WHAT IS A GĒJÌ ?     gējì ❪ chinese : 歌妓、歌伎、歌姬 ; lit. " singer - performer " ❫ were female chinese performing artists and courtesans who trained in singing and dancing in ancient china.
during the warring states period, a legendary figure named han'e is believed to be the first example of a geji. recorded in the taoist manuscript the liezi, han'e is said to have traveled and made her living by singing. a popular idiom used to praise one's singing in chinese was derived from the legend of han'e. like other entertainers in ancient china, geji had low social standing. some geji contributed to the development of dance, poetry, painting and other arts and literature throughout china's history. during the song and tang dynasty, geji would perform poems as songs, which helped the spread of ancient chinese poems.
geji were primarily pursued for their artistic talents in singing, dancing, and literary arts; they also sometimes provided sexual services to their clients. in ancient china, music and sexual performance were intertwined; consequently, the poetry, rather than music, of courtesans such as geji were often held up as an example of their high-culture. during the ming dynasty, the talents of courtesans such as geji were widely cultivated to distinguish them more heavily from common prostitutes. this development coincided with a general increase in wealth during the ming dynasty which allowed even men of low social standing to engage with common prostitutes, prompting men of high-status to cultivate and seek out courtesans for cultural capital. the relationships between literati ( scholar - official of imperial china ) and the geji often became heavily romanticized during the late ming dynasty, and even married women associated openly with geji, inviting them to parties. famously, the poet xu yuan was known to keep the company of famous geji, such as xue susu. following the collapse of the ming dynasty, the qing dynasty banned courtesans such as geji from performing at official functions.
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   TEA LEAVES.       yìchén is kind of a tea connoisseur. he finds great pleasure in tasting rare and / or foreign blends of tea and he's a regular at many tea houses across liyue harbour. he's the first one in line every week, when the tea houses restock and he's the first to taste whatever new tea the owner chooses to serve him. he really likes fruity and aromatic tea and he tends to avoid ones that have a bitter taste. yìchén doesn't use any sugar or milk in his tea. he jokingly calls it a blasphemy and claims that " __tea should be enjoyed in its original, true form __ ". people often assume that he despises coffee, as many who prefer tea with their breakfast do, but that's not true at all. he does occasionally enjoy coffee, but definitely not as much as he enjoys tea.

   MANDATORY SKILLS.       as a performer, yìchén is very skilled in various arts. aside from his dancing, which captivates anyone who witnesses it, he's also a skilled singer and can play the gu zheng and guqin proficiently. his singing is also good, but he doesn't get to sing in front of a crowd very often. aside those, yìchén has been tutored in the art of pouring tea from a very young age, as well as how to hold a conversation without showing off his own intellect too much. he's always been told that he shouldn't offend the client by proving yìchén is more intelligent than them. even if he is, technically. the client must always feel like they're in control and not being upstaged by a simple performer, regardless of how much he has been paid to accept this job. yìchén's calligraphy is also excellent, but he doesn't have any drawing or painting skills.

   zhào fù ❪ 赵富 ❫       ─    owner of sān lóng ❪ 三龙 ❫ green mansion & yìchén's " master ".    to say their relationship is bad would be a great understatement. zhào fù is a greedy man, who cares little about his workers and alot about the mora they can make him. with yìchén being popular amongst rich patrons, zhào fù takes full advantage of the young man's talents and ensures yìchén is always present during grand celebrations, where important guests will be attending. although he's not physically violent, he does threaten yìchén with lack of meals and extra work. yìchén is afraid of zhào fù and his wrath and he always addresses him as " master ". whether he's speaking to zhào fù himself, or to someone else.

   měi ❪ 美 ❫       ─    apprentice gējì & yìchén's close friend / mèimei ❪ 妹妹, " younger sister " ❫ ❪ not by blood ❫.    měi is a nineteen - year - old apprentice at the green mansion. although sweet and cheerful, she's also painfully shy and can be somewhat clumsy, which irritates her co-workers often. yìchén took her under his wing as his protégé, to which nobody opposed. in fact, the other gējì were visibly relieved that they wouldn't have to be the ones tutoring měi. she and yìchén have a relationship akin to that of an older brother and a younger sister. hence why yìchén usually calls her 妹妹 or 小妹妹. měi admires yìchén and his skills greatly. and although she never chose this life either and she does see how much yìchén struggles with how busy he is, she strives to one day become as popular and sought out as he does. hoping their master will treat her more nicely, if she brings him more mora.

personality .    . . .

yìchén is very much aware of his own good looks and unique appearance, that seems to attract the eye of almost everyone that meets him. he also knows that said appearance is the reason he ended up in this profession and it leaves him conflicted. is it a blessing, or a curse in disguise ? most of the times, he’s not even sure. he’s not the type to bask in the attention ; especially the kind of attention he receives, being a courtesan. he would much rather be tucked away in a quiet corner with a good book, than attending rowdy events and entertaining corrupt rich men. he’s also not the type to use his appearance to his advantage. the only exception would be if his very life was in danger and he couldn’t see another way out. but generally, he’d rather use his good manners and intellect to get in someone’s good spirits. people who don’t know him personally and have only ever heard rumors of his beauty and popularity assume that he’s stuck up and vulgar. but in reality, yìchén is very well mannered, soft spoken and kind. he treats everyone with equal respect, whether rich or poor, and he doesn’t discriminate based on appearances and reputation. they say his smile is radiant like the sun and his eyes shine like stars. yìchén has an appreciation for rare brews of tea and doesn’t frequently indulge in alcohol consumption, unless a client is particularly persistent. he’s actually pretty lightweight and would rather remain sober and in control of himself. he’s literate and well educated. he likes to study books and scripts whenever in his leisure. despite his radiant exterior, yìchén carries alot of trauma that often poses an obstacle to his daily life. he’s very mellow and has no temper. one will have to really hurt someone he loves, in order for him to snap.

. . .    vision .

had someone asked yìchén, he would have confidently deduced that he wasn't worthy of a vision. in his eyes, he was but a simple courtesan. maybe he had the skills and charisma to enchant the crowd, but he was definitely not a fighter. nor did he think himself particularly ambitious. in fact, he was used to people telling him that " he could use some ambition in life ". however, it was his desire to protect that caught the attention of the gods. it was another lantern rite and after releasing his annual lantern in the name of rex lapis, yìchén had somehow managed to climb his way to mt. tianheng with plans of admiring the scenery. he had only just reached the top of the mountain, when he heard shouting in the distance. although it wasn't his place to intervene, yìchén was a peacemaker and couldn't possibly leave two people to their own devices, when arguing so loudly during such a lovely festival. he approached the source of the commotion and came across two men ─── presumably around his age. from what yìchén managed to gather, they were brothers. their father was dying and they were arguing over the inheritance. one thing led to another and the verbal argument turned into a physical altercation, leading to the eldest accidentally shoving the younger off of the cliff. without giving it much thought, yìchén lunged forward, hoping to catch the falling man. in that moment, he felt a powerful surge of elemental energy. in that moment, he simply knew what had to be done. he dived off the cliff, right after the man, catching him in the process and using his newly found powers to cushion their fall. having witnessed the scene, a small crowd gathered around them to gawk and applaud. to this day, yìchén is no fighter and although he carries his vision everywhere, he cannot use his powers of anemo to their full extent. it doesn't matter to him though. he simply feels content, knowing his desire to save a life has been recognised.

unique characteristics    . . .

yìchén is always well-dressed, wearing the finest silks liyue has to offer. due to his line of work, he has to always be appealing to people, in order to attract new clients. some have said that he resembles a young master from a prominent clan, instead of a performer and courtesan. he carries a handheld fan with him everywhere he goes. both for aesthetic purposes and because he tends to use it to conceal his expressions. the fan can be used as a weapon as well, if absolutely necessary. yìchén has a bindi in the shape of a flower between his brows.

born in qiaoying village at the border of fontaine and liyue, yìchén was the son of a then young couple, who was drowning in debt and poverty. they all lived in a small house, alongside yìchén's paternal grandmother. his parents worked in manual labour, while his grandmother cared for him like a parent. yìchén depeloved a close bond with her, through quality time spent together and the stories she used to tell him, about the mighty geo archon, rex lapis. since then, yìchén developed a deep appreciation for the ancient god of contracts and prayed to him regularly. his mother was, as far as he remembers, emotionally absent. likely due to mental illness, but he has never confirmed such. his father was an alcoholic and often became abusive towards his family. he used their income to afford liquor and if he couldn't drink, he became violent. this caused yìchén to develop an extremely mellow personality, as well as strive to be kind to anyone and everyone. even if he knew they didn’t deserve it. at some point, his father borrowed mora from the fatui, which went straight to more liquor. when he couldn't repay his debt, he sold his only son to save his own skin. yìchén was brought to a luxury establishment, primarily employing women. but his feminine beauty enabled him to work there as an apprentice. in the following years, he was tutored and trained to become a gējì. in his leisure time, he enjoyed literature, tea sampling and flower pressing. his prayers to rex lapis continued. making it a tradition to release a single lantern in his name, every year during lantern rite. as time passed, yìchén's kind nature and talents made him excell in his field and he became a very sought out company by the rich and powerful. oftentimes being invited to grand occasions as an escort, such as banquets. he witnessed the death of rex lapis during the rite of descension and like everyone else, he believed it. regardless, he never stopped releasing his lantern in the geo archon's name each year.