The so-called 'Liyue Big Three' of Xiao, Ganyu, Hu Tao is a possible reference to three of the biggest victims of Zhu during the Ming dynasty. Xiao is a nod to Fang Xiaoru. Ganyu is a nod to Lan Yu (Yelan is also a nod to Lan Yu). Hu Tao is a nod to Hu Weiyong.
It has been observed that Xiao (Alatus) shares the same birthday (April 17) with a certain legendary banker of the USA from the Gilded Age. Also, Morax appears to be a reference to several things in American finance. Put together, the role of Xiao as the guardian yaksha of Liyue, the protector of Morax's land rises to another level of meaning.
When Morax does something good, give the credit to Morax. If something bad happens, blame it on zhongli.
But on the topic of finance, the fact that Morax, the inventor of the universal currency Mora, has a shield that shreds all elements universally could hint that control over money has the power to solve all kinds of problems. The game designers may or may not have designed Morax with this in mind (it may have been unintended), but when all of these elements come together, this kind of message pops up in the minds of some audience members.
This is not to encourage corruption, bribery, or any fraudulous or criminal activity. Rather, it is to say that finance and money impacts almost everything in the world, no matter which industry, country, career, etc. and those who dominate the financial sector can wield tremendous power over the rest of the economy and even world. Money is a kind of universal lubricant that powers the economy and world engine, and wealth is the foundation of a rich and prosperous civilization. In Chinese, there is a saying 有钱有权 or with money comes power.
And that is why one of the key pillars backing USA hegemony is the USA dollar and its control over the global financial system. Ever since Bretton Woods and the dismantling of the gold standard, the USA dollar has transcended to a kind of omnipotent status, where it is used to denominate transactions of goods all over the world, most notably (or notoriously) for oil, and that is where the term petrodollar arises. So one key to why the USA empire still exists is because the rest of the world needs to use the USA dollar for trade, and this gives the USA undue influence over everybody else. The USA can abuse this to make a ton of money from seigniorage. Other pillars to USA hegemony are the military-industrial complex, technological innovation, and immigration (every year the USA gets a talent pool from the rest of the world moving in to boost the population and economy).
But that does not mean the USA is invincible in anything. The USA has been defeated in the Korean, Vietnam, and Afghanistan wars. Other countries are catching up in terms of technological innovation. And lastly, more countries are starting to move away from the US dollar and trade in other currencies such as the Chinese yuan, Russian ruble, etc.
However, the US dollar hegemony still appears solid like a rock, emblematic of the geo element. It is not like the US dollar will disappear from the world any time soon. Such a thing might take 100 years or more to happen, but we are not at that stage. But the grand historical trend is that the USA is an empire in decline. It has become the most powerful nation in the world after WW2, but its apex has passed. Other countries are getting richer and more powerful. This is not a Thucydides trap per se, but more of a historical trend that will gradually happen when one bides their time. As shown by the wars in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the USA is no longer being trusted as a universal arbiter of peace, but rather a warmonger and bringer of destruction. And so perhaps even the sturdiest of rocks are fated to erode over time, just like Azhdaha has over the millennia.
In his first story quest, we meet an archaeologist named Wanyan (also the name of the ruling house of the Jurchen Jin 金 dynasty). We learn that the God of Salt, Havria, was murdered by her own people as she was too weak to defend them during the Archon War. We also beat up a Fatui named Kliment.
The people encased in salt are reminiscent of the splicers from Bioshock.
Azhdaha (اژدها) refers to a kind of dragon in Iranian mythology. In Genshin, Azhdaha debuted as a boss in 1.5 (the yin / evil side reincarnated as Jiu and the yang / benevolent side reincarnated as Kun Jun). In the game, Azhdaha is translated as 若陀龙王 in Chinese. Here 若陀 retuo could be a transliteration of the Sanskrit term jñatā (ज्ञता), meaning knowledge, befitting of Sumeru, the nation of knowledge. The fact that Azhdaha dwells beneath the dragon queller, near the Chasm and Sumeru, reinforces this connection between Liyue and Sumeru via the ancient Aryan and Buddhist culture.
Knowledge is sometimes translated as jñāna (ज्ञान) in Sanskrit, transliterated as 若那 rena in Chinese. The Chinese word for knowledge is 智 zhi. The words jnana, zhi are similar to / cognate with gignoskein (Greek), znat (Russian), know (English), knowledge, gnosis, etc.
The Azhdaha creature is described more in Persian literature such as the Shahnameh. In many stories, Azhdaha was a creature sealed by god for bringing terror upon the people and then slain by a warrior. In some accounts, after Azhdaha was killed, its body was sent to provide food for the people of Gog and Magog. Eskandar (Alexander the Great), Rostam, and several Sasanian warriors, etc. are some of the heroes that defeated / slayed Azhdaha. This lore overlaps a lot with the background and cultural inspiration of Sumeru.
Genshin's twist on the tale is that Azhdaha is actually an old acquaintance of Morax.
Azhdaha is the king of the vishaps. Vishap (Վիշապ) means dragon in Armenian, and Armenia's history is tied to that of Persia. They are usually associated with water in Armenian mythology. The Armenian language is related to Persian, and the Armenian script descends from ancient Greek script, so perhaps Armenia could be said to be tied to the history of Sumeru as well.
As discussed in Teyvat, the mountains and craggy peaks of west Liyue are inspired by Zhangjiakou. Evidentally, Liyue harbor appears inspired by one of the many port cities along China's coast (particularly in southern China).
Xigu Antiques is a shop in Liyue. Xigu (希古) was an alias used by Fang Xiaoru, a scholar of the Ming dynasty. The Jiangxue commission could refer to the poem Jiangxue written by Tang dynasty scholar Liu Zongyuan (柳宗元).
In this quest we follow Yanbo to beat up treasure hoarders, including Zhao Tieniu. Whoever designed this quest and used actual names of people should make a quest where Emperor Han Wudi Liu Che, Consort Wei Zifu, or General Li Guangli get beaten up as well: as in they get turned into treasure hoarders, and we have to beat them up.
This quest is one of many reasons why version 2.6 is one of the worst versions in Genshin's history.
