On December 26, 2021, the developers of Genshin Impact broadcasted a special program for the game’s 2.4 update on YouTube. The livestream was over 30 minutes long and showcased new content, characters, and even special codes that players could use to get free goodies.
One of the characters who got screentime during this broadcast was Yun Jin, a 4-star character and the head of the Yun-Han Opera Troupe in Liyue. During her introduction, she sang a short verse in the style of Chinese opera and was met with mixed responses from Genshin Impact players.
The Genshin Impact Community’s Split Reception
One common aspect of Chinese opera, which has multiple variants across the country’s regions, is that the singers often perform their songs with strong projection and high tonality. This is precisely how Yun Jin was introduced during her character segment, to which many watchers responded with either confusion, surprise, or laughter, including some popular Genshin Impact streamers.
These reactions spurred other members of the community to speak out, emphasizing that it was rude to react to the character’s singing with laughter or expletives. Others even argued that it was racist to do so since Yun Jin was representing a lesser-known aspect of Chinese culture.
Since then, a number of the Genshin Impact streamers who reacted to Yun Jin’s singing have released videos to talk about the situation. Some went into detail about how it’s okay to dislike Yun Jin’s style of singing, especially since it’s so uncommon, but that it isn’t okay to mock it. As for the streamers who faced backlash, they spoke out against those who were calling them racist, stating that it’s perfectly acceptable to be taken aback by Yun Jin’s unique style of singing.
How miHoYo Created Genshin Impact’s Yun Jin
It’s worth noting that when miHoYo first started creating Yun Jin’s character, the developers knew that Chinese opera would be an integral part of her personality. The developer studied various aspects of Chinese opera and used these to build on Yun Jin’s animations and overall design. In miHoYo’s behind-the-scenes video for the character, it was also stated that miHoYo wanted Yun Jin to introduce a niche Chinese art form to a larger audience — and this seems to be a success.
Now that Yun Jin’s character has been released, Genshin Impact players have played through her questline. Many have expressed how much they enjoyed it and her singing, and some have even said that she served as a gateway for them to learn more about Chinese opera. This is a clear sign that miHoYo has done what it set out to do with Yun Jin.
This renewed interest is all the more relevant as the art of Chinese opera was almost wiped out following a widespread event known as the Cultural Revolution. Today, even the local government struggles to popularize it within the country. Despite that, all it took was the release of a single character to get people from all around the world talking about Chinese opera. It only goes to show how much influence game developers have, and how important it is for consumers to keep an open mind about art forms and cultures different from their own.
At the end of the day, there’s no issue with being surprised about something unexpected (which Yun Jin’s singing certainly was for many), and neither is it racist for a person to dislike a type of art that isn’t to their taste. However, there is something to be said about the importance of trying to understand another’s culture, and making fun of Yun Jin’s singing or reacting to it with a barrage of expletives shows a failure to do so.
Genshin Impact is out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5 with a Switch version in development.
