Hello everyone! Here is the Varmilo mechanical keyboard, we are so excited to share with you our latest work – the VA100 Goddess Luo Keyboard.
The Goddess Luo keyboard is a unique masterpiece that blends classical Chinese literature with cutting-edge keyboard technology. Drawing inspiration from “Luo Shen Fu(Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River),” a poem composed over 1,800 years ago during China’s turbulent Three Kingdoms era by the poet Cao Zhi（Cao Cao’s third son）, this keyboard pays homage to Goddess Luo—identified as Zhen Ji, celebrated for her beauty and enigmatic presence. To aid Western consumers in appreciating this deep historical and cultural context, we’ve integrated symbols and text from the poem, reinterpreted through contemporary technology.
Goddess Luo
Excerpt from Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River
Historical Context and Intrigue
Zhen Ji was historically the daughter-in-law of Yuan Shao, an adversary of Cao Cao（the King of Wei Kingdom）, and married Cao Pi（Cao Cao’s eldest son）, Cao Zhi’s brother, after Yuan Shao’s defeat. Goddess Luo is one of the most beautiful goddesses in ancient Chinese mythology. Cao Zhi compared Zhen Ji to her to praise Zhen Ji’s beauty and purity. Though “Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River” is Cao Zhi’s lyrical tribute to Zhen Ji’s beauty, the poet and Zhen Ji were never united, weaving a tale of unrequited love into the poem’s narrative.
Keycap Design and Scroll-Style
- Overall Color and Material: Inspired by Jin Dynasty aesthetics of “purity” and “simplicity,” the Goddness Luo Keyboard employs a pale aqua reminiscent of light bamboo leaves, symbolizing tranquility and depth, in line with the serene and mystical aura of the Goddess Luo.The keycaps are made from durable PBT material to ensure the longevity of text and designs.
Jin Dynasty：Han Fu
- Scroll-Style: The keyboard is crafted to emulate the form of ancient Chinese scrolls, unfolding from right to left, linearly presenting the story and poetic imagery of “Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River.” This layout aligns with traditional Chinese writing and reading directions and allows users to progressively engage with the poem’s narrative and aesthetics.
Scroll-style communication, unfolding from right to left
Keycap Details:
- Right Enter Key: Features a mounted scholar symbolizing Cao Zhi’s journey and return, linked to the line “Leaving the capital, to return to my fief in the east,expressing the poet’s departure from the bustling city back to his roots.
- 2U ‘0’ Key: Depicts distant mountains and rivers, representing the hardships of travel and longing for the distant, associated with “The sun sets in the west, the journey tires the horses,” reflecting the weariness of travel and the solitude of dusk.
Keycap Detail 1
- Directional Keys: Embody various natural and poetic themes from the poem.
- Up Key (Morning Glow): Represents the dawn of a new day and hope, symbolizing Goddess Luo beauty and vitality akin to the morning sun.
- Down Key (Lotus): The lotus emerging from water, commonly symbolizing the purity and beauty of women in China, resonates with the noble image of Goddess Luo.
- Left Key (Spring Pine): The pine tree in spring, symbolizing resilience and vitality, reflects the youthful vigor of Goddess Luo.
- Right Key (Autumn Chrysanthemum): The chrysanthemum in autumn, representing noble and solitary beauty, aligns with Goddess Luo independent and pure character.
- Enter and Shift with Enamel Piece: Correspond to the iconic lines “As elegant like a swan, as graceful as a swimming loong” Here, “loong” refers to the mythical Chinese dragon, distinct from the Western dragon archetype. In Chinese culture, the loong is revered as a symbol of power, strength, and good luck, embodying regality and grace—attributes perfectly mirroring Goddess Luo portrayed beauty.
Keycap Detail 2
Enamel Piece Storage Compartment
· 6.25U Spacebar
The pattern on the spacebar depicts the parting scene of the poet and Goddess Luo. Flying fish guarded Goddess Luo, six Loongs pulled her cloud carts, whales leaped on the sides of the convoy, and birds circled. After a brief meeting, the two were forced to separate, which the poet regretted very much.
Integration of Chinese and English Characters
· Left Shift
The keycap pattern on the left together restores the description of the graceful stance of the goddess Luo in the poem. Sometimes she raised her sleeves and looked into the distance, standing there for a long time; sometimes she floats like a flying bird, sometimes she walked on the water waves, and the water splashed by her socks was like tiny dust.
The letter area combines Chinese and English characters, where each Chinese character originates from “Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River,” and their initials correspond to the respective English letters, such as “其” (qí) for “Q”. Additionally, these characters are styled in semi-cursive and regular script, popular during the Wei and Jin dynasties. Regular script was the preferred choice for official documents and scholarly works due to its orderly appearance, while semi-cursive was favored in personal correspondence and informal documents for its speed and artistic flair.
Semi-cursive and Regular script characters
Top Artistic Illustration and Rear Design
- Top Artistic Illustration: The keyboard’s top features an illustration of Cao Zhi gazing towards Goddess Luo, conveyed through modern illustration techniques to express the love and unreachable sorrow within “Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River.”
- Rear Grille Glass and Calligraphy: The rear adjustable grille glass features interactive elements like the opening and closing of lotuses and the shining sun, capturing moments such as “Radiant as the rising morning glow” and “Blazing like the lotus emerging from the water,” symbolizing Goddess Luo sublime beauty at moments when her eyes open.
Technological Innovations
- Multi-mode Connectivity and Low Latency: The keyboard supports wired, Bluetooth, and 2.4G wireless connections, equipped with advanced chip technology to ensure response times as low as 1ms, catering to high-end users and gaming enthusiasts.
ST+Nordic Chip
Physical Mode Switch
- Gasket Mount: Incorporates a gasket structure and various layers of sound insulation materials, enhancing key feedback and sound quality for an optimal typing experience. The structure uses silicone pieces to isolate the keycaps from the keyboard base, effectively reducing vibrations and improving the sound of keystrokes.
Five-layer Gasket-Mount
Conclusion
The Goddess Luo keyboard is Varmilo’s pinnacle product for 2024, blending our reflections on classical culture and art with modern expression and showcasing the best of our current hardware and software technology. After a year of development, we are proud to present this product and hope it will garner the interest and support of our community.
If you want to know more about the design story behind the Goddess Luo keyboard or have questions about its functional configuration, please leave a message in the comment area or Join our Discord(https://discord.gg/3pnDAJKb5P). We are looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
We will launch a lucky turntable on the Varmilo official website(varmilo.com), and the prize will be a VA100 Goddess Luo keyboard(free of charge with coupons).
