Jiang Fengmian - An ineffective leader (What is a "Clan 氏")
(I've posted this previously on twitter. So this might be familiar to some.)
Jiang Fengmian is an ineffective leader whose actions does not make sense within the context of their society. Firstly, you’d need to understand what exactly is a “Clan 氏 (Shi)”.
Prior to the Zhou Dynasty, the nobles had both a “Xing” 姓 (the modern word for surname) and a Clan “Shi” 氏. There were several ways one could obtain a “Clan” name. (ie. hold an post, be related to the Zhou King, be of noble blood, through their job) In the Shang/Zhou Dynasty, the surname of men were ‘Clans” 氏, and and “Xing” 姓 was surname of ladies (your mum’s heritage to be precise).
Generally the idea was that 氏 was a reflection of a societal status (wealth, riches, and military might) and 姓 was a reflection of one’s origin. (ie. which tribe they came from, their familial relations.). It was only during the Qin Dynasty when there was a decline in the noble families that the lines between 姓氏 were blurred and now everyone’s surname is called 姓名. (This also why the word “姓" carries a “女” (female))
So according to history, Clans were the aristocrats of their time. It was associated with the wealth of one’s family and it was directly linked with their status within society. In wuxia/xianxia fiction, as defined by Jin Yong, a Clan is a organisation that’s bounded by blood ties. A father would pass his the leadership position to his son. Even if the lead disciple was incredibly talented, he could not compete with the leader’s son for leadership to the Clan. Much like how a Kingship would be passed down to a Prince.)
In the context of MDZS, Wei Wuxian was raised by the Jiang Clan but he was not adopted into the immediate family. The novel mentions that he’s the “lead disciple of the Jiang Clan,” and this is also apparent in his name because he bears the surname of his commoner father, “Wei.”
Jiang Fengmian does something unusual - he elevates Wei Wuxian to the same status as his own son Jiang Cheng (his successor/Crown Prince of Jiang), essentially giving this said commoner the same status as that of a royal simply by the virtue that he’s the son of his deceased crush (who wasn’t even an aristocratic, of which he was interested in but she ran off with his servant). Not only does this commoner grow up with his son, JFM also gives him the same opportunities as his son - he gives wwx his sword personally, instills the same education and ideals, treats him better arguably, allows him to mix with other aristocrats (in Cloud Recesses), and gives him money to spend like a royal. (Wwx says that JFM used to pick up the tab after so he never had to fork out money).
This is would be considered a very strange move because from an aristocratic lineage POV, JFM had brought in competition willingly for own his son. Although wwx couldn’t take over the Jiang Clan, he was already shown to be better than JC at most things. Imagine an aristocrat constantly hanging around with his commoner ‘brother', of which the ‘brother' was better and stronger at whatever he did.
Back in the MDZS time period, it was evident that a stronger person would be more respected (most of the time anyway). It wouldn’t be surprising if the other clans noticed this too. It also might explain why JC was constantly trying to outdo him, because it was also a matter of pride that a commoner was constantly beating him. Ofc, wwx might not haven’t noticed it because his intentions were pure (he was also probably too young) and might have thought this was playful banter. (and he was likely way too dense to realise this lmao)
Hence with the introduction of wwx into his family, JFM has brought in a potential rival for his son, which could also potentially “usurp” his own lineage. You could even say that he’s selfish because he’s done this for his deceased crush’s son. And this is at the possible expense of his Clan and son’s future, and his relationship with his wife.
