Focus on Fourth Uncle of the Snake Tribe

[china_shop]

Fourth Uncle of the Snake Tribe is a parent figure, a tribe leader, a committed isolationist, and a historian or keeper of knowledge.


Fourth Uncle gives nothing away as one of the young Snake men pours drugged wine into Zhu Hong and Guo Changcheng's cups. (Ep 11.)

Note: This is a drama-only perspective. If you’re familiar with the novel, please feel especially free to chime in with your take on his character and the Snake Tribe generally.

Parent figure

We first meet Fourth Uncle at the Snake Village in episode 11 (39:27), when Zhu Hong and Guo Changcheng go to him on behalf of the SID, seeking information about the Hallows. He greets Zhu Hong, “Little brat, you’re finally coming back to see me,” which suggests she’s not a regular visitor.

He’s concerned for Zhu Hong’s safety. He wants her to give up working at the SID. To achieve this end, he drugs her wine and ties her up. (She later escapes and drugs him right back.)


Fourth Uncle slumped in a chair with his head on his arm, after Zhu Hong forced drugged wine down his throat.

Despite their disagreements and the mutual druggings, Fourth Uncle and Zhu Hong have an affectionate relationship. He cares for her and calls her Ah-Hong; she bats her eyelashes and acts cute to coax information out of him or get her way, while also being totally comfortable standing up to him and speaking her mind. (But it’s Guo Changcheng’s earnest defence of the SID that wins Fourth Uncle over to Zhu Hong’s working there.)

In episode 21, Fourth Uncle tries to match-make Zhu Hong into a relationship with any of an array of Snake Tribe men, and gives her a hard time about her crush on Zhao Yunlan. But he doesn’t push too hard, and he does tell her about the Yashou flea market, saying it might be the key to undoing Zhao Yunlan’s blindness.

Leader and Isolationist

Over and over, throughout the show, Fourth Uncle reconfirms his isolationist stance, believing that if the Yashou follow the treaty and stay out of the conflict, it will keep them safe.


Fourth Uncle is worried. He doesn't like his little Ah-Hong working at the SID.


Fourth Uncle grabbing Zhu Hong's wrist, about to drag her back to the forest to protect her from the conflict.

Zhu Hong, Shen Wei and Ying Chun all work on him, trying to convince him to join the fight, especially once it becomes clear Ya Qing has sided with Ye Zun. I’d argue that, despite Ying Chun’s accusation in episode 19, it’s not personal cowardice that holds Fourth Uncle back, but his trying to protect the Snake Tribe. Once he’s decided to fight, he shows no fear.

But it isn’t until episode 39 that he definitively gets with the programme. “I understand now. Ye Zun clearly wants to kill all living creatures in Haixing. If we don’t help you out now, who’ll help us in the future?” (17:17) Ying Chun replies, “Old worm, you don’t often say something so accurate.”

Perhaps Fourth Uncle’s political stance is bolstered by his brother's having gone to live among the humans and died there. Fourth Uncle laments his brother’s fate several times, alluding to it as a cautionary tale or a reproach to Zhu Hong, telling her she’s too much like her father. He explains to Guo Changcheng, “He liked humans. He left the forest deep in the mountains to live in the city, enjoying love and romance. Eventually he lost his life and left behind that little rascal Zhu Hong as a baby. I really don’t want her to make the same mistakes.” (Ep 13, 22:48)

Traditionalist/historian

The Snake Tribe lives in a remote village in the forest, and aside from Zhu Hong, all the Snakes we see in human form wear (what I assume is) traditional Snake clothing. They seem content to live without electricity or other modern amenities. They make their own wine.

Fourth Uncle and the Snake Tribe generally seem to be very aware of history and their place in it. Zhao Yunlan sends Zhu Hong to Fourth Uncle for information about the Hallows, and Fourth Uncle does know about them. And in episode 29, he says, “We must look to the Black-Cloaked Envoy. After all, he brought us peace ten thousand years ago.” (38:27) The fact that Zhu Hong reacts so strongly to seeing Fu You in the Hallows transmission also supports the idea that the Snake Tribe remember and value their ancient past.

In episode 19 when Fourth Uncle and Ying Chun are trying to detain Ya Qing (so Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei can capture Zhu Jiu), political arguments don’t work, but Fourth Uncle succeeds by inviting Ya Qing to stay and celebrate the Reunion Festival together.


Fourth Uncle at night, convincing Ya Qing to stay and celebrate the Reunion Festival.

And Fourth Uncle is the one who appeals to Ya Qing’s sense of tradition regarding the Yashou chief and the sacred wood, in episode 37. He’s also the first to recognise Zhu Hong’s chieftainship, and he kneels to her with the others. He convinces her to accept the position: “Sweetie, you... Back then your father left the tribe to try and bring Humans and Yashou closer together. The Sacred Branch in front of you is a responsibility as well as an opportunity. Sweetie, ask yourself—do you really want to refuse?” (35:43)

In encouraging her to take this step, and framing it this way after so long trying to make her be a traditional isolationist like himself, Fourth Uncle is recognising and accepting that she is her father’s daughter.

Fanworks

There are three fanworks under the Fourth Uncle (or Sìshū) tag on AO3, two by me and the other by branch . I haven't read branch's because it's not my pairing and is a drama-novel fusion, but their writing is excellent, and it looks great:

The Marriage of Lightning and the Lake (7462 words) by Branch
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Yā Qīng/Zhù Hóng
Characters: Zhù Hóng, Yā Qīng, Dà Qìng, Chǔ Shùzhī, Sìshū, Yíng Chūn
Additional Tags: Romance, Fluff, Humor, Character Study, Drama, Action, Alternate Universe - Fusion
Series: Part 4 of Changes
Summary:

Zhu Hong works on how to be Chief Elder, and falls hard for Ya Qing in the process. (Her uncle may have a point about her terrible taste.) Fluff, Romance, Character Study, Drama with a Pinch of Action, I-3

Zhu Hong had perfected the pout, the winsome look, and the hard fist as tools to make the world go her way, and she knew exactly how to use them. As time went on, and she’d started wanting to be stronger, she'd honed her natural abilities until she could do almost what any of her fully-transformed cousins could. She'd learned human ways so well she could blend in as completely as she wished.

None of that told her the first thing about how to be Chief Elder of the Yashou people.

Protect your heart, protect your head (9603 words) by china_shop
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Zhù Hóng, Fourth Uncle (Guardian), Yā Qīng, Original Characters
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Fix-It, Spoilers for everything, Canon-typical motives for eviltude, Bechdel Test Pass, discussion of harm to children, Yashou Politics
Series: Part 4 of Back to the Middle (parallel time travel fixits)
Summary:

Damn the Hallows! They should have given her instructions, instead of dumping her outside the SID without so much as a hint she was in the past. She didn’t know how much longer she had before they stole her away again, and she’d wasted precious time coming to the Snake village when she could have gone straight to lao-Zhao and Shen Wei. They were the ones who would know what to do. They were the leaders.

Except, oh. Zhu Hong was a leader, too.

If you know of any other works about Fourth Uncle or the Snake Tribe generally, please do link them in the comments.

Questions

1. Fourth Uncle knows about the Hallows. Where does he get his information from? Is he a historian, or just really old? (He says snakes don’t have long lives, but we don’t know what he’s comparing them to: plants? Dixingren? ten-thousand-year-old cats?) Is there a Yashou archive -- in the ancient script, perhaps -- or do they mostly have an oral history tradition?


2. He recognises Shen Wei as the Envoy, when Shen Wei and Zhu Hong visit him in episode 19 (24:26), and calls him Shen Daren (Lord Shen). When do you think he met Shen Wei before? If it was as the Envoy, why might Shen Wei have taken off his mask then?


3. Going by Zhu Hong’s reaction, the Snake Tribe still venerates Fu You, one of the leaders of the ten-thousand-years-ago Allied Forces, but Fourth Uncle is staunch in his isolationism. Is this hypocrisy, or are the contexts different enough for it to be consistent? Perhaps they think Fu You’s efforts have exempted them from any future conflict?


4. Parents in Haixing seem to feel free to interfere in their children’s work- and love-lives. We see three contrasting gambits in the show by parent figures:
   
   1. Guo Changcheng’s uncle sets up a semi-formal meeting with Zhao Yunlan to ask that Changcheng be transferred to another department, without discussing it with Changcheng first. But he does subsequently listen to Changcheng’s pleas and concede.
   2. Zhao Xinci badmouths Zhao Yunlan to his subordinates, then plays mind games with them, challenging them to mutiny against their boss, supposedly in the name of testing their loyalty.
   3. Fourth Uncle drugs Zhu Hong and ties her up to try to prevent her from returning to the SID. He then listens to Changcheng’s arguments, rather than Zhu Hong herself.
   
   Which of these is the worst strategy, and why?


5. Where are the Snake Tribe women? Seriously?! Are they all up trees being snakes?

So -- come and talk about Fourth Uncle! Share links to meta, picspams, and related fanworks, new or old! Self-recs whole-heartedly encouraged. Basically, this is the place for anything you want to say or link to about Fourth Uncle or the Snake Tribe generally.

Important: If you're commenting with meta/discussion/thoughts, please say whether you're coming from a novel perspective, a drama perspective, or a blend of the two, so we don't end up talking past each other. Thanks!

Comments

[maggie33]

This is a great and very comprehensive post.

I’d argue that, despite Ying Chun’s accusation in episode 19, it’s not personal cowardice that holds Fourth Uncle back, but his trying to protect the Snake Tribe. Once he’s decided to fight, he shows no fear.

I agree. I never thought that he was a coward, just conservative and cautious.

And I like his relationship with Zhu Hong, despite his misguided attempts to “protect” her at first. And I like that he never doubts that Zhu Hong will be a good leader for the Yashous.

He recognises Shen Wei as the Envoy, when Shen Wei and Zhu Hong visit him in episode 19 (24:26), and calls him Shen Daren (Lord Shen). When do you think he met Shen Wei before? If it was as the Envoy, why might Shen Wei have taken off his mask then?

Oh, interesting question. But doesn’t Ying Chun know who Shen Wei is, too? So maybe the leaders of Yashou tribes just know this. Maybe they were informed about Black-Cloaked Envoy’s secret identity from the start for some reason.

[trobadora]

Ying Chun doesn't recognise Shen Wei as the Envoy until he manifests his glaive in that scene in episode 6.

[maggie33]

Oh, right, I forgot about that. I have no idea how he knows, then. :) But I like the possible explanation in your comment below - that he was the leader when Shen Wei first came to Haixing, and he could meet him and see him unmasked then for some reason.

[trobadora]

Damn, now I want someone to write that story ... *g*

[china_shop]

On it! (I turned up all ready to reply to comments here, and ended up starting writing this instead. Oops! *g*)

[trobadora]

I AM NOT COMPLAINING. :D

[china_shop]

And I like his relationship with Zhu Hong, despite his misguided attempts to “protect” her at first. And I like that he never doubts that Zhu Hong will be a good leader for the Yashous.

Yes, me too! :-)

So maybe the leaders of Yashou tribes just know this.

Oh, good point. Shen Wei has to identify himself to Ying Chun, but Ya Qing recognises him, doesn't she? As does Zhu Jiu, somehow...? *is a bit hazy on this*

[trobadora]

To achieve this end, he drugs her wine and ties her up. (She later escapes and drugs him right back.)

That's still so hilarious to me.

I’d argue that, despite Ying Chun’s accusation in episode 19, it’s not personal cowardice that holds Fourth Uncle back, but his trying to protect the Snake Tribe. Once he’s decided to fight, he shows no fear.

Yeah, I don't think it's cowardice at all. I think Ying Chun is just provoking him.

Perhaps Fourth Uncle’s political stance is bolstered by his brother's having gone to live among the humans and died there.

Yeah, and his niece already putting herself in the middle of danger. He seems to genuinely believe staying out of things will keep his family and his people safe, so that's what he tries, for as long as he can.

Fourth Uncle knows about the Hallows. Where does he get his information from? Is he a historian, or just really old?

Maybe neither - maybe this stuff is fairly common knowledge among Snakes and Zhu Hong only doesn't know because she was never that interested in the traditional way of life? So she only knows about the more obvious stuff, like Fu You, but not any details?

He recognises Shen Wei as the Envoy, when Shen Wei and Zhu Hong visit him in episode 19 (24:26), and calls him Shen Daren (Lord Shen). When do you think he met Shen Wei before? If it was as the Envoy, why might Shen Wei have taken off his mask then?

You know, that's a REALLY good question, and I can't believe we've never asked it before. Hmmm ... Fourth Uncle seems to be older than the other two Yashou leaders, and might conceivably have already been the leader of the Snake Tribe back when Shen Wei first woke up and came to Haixing, a little over 20 years ago. We know Shen Wei led an expedition related to the Hallows at the time (that thing with Wu Tian'en) - perhaps it took them to Yashou territory? They could have met that way.

And I'd say Fourth Uncle might just be more perceptive than everyone else and recognise Shen Wei with or without his mask, except he took his while even realising that disguised!Guo Changcheng wasn't Zhu Hong, so that theory is right out the window. *g* No idea what might have made Shen Wei take off his mask at the time ...

Going by Zhu Hong’s reaction, the Snake Tribe still venerates Fu You, one of the leaders of the ten-thousand-years-ago Allied Forces, but Fourth Uncle is staunch in his isolationism. Is this hypocrisy, or are the contexts different enough for it to be consistent? Perhaps they think Fu You’s efforts have exempted them from any future conflict?

I think it's entirely consistent with what Fu You herself seemed to want. She seemed to want the Yashou to go back to living in isolation, rather than intermingling with humans on a regular basis - and the alliance back then was only because the threat was too large. In the current situation, Fourth Uncle advocates for isolation for as long as he can believe they'll be left alone - and he doesn't change until he realises they really can't safely keep out of it because the other side won't let them be.

Which of these is the worst strategy, and why?

Hahaha! Actual worst strategy: Zhao Xinci going "come back with me, son - we'll just scapegoat a member of your team for everything that's gone wrong, surely you'll have no problem with that!"

And here's a question from me - it just occurred to me that Fourth Uncle is the one who suggests the election of a High Chief, and I wonder what motivated that - is he that confident that Ya Qing won't win? What would he have done if she had?

[china_shop]

That's still so hilarious to me.

:-D If it's a standard snake gambit, then I'm assuming the wine also stops people from shifting form. No point tying up someone who can turn into a snake, after all! *g*

He seems to genuinely believe staying out of things will keep his family and his people safe, so that's what he tries, for as long as he can.

Hey, it's worked up until now. He has no way to know this particular wave of activity is an existential threat, does he? Oh, except he knows people are looking for the Hallows. That should give him pause.

maybe this stuff is fairly common knowledge among Snakes and Zhu Hong only doesn't know because she was never that interested in the traditional way of life? So she only knows about the more obvious stuff, like Fu You, but not any details?

Could be! Or maybe there's more stuff written on the wall of the sacred area than we find out about, and Zhu Hong's never been allowed in there before? (Maybe the wall is the User Manual? *g*)

Fourth Uncle seems to be older than the other two Yashou leaders

Hm, I could go either way on that. Possibly it's just that Yashou women age really well? Anyway, I don't think Fourth Uncle is that old in human terms -- maybe the equivalent of mid-fifties? Young enough to fight, od enough to have gravitas. :-) But anyway, he could still have been tribe leader then. For all we know, it's a hereditary position.

We know Shen Wei led an expedition related to the Hallows at the time (that thing with Wu Tian'en)

I didn't think Shen Wei went on that expedition. Wasn't it lead by Ding Dun? Otherwise, why would he need to ask Wu Tian'en what happened? ETA: Or were there two missions?

And I'd say Fourth Uncle might just be more perceptive than everyone else and recognise Shen Wei with or without his mask, except he took his while even realising that disguised!Guo Changcheng wasn't Zhu Hong, so that theory is right out the window. *g*

LOL!

I think it's entirely consistent with what Fu You herself seemed to want. She seemed to want the Yashou to go back to living in isolation, rather than intermingling with humans on a regular basis

*nodnod* Excellent point. They are her living legacy.

it just occurred to me that Fourth Uncle is the one who suggests the election of a High Chief, and I wonder what motivated that - is he that confident that Ya Qing won't win? What would he have done if she had?

Ooh, hmm. I think either he's hoping that being High Chief will giving Ya Qing a useful place to channel all her boundless political skill and drive, to the benefit of all the Yashou (and he trusts that she's switched sides for good), or he has complete faith in the sacred wood to choose the right leader. I actually suspect the latter.

[trobadora]

Oh, except he knows people are looking for the Hallows. That should give him pause.

And he never seems to want to know more about the situation - he doesn't ask Zhu Hong to get him more info so he can make an informed decision, or anything.

(Maybe the wall is the User Manual? *g*)

Hee! I like that idea. :D

"We know Shen Wei led an expedition related to the Hallows at the time (that thing with Wu Tian'en)"

I didn't think Shen Wei went on that expedition. Wasn't it lead by Ding Dun? Otherwise, why would he need to ask Wu Tian'en what happened? ETA: Or were there two missions?

There were two. The first was the mission led by Ding Dun, prompted by Hallows activity and leading to them discovering Shen Wei waking up from his dirt nap.

And the second was led by someone Shen Wei calls "one of my subordinates" - Mirror Girl's father. This is the one Wu Tian'en was on. Shen Wei says he suddenly lost contact with the team, and that's what he wants to know from Wu Tian'en - what happened after. He may not have been on the mission himself, but they were working for him and in contact with him.

(Wu Tian'en says they were attacked by Youchu, he got knocked out, and when he woke up everyone else was dead. Except Wu Tian'en didn't know the captain, Mirror Girl's father, had also survived. Presumably the guy faked his death, and then hid in Haixing, where he got killed before Shen Wei could catch up with him.)

Ooh, hmm. I think either he's hoping that being High Chief will giving Ya Qing a useful place to channel all her boundless political skill and drive, to the benefit of all the Yashou (and he trusts that she's switched sides for good), or he has complete faith in the sacred wood to choose the right leader. I actually suspect the latter.

This is before she switches sides, so it can't be that.

For the sacred wood, I'm not sure. Fourth Uncle says in episode 21, when he gives it to Zhu Hong, that the sacred wood has withered for ten thousand years. Of course he also says you need to make it bloom to make it open the restricted area, which turns out not to be true ... But I think it's entirely possible the thing really hasn't bloomed since shortly after Fu You's time, and they've chosen their chiefs in some other way in between. (The position has only been vacant since Fourth Uncle, Ya Qing and Ying Chun decided to leave it at that some years ago.) *tears hair*

[china_shop]

And he never seems to want to know more about the situation

True! He's a head-in-the-sand ostrich-snake!

There were two.

Thanks! <3

This is before she switches sides, so it can't be that.

That'll teach me to answer based on my faulty memory. ;-p

*re-watches* Oh, it looks like it's Ya Qing's idea to be Head Chief and get her hands on the sacred wood, and Fourth Uncle uses the tradition of sprouting the wood to try to override her ambitions. Isn't that what's happening? He knows it won't sprout, so he lets her try?

[trobadora]

Oh, it looks like it's Ya Qing's idea to be Head Chief and get her hands on the sacred wood, and Fourth Uncle uses the tradition of sprouting the wood to try to override her ambitions. Isn't that what's happening? He knows it won't sprout, so he lets her try?

They all look a bit dubious, so they don't know for sure, but they don't seem to expect it to sprout, no, I agree.

But I was actually talking about the scene in episode 21, after Shen Wei has nearly cut down Ya Qing and Zhao Yunlan has stopped him by calling him Xiao-Wei. ZYL has his speech about how she's making enemies of everyon while her "ally" Ye Zun won't actually be on her side in the end. And then:

Ya Qing: All this resentment should come to an end.

Zhao Yunlan: Snake Elder, Flower Elder, what do you say?

Fourth Uncle: Ya Qing, if you want to purge the Yashou, don't use underhand methods. In three months, we will elect a Yashou High Chief. Decades of disintegration will end.

Ya Qing: Okay. You have my word. *flies off*

(And then Fourth Uncle gives Zhu Hong the sacred wood. She doesn't seem to be familiar with it at all.)

[china_shop]

But I was actually talking about the scene in episode 21, after Shen Wei has nearly cut down Ya Qing and Zhao Yunlan has stopped him by calling him Xiao-Wei.

Ahh! *facepalm* Somehow I missed that out of my canon review, hence my missing-your-point replies. Sorry!

So... is Fourth Uncle being a sneaky snake here and offering Ya Qing what she wants, then hiding the sacred wood so she can't get it, do you think? That doesn't seem very promising for future inter-tribal relations!

I mean, "if you want to purge the Yashou, don't use underhand methods" sounds pretty ominous!

[trobadora]

So... is Fourth Uncle being a sneaky snake here and offering Ya Qing what she wants, then hiding the sacred wood so she can't get it, do you think? That doesn't seem very promising for future inter-tribal relations!

You know, that never occurred to me, but it's possible!

But also, like I said somewhere else in this discussion, I think they may not have been choosing their High Chief via the sacred wood, since it's supposedly not sprouted in ten thousand years ...

I mean, "if you want to purge the Yashou, don't use underhand methods" sounds pretty ominous!

Very! I always wonder if something's lost in translation there ...

[waterscroll]

I think it's entirely consistent with what Fu You herself seemed to want. She seemed to want the Yashou to go back to living in isolation, rather than intermingling with humans on a regular basis - and the alliance back then was only because the threat was too large.

That's what I think too. Ma Gui wants more out of the alliance than Fu You does, and his unrequited love for her is sort of a symbol of that. So Fourth Uncle is continuing Snake traditions.

it just occurred to me that Fourth Uncle is the one who suggests the election of a High Chief, and I wonder what motivated that - is he that confident that Ya Qing won't win?

Maybe because he knows that the sacred wood came from Alliance times when a Snake was High Chief? He seems to know more about the Alliance than the other Yashou leaders, so maybe he had reason to think the sacred wood would work in his tribe's favor.

But I also like the idea that he'd have been willing to work with Ya Qing because for all her mistakes she did want what was best for the Yashou.

[trobadora]

Ma Gui wants more out of the alliance than Fu You does, and his unrequited love for her is sort of a symbol of that.

Yes, exactly! That's how I read it too.

But I also like the idea that he'd have been willing to work with Ya Qing because for all her mistakes she did want what was best for the Yashou.

Yeah, I like that idea too, and I sort of want to see that AU. Like, what would Ya Qing have done if the wood had sprouted for her? She's already turned against Ye Zun's lackeys at that point, and she's got to know he's not going to let her get away with that ...

[china_shop]

So Fourth Uncle is continuing Snake traditions.

And his brother didn't. Interesting! :-)

But I also like the idea that he'd have been willing to work with Ya Qing because for all her mistakes she did want what was best for the Yashou.

For the Yashou as a whole or just for the Crows, do you think? She seems willing to go against the Snakes and Flowers, rather than try to persuade them to join her side (as far as we see).

[trobadora]

I think Ya Qing thinks she's acting for the benefit of all Yashou, and the other tribes will eventually see the error of their isolationist ways. She's overriding them for their own good!

[china_shop]

Yeah, I'm not sure Fourth Uncle sees it like that, though. He's very much "if we abide by the Treaty, that keeps us safe."

[trobadora]

No, they both think the other needs to see the error of their ways!

(And obviously Ya Qing is more wrong, what with the villainy and all, but he's not right either. I really like that they end up working together in the end.)

[china_shop]

Which leads us back around to your question: why did Fourth Uncle suggest re-opening the High Chief position? Maybe he thinks if Ya Qing's chief, she'll have to give up on her current tactics and act more in-his-eyes responsibly? Or maybe he hopes someone else will come forward and take that place (if it's a position appointed democratically by all three chiefs, for example), and the new chief will be able to rein Ya Qing in? Idk!

[trobadora]

Yeah, "idk" is where I'm at too, ultimately. I have no firm opinion! Maybe he hopes if she doesn't get it, that'll stop her because someone can override her, and if she does get it, that'll stop her because she has to be responsible for everyone?

(Honestly, I'm really curious what she would have done if she had become High Chief ...)

[waterscroll]

Thank you for this excellent writeup! It feels like Yashou politics are one of the important things happening in the background that we're only sort of told about. I like the parallels you draw between Fourth Uncle and Zhao Xinci, as isolationist parental figures. Like ZXC wants what's best for Haixing, Fourth Uncle wants what's best for the Yashou.

Where are the Snake Tribe women? Seriously?! Are they all up trees being snakes?

Is Fourth Uncle the only male Yashou leader we ever see? I wonder if the Yashou are matriarchal and Fourth Uncle is sort of a man in a woman's profession. But then you'd expect to see more women around him.

I also very much like thinking of Fourth Uncle as a historian. I wonder what the story of the Alliance looks like from a Snake Historian perspective. He seems to have very strong positive stories about Shen Wei and his role.

[trobadora]

He seems to have very strong positive stories about Shen Wei and his role.

Yeah, and the Flower Tribe leader seems to have positive feelings toward the Envoy as well. Which makes me wonder where that comes from - not from Fu You, I don't think, since there always seemed to be a distance between her and Ma Gui on one side, and the Black-Cloaked Envoy on the other. They were working together, but clearly not close.

[china_shop]

Sorry for the belatedness of my reply!

I like the parallels you draw between Fourth Uncle and Zhao Xinci, as isolationist parental figures. Like ZXC wants what's best for Haixing, Fourth Uncle wants what's best for the Yashou.

And for both of them, it's for everyone else to just go away! Heh.

Is Fourth Uncle the only male Yashou leader we ever see?

Yes, there's just the four of them: Fourth Uncle, Ya Qing, Ying Chun and Fu You. Unless Da Qing counts. ;-)

I wonder what the story of the Alliance looks like from a Snake Historian perspective. He seems to have very strong positive stories about Shen Wei and his role.

This was part of the inspiration for my Shen Wei & Fourth Uncle ficlet, so thank you! <3

[china_shop]

Back to add a ficlet:

2160 words, G-rated, Shen Wei & Fourth Uncle gen, pre-canon, backstory, mourning, kid fic. No warnings.

Meeting in a Time of Peace
Summary: Newly arrived in Haixing, Shen Wei goes into the forest and meets a man who is mourning the death of his brother.