Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation
Wei Wuxian's adoptive brotherHeir of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, Jiang Cheng (courtesy name Jiang Wanyin) grew up alongside Wei Wuxian like a brother. After his family is destroyed, he rebuilds his sect alone and becomes one of the most feared leaders in the cultivation world.
Personality
Proud, hot-tempered and gnawed by a sense of inferiority toward Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng never expresses what he feels. His harshness hides real loyalty to his family and a pain that never healed, making him one of the novel's most human and most debated characters.
Powers & abilities
He wields the sword Sandu and the whip Zidian, which can strike the soul of a possessed person and force it out of a body. For thirteen years he relentlessly hunts demonic cultivators, convinced Wei Wuxian will one day return.
History
Son of Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan, Jiang Cheng sees Lotus Pier, his sect's seat, wiped out by the Wen clan. He loses his parents, then his golden core, before regaining it in circumstances he will only understand much later. He rebuilds the Jiang Sect and raises his nephew Jin Ling after his sister's death.
Relationships
His relationship with Wei Wuxian, made of brotherly love, jealousy and resentment, is one of the most complex in the story. He adored his elder sister, Jiang Yanli, and transfers that affection to his nephew Jin Ling, whom he treats with gruff severity.
Key moments
- The fall of Lotus Pier, which destroys his family.
- His stubborn thirteen-year hunt for demonic cultivators.
- The final revelation about his golden core, which upends his view of Wei Wuxian.
In the adaptations
The donghua and the drama The Untamed, where he is played by Wang Zhuocheng, give him a strong presence. The novel goes deeper into his resentment and guilt.
Did you know?
- His nickname, Sandu Shengshou, takes the name of his sword, Sandu, the "three poisons" of Buddhism.
- He is one of the characters fans debate most, split between those who defend him and those who resent him.
Our take
Jiang Cheng is irritating, unfair and yet deeply moving. He is the character who gives Wei Wuxian's tragedy its family dimension, and his last scene remains one of the strongest in the novel.
— Spidermas, for Donghua Fan