Information
Ensui the Orchid Mantis
Ensui
Legacy Name: Ensui
The Custom Dawn Zasaba
Owner: Historiography
Age: 54 years, 4 months, 1 week
Born: December 31st, 1969
Adopted: 8 years, 9 months, 6 days ago
Adopted: August 5th, 2015
Statistics
- Level: 1
- Strength: 10
- Defense: 10
- Speed: 10
- Health: 10
- HP: 10/10
- Intelligence: 0
- Books Read: 0
- Food Eaten: 0
- Job: Unemployed
Story
Name: Ensui
Occupation: sword spirit
Age: 30,000
Dynasty: I originally didn't place Ensui's character in a particular dynasty, namely because a lot of the wuxia(武俠) and more recently, Xianxia(仙俠) stuff I grew up watching usually wasn't placed in a particular dynasty. If I were to place this in an approximate dynasty, I'd say earliest would be the Tang(堂) dynasty which was approximately from 618-906 AD and considered the golden age of arts and culture in imperial China.
Likes: Osmanthus cakes, green tea, lotus bean cakes, various other desserts, roasted chestnuts, savory foods like dumplings, etc.
Personality: Ensui is a gentle soul, though he is a sword spirit. He is very loyal to his master, but when not in battle prefers to not fight unless there's no other recourse. He enjoys reading, calligraphy, food, and playing the Gu Qin, Pipa and Erhu.
Forms: Kirin( divine beast), orchid mantis, human
Within the annals of the world of pugilistic history, there has been stories that have been passed down through multiple generations in the pugilistic sects of great swords, mighty swords that were instrumental in ensuring success for those who used them. Ensui is one such sword. Ensui was a beautiful sword, both in appearance and in the elegance of its strike. Its hilt was carved from jade and its blade a gleaming white that shone under the sun, a truly remarkable sword that many wished to possess.
Currently, Ensui is owned by the reigning current God of War, Guan Yu. It is the sword he uses in battle. As Ensui is also a very old sword, it has also attained the ability to take on multiple forms other than just that of a sword. Currently, Ensui possesses both a human and animal form. His preferred form in the human realm when riding on his master's shoulder and when not accompanying his master as the sword held at his waist or in his human form is that of a small orchid mantis though, his true heavenly form, is that of a Kirin.
Also, a bit of history. Guan Yu was a real person. He was a military general during the Eastern Han Dynasty and originally served under the warlord Liu Bei (劉備). He was instrumental along with his brother, General Zhang Fei in supporting Liu Bei and bringing about the end of the Han Dynasty under Emperor Xian( AD 25-184) and establishing the new state of Shu Han. (AD 221-263). Guan Yu is also very well known in Chinese historiography and mythology, as the book, 三國演義, (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) written by the author Luo Guanyong in the 14th century is meant to be a historical, fictionalized account of the period between the end of the Han Dynasty in 168 AD into what was known as the Three Kingdoms period when China was split between 3 warring kingdoms, the Wu, Shu, Wei, and the re-unification of China under the Western Jin Dynasty in 280 AD.
Notes on terms: Xianxia refers to a sub-genre of martial arts fiction and cinema that deal primarily with supernatural elements, take place in the Chinese mythology version of the heavens or involves gods and immortals and usually has to deal with the trials and tribulations that said gods and immortals go through toward achieving higher cultivation. The term Xianxia in its original incarnation translates to Immortal Hero, and refers to stories where humans use Daoist practices to achieve higher cultivation, immortality; it has since been turned into a term referring to pretty much anything, fiction and fantasy wise that has fantasy Daoist or Chinese mythological elements to it.
Wuxia is a genre of martial arts fiction and cinema in which, warriors that are experts in martial arts are capable of achieving superhuman feats. Wuxia, translates to martial arts hero. Some classic Wuxia series are Legend of Condor Heroes ( trilogy martial arts series, Legend of the Condor Heroes is the first one in the series, followed by Return of the Condor Heroes, and Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, published by the late author Jin Yong in 1957), Handsome Siblings by late Gu Long, and and a host of others. Those are the ones I've seen tv series based on, and it's what my parents grew up reading when they were younger though I've personally never read them( not a good enough ability to read written Chinese characters and many of them are mostly untranslated though there's online website translations of them). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(臥虎藏龍) in Chinese, is also considered Wuxia.
There's also 还珠格格, Princess Returning Pearl by the romance author Qiong Yao( it's been remade into tv series several times, the one I remember watching was the classic one from the 80s when I was in elementary school with my parents) which, could probably be considered Wuxia adjacent but maybe not straight Wuxia.
Links for more historical information
Wikipedia
Information about the Jin Dynasty
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the full novel has also been translated into English online as well.
Guan Yu
Information about the Three Kingdoms period
History Channel
information about the Tang Dynasty
Timeline
Han Dynasty timeline
Credits
Profile design and Code by Ringo | Character Art by Godhead
Background from Pexels, link Pexels, image used with permission by Lian Rodriguez
Story by myself, Historiography
human artwork, drawn by myself, Historiography Ensui artwork
Pet Treasure
Possessed Pearl Cameo
Gyoza
White Ornate Fan
Knotty Bamboo Slips
Bamboo Chopsticks
Pearl Flat Sword
Telenine Hair Calligraphy Brush
Devonti Hair Calligraphy Brush
Pherret Hair Calligraphy Brush
Traditional Ink Stick
Shengui Guo Inkstone Mask
Black Incense Burner
Summer Breeze Tea Tin
Green Teapot
Burnished Smoky Quartz Flask
Fractured Onyx Flask
Delish Sharp Erhu
Lyre