his friend. Perhaps what was most damning is how he never denies how much he clings to his feelings that shippers interpret as romantic, pushing them aside in favor of duty and consideration of Dan Heng with whom he still sees Dan Feng in. Though he promises to stop seeing Dan Heng as his old friend once their mission is complete, many shippers doubt this claim.

Throughout the mission, it’s been observed that Jing Yuan became more soft-spoken around Dan Heng, voice bordering on nostalgia and affectionate with his expressions noticeably softer, often bringing up the past and standing close to him in their interactions with each other and the other Astral Express Crewmen.

With their past history, many fans enjoy the idea of shipping Jing Yuan with Dan Feng when they were active in the High-Cloud Quintet. Although the subject of Jing Yuan’s age at the time of their meeting is hotly debated and unclear, many universally like the idea of Jing Yuan having a reverential regard of the High Elder at first that blossoms into friendship and later love over time they get to know each other, sometimes viewing them as the starry-eyed junior and his oblivious senior that he admires and even crushes on.

Given the implied and mysterious period that was the Sedition of Imbibtor Lunae that no doubt resulted from or was responsible for the dissolution of the High-Cloud Quintet, many like the idea of angst resulting in Dan Feng’s imprisonment and Jing Yuan acting as a liaison to ensure his security and eventual release.

Otherwise, there are many more that adore the idea of Jing Yuan struggling with past, unrequited feelings for Dan Heng and the conflict that arises from Dan Heng wanting to assert himself as his own person, a contention that arose several times during 1.2. Further still, shippers also like the idea of Jing Yuan moving on from the past and falling in love with Dan Heng as his own person, and them falling in love naturally despite the past baggage that Jing Yuan is encumbered by.

Currently, the ship has roughly 150 fics on Ao3 and is rivaled by Renheng, Jingren, and Jingluo, but a significant number of shippers like shipping Jingrenheng together given the trio’s deep history and interconnectedness with each other.

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Trivia

 * Prior to the game’s official release, Jing Yuan and Dan Heng were featured in three promotional campaigns and holiday events together:
 * The Star Rail Countdown
 * Lunar New Year 2023
 * White Day 2023
 * In the Star Rail Countdown artwork, it’s been noted that Jing Yuan and Dan Heng’s color schemes mirror each other; Dan Heng has a sea-green color scheme with gold accents while Jing Yuan’s is gold with green undertones; they bear contrasting orbs with Jing Yuan’s being green to match Dan Heng while Dan Heng’s is gold like the former’s eyes, their eyes also complementing each other.
 * Both men also share strong allusions to sun/moon dichotomy with Dan Heng representing the moon as Imbibitor Lunae while Jing Yuan has been eluded to being the sun by many people around them.
 * As Jing Yuan shares a friendship with Bailu, the Vidyadhara High Elder that replaced Dan Feng, and fans speculate that this closeness might’ve resulted from Jing Yuan’s guilt over Dan Feng’s fate and not wanting Bailu to fall into similarly unfortunate circumstances.
 * According to some Chinese speakers, the name of 'Untouchable Lovers' is 凤求凰, or a Tale of Two Phoenixes. The novel in-game is called 凤求凤 and while its real world counterpart is named for a male and female phoenix, 凤求凤 is for two male phoenixes, implying the same-sex nature of the relationship.
 * In addition, the Chinese chess board in Jing Yuan's splash art is an ancient endgame named by "丹凤朝阳" 丹凤 pronounced as Dan Feng, the same with 丹枫 朝 which means towards 阳 is the sun, translating to "[a] phoenix flies towards the sun", further connecting the two men.