obtained on march 2, 2021, HU TAO, the eccentric spirit of liyue, was my third ever exclusive 5 ★ main.
HU TAO is a character that i resonate very strongly with, as her connection with butterflies, death, and childhood trauma all wrapped up in a carefree, humorous, yet contemplative and poetic personality, aligns closely with my own experiences and general outlook on life (and death.)
unafraid of the unknown, unapologetically herself amidst a society which fears her individuality, and of course, one of the strongest elemental units in genshin impact, HU TAO is undeniably unmatched. to this day, she remains my favourite genshin impact character of all time.
LATIN : ❝ butterfly of Charon. ❞
HU TAO's constellation, "papilio charontis" is a beautiful representation of her overall characterization and design. generally, butterflies represent the concept of freedom and rebirth in many asian cultures.
specifically, the chinese characters for "butterfly" (蝴蝶; "hú dié") reinforce this concept of longevity beyond mortal life. not only is the first character (蝴; "hú") a homophone of the chinese character for "good fortune" and "blessing" (福; "fu"), which can represent the good luck in encountering a butterfly, but the second character (蝶; "dié") is also a homophone for the chinese character meaning "repeat" (疊; "dié"). combined, we can conclude that 蝴蝶, the butterfly, symbolizes continuance of freedom, joy, and beauty beyond death.
as a filipino, we share the belief that coming across a butterfly symbolizes being visited by the spirits of the departed. butterflies, then, provide us a sense of reassurance that those who have moved on are still involved in our earthly lives, even if their reincarnated form is not that of a human's.
this is all to say that the butterfly's embrace and its closeness to death do not define death as an ending, but rather, a metamorphosis into a different plane of life, similar to the transformative nature of larvae into free flying creatures. the cyclical life of butterflies mirrors our own, as humans. we all share the same fate of the inevitable ending of one phase of life, which allows us to evolve and begin another, freer stage of life.
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HU TAO's role in liyue as a descendant of the hu family's funeral business makes her an essential figure in guiding spirits into the peace of the afterlife. as she is the sole proprietor of wangsheng funeral parlor after her father (the 76th director) was taken by the calamity and her grandfather (the 75th director) passed away from illness, HU TAO learned to accept her position as the 77th director rather early in her life. her first story quest, "papilio charontis" takes the player through the emotional and physical turmoil that the border between life and death can bring upon the natural balance of teyvat.
to be added . . .
to be added . . .
