i was initially gonna break down the names of most of the main characters, but wangxian's post ended up being too long lol. i suggest looking at this on the app bc of the formatting (fingers crossed i didn't fuck anything up)

note: all translations are mine unless stated otherwise

first, their ship name. so the main thing about 忘羡 Wangxian is that their ship name immediately calls to mind lines like 只羡鸳鸯不羡仙 / envy only the lovers and not the immortals. another commonly quoted poem is Song dynasty poet 汤恢 Tang Hui's 《八声甘州·摘青梅荐酒》, specifically the line 羡青山有思，白鹤忘机 / I envy the contemplative still of the verdant mountains, and how they who have secluded themselves amid white cranes have forgotten the cunning schemes of the world. (I've bolded 羡 xian and 忘机 wangji.)

Wei Ying, Wei Wuxian 魏婴魏无羡

• 魏 wei
  • refers to the two lookout towers in front of the palace gate. it appears in chengyus like 心在魏阙， 心存魏阙, which all refer to someone still being concerned about their homeland regardless of where they may be
  • can also mean grand, tall, mighty.
• 婴 ying
  • most common meaning: infant, child
    • calls to mind the Mengzi quote 大人者，不失其赤子之心者也 / a great man is one who does not lose his infant’s heart. Mengzi believed that humans are born inherently good, and hence the heart of an infant is simple and pure. (fun fact, this was referenced in Wen Ning's character song on the CQL soundtrack)
  • in classical Chinese, 婴 also means to entwine, entangle, bind, as well as to go against, to offend, to infuriate and enrage.
  • 婴 derives yet another meaning [to pester, to touch] from《陈情表》 chenqing biao, a memorial written to Emperor Wu of Jin by 李密 Li Mi, a writer of the Three Kingdoms and the Jin dynasty. (it's the same chenqing as his dizi/flute, which I'll talk about later)
  • 婴 is also used in binomes such as 婴怀 / to take (worries, concerns) to heart, 婴意 / to keep in mind, to care about, 婴纶 / to restrain, and 婴物 / to care deeply about and fret over the outside world and its happenings.
• 无羡 wuxian
  • this may not have been intentional, but 无羡 is homophonous with 无限 / limitless, boundless. it is also homophonous with 无线, which is why he's known as wi-fi in the chinese fandom.
  • 无羡 appears in two poems:
    • 《闲居》 / To lead a solitary and leisurely life, free of the affairs of the world by 徐贲 Xu Ben, a writer of the Yuan and Ming dynasties: 即无羡鱼志，外物非所迁。 / Seek the ideal and aspiration of being free of envy, to be unmoved by the affairs of the outside.
    • 《咏兴五首·四月池水满》 / Five odes to interest· In the fourth month, the waters of the pond are full by Tang dynasty Poet 白居易 Bai Juyi: 尔无羡沧海，蒲藻可委质。 / You should not envy the deep blue oceans, for even cattails and pondweed can give up their lives for their liege.

Yiling-laozu 夷陵老祖

• 夷陵 Yiling is a historical name for the burial place of the former Chu sovereigns, following the Chu kingdom’s defeat and subsequent burning at the hands of the Qin.
  • 夷 yi
    • (dated) n. barbarian (i.e. non-Han people, particularly the ancient tribes to the east of China)
    • v. raze | v., dated: exterminate, wipe out
  • 陵 ling
    • n. hill, mound | imperial tomb, mausoleum
    • v. to abuse, to usurp or surpass, to violate, to ascend, to temper oneself through severe trials
• 老祖 → n. ancestor, founder
  • iinw this was translated as patriarch in the official translation, which I'm not a fan of bc 老祖 is gender-neutral
  • used in 开山老祖, which refers to the founder of a sect or a school of thought
  • a reference to 老子 Laozi, the founder of philosophical Daoism

Chenqing 陈情

• as separate characters, 陈情 has a possible meaning as past/old relationships/feelings, which can be either romantic or platonic.
• 陈情 also has a literary meaning [to give a full account], which is derived from the《楚辞》 Chuci / Songs of the South, an anthology of poetry traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period, through which (along with the《诗经》 Shijing / Classic of Odes) pre-Qin Dynasty poetry is mainly known.
  • specifically, it stems from this line in the poem《楚辞·九章·惜往日》 / Songs of the South · Nine Sections · Alas of Days Past: 愿陈情以白行兮，得罪过之不意。/ I wished to set forth my thoughts and explain my actions: I little dreamed this would be held a crime. (tr. David Hawkes bc you literally couldn’t pay me to translate anything from the 楚辞)

Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji 蓝湛蓝忘机

• 蓝 lan
  • specifically refers to the colour of bright and cloudless skies, which is generally a vivid and deep greenish-blue colour. it also refers to the indigo plant.
  • however, in the context of MDZS, 蓝 was derived from 伽蓝 / Buddhist temple by Lan An, the founder of the clan.
• 湛 zhan
  • the more apparent meanings of 湛 are: deep, profound; (crystal) clear; tranquil, placid.
  • 湛 is also used in binomes such as 精湛 / consummate, exquisite, 湛清 / (a state of mind or personality) in its purest form, without obscurities, and 湛然, which can mean anything from to not seek fame and wealth to quiet, silent, serene to even clear and bright, glistening and luminous.
  • another pronunciation of 湛 is dān, which means happiness.
• 蓝湛湛 lanzhan(zhan): a phrase that is often used to describe the blue of the boundless sky or the vast seas.
• 忘机 wangji
  • taken as a binome on its own, 忘机 means to not hold any machinations in one’s heart; to not seek fame and wealth; to hold oneself above the conflicts of the world.
  • 忘机 is also the latter half of the chengyu 鸥鸟忘机, which indicates a state of being that is similar to that of seagulls, coexisting with the sun and the sands, entirely forgetting any plots and schemes, not seeking fame and wealth, nor taking the affairs of the world to heart.
    • this chengyu originates in 《列子·黄帝·好鸥鸟者》 / Liezi · The Yellow Emperor · The one who was fond of seagulls: 海上之人有好鸥鸟者，每旦之海上，从鸥鸟游，鸥鸟之至者百住而不止。其父曰：“吾闻鸥鸟皆从汝游，汝取来吾玩之。”明日之海上，鸥鸟舞而不下也。 / Upon that distant beach, there was someone who was very fond of seagulls. Every day at dawn, he would hurry to the beach and play with the seagulls, who would fly in formations which sometimes even contained more than a hundred of them. Afterwards, his father said to him, “I heard that the seagulls all like playing with you. Catch a few and let me play with them too.” The next day, when he went to the beach [with this intention], the seagulls only danced and flew above in the skies, unwilling to come down anymore.
  • 忘机 also appears in the poem 《下终南山过斛斯山人宿置酒》 by renowned Tang dynasty poet 李白 Li Bai: 我醉君复乐，陶然共忘机。 / I get drunk and you are joyful once more; together, happy and carefree, we forget about the affairs of the world.

Hanguang-jun 含光君

• 含光 is a binome that means to conceal radiance and glory inside, and refers to someone who contains their virtue and excellence.
• in a historical context, 含光 is the name of a renowned sword that was forged in the Yin dynasty, considered to be one of the three most powerful swords in Chinese history and mythology. according to legend, when brandished, it is invisible to mortal sight, and it can be used to kill someone as quickly as a flash of light.
  • these three swords were later metaphorised during the Warring States period as symbolic stages of a journey to find the Daoist path, with 含光 being the final stage: 入道合体之状 / the state of being fit to enter the path.
• the honorific 君 jun is only used for those of the Lan clan in MDZS, who are considered to be 人中君子 gentlemen among the people; thus it appears to place an emphasis on one’s strength of character and moral virtue, in comparison to 尊 zun (used for Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao). it’s also possible that it references their noble birth, since both Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao come from more humble origins.

Bichen 避尘

• 避尘 is derived from the saying 避开尘俗, which means to avoid worldly affairs. 尘 chen / dust is a metaphor for worldly affairs, and you see it in binomes like 凡尘 to refer to the mortal and secular world.

edited to include links to my other name meta posts:

• vol 1: jiang family
• vol 2: nie brothers, lan xichen + jin guangyao
• vol 4: more about wei wuxian
• vol 5: lan sizhui