Yuezheng Ling (Simplified Chinese: 乐正绫; Traditional Chinese: 樂正綾) is a Mandarin Chinese VOCALOID that was developed and distributed by Shanghai HENIAN Co. Ltd and was released in July 2015 for the VOCALOID3 engine.[1]
Ling was a runner up entry to the first "VOCALOID™ CHINA" contest in 2012 which was held for choosing the design of the first Mandarin Chinese VOCALOID and was a VOCANESE supporting character for two years before she was confirmed to become a VOCALOID.[2][3][4]
She was voiced by QI Inory (祈Inory; Qí Inory), a Chinese bilibili singer. She was the winning participant for Ling's voice provider contest.
In July 2018, Ling was confirmed to be receiving a VOCALOID5 update[5] and an AI voicebank for ACE Virtual Singer.[6]
Concept[]
Etymology[]
Her original name was Ling Caiyin (绫 彩音).
The surname Yuèzhèng (乐正) comes from the governor of music during the Zhou Dynasty. The existence of this surname was proven when two historical books (《元和姓纂》&《尚友录》) state that: the "Zhou Dynasty's 'Yuèzhèng' Position was used as a surname", therefore hinting that the name existed as early in Zhou Dynasty, which was more than 2,600 years ago.
After the Zhou took over the Chinese empire, the positions of the governing system were used as surnames. During this time, there was a head position called "Yuèzhèng", which was responsible for music and melodies at the palace. Any descendants of this governor will bear the same surname.
During the Zhou Dynasty, people took great measures with politeness and rituals. The Yuezhengs were heavily looked upon by the emperor and the standard of music can directly affect a country's impression to the outside world.[7]
"Líng" (绫) is a type of very light and high quality silk that was produced in the Han dynasty. However, the material did not flourish until the Tang and Song dynasties and it was used to make canvases, frames, shirts, pajamas, books, gift boxes and more.[8] The character for Ling (绫) is also known in Japanese as "Aya". This part of her name was kept from the original "Ling Caiyin" name which was influenced by Japanese naming styles.
"Ā Líng" (阿绫; also stylized as Ah Ling) is an official nickname for her and is often used by fans as well.
Appearance[]
The design was originally drawn by Rikuhao, but was refined and redrawn by the Chinese illustrator ideolo. Unlike the winner and other runner ups, Ling's design was the least heavily edited.
Located on Ling's wrist, there is a charm with a red Devanagari letter "त" (ta) on it which represents the "Fire" element, the "South" position, the color "Red", and the "Summer" season. This character also appears on her logo, which represents a flame, and its Chinese equivalent is "徵" (Zhǐ), one of the 5 Traditional Chinese melody characters and corresponds to G (so).[9]
In June 2021, a design for Ling's V5 update was revealed, but became subject to change after receiving negative feedback from fans.[10]
Official profile[]
According to the short animation series promoting VOCALOID CHINA, Ling is a lively high school student. Her family runs the huge Yuezheng company, a business that makes instruments and music. Her personality is very straight forward and can sometimes be seen as blunt as she does not care for details. She is extremely generous and energetic, for she spends 3/4 of the day running all over the place and sometimes, her high spirit causes boys to become jealous. She loves music, experiencing new things, and huge, fluffy dolls. However, Ling has many annoying issues in her life, mostly related to her older brother, Yuezheng Longya.[11][12]
At Firefly Con 2015, additional traits and biographical information were added for Ling:
- Official birthday: April 12
- Zodiac signs: Aries (astrological), tiger (lunar calendar)
- Bloodtype: O
- Birthplace: Shanghai
- Favorite food: Sichuan cuisine
- Favorite drink: Coffee and tea
- Favorite brands: dior, Gucci, GIVENCHY, Vivian
- She lives on an island and rides a helicopter.
- Favorite transportation: Biking and racecars
- Favorite book: The Three-Body Problem
- Least favorite food: Fish
- Left-handed
- Favorite idols: Mozart, Guns N' Roses, Avril Lavigne
It was also added that she is a fashionable rich girl and it was noted that the Vsinger cast were given official birthdays to allow them to have their own unique dates rather than having them all in July. It would also easily allow fans to be able to celebrate each of them.
It was explained that the additional information was catered to roleplayers.[13] The day after, SHN responded that they added the extra biography in an attempt to make her more realistic, but since the fans reacted poorly to it, they were willing to adjust it according to the fans' opinions.[14]
Relations[]
- Yuezheng Longya - Older brother and fellow member of Vsinger
- Luo Tianyi - Fellow member of Vsinger
- Mo Qingxian - Fellow member of Vsinger
- Zhiyu Moke - Fellow member of Vsinger
- YANHE - Fellow member of Vsinger
- Zhanyin Lorra - Former companion
- Shi Tian - Pet.
History[]
ACE Virtual Singer Development[]
On December 31, 2021, when asked about considerations for migration to another engine, Vsinger's official Weibo account answered that they had been long studying and made several voicebank demos with tech providers. They noted that different engines were based on different technologies. VOCALOID was based on sampling, which better reproduced the original voice texture, but was less natural and may be harder to use. AI voicebanks were easier for beginners and sing more naturally, but did not sufficiently reproduce the original voice texture and the voice may also sound as though it was synthesized. Vsinger noted that the voice is the most important part of a virtual singer and was trying to find ways to preserve and reproduce the characters' original voices, wishing to deliver more satisfactory products.[15]
On December 25, 2022, Vsinger announced that AI Yuezheng Ling beta tests for ACE Virtual Singer were opening soon. The registration would be open from then until January 10. The rules were detailed as followed:[16]
- AI Yuezheng Ling's beta test would only open for producers, tuners, and musicians interested in voice synthesizers. Applicants needed to fill in the relevant information, including personal information and portfolio works. For users who already participated in Luo Tianyi's and YANHE's ACE Virtual Singer beta applications, they did not need to repeat the process for Ling. Approved users would be sent an invitation through the official email account. Other users were asked to pay attention to the official follow-up release.
- The ACE Virtual Singer editor was required to use the library.
- Due to the limited number of trials, it was possible that not all applications would be accepted.
- Commercial use of the library was prohibited.
- The final decisions of the event were to be made only by Shanghai HENIAN.
- Feedback about any issues during the beta test period was encouraged.
Approved producers began using and uploading examples of AI Yuezheng Ling on January 13, 2023. On January 14, a design contest was announced and launched. The contest was confirmed to end on March 31, 2023 at 23:59 GMT+8. Vsinger accompanied the announcement with a question: "As we slowly walk through the long flowing years, it's the music which records the beautiful memories we created together. Turning a new page of the story, let me continue to sing to you! When infinite thoughts turn into songs, spurring excitement in the mind, close your eyes, what shape of mine would you see?". Designs were encouraged to be tagged with "#乐正绫#" and "#乐正绫AI形象征集活动#" and were to be submitted in the link provided by the company. The final design would be selected via fans' voting. The first round of voting was scheduled from April 1 to April 3 and the final round was scheduled from April 7 to April 9. It was noted in the rules that the design must be original and must not have been used for other commercial purposes or authorized by third parties.[17]
On March 25, the voting period began and voters could choose only one design out of 101 submissions. The top ten works in the first round would enter the final round. The work with the highest number would become the ACE Virtual Singer design for Ling.[18] On April 7, the ten final designers were announced to be Yan Bai Tai (言白钛), Jijiu (急救), Yixi (乙烯), Miao Sha Piao Xue (渺纱飘雪), Esca09, Wu Wu (屋屋), Li Sha Yakou (利刹牙口), Miz Tuan Yi (Miz团一), Yangyu (洋芋), and Haku Bai (Haku白). Final voting was expected to close on April 9.[19] On April 12, Miz Tuan Yi was announced as the winning designer with a total of 7,838 votes.[20] On May 6, Ling AI was made available for public beta. In addition, due to the 1.7.0 update, Ling AI would be upgraded to the latest model as well, allowing her to make use of trilingual synthesis, which supported Mandarin, Japanese, and English.[21]
On October 16, Vsinger thanked everyone for their support and suggestions during the past closed and public betas of the available voicebanks at the time (Tianyi, YANHE, Ling, and Longya). The official version of ACE Studio was expected to launch globally soon, and it was announced that the all six Vsinger vocalists would be free for ACE Studio users. ACE Studio users would be able to apply for free Vsinger redemption codes through the official Vsinger website. [22]
Marketing[]
Yuezheng Ling was a fan-designed VOCALOID that was entered in the first "VOCALOID CHINA" contest like Luo Tianyi. She was created with VOCALOID fans in mind.
VOCALOID CHINA PROJECT released a five-part promotional animation series for the cast. On May 15, 2012, at CFO3, the full first PV was made available and mainly featured Tianyi with Ling making a brief cameo at the end. Ling's official introduction takes place in the second episode.
In the summer of 2014, Ling had a contest where fans could enter and compete into becoming her voice provider. In October, the winner for Ling was announced to be QI Inory. Her VOCALOID release took place at Firefly Con 2015 on July 17, 2015. Additional biographical information was revealed for her.
Voicebanks[]
- Yuezheng Ling
- Ling is a youthful and energetic female vocalist for Mandarin Chinese.
- Yuezhang Ling (VOCALOID3), July 17, 2015
Reputation[]
Reaction[]
Yuezheng Ling was the most popular out of the other three supporting characters for Vsinger. In many pieces of artwork and PVs, she was featured alongside Luo Tianyi and/or YANHE. Certain songs have been dedicated to her or even use Tianyi or YANHE’s voicebanks to portray her point of view. Her fanbase is extremely large and when events appear to threaten her popularity or chances to become a VOCALOID, her fans tended to defend her in response. However, these responses varied from positive to negative, where some fans were civil, some were not.
In June 2015, the first sample using Ling's voicebank was revealed to the public. The Eastern fandom greatly praised Ling's voice and happily accepted her. After the full version of the song was uploaded, the fans rejoiced in celebration. Most of the Western fandom also responded very well in reaction to her voicebank, while some claimed she sounded similar or too close to Tianyi. When the boxart was revealed, the Chinese fans took a liking to the style, but some were conflicted or disappointed because Ling lacked the background elements that Tianyi, YANHE, and even Xin Hua had. They felt as though her boxart broke the consistency of these styles, however, little to no Chinese fans expressed a dislike for her boxart.
When she was released at Firefly Con, a panel was held to showcase many new upcoming products and revealed the new design for Xingchen. Ling was also given an additional biography to add on to her existing one. This biography lead to problems within the Chinese fandom as Weibo quickly filled with posts about it. The fans felt that it was too much detail for a VOCALOID, especially since she had a large background beforehand. It was then explained that the additional background was catered to roleplayers who created accounts for the Chinese VOCALOID characters, however, the roleplayers felt that they should be creative when it came to acting a character. Due to the fans' reaction, SHN decided to adjust the biography according to their needs.
In March 2016, "Jiǔjiǔbāshíyī" reached 1 million views on bilibili and is the first song featuring Ling to reach this mark.
Trivia[]
- She is the first VOCALOID to have a brother, Longya. They are also the first brother and sister combination and are the first Chinese siblings. However, they are third set of siblings in the VOCALOID franchise as whole, with the previous two pairs being Japanese VOCALOIDs.
- She is one of the first Mandarin Chinese VOCALOIDs to have their voice picked from a contest.
- Every Mandarin Chinese VOCALOID before Ling had a boxart with their artwork aligned to the middle and background decoration behind them. Her boxart is the first to not use this format as her character fills most of the space, breaking the consistency.
Achievements[]
- First VOCALOID to be based on a runner up design
- First supporting character to be made into a VOCALOID
- First Vsinger supporting character to be made into a VOCALOID
- First VOCALOID to have both their design and voice originate from a contest
- First VOCALOID fully developed by Shanghai HENIAN
- Last VOCALOID3 to be released
- First of the Vsinger cast to have an online virtual concert
References[]
- ↑ Ling and Lorra V3, not V4
- ↑ http://acg.178.com/201305/162516409571.html
- ↑ http://www.weibo.com/3638133220/BdHNPC0rN
- ↑ Official English Translation of Announcement
- ↑ https://www.weibo.com/1663365680/GrAkhzVrI
- ↑ https://weibo.com/5582156776/MleSNungw
- ↑ Etymology (乐正姓溯源)
- ↑ Etymology of "Ling"
- ↑ Sanskrit and logo
- ↑ https://weibo.com/5582156776/KkTJeEMgA
- ↑ http://www.vocaloidism.com/chinese-vocaloid-luo-tianyi-friends-revealed/
- ↑ http://baike.sogou.com/v59910508.htm
- ↑ Ling's bio from Firefly con
- ↑ http://www.weibo.com/5582156776/CrFMUsi3V
- ↑ https://weibo.com/5582156776/L8E0Cizht
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/743558645593145381
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/750925029927026755
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/776590272725254147
- ↑ https://www.bilibili.com/opus/781730214684131377
- ↑ https://www.bilibili.com/opus/783546573532430386
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/792490018318843938
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/853007279846326294
External links[]
Official[]
Articles[]
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