Something You Don't Know about Hu Tao

Hu Tao is a Pyro character in Liyue who was released in Version 1.3. She is the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and her birthday (July 15th) is also related to this identity, which will be discussed later in this article. As one of the most powerful main DPSs in Genshin Impact, Hu Tao is widely used in all kinds of Vaporize Teams (Hu Tao, Zhongli, Xingqiu, Yelan/Albedo/Kaedehera Kazuha). Because of her image, her personality, and her ability as a main DPS, Hu Tao has been widely loved by many for over three years, and the official merch store has also promoted much merch of her.

Hu Tao Chibi Figure

Hu Tao Ring

Since the very first Version 1.0, Hu Tao was introduced in bulletin board messages as "Master Hu", which was later revised to "Director Hu" in Version 1.2. In the storyline, she was firstly mentioned by Zhongli in the third part of Archon Quest Chapter I: Act III - A New Star Approaches, Solitary Fragrance. The Traverler meets Hu Tao in person for the first time when the Traveler and Paimon are traverlling through Wuwang Hill in Liyue in Hu Tao's Story Quest, Papilio Charontis Chapter.

At first glance, Hu Tao appears to be a quirky and cheerful girl. She enjoys pranking people and despises sitting around and doing nothing. She wishes to live her life to the fullest. Her eccentric and off-the-wall personality often leaves people with a negative impression of her. On the other hand, when handling funerals and last rites, she becomes more solemn and constantly reminds her employees to never deviate from the clients' requests. Due to the importance and traditions of the parlor's duties, she expresses a distaste toward people treating her or her employees with suspision whenever they go to work at night.

Hu Tao is a character carrying many cultural connotations of ancient China. There are many details that illustrates such connotations.

The Elemental Burst of Hu Tao is called Spirit Soother. She will command a blazing spirit to attack in a large AoE. However, did you notice that the attack would actually strike the souls of her enemies out?

Sometimes you may find Hu Tao making a complex gesture...

This is actually a hand gesture (往生印, "往生" means death in Taoism, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is 往生堂 in Chinese) in Taoism, the native religion of ancient China. The Taoist hand gestures can be roughly divided into five major categories: hand gestures for religious ceremonies, for summoning deities, for subduing demons and evil spirits, for praying to deities for blessings, and for guiding followers in cultivation and attaining to Taoism.

In the long history of religious activities, Chinese Taoism has developed a unique series of Taoist arts. Hand gestures are one of these arts. Thousands of years ago, primitive humans created hand gesture language symbols. Through long-term evolution, these gestures were selected, refined, and standardized by Taoism, transforming into hand gestures endowed with special ideological charm.

Hand gestures are formed by Taoists using the ten fingers of both hands, structured and connected according to diagrams passed down orally by their masters. Each hand gesture has a specific ideological meaning and a fixed name. Different hand gestures are used only in designated situations, as they communicate with specific deities.

Hand gestures are a special component of Chinese Taoist culture, remnants of ancient shamanic culture, and they possess a strong mystical aura. Taoist hand gestures display Taoist thought and the inner world of Taoists in a unique way, making them a distinctive part of Chinese Taoist culture.

The birthday of Hu Tao, July 15th, is also an important date for Taoism: the Zhongyuan Festival, on the 15th night of the seventh month in Chinese calendar, also known as the "Ghost Day". According to Taoist traditions, on the fifteenth day the realms of the Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and the Taoists would perform rituals too transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Hu Tao is the director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor who deals with death, so her birthday date is absolutely an Easter egg instead of a coincidence.

What's more, there are many other Easter eggs about the number 715 on Hu Tao.

The Base ATK of Hu Tao when Lv90 is roughly 107, and the designated weapon for Hu Tao, the Staff of Homa, has a Base ATK of 608 when Lv90. Therefore, a Hu Tao with a Staff of Homa will have a Base ATK of 715 in total.

The Elemental Skill of Hu Tao is Guide to Afterlife, which is also the main way for Hu Tao to deal DMG. When this skill is upgraded to the maximal level of 13, it will increase Hu Tao's ATK according to her Max HP by 7.15%.

Obviously, MiHoYo is very satisfied with the performance of Hu Tao, and it has promoted different kinds of merch with her image or ideas of design.

Hu Tao Figure

Another character that has his or her own figure! It is in 1/7 scale and made of PVC and ABS, approximately 27cm tall. The Hu Tao Figure is now on pre-sale

Hu Tao Keyboard

Many of the Genshin players, including me, prefer playing the game on computer, and a good keyboard seems necessary then. The Hu Tao mechanical keyboard has black, white, red, and light yellow colors, just the colors on Hu Tao. You can also choose to buy 108-key or 87-key style, and switch the keyswitches between tactile and linear ones.

Hu Tao Impression Apparel

Hu Tao Apparel

The apparel series includes dress, shirt, sling bag, brooch, ring, and folding fan, all designed with the style of Hu Tao.

Hu Tao Night Light

This adorable Hu tao Lamp is crafted from soft silicone material, giving it a gentle touch. With three adjustable brightness settings and an automatic half-hour shutoff feature, it not only serves as a charming tabletop ornament but also adds to the cozy atmosphere of your bedroom. It's the ideal bedtime companion for a restful night's sleep.

As usual, we collected some of the questions that you may be curious about Hu Tao.

Why is Hutao better at low health?

The 4th Ascension Passive of Hu Tao, Sanguine Rouge, explains it: When Hu Tao's HP is equal to or less than 50%, her Pyro DMG Bonuns is increased by 33%.

Is Hu Tao still worth pulling?

Generally speaking, she is still top tier. However, for the best experience you'd better have a C1 Hu Tao with a Staff of Homa, which is more expensive than pulling another main DPS in Fontaine Version.

How old is Hu Tao?

Though the game doesn't mention her age directly, clues within Genshin Impact hint that Hu Tao is around 19 years old.

Why does Hu Tao wear rings?

Hu Tao has four rings on the left hand. On the forefinger there is a diamond black crystal ring inlaid with a silver border. The black crystal has the function of warding off evil, while the diamond represents wisdom. The ring on the ring finger is a coffin-shaped ring inlaid with red gemstones. Red symbolizes happiness, while the coffin conforms to the duty of Hu Tao.

Then look at the right hand of Hu Tao. The middle finger of the right hand is similar to the ring finger of the left hand, both of which have diamond-shaped black crystals rings. The skull ring on the forefinger symbolizes death and is related to the duty of Hu Tao. The silver ring of the thumb not only has the function of restraining evil, but also symbolizes freedom, which is also consistent with the Hu Tao's spirit and supernatural personality.

The content above is quoted from HoYoLab user LupicalHelper_EN.

How rich is Hu Tao? is Hu Tao richer than Childe?

There is no direct clues hinting exactly how rich Hu Tao is, but since she owns a whole industry by her own, she must be much wealthier than average. Childe seems to be rich, but the money he spent is likely to be provided by Fatui, we lack the information about how rich Childe is.

What is Hu Tao's flower?

On the left side of Hu Tao's hat, she added some plum blossom. The Chinese title of Hu Tao character is "雪霁梅香", also implies that the flower is plum (梅).

Who is shipped with Hu Tao?

The most popular Hu Tao ship is ZhongTao: Hu Tao and Zhongli. The two are both working at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as its director and most revered consultant respectively. Zhongli is the first who mentioned Hu Tao in Genshin Impact, and Hu Tao nicknamed him as the "walking encyclopedia". What's more, Zhongli is often sent on errands by Hu Tao, and he often tolerates the quirkiness of this girl. Some consider that the relationship between Zhongli and Hu Tao is more like that between a father and a daughter. What's more, the Chinese voice actor of Zhongli is Peng Bo, who acted as Siegfried Kaslana in Honkai Impact 3rd; while the Chinese voice actor of Hu Tao, Tao Dian, acted as Kiana Kaslana, the daughter of Siegfried, which strengthens the shipment.

How tall is Hu Tao?

Hu Tao uses the medium female model in Genshin Impact, and she is measured by some Genshin players to be 156cm (5'1'') tall.

Does Hu Tao have a sad backstory?

When Hu Tao was young, there should be sorrows and injuries. She held a funeral for her grandfather. After experiencing a lot of pain, she became strong. She used a smile to cover up the sadness in her life.

What does Hu Tao mean in Chinese?

When read together, Hu Tao's name (胡桃) refers to the walnut tree, and is itself a regional term for walnuts in certain parts of China. In the game, both characters are parsed separately: as her surname (Chinese: 胡 Hú) is distinct from her given name (Chinese: 桃 Táo, "Peach"). The English version reflects this by separating the two characters with a space, unlike most other Liyue characters whose names are commonly written as one word, without any spaces.

Did Hu Tao stop trying to bury Qiqi?

Hu Tao decided, as her self-proclaimed true friend, she should grant Qiqi eternal peace. So Hu Tao starts going on just to kidnap Qiqi several times following much deliberation in every instance, including calculating the most auspiciouos time for the ceremony.

It was said that in Hu Tao's eyes, Qiqi passed away a long time ago, but has been trapped in this world and cannot free herself of her eternal suffering. She only wanted to bury Qiqi not only out of consideration for her friend but also to restore the natural order.

It was said, ever since, Hu Tao's attitude towards Qiqi has changed drastically. To the point that she would pamper her. And unfortunately, the damage has been done and Hu Tao has become Qiqi's bugbear.

When you're feeling down, just take Hu Tao with you. Even if you do nothing but wander around in the big world, hearing her energetic voice will make all your unhappiness and discontent vanish. It seems like she can truly convey her pure joy from the screen to you in real life. This made me realize that Hu Tao, who is responsible for guiding the deceased, can also heal hearts. Hu Tao once said, "The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was initially a place to treat and save people." Contemporary Chinese writer Wang Xiaobo also said, "She is absolutely gentle, absolutely lovely, vibrant, fearless, and confident. I feel an eternal spirit from her, surpassing everything in mundane life."

Death is the end of life's journey, but Hu Tao is not afraid at all. She believes in what her grandfather said, "Live in life, Die in death. Follow your heart, do what you can." So, no matter what, Hu Tao will always carry her vibrant life force, optimistically, cheerfully, and energetically doing everything in life. Even when she's wandering alone in a bustling city, treating stone sculptures as pets, or playing a four-person card game by herself, she confidently believes in the beauty she sees. Therefore, I think what Hu Tao conveys to us through the screen is her vivid, passionate, and confident vitality, like the sun igniting itself to bring warmth to us.

So, my friend, if you feel a little unhappy, please take Hu Tao with you!