Tian Guan Cifu (Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: TGCF

Japanese: 天官赐福

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Information

Type: Novel

Volumes: 6

Chapters: Unknown

Status: Finished

Published: Feb 4, 2021 to Mar 31, 2022

Genres: Action, Adventure, Boys Love, Fantasy

Themes: Historical, Mythology

Serialization: None

Authors: Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (Story)

Statistics

Score: 9.00¹ (scored by 7,492 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #13²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1062

Members: 19,580

Favorites: 1,490

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9.00

Ranked #13Popularity #1062Members 19,580

NovelMo Xiang Tong Xiu (Story)

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Volumes: /6

Chapters: /?

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Synopsis

Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedication and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise, can also fall...and fall he does, cast from the Heavens again and again and banished to the mortal realm.

Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time. Now only a lowly scrap collector, he is dispatched to wander the earthly realm to take on tasks appointed by the heavens to pay back debts and maintain his divinity. Aided by old friends and foes alike, and graced with the company of a mysterious young man with whom he feels an instant connection, Xie Lian must confront the horrors of his past in order to dispel the curse of his present.

(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

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Background

Tian Guan Cifu was a web novel released on Jinjiang Wenxue Cheng from June 16, 2017, to February 25, 2018, and published in print in Taiwan by Pinsin Publishing from February 4, 2021, to March 31, 2022.

The series has been published in English as Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu by Seven Seas Entertainment under the Danmei imprint from December 14, 2021, to November 28, 2023, and in a new deluxe hardcover edition since December 3, 2024.

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More characters
Characters

Hua, Cheng

Main

Xie, Lian

Main

Shi, Qingxuan

Supporting

Mu, Qing

Supporting

Ling, Wen

Supporting

Ming, Yi

Supporting

Fu, Yao

Supporting

Pei, Ming

Supporting

Qi, Rong

Supporting

Nan, Feng

Supporting

Reviews

Jul 21, 2022

ApollonAphetor

Recommended

Spoiler free review (besides mentioning arcs if that counts for you)
Preface: Before I start, I read this book in my first year of having chronic pain and it really helped me with the hardest months. So it’s going to be a fairly rose tinted review.

Story:
It’s a character focused story, which I do have a liking for. But even I could see in retrospect, worldbuilding was lacking. I funnily liked the lack of any character development (maybe if you count the flashback arcs). Because it reads like you’re being put at the end of their whole life journeys even though they’re immortals. Romance takes a BIG ... center place over a lot and I’m not that ashamed to admit that I liked it. I’ve seen too many sad, short lived and out of focuse gay romance. It’s a enormous book, luckily I like big books but that has a lot of drawbacks for this particular story. Because there where many chances to make place for more established worldbuilding, unresolved character journeys. Looking at YOU black water arc! We were this close to perfection but no, we just got a impactful scene and none of the characters got a single moment to even reflect or process? Still one of the best arcs which stands out because the side characters and their journeys are a great selling point for this novel.

But you may ask me if have so many gripes with the story; why give it such a high score? Mainly because I like spending time with idealized depictions of romance and men in love with each other. The setting in ancient fantasy China. Their fluff and domestic moments are just so sweet and over top weird in an endearing way. I just couldn’t stop giggling. So hence the big score

Characters:
I touched upon this one in the story part. XL and HC are not the best main characters, let’s be honest. XL is, sometimes, a bumbling buffoon who is ‘written’ as sharp, badly executed. I still kind of related with him, especially during book 2 & 4. Having that talented good (and privileged) start in life and beautiful ideals, only to fall miserably and try and fail a lot to get on the good path again and be a more humble person. And HC is annoying to everyone except XL for some reason, you can be neutral and have friends at least it. That doesn’t help him with seeming obsessed in a weird way, when you read it outside of context. But in my view the story makes it so it’s mostly justified. XL and HC are kind of overpowered, which is fine, but please have them struggle or have some flaws that get really in the way. Not just ‘haha I’m so bad at cooking look at me!’.

However, I love the insights in the second, 4th book and side stories we get. They have enough dept for a blooming romance and being cute together. But for a novel like this drags it down in the other departments of MXTX’s storytelling here. The side characters are better written and fleshed out. Which is great! But when romance time is upon us, they get booted out. Shout out to Ling Wen and the Wind master. Just exceptional, we got some depth over here. Which XL and HC really need. Especially HC, I love the dude and his romantic gestures and quips. But… who are you and what do you contribute to the story besides being handsome and knowing really specific things when XL gets send on a mission. Would have loved some POV or even the man explaining himself some more.

Overall:

Despite many gripes, I loved the shit out of it and devoured it as if I haven’t eaten something all day. The characters should’ve gotten more fleshed out. I did love the romance so much! I enjoy big books so that’s always a win for me despite the flaws it can contribute to overall narrative. I like spending time with my cast of characters. That’s my justification. I’m making my way sort of backwards and am currently in book 3 of scum villain and I’ll read MDZS after. I can already see that her other work(s) have a more balanced narrative. Still TGCF will hold a special place in my heart for being some goofy fluff with some angst and helping me through my chronic pain and severe mental health issues I had back when I read it. I’d recommend this book to people who value a cute romance with cast of well written side characters. And for people who won’t take worldbuilding and background(stories) at a high level. Thumbs up from the hopeless romantic here!

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Nov 18, 2022

Not_The_Alex

Mixed Feelings

Spoiler

This book is long. Very long. It clocks in at around 1,000,000 words in the English translation, including all of the extras. It is formatted a lot more like a road or adventure novel, or even a narrative within a narrative akin to the Mahābhārata than a stereotypical romance novel, and while it's core IS about the romantic relationship between the protagonist Xie Lian and the love interest Hua Cheng, the romance serves a thematic function that carries through the novel: the love of one person, the belief of one person, the care of one person is enough to make life worth living. In a ... narrative where the failings and foibles of literal gods expose them to be as petty, corrupt, foolish, and fallible as humans, where the weight of expectation and self-denial for "the good of everyone else" can LITERALLY be crushing and soul destroying, the idea that it's the small actions and willingness to try and help the person next to you is enough is pretty impactful imo. That small moments can change your life forever, for good or ill, and can have a profound affect on someone else. It's about desire vs expectation, letting people follow their own paths, for good or ill, vs trying to take responsibility for fixing the whole world, and committing to the illusion of righteousness and importance vs doing things that materially help other people's lives.

It's also about how embracing your romantic and sexual desires can set you free and be a source of strength, rather than being something you must repress in order to gain standing and power. The romance isn't meant to be realistic, or ideal -- tbh, none of MXTX's relationships are. They're about what works for two particular people, and how their weirdness lines up with each other's to settle down in compatible cringe for the rest of their lives. In the case of HuaLian, the inherent aspect of worship in their dynamic and their codependency would be bonkers for a real couple. In this case, they're a God and a Ghost, the "rest of their lives" is pretty much forever, and the all-consuming devotion doesn't feel out of place when working on that kind of a timescale. I also found it pretty refreshing that most of the conflict wasn't between the main lovers -- they have their misunderstandings, but the core conflicts in the novel are about the personal internal beliefs that hold someone back or hurt them in order to live up to the expectations of others (or those they've imposed on themselves to be A Good God/Son/Prince/Leader/etc). Love gives the strength to set someone free!

The present - flashback - present - flashback - present nature of the story I found makes for an impactful narrative, because things introduced early on in the narrative become more poignant and are given new context as the story unfolds. I also tend to like in media res starts, so YMMV. Are there parts that could have been cut that would have left the core themes intact? Probably. As a webnovel, there are very different pacing norms than in typical western published novels, and if you havent read very many of them, its a definite adjustment. There's also a lot of Chinese folklore and references to Daoism in the novel that aren't obvious to a non-Chinese audience automatically. (Associations of yin and yang energies, many festivals, monsters and supernatural elements). There's also some narrative elements that are more typical to chinese works (i.e., Xie Lian has a lot of interior asides that are more snarky and comedic, and that's an intentional narrative framing device common to chinese media in order to point out ridiculous/absurd things, rather than the author intentionally portraying "judginess" as part of XL's character. see more here: https://www.tumblr.com/elberlight/682322476548620288/hi-i-hope-youre-feeling-alright-i-just-wanted)

There has been a LOT of discussion about the orientalism/racism in the novel, especially in the Banyue arc, and the artist for the Manhua (the comic adaptation) has come under fire for colorism. (Banyue means crescent moon, if the implied association isn't clear). YMMV on whether or not that is enough to keep you away, particularly considering the CCP's detention of Uyghur people in Western China.

I loved this book, and I know many people who felt similarly. However, it's not for everyone. The narrative structure is even different than MXTX's other works, and can be offputting. Additionally, it was written for a mainland chinese audience, and it shows. I think if you're willing to do a little research and keep an open mind, it's a great story.

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Jun 2, 2022

CandleHoarder

Not Recommended

Spoiler

I really wanted to like this book.

As a bisexual man starved for representation where a gay romance is the focus, and the gay characters aren't the sexless parents of a side character or an issue episode, when I saw the author of MDZS and SVSSS had made another story, I was cautiously optimistic, is the thing. BL anime and manga had been letting me down pretty bad at the time, and I kept hearing people talking online about how good TGCF was. That it was a sweet and pure romantic epic, with a deep, twisty core mystery like MDZS. I want to be clear. I ...

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Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu
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