‘The Untamed’ cast: Why does everyone hate Jiang Cheng?

Ask yourself, would WWX have died if Jiang Cheng had not attacked the rocks holding LWJ UP? If your answer is anything less than 100% yes (or “beyond a reasonable doubt”) then yes he is guilty of murdering his own brother. I think LWJ would never have let him go and he would have gotten him up come hell or high water. But WWX clearly saw that his brother would wind up killing LWJ so he pulled his hand away.

Wei Wuxian had to pay more than anyone for his actions and “good” people of the Jiang clan and the Lan clan stood aside as more powerful clans called for the blood and murder of people they KNEW were dozens of innocent old grandparents who could barely scrape together a farming village, a kid, only one cultivator who chiefly practiced medicine, and her undead brother who had only killed his captors. If anything, I find it eternally interesting that Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen (and Lan Wangji to a lesser extent) aren’t held accountable for being willing to let innocents die to maintain their positions and good standing of themselves and their clan. None of them stay by Wei Wuxian’s side when it really matters. They blame him for being forced to defend himself and losing (in their minds) control after being beset by 1000 Jin clan men in what any rational person would assume is an elaborate assassination attempt by the whole clan. They blame him for not wanting victims of the old Wen regime to become nameless slaughter to the new Jin regime. They abandon him and leave to attend to their own business. They blame him for others caring about him (he’s somehow responsible for Yanli’s death in Jiang Cheng’s eyes). We’re supposed to feel sympathetic toward the nobles because Wei Wuxian does, but it’s hard for me not to see their actions (or lack thereof) as cowardly. Wei Wuxian tried very hard to convince them but couldn’t stay politely at banquets while innocent people were being used as human bait, worked to death, or slaughtered for amusement. Jiang Cheng and Lang Wangji saw the Burial Mounds. They knew it was a collection of mundane, suffering people just trying to live. Jiang Cheng knew he was a coward at the end, and that’s the only reason he’s a sympathetic character to me. People trying to say that his actions were justified are wrong – they were understandable but they were cowardly, and his cowardice is his biggest character flaw. The leaders who were fit to rule in the whole series and genuinely cared about the lives of people even if it was difficult were Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian, and (maybe) Jiang Fengmian and Lan Wangji.

Hjjiang Chemo didn’t sacrifice his golden core, it was taken from by force—while he was looking out for WWX, admittedly. One of the few timers he does something nice for others. In the first half of the story he’s mostly concerned with and his clan’s reputation; in the second half he mostly goes around kidnapping and torturing people without a care. Yes I feel very sorry for him; his parents did not raise him right. But that doesn’t mean that he’s a good guy at heart.
—-and how does he pay for WWX’s heroism??

I find it weird that people blame Wei Wuxian for attack on the Lotus Pier. Wen would have attacked. They attacked everyone. The biggest clans to the small little known clans, every clan was getting attacked left and right. How come Wen would have let Cheng clan be?

Cheng like his mom blamed him for the attack on the clan home because Wei was an easy target to went. His mom didn’t like Wei because of her own marital issue with her husband. And then the GF of the Wen wanted her personal anger out at Wei for him interfering in the cave when she wanted to hurt Mian Mian. But even with half a brain Cheng should have known that attack was coming whether Wei had done anything in the cave or not.

How could Wei not fight in cave? Wen prince had ordered everyone to be killed and it would be cowardly not to react his GF and him being cruel to people around them. It’s not like Wen Caho would not have targeted anyone else after Lan Zhan. He would have picked on them one by one.

Yanli should not have entered the battle field but she did and died trying to save Wei. Blaming that one on Wei alone is not fair either.

Jiang Cheng has insecurity and jealous issues. It’s understandable why he is like that but it’s should not be an excuse for bad behaviour. He was kidnapping and torturing and perhaps killing people suspecting them to be Wei or because they practiced same arts as Wei. He owed Wen Qian and Wen Ning big time. Wei could not save him on his own at the time. He himself was quite weak- first he was hurt in the cave, he was barely recovering when Wen attacked and he was beaten with Zidian whip. And then all the shock , trauma and running around but no where to go.

If Wen Qian thought just like Cheng she would not have saved Jiang Cheng and helped Wei. She took no less risk in helping Wei and Cheng right under the nose of the villains. She, her brother and her people all were at risk when she was taking care of Jiang Cheng. Wei helping her and her brother and people was a debt being paid. Debt that was on his adopted clan. Debt that was being paid on behalf of Jiang too.

Timely help of Wen Quian saved Jiang’s clan. But Jiang didn’t firmly support Wei in Jin court. He let his insecurities rise and was easily played in hands of Jin who were misbehaving in Wen’s stead. They had played important role in bringing Wen clan down and Jiang could assert and demand right to free some people. But he didn’t.

Some people say Wei could have supported Jiang. Wei did support Jiang . He rescued him. Gave up his own life and career as swordsman giving up his golden core. ‘Went to save Wens not just because of righteousness but also because she had helped and it’s not in his nature to hesitate in such a manner. Jiang hesitates and looks for excuses.

Lan Zhan regretted not helping out with Wen’s situation when Wei left for Burial Mounds. And rightly so. If Lan Zhan took a stand, his brother might have too and the mess won’t be that big, that easily. Senior Lan brother was indebted to Yao so he kept silence. His uncle again hides behind 3000+rules but didn’t speak up against misbehavior of Jins. They didn’t condone Wen, but they let Jin act like Wen without much protest.

Both Yao and Qian worked for Wen kingdom during war but both helped out someone on the other side. Qian did it more selflessly at the time. Yao’s help was more calculating and self serving. Yao got Senior Lan and Jin leader to speak for him. Jiang hesitated because people started comparing him with Wei and his insecurities surfaced. Mian Mian had little power but she showed more spine.

Yanli wasn’t killed by a puppet. She was killed by a rational man who then blamed Wei Wuxian for causing trouble at the ceremony Jiang Cheng was attending where they all vowed to kill him. Blaming Wei Wuxian because she decided to walk into a dangerous battlefield was completely unfair. In that line of thinking it’s also Jiang Cheng’s fault for joining the other clan’s to hunt him down and setting the scene for this battle. This is shortly after they slaughtered the remainder of the Wen clan and the woman that Jiang Cheng briefly knew and loved – he still sided with them. It’s not just that he’s not thinking about Wei Wuxian; he’s not thinking about morality. He’s very insecure about Wei Wuxian and begged him to stop being a “hero” in protecting the Wen clan. Even without knowing about the core, or even while believing Wei Wuxian lost control, his actions still are defensible. Isn’t stopping a massacre the most basic noble cause? Can any person really be expected to keep perfect control over themselves while people try to kill you and your people? In the novel, Wei Wuxian actually did lose control but in my mind it’s still the cultivation clans who pushed him that far. It’s not that Jiang Cheng doesn’t know right from wrong – he is too scared to confront it. He’s too scared to live by the Jiang motto. Unlike, Lang Wangji, he wasn’t raised with rigid principles; he was always told to follow his heart and attempt the impossible. He knows that Wei Wuxian is right. He know that he is wrong. His anger doesn’t stem from Wei Wuxian’s transgressions but from his insecurities about how Wei Wuxian is better than him in every way – a better brother, a better leader, a more powerful cultivator. Deep down, he has always known this, and society gave him the perfect environment to pretend that Wei Wuxian was really just an evil traitor. His reaction the golden core was simply him not being allowed to pretend he didn’t any more. It makes him a more interesting character, but it also makes him a less excusable character.

El no mato a WWX la propia autora dijo que el murio por su propio poder. No se sabe que hizo con los cultivadores demoniacos, los rumores decian no los volvian a ver, en otras palabras pudo tanto haberlos matado como encerrado de por vida. El no creia en los rumores según el(JC) ya tenia bastantes razones para estar resentido con WWX. Ha el no le gustaba en general que hablaran de WWX. Si lo defendio cuando LWJ estaba cuestionando las decisiones de WWX, lo defendio de su madre llegando incluso a demandarle que dejara de azotar a WWX, incluso para que WWX viera a YanLi el dia de su boda el fue quien personalmente la llevo, incluso si esa acción lo perjudicaba( a JC), se sacrifico al dejarse atrapar por los Wen para que WWX saliera hileso en consecuensia fue torturado y su nucleo quedo destruido. Desde jovenes tomaba los castigos con el. No permitio perros en su secta (apesar de que el los ama). Guardo su flauta. Y al final de la novela no le dijo nada sobre porque perdio su nucleo para que WWX pudiera vivir tranquilo junto a su esposo (el que se entromete en una conversación que debian tener 2 personas WWX y JC). Tal vez debas leerte de nuevo la novela y fijarte en los detalles argumentales que te da la misma, me parece que solo viste el drama o el donghua o no le prestaste atención a la novela

Pfft. I’m baffled.

Firstly, everyone loves WWX a little too much and refuse to see JC’s sufferings and his feelings. Of course, WWX is lovable since he’s the MC and we got to see his sufferings and know his feelings. But that’s not the case with JC, you never knew how a child who grew up with neglectful parent felt. He had to sent away his dogs upon WWX arrival coz he’s scared of them.

I know someone who has almost the same situation as him and they always told me they wanted to die since they don’t feel worthy enough to live in their house. Since their parents strikingly differentiate how they treat them and their siblings. So please, don’t take what JC experience lightly. Try asking yourselves what you’d do of you were in JC’s shoes. Would you let it be and even befriend him? I even thought JC would kill WWX after the massacre, believing that WWX played a fault in it, but he didn’t! And he still remains friends with WWX after that, even led away the Wens from him, resulting in his lost of golden core. Then he asked his shijie to ask WWX for JL’s courtesy name. Doesn’t that mean his love for him is greater than his hatred coz of his envy? And I would hate you if you hate his inferiority complex and you ever hated your parents for comparing you to the neighbour kid. Don’t be a hypocrite.

And I’m about to ask you a question I never knew the answer to till this day:
If WWX is so righteous and kind as you’ve all said, why did he remained in the Jiang’s household even tho he knew what his presence there meant to JC, JFM, and YZY? Seeing how kind he is, at the start, I was expecting him to defect (before the massacre) because he felt guilty for what JC had to felt but no, he didn’t! He literally knew he added fuel to the fire but he never solved this problem, only comforting JC with words and promises which he even broke the latter. “He didn’t broke his promise!” you said? He literally NEVER listened to JC who told him to not do this and that! What subordinate did that?! “But WWX sacrificed so much more than he did!” that’s what it seems to you because you’re not in JC’s shoes! He sacrificed his father’s love! He sacrificed his dogs! He sacrificed his life then lost his golden core which WWX did for him as well! We don’t know what else he sacrificed growing up with JFM favoring WWX more than him! Before this all dramatic things happen, what did WWX have to sacrifice for JC? Can you tell me? Come on, I’m all ears.

Secondly, for a fact, JC is a sect leader in which both WWX and LWJ are not! They’ve all got different responsibilities, priorities, and experience so STOP TRYING TO COMPARE THEIR ACTS! Stop trying to compare what LWJ and JC did towards WWX’s acts too coz if you think for a bit, what they experience with WWX are strikingly different! LWJ aren’t the one who had been brothers with WWX and then had all his clan people massacred! Oh my god, I don’t believe I have to say this to make it clear.

Thirdly, WQ and WN aren’t completely blameless although they never killed anyone. They are, if they only healed the civilians but that’s not the case! They healed soldiers as well. Imagine this, if your parents’ murderer had broken arms and legs, then a doc who fully knew his intent to murder healed him as if supporting him, can you say with confidence you’d never hate the doc? If it were me, I’d blast the both of them on fire. “But they saved JC and WWX!” Okay, then now they’re even. Done deal. In war, everything isn’t as easy as differentiating black and white color, baby.

Fourthly, WWX literally grew up heroically following the Jiangs’ motto because anytime he had JFM on his back. He doesn’t know (yet) that he can’t manage everything by himself. What he did at that cave if you ask me? In my opinion, sure that’s moral but that’s foolish. He had braveness but he doesn’t have ACTUAL power, unless he’s a sect leader himself. That’s just literally asking for the Wens to kill you first when the order aren’t out yet. It’s common sense to help others, but it’s also common sense to knows one’s limitations and considering risks and your opponent’s power and personalities. What comes after is the question, which one you prioritize more? Now, imagine that your country economy is falling and you’re a father with 5 children to feed at home but you only have 1 bread for 1 whole month, then you see a homeless parentless child begging for food and God hand taught us to help the less fortunate, what will you do then?

Neither options are wrong or right! Similiar to everything in life. That’s just differentiating two values, that of a realist (JC) and that of an idealist (WWX).

What I’m trying to say here, is that justice is highly sought, but it’s never that simple and actually, is very hard to pinpoint. Because everyone’s got their own experience, values, priorities, responsibilities, traumas, and all. Although it’s true the saying of “that explains it, but doesn’t excuse it”. That’s why there are times when I hate JC and times when I love him. Same with WWX. Then it occurred to me just how beautiful this story is, making me sympathize with all the characters, confusing me between right and wrong (which in real life, we can relate that sometimes it’s not about right and wrong but about your values and priorities). You’d missed the beauty if you only sympathize with few characters, even sometimes missing the points which will be clear if you’d understood all their grounds.

Broaden your mind.