YuanQing

YuanQing
GENERAL
Honkai
Character	Jing Yuan
Character	Yanqing
Canonical?	Fanon
Status of Relationship	General-Lieutenant/Master-Disciple
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Slash
Also Known As	YuanQingYuan, JingYanJing, QingYuan, JingYan, YanJing, 景彦, 彦景
Tropes	Student and Master Team Mentor Ship Lover and Beloved Opposites Attract

5 3

❝

You will soon be better than everyone, and that will only be the beginning...

—Jing Yuan to Yanqing, Sleep Like the Dead description

YuanQing is the slash ship between Jing Yuan and Yanqing from the Honkai: Star Rail fandom.

Canon

History

While Yanqing's family lineage and origins are unknown, it is recorded in the military annals of the Xianzhou Alliance's Cloud Knights how Jing Yuan discovered and inducted him under his wing into the armed forces. Yanqing trained diligently under Jing Yuan, often following behind him like a shadow, and in turn Jing Yuan taught him swordplay and the art of war. Quickly rising in the ranks of the Cloud Knights, Yanqing accompanied Jing Yuan on multiple military expeditions and made a name for himself as a capable soldier.

According to Yanqing, he describes their relationship as that of a "master and apprentice." While he momentarily questions whether Jing Yuan is hiding things about his past, he still places his utmost trust in him, and relies on him for finances whenever he spends too much on things like antique swords.

“After all, the general accepts me for me, I shouldn't stress myself out thinking too much about it.”

— Yanqing's relationship with General Jing Yuan, Character Introduction: Yanqing

The pair are shown to have a good natured relationship, Jing Yuan teasing Yanqing at times—such as stealing chess pieces when they play, and they also actively spar and train together. This however doesn't detract from their work, as Jing Yuan thinks Yanqing extremely reliable as his most trusted retainer.

Stellaron Crisis

During the in-game events of Honkai: Star Rail, Jing Yuan and Yanqing are first seen together interrogating a prisoner, Blade, in the Shackling Prison on the Xianzhou Luofu. Jing Yuan instructs Yanqing to watch Blade carefully, and the boy takes an offensive stance when they are goaded by him, but the scene cuts away before anything else happens.

After Blade's eventual escape, Jing Yuan and Yanqing are later seen discussing his recapture. Yanqing is eager to prove himself, but Jing Yuan instructs him to be patient—leading to Yanqing ignoring him and walking away while Jing Yuan is still speaking.

“You are my most trusted aide, and there are some things that I would only assign to you.”

— Jing Yuan to Yanqing, Honkai: Star Rail Trailblaze Mission: Devising Stratagems

Yanqing goes off on his own to pursue Blade, and encounters Jing Yuan's previous master, Jingliu. He fails in apprehending her, and when Jing Yuan learns of his actions, the general simply states he was doing his duty and that he has confidence in him.

Yanqing continues his pursuit of Blade, and things come to a head when he finally encounters him, along with another fugitive, Dan Heng. The three fight, and Yanqing is momentarily incapacitated, but Jing Yuan appears as a mediator while Yanqing retreats. Jing Yuan continues on his own, helping stop a threat to the Luofu from a destructive being named Phantylia, and is wounded during the fight. Afterwards, Yanqing is shown to have taken care of him in the aftermath, commenting that he should go and rest after taking part in a funeral ceremony to mourn those lost during battle.

Some time later, Jing Yuan tasks Yanqing with escorting Jingliu and Dan Heng around the Luofu for "a final day of freedom" after Jingliu turns herself in. They eventually meet in an area of the ship called Scalegorge Waterscape, where Yanqing escorts away another prisoner at Jing Yuan's request, Luocha. Yanqing later mentions that Jing Yuan asked him to forget about the day's events, and Dan Heng comments that Jing Yuan is only trying to protect him. He concludes that the disputes between the High-Cloud Quintet are too complex for him, but still wonders if he and his friends in the Cloud Knights will ever have a similar falling out.

Heliobus Possession

Later on, during a "paranormal investigation" of an area on the Luofu called Fyxestroll Garden, Yanqing is possessed by a ghostlike being called a heliobus, Apyra, and becomes obsessed with perfecting his swordplay. The heliobus tries to convince Yanqing to kill the Trailblazer's group, but he hesitates, giving Sushang enough time to distract him while everyone else goes to find Jing Yuan. The general is saddened by Yanqing's possession—and is mocked for it by Cirrus, another heliobus—but states his sadness is due to failing him as a master, not the thought of fighting him.

“You worry that the General is disappointed in you. You worry that you don't have what it takes to be the person the General wants you to be.”

— Apyra to Yanqing, Honkai: Star Rail Trailblaze Coninuance: Sword Essence

When Jing Yuan confronts him, Apyra doubles down on Yanqing's insecurities to try and get them to fight. This however proves fruitless, as Jing Yuan states he has confidence Yanqing would never draw his sword on him to prove himself, and is ultimately correct when Yanqing relents and challenges Apyra to a fight instead. The group emerges victorious, and Jing Yuan and Yanqing take their leave together after asking the others to not publicly share what happened.

Cosmodyssey

During the Cosmodyssey event, Jing Yuan and Yanqing had a Board Encounter where Jing Yuan suggested Yanqing befriend Yunli—the granddaughter of the general of another Xianzhou ship—due to their similarities. This annoyed Yanqing—who promptly stormed off—and after Jing Yuan bemusedly asked the Trailblazer why, there was an option to have Jing Yuan quickly catch up with him. If enough points were gained in the dice throw, the dialogue read that the pair "have a long chat and discuss their thoughts." The in-game text for this option stated, "Yanqing's tantrum requires the General's personal touch."

Luminary Wardance

In the aftermath of the Stellaron crisis, the Luofu holds the Luminary Wardance Ceremony, a festival to both honor the Reignbow Arbiter and allow the people of the Xianzhou to show off their martial prowess. As the Luofu's lieutenant, Yanqing is slated to be the Wardance's "ringmaster," an important role that Jing Yuan also held in the past.

A mortal enemy of the Alliance, the borisin, use the festivities as a distraction to stage an uprising—and both Jing Yuan and Yanqing work in tandem with the Astral Express to stop the insurrection. Jing Yuan instructs Yanqing to deal with matters pertaining to the IPC, while he himself focuses on quelling suspicion from generals of the other Xianzhou ships who think he had a hand in causing the Stellaron crisis. Yanqing chides himself after realizing how much pressure Jing Yuan is under, stating he doesn't have the skills to share his burdens—but still decides that the best he can do is follow his instructions.

“The general is under tremendous pressure right now, but I was completely oblivious to his troubles... How naive of me!”

— Yanqing of Jing Yuan, Honkai: Star Rail Trailblaze Coninuance: Emissary Mystique

Yanqing is eventually roped into becoming an instructor for March 7th alongside Yunli, and amongst diplomatic matters and rising tensions, he still confidently tells Jing Yuan he won't be defeated in the Wardance as the Luofu's ringmaster.

The borisin uprising leads to the release of the brood lord Hoolay from the Shackling Prison, who disguises himself and heads to the Wardance's venue, the Skysplitter, as a means of escape. Yanqing relinquishes his role as the ringmaster to focus on the impending threat, while in the background Jing Yuan devises a plan to stop Hoolay during his attempted escape—culminating in the brood lord being defeated by everyone's combined efforts.

With Hoolay defeated, the Wardance festivities continue as originally planned, with Yanqing reprising his role as ringmaster and Jing Yuan watching his performance from the sidelines. The final match between Yanqing and Luka sparks memories of Jing Yuan's past, and he reminisces about the things he's able to do now as the Luofu's general that he couldn't do as a lieutenant.

Quotes

❝

The general has no need to show his martial prowess with me around. Since he acknowledges my strength, I need to help shoulder his burdens that much more!

—Yanqing's Voice-Overs: About Jing Yuan

❝

Yanqing would never draw his sword on me to prove himself. I have confidence in him. This confidence is not a belief that he will win every contest... It is a belief that he will one day break free from the paradigm of victory and defeat and realize his true reason for wielding the sword... The pleasure of swordsmanship, the saving of life, and the dispatchment of enemies... This truth must be discovered by himself — no one can teach it to him. Now is the time for him to take that step.

—Jing Yuan of Yanqing, Honkai: Star Rail Trailblaze Coninuance: Sword Essence

❝

Yanqing: General! I know there isn't much I can do to share your burden, but...
Jing Yuan: Hm?
Yanqing: As the Luofu ringmaster, I won't let anyone defeat me in the Wardance!
Jing Yuan: I know.

—Yanqing and Jing Yuan, Honkai: Star Rail Trailblaze Coninuance: By Words of Many

Fanon

YuanQing is one of the most popular ships in Star Rail, especially so in non-Western circles, and is Yanqing's most popular ship. This is likely due to its adherence to popular danmei tropes, particularly their master and disciple relationship. It has been consistently popular since both character's reveals, although other ships involving Jing Yuan have surged higher with the game's release, such as JingRen and JingHeng. As of November 24, 2024, Jing Yuan and Yanqing's ship tag on AO3 has 874 total works, placing it in 9th place. On the Chinese blogging site Lofter, YuanQing currently ranks 7th in popularity, while YanJing ranks 18th.

Many fans attribute their enjoyment of the pair's relationship to the contrast between them, as well as their care and loyalty to one another. Jing Yuan is shown to be a laid back, but still cunning general—while Yanqing is a sprightly, hot-headed lieutenant, playing heavily into the "Opposites Attract" trope. It is also common in fanworks for Yanqing to be aged up, and due to the immortal nature of Xianzhou Natives, Jing Yuan remains the same.

YuanQing is often seen as familial in Western fandom, with Jing Yuan as a father figure to Yanqing due to Yanqing's age and him being canonically raised by Jing Yuan. As a result, the romantic version of the ship is viewed as problematic and sometimes receives hate.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Jing Yuan/Yanqing tag on AO3

PIXIV

景彦 tag on Pixiv

彦景 tag on Pixiv

TWITTER

YuanQing hashtag on Twitter

YanJing hashtag on Twitter

景彦 hashtag on Twitter

彦景 hashtag on Twitter

Trivia

• English speaking fandom often uses "YuanQing" for the Jing Yuan/Yanqing dynamic, using the second characters of both their names (元 and 卿), while for the opposite dynamic and non-English speaking fandom, the first characters are used (景 and 彦).
• In a Star Rail ship popularity poll done by Japanese magazine B's Log, Jing Yuan and Yanqing placed 6th.
• Jing Yuan and Yanqing's Chinese voice actors, Sun Ye (孙晔) and Miaojiang (喵酱) respectively, sang the main theme of the 2015 game Moonlight Blade (天涯明月刀) together.
• Yanqing and Jiaoqiu have mirrored voice lines when added to the player's party with each other, both stating, "If anything happens to you, I'll never be able to face [General]." They refer to each other's respective generals, JiaoFei also being a popular ship between Jiaoqiu and General Feixiao.

Gallery

Videos

Animated Short- A Flash - Honkai- Star Rail

Jing Yuan Trailer – "Heaven and Earth as a Chessboard" - Honkai- Star Rail

New Year's Festival- Sword Tutelage - Honkai- Star Rail

Screenshots

In-game Screenshot

In-game Screenshot

Official Video Screenshot

Artwork

Official Artwork

Official Artwork

Official Artwork (Cropped)

Official Artwork (Cropped)