Baizhu, the owner of the Bubu Pharmacy and the guardian of Qiqi, has been a highly anticipated playable character in Genshin Impact. He was first introduced to players as a non-playable character during the Liyue Arc story quests, where he stood out for being the first and only character with a confirmed Dendro Vision and a visible vision in his design. This hinted that the Dendro element would eventually become playable, and Baizhu's release would be delayed until then, despite being a Liyue character. As a result, Baizhu has become one of the most long-awaited characters, especially since his design has been available in the game for some time.
Many fans of Genshin Impact speculated that Baizhu would be a healer, and this has indeed come true. However, there are many other hidden details in his design that players can discover by completing his story quest and raising their friendship level with him. So, while Baizhu may have been a long time coming, there is plenty for players to discover and enjoy now that he has finally arrived in the game.
6 Baizhu Is Not Physically Strong
Despite being a pharmacist with extensive medical knowledge, and his role as a healer when it comes to his gameplay, Baizhu is known to have an incurable disease that makes him physically quite frail. Interestingly, this trait cannot be healed by his own medicinal remedies.
In fact, Qiqi even states in her voice lines that as a zombie, she is in better physical shape than him. Consequently, Baizhu delegates many of his tasks, such as herb collection, to Qiqi, while the assembly of medicines is overseen by an NPC known as Herbalist Gui. This allows Baizhu to focus on his strength - his medical expertise.
5 Baizhu's Medicine Always Tastes Bitter
Players who are familiar with the commissions in Liyue might have encountered the "Good Medicine Tastes Bitter" commission, where players have to give an NPC child an almond tofu to help her take her medicine, as she complains that it tastes terrible. While some might assume that this is simply because children tend to dislike the taste of medicine, Baizhu's official character introduction states that his medicine is, in fact, highly potent and extremely bitter.
This is also confirmed by playable characters such as Keqing and Xiangling, who have mentioned its bitter taste. However, players can take solace in the fact that Baizhu's specialty dish, Heat-Quelling Soup, is not a medicine and has a sweet taste, as Baizhu has added sugar to it to make it more palatable for the traveler.
4 Baizhu Pursues Eternal Life
Baizhu's medical expertise stems from his life-long pursuit of finding eternal life, driven in part by his physical weakness. His interest in caring for Qiqi also stems from his desire for eternal life, although he does genuinely care for her. This conflicting ideology is what causes clashes with Hu Tao, who believes in the natural cycle of life and death as transformation.
In addition to his character lore and voicelines, other aspects of Baizhu's design also reflect his pursuit of eternal life. His constellation name, Lagenaria, is named after a gourd that was believed to be used in the elixir of immortality in a Chinese myth about Li Tieguai, an immortal figure who carried the gourd to cure others' illnesses. Furthermore, Baizhu's official titles in many languages, such as "Beyond Mortality" in English and "Healthy Condition" and "Harmonious" in Chinese and Japanese, align well with his pursuit of eternal life.
3 Baizhu's Name Has Deep Meanings
Baizhu's name is believed to be fitting to his personality as a Liyue-based character. One of the possible meanings behind his name is bái zhú 白术, which refers to a plant root native to China known as Atractylodes macrocephala. This plant is often used as a herbal remedy or in making medicine, which aligns with Baizhu's profession as a pharmacist with extensive medical knowledge.
Another possible source for his name is Bai Suzhen, a Chinese mythological figure also known as Madam White Snake who sought to become immortal. This aligns with Baizhu's pursuit of knowledge and immortality. Additionally, Baizhu is often seen with Changsheng, a white snake, further emphasizing the connection to Bai Suzhen.
2 Changsheng Is A Significant Figure In Baizhu's Design
Baizhu's companion, Changsheng, has a name that aligns well with Baizhu's pursuit of eternal life and longevity. The name, which means "long life" in Chinese, also has a connection to the legend of The White Snake, where the white snake, Bai Suzhen, travels with an herbalist and helps him cure patients as a mythological spirit.
Although the story is different from Baizhu and Changsheng's relationship, there are significant references that show the developers and character designers of Genshin Impact put meticulous effort into character design long before the planned release of the characters.
1 Baizhu's Birthday Is 25 April
Baizhu's birthday falls on April 25, which corresponds to the earth sign in Western astrology and is a fitting match with his Dendro Vision. Unfortunately, like Nahida and some other characters, his birthday is just a short time before his initial release, which means that fans will have to wait almost a year to receive a special birthday letter from him. While there doesn't seem to be any particular significance to April 25 in relation to Baizhu's character, some players may be interested to know that this date is recognized as World Malaria Day, acknowledging the worldwide efforts to combat malaria.
Genshin Impact is now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.