61-490: Raiden Shogun ( Chinese : 雷电将军 ; pinyin : Léidiàn Jiāngjūn ) is a character from Genshin Impact , a 2020 action role-playing gacha game developed by miHoYo . Added in a 2021 update for the game, she was initially a boss enemy for players to fight, and then later released as a playable character. Within the game's story, she is the ruling Archon of the game's Inazuma region. Consisting of two separate beings,
122-400: A polearm called "Engulfing Lightning". Merchandise of the character has also been released, including a nendoroid and a small replica statue. The character was well received upon release, with fans noting appreciation for the nostalgic aspects of the character. After her reveal trailer, mixed reactions followed regarding her animations, in particular her sword draw animation where the blade
183-497: A card duel and defeating her. Teased in version 2.0 of the game with the introduction of the nation of Inazuma and its related storyline, Raiden Shogun made her in-game debut in July 2021, and was confirmed as an upcoming playable character the following day in promotional material released by miHoYo. In August, miHoYo published content teasing further Story Quests that would explore her background, along with allowing players to obtain
244-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
305-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
366-664: A different course of governance, due to her programming the puppet to resist any future change. Eventually, Shogun is defeated and decides to repeal her policies, adopting a more forward-thinking governance instead. As a playable character, Raiden Shogun's attacks are designed to buff nearby allies when she attacks with her "Baleful Light" Elemental skill, dealing "Electro" element damage to nearby opponents while causing said allies to do additional Electro-based damage as an area of effect attack upon hitting foes. Meanwhile, her Elemental Burst skill, "Secret Art - Musou Shinsetsu" allows her to do increased damage and gain defensive properties for
427-653: A fan above her ear, while additional flowers and a garter are strapped to her left leg and thigh respectively. Raiden Shogun is voiced by Ju Huahua in Chinese, Miyuki Sawashiro in Japanese, and Park Ji-yoon in Korean. Huahua and Sawashiro in particular are known for portraying mature characters, but were also the previous voice actors for Raiden Mei, a conscious decision on the developer's part. Meanwhile, her English voice actress, Anne Yatco, initially auditioned for almost all
488-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
549-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
610-518: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
671-506: A sense of someone "who carries the dreams of her people with her". To this end, her playable version can buff teammates, intended to reflect an adaptation the game's "visions" and "wishes" mechanics. Standing approximately 5 ft 5 in (166 cm) tall, Raiden Shogun is a woman with, pale skin, bluish purple hair that forms a long braid, and bangs above her eyes. Raiden Shogun's design takes elements from Japanese culture , specifically Raijin , Japan's god of lightning, reflected not only in
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#1732791483540732-443: A short period of time. The strength of these effects relies on the number of "Resolve" stacks Raiden Shogun has acquired during combat; Resolve is gained when allies use their own Elemental Burst skills or pick up "Elemental Orb" items, and are spent upon activating Musou Shinsetsu. Outside of regular gameplay, Raiden Shogun is also available for a card for the in-game " Genius Invokation " trading card game , obtained by inviting her to
793-584: A significant amount of time with multiple teams towards Raiden Shogun's development. In all appearances the character is voiced by Anne Yatco in English, Park Ji-yoon in Korean, Ju Huahua in Chinese, and Miyuki Sawashiro in Japanese. Raiden Shogun was positively received upon release, with players creating memes based on her portrayal and inability to cook , and has been one of the highest revenue generating characters for miHoYo. This has led to several studies to understand her appeal, some of which attributed it to
854-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
915-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
976-446: Is manifested from her exposed cleavage. Meanwhile, others made light of her inability to cook through fan art and memes, some of which portrayed her servant Kujou Sara as the "wife" in their relationship trying to ensure that Raiden did not starve. Kotaku ' s Sisi Jiang heavily discussed her character, feeling that while she was an arrogant character with commanding air, she also had a protective personality underneath and regarded
1037-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
1098-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
1159-416: Is revealed to be Raiden Shogun, a combination of two characters: Raiden Ei, Makoto's twin sister, and Shogun , a bionic puppet which she created. Also known as Beelzebul, Ei hid her consciousness inside the puppet to avoid another tragedy, secluding herself from the outside world. As part of the game's "Transient Dreams" questline, Ei comes into conflict with the puppet's programming after attempting to adopt
1220-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
1281-482: The Archon ruler of Inazuma. Initially encountered as a stern and authoritarian ruler, in line with her goal of "pursuing eternity ," she enacted various policies to consolidate her control over the nation, including the isolationist " Sakoku Decree." During the course of the game's story it is revealed that the actual "Baal", whose real name is Makoto, was killed 500 years prior to the game's main story. The fake "Baal"
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#17327914835401342-670: The Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
1403-541: The Genshin impact ' s aesthetics" further emphasized the significance of the Japanese aesthetics on her popularity in both the game and community social media correspondence, noting the use of elements representative of her character so players could recognize their significance, and cited her as an example of "spreading of a cultural visual pattern through video games media". Meanwhile, Indonesian professors Rafi Zikrul Fakhri Sangadji and Arie Prasetio in their own study of
1464-452: The noutou . Designed as both a boss and a playable character for the game, her boss fight was designed to deny players the use of their regular attacks and skills to help illustrate her immense power as an Archon, while also creating a sense of "oppression and despair" for the player. At the same time, they wanted to give players a sense they could gradually overcome the boss fight through perseverance. Meanwhile, they also wanted to give her
1525-445: The "Ei" element of her character, feeling that she was "irresponsible" for creating Shogun as a puppet to shirk her responsibilities as a god. While she acknowledged that the in-game story felt rushed and particularly weak, it did not justify how she acted or was portrayed, and while subsequent quests worked to soften her character, "no amount of fluff content can fix her personality." Lazic further argued it would probably be best to leave
1586-459: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
1647-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
1708-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
1769-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
1830-415: The available female characters being added to Genshin Impact at the time. As the character has two different aspects to her personality, she portrayed the "Shogun" aspect as "cold and unemotional, but not emotionless" and "not a robot". Meanwhile, the "Raiden" aspect she found easier, portraying her more naturally but also keeping in mind her aspect as an immortal ruler, but noted she was directed not to make
1891-529: The character as is, rather than to try and explore a redemption arc. Meanwhile, Raiden Shogun's design was the subject of discussion in several published works. Sasha Wang in an article for The Stanford Daily praised the attention to detail in her design, illustrating both her role as an antagonist with how it contrasts to the other archon characters in the game, and how the symbolism in her attire established her visually as an "absolute leader" according to Japanese clothing customs. The paper "Preliminary study into
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1952-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
2013-409: The character sound "too mature". She added she enjoyed voicing women who were "large and in charge" after being heavily impressed with the character's first cutscene prior to dubbing her, and rounded the vowels in a "light British" accent to sound like "a Queen from nowhere in particular." Appearing in action role-playing gacha game Genshin Impact in July 2021, the character is introduced as Baal,
2074-430: The character with more mixed reception. Siliconera ' s Jenni Lada felt that while earlier attempts at portraying Ei's character were lacking, a recurring theme of many characters in the title she noticed, later quests involving her offered some depth and a form of "redemption" and gave her hope such treatment would be expanded to the rest of the game's cast. Tamara Lazic of Anime Corner stated particular disdain for
2135-439: The character's design was heavily influenced by another character they had done in a previous title, Raiden Mei from Honkai Impact 3rd , utilized to help give the character a nostalgic feel to players as both had similar demeanor and electric-based attacks. During development, Raiden Shogun went through multiple modifications, with miHoYo noting that they spent the most time refining her out of any character at that time, to ensure
2196-425: The character's name but also her abilities. Her clothing consists of a purple kimono resembling a yukata , held by an obi around her waist, while mitsudomoe symbols are featured prominently in her design. The kimono forms a miniskirt after her waist, with long purple stockings covering her legs and thighs, while black sleeves extend to her fingers. On the right side of her head are several blue violet flowers with
2257-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
2318-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
2379-476: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
2440-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
2501-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
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2562-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
2623-511: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
2684-483: The heavy Japanese influences of her design, while others focused on the character's sex appeal . She has also been discussed in regards to the quality of the game's story, and in criticism of its localization. Her story arc as a whole has been praised by some for its depth and portrayal of both grief, as well as the conflict between emotion and logic, but there has been criticism aimed at its handling and portrayal of Ei's personality. Created for Genshin Impact by miHoYo,
2745-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
2806-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
2867-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
2928-453: The multiple teams involved were all working with a shared idea of how to proceed forward. Her combat animations took influence from Kendo swordsmanship, paying careful attention to her upper and lower body posture as well as sword position to portray her as "serene, dignified and exquisite." In particular her ultimate attack is based on the postures of hassō-no-kamae , jōdan-no-kamae , and gedan-no-kamae , as well as movements such as
2989-482: The protagonist "in a motherly or sisterly way." However Jiang voiced disdain for her changed portrayal in the English localization, which they felt tried too hard to portray her as a " girlboss ", and further questioned why she seemed to be the only female character with any agency in the game's storyline. They also questioned her strict adherence to logical thinking, feeling it clashed with the characterization they had come to know while playing as her. However, they enjoyed
3050-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
3111-457: The puppet body "Shogun" and the consciousness of Archon Raiden Ei ( Chinese : 雷电影 ; pinyin : Léidiàn Yǐng ), she originally acts as an authoritarian and stern ruler. As the game's story unfolds the two aspects come into conflict with one another, and in the aftermath Raiden Shogun adopts a more forward thinking approach to governing her nation. Drawing elements from a character they had developed for Honkai Impact 3rd , miHoYo devoted
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#17327914835403172-472: The questions it raised regarding artificial intelligence in the form of Raiden as a puppet, and found Ei's assertion of being the "actual" Raiden fascinating. While the character was the antagonist of the "Transient Dreams" questline, they stated that her "opposition is presented as principled and admirable", helping to redefine the player's understanding of the game's world and gave "one of the most realistic portrayals of grief" they had seen. Other outlets met
3233-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
3294-580: The sales ranking for mobile games in 42 countries and regions. A commentator for HK01 attributed this to her character design, widespread advertising, high player expectations, and the discounts of the game's one-year anniversary. This record exceeded all previous banners until her rerun in March 2022, which resulted in the game topping iOS charts in over 20 countries and regions. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write
3355-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
3416-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
3477-402: The series suggested that her large breasts and "sensual figure" were designed to play a large part of her appeal, particularly in China where such flew in the face of regulatory standards regarding depictions of sexuality. In September 2021, during the week of her banner's release, the game generated $ 150 million in revenue, far exceeding that of the whole preceding month. Genshin Impact topped
3538-497: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
3599-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
3660-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
3721-464: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
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