Literary Character Projection Test: Are You the Tender Nan Xiang or the Strong Gu Li

1. What Is Literary Character Projection?

Literary Character Projection is a psychological projection technique rooted in Jung's analytical psychologyandand his theory of personality types. Through an individual's identification with and choice of fictional characters, it reveals their subconscious self-perception, emotional patterns, and behavioral tendencies.

In this test, we take the two most representative types of female characters from Guo Jingming's novel Tiny Times - Nan Xiang(emotional, artistic, introspective, fragile yet delicate) and Gu Li (rational, controlling, independent, strong yet reliable) - as archetypes, to build a measurement tool that reflects your inner emotional style and way of coping with stress.

2. Theoretical Basis: The Feeling Function and Defense Mechanisms

The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung divided personality intointroversion and extraversion, and proposed four psychological functions: thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. Among them, thefeeling functiondetermines how we experience and express emotions.

In addition, thetheory of defense mechanisms (developed by Anna Freud) in psychoanalysis holds that under pressure people unconsciously adopt specific strategies to protect themselves, such as repression, rationalization, sublimation, or denial.

This test is based on these two theories and assesses your personality tendencies along the following four dimensions:

• Emotional Expression Style: Do you tend to be reserved and inward, or direct and expressive?
• Stress Coping Strategy: When facing conflict, do you retreat and avoid, or face it and take control?
• Interpersonal Relationship Pattern: In intimate relationships, do you rely more on emotional connection or rational boundaries?
• Source of Self-Worth: Does your sense of security come from being understood or from being recognized?

3. The Two Core Personality Archetypes

The test ultimately classifies you into one of the following four types, each blending traits of Nan Xiang and Gu Li:

• Nan Xiang Type (Sensitive Introspective): Emotionally delicate, valuing beauty and sincerity, easily lost in thought under pressure, longing to be understood and accepted.
• Gu Li Type (Rational Controller): With clear goals, skilled at planning and controlling situations, tending to solve problems rather than wallow in emotions under pressure.
• Balanced Type (Adaptive Balancer): Able to empathize with others and make rational decisions, switching roles flexibly in different situations.
• Conflicted Type (Inner Struggler): Two voices exist within at the same time, sometimes longing to lean on someone, sometimes wanting to be independent, often caught in an inner struggle.

4. Test Design and Question Description

This test has 18 questions in a scenario multiple-choice format. The questions do not ask directly whether you are like someone; instead, through yoursocial occasions, work stress, emotional conflict, and decision-making moments natural reactions, they indirectly map your personality tendencies.

Each question is scored 1-5, from 'strongly disagree' to 'strongly agree'. Based on your weighted scores across the four dimensions, the system calculates your match with the four types, and gives the most representative character archetype and growth advice.

5. Who Is This Test For?

This test is especially suited to:

• Young people exploring their own personality and emotional patterns
• People who feel role confusion in intimate relationships or the workplace
• Psychology enthusiasts who enjoy analyzing literary and film characters
• People who want to understand why they both want to lean on others and want to be independent