Zibai (Chinese: 兹白; pinyin: Zībái) is a character from the video game Genshin Impact, developed by miHoYo. Zibai was released in version "Luna IV" of the game in early 2026. In the story, she is a divine figure connected to Celestia (a mysterious island floating above Teyvat, from which Teyvat is ruled), the three moon goddesses of Teyvat, and the ancient kingdom of Lang-Gan, where she serves as a guardian of agriculture and the harvest. After defying Celestia in an effort to save Lang-Gan, her soul is shattered into three different incarnations. The game's protagonist, the Traveler, must recover these fragments of her soul before they disappear, allowing Zibai to be reborn whole. Her story arc emphasizes her transition from an aloof divine role toward a more human sense of responsibility and sacrifice. Zibai's design draws on the mythical creature of the same name described in the Chinese historical text Yi Zhou Shu, combining colorful imagery with horse-like details. Critics praised the depth of the historical and mythological references related to Zibai, while an accompanying poem called "Odes of Lang - Zibai" prompted discussion among players about traditional Chinese culture.
Design and voice acting Zibai's name comes from a divine beast recorded in the pre-Qin dynasty text Yi Zhou Shu. Described as resembling a white horse with saw-like teeth that fed on tigers and leopards, the creature served as the basis for Zibai's noble and imposing design. The character 兹 (lit. 'this; hereby; herewith') originally refers to luxuriant vegetation, echoing her role as a god of the state who protects her people's farming and harvests. Her identity combines several cultural aspects: she is an angel of the Heavenly Principles, a messenger of the three moon goddesses, and the state deity of the ancient kingdom of Lang-Gan. Her storyline incorporates the Daoist concept of "severing the Three Corpses", dividing her shattered soul into the Upper Corpse God (chaos), the Middle Corpse God (desire) and Lower Corpse God (humanity), forming a narrative transition between divinity and humanity. Visually, Zibai is primarily dressed in white and cyan, with gold accents. The crescent ornaments on her headdress and sleeves suggest her close connection to the game's lunar mythology, while the gold-tipped shoes resemble horse hooves when viewed from the front, retaining traits of white horses. Her Elemental Skill summons a golden spirit horse beneath a ceremonial canopy, while her Elemental Burst releases the horse to gallop under said canopy. Zibai draws her elemental power from a Moon Wheel, rather than a Vision.
Voice acting Zibai is voiced by Mace in Chinese, Laura Welsh in English, Misato Fukuen in Japanese, and Cheon Song-i in Korean. In an interview, Mace said her first impression of Zibai was that she was mysterious. Before formally auditioning for the role, she had first encountered Zibai as a player through the in-game book Moonlit Bamboo Grove, which describes her as living in seclusion and protecting ancient stories that even she herself had gradually forgotten. When she received the role during the audition process, Mace thought Zibai was "very beautiful" and kept considering how she could portray that beauty through her performance. After recording, she came to see Zibai as not only mysterious and beautiful, but also composed: someone who seemed like "the kind of good student who had always done well in school." She described the character as refined without being obscure, powerful but restrained in battle, and embodying "the beautiful feeling of an immortal from traditional culture." Fukuen initially found it difficult to grasp Zibai's essence from the first script, but, after reading the full story, understood her as a woman whose soul had fractured after years of repression and pain, yet who remained full of love and a strong sense of justice. The greatest challenge in portraying her was distinguishing among four personalities (the original Zibai and her three separated soul fragments) and recording began only after the production team helped establish the direction of each one. Because Fukuen had seldom portrayed sacred, noble characters, she had to take particular care in balancing Zibai's emotions. She especially liked the scene in which Zibai teaches children to plant crops, finding her clumsy maternal side endearing. Fukuen said she shared Zibai's tendency to speak at length about subjects she enjoys and her strong sense of justice, but could not relate to Zibai's enjoyment of numbers. Welsh said that Zibai's voice is fairly close to her own, though more serious; because the character has multiple personalities, she made subtle changes to her vocal range for each one. She described developing the voice as a collaborative process that required her to adapt as recording continued. Welsh's first reaction to Zibai's visual design praised the character's beauty; although she personally prefers vivid colors, she admired the character's delicate pastel palette. She also identified with Zibai's inclination to help others and accept responsibility even at the cost of her own well-being. Welsh found place-name pronunciations (particularly "Liyue" within full sentences) the most difficult part of recording, while portraying Zibai's personality came more naturally to her. She was shocked that Zibai could temporarily stop a very powerful Celestial Nail, and by the revelation that the Ruler of Time had divided and preserved Zibai's soul. Welsh also shared that a fan with dissociative identity disorder told her that the character made them feel as if they were seen, which moved her deeply; she praised miHoYo for creating a character with whom such players could identify.
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