Tang
The Divine Realm of Tang, more commonly simply known as Tang, is an elective Theocracy located in the west of The Yamato Region of North-western Kashura. It is one of the oldest polities of the region, or possibly even the entire continent, its history allegedly reaching back well into the ages of myth, over 1000 years ago.
Tang as a society is known to highly value rules and law, to a point that borders on worship: “For as Jin-Su, he who carved wisdom into stone decreed, Law set in Stone must be infallible.” They overwhelmingly worship The Towering Jin-Su, one of The Idanasha who supposedly granted them the gift of speech and writing.
As of 267 pSF, Tang has voluntarily declared itself as a Vassal to The Yuyan Dominion, following the massacre of The Oyagi Clan (see: The Yuyan Dominion). Due to their voluntary submission, The Divine Realm of Tang enjoys a great degree of religious and legislative freedom, further enhanced by the isolated nature of the region they call their home. Tang is predominantly inhabited by moth-like winged Insectoid and Avian members of The Wildkin Strain, referred to as the Gonchu and the Haneu respectively.
The Yeongju is first and foremost an individual supposed to distill personal wisdom upon their people, and guide their nations with the help of a proverbial army of advisors and ministers.
Advisory and ministerial positions in Tang are also not hereditary, but filled through aptitude tests of various types: from writing essays through which they must prove a firm grasp on the legal system of Tang, to demonstrations of etiquette, skill in debate and numerous other tests depending on the positions. These positions are highly coveted, and there are dynasties of scribes, advisors and ministers that pride themselves on having held a position for generations.
The Yeongju cannot make decisions alone, let alone put their plans into action alone, and as their advisors are highly trained at resisting threats, flattery or any attempts at coercion safe a sound argument, they must find actual good policy to get their will.
Laws in Tang also have little permanence, having to be renewed every 5 years, further ensuring that, even if something bad somehow slips through the cracks, the damage it can cause is minimal.
There is one exception to this rule, The Gajihya or “perfect wisdom”, laws carved in stone upon a pillar in the Radiant Citadel of En-Seong. These words were supposedly the first gift of The Towering Jin-Su and make up the unalterable basis for the law of Tang, outlining the duties and rights of The Yeongju and their Advisors, as well as some of the fundamental codes of civil obedience, rights of the common people and punishments for the most vile of crimes, such as murder, rape and tax evasion. No law can ever be removed from The Gajihya, though things can be added, ao long as The Yeongju proposes it and every single one of their 1193 Advisors, Ministers and Scribes agrees. It goes without saying that in the alleged 1000 years of recorded Tang history, this has been an extraordinarily rare occurrence. The current Yeongju is a Gonchu woman by the name of Han Mi-sung.
And so The Divine Realm of Tang was established, the oldest dated records reaching back to sometime around 900 pSF, give or take a few decades, so there is at least some truth to its claims of ancient history. From then on the history of Tang is honestly quite boring, borders almost unchanging, as expansionist wars are strictly forbidden by The Gajihya. Very limited cultural exchange due to their geographical isolation, and little to no social unrest even during the worst of times. The most exciting thing are probably the yearly raids and skirmishes from the tribes of northern Yamato which have by now become a matter of mundanity for the people of Tang.
When The Oyagi Clan, one of Tangs only steady trading partners, vanished in a matter of weeks and The Yuyan Dominion arrived soon after, the then Yeongju followed one of the highest ideals of The Gajihya, “Waste not Life in senseless pursuits”, and suggested a tributary relation before The Yuyan diplomats even arrived. This caught them off guard, and allowed Tang to negotiate terms that they otherwise would have never gotten. A war prevented, safety in perpetuity, countless lives saved, autonomy secured, and all it cost was some lip service and tribute.
And so it is that since 267 pSF, The Divine Realm of Tang serves as a tributary to The Yuyan Dominion, though the trade that is coming into the nation through this connection more than makes up for it.
The people of Tang believe that Speech and Writing are related yet wholly separate, both an expression of thought, but clearly distinguished by their purpose. While speech is first and foremost a method of passing along flawed information, writing serves the preservation of ideally flawless information. Some see it as an analogy to the act of thinking itself: people have many thoughts, but only a few of those really deserve to be committed to memory, and carefully selecting what and what not to remember and care about is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy state of mind.
Writing something down is, as the people of Tang believe, in essence the external version of that. To commit something to writing that is not well thought out, or even worse, plain wrong, is at best benign foolishness and at worst can have disastrous consequences for thousands, if not tens of thousands of people. To write something faulty or provably false at best makes one a laughing stock, and at worst can land one a hefty prison sentence for defiling the holy script in its purpose. Therefore, rather than making a mistake on accident, most people in Tang tend to just not write things down, and writing is generally reserved for royal proclamations, holy scriptures, business ledgers and poetry, as art rarely can be proven to be false.
There is also a hierarchy in materials used for writing: The more transient the material, the less permanent the thought it conveys, and as such materials that easily break, tarnish, weather or are easily altered are more permissive to tiny mistakes.
Stone is the prime material, to carve words into stone is to believe them wholeheartedly, know it to be true not just in the moment, but for all of time. Stone is almost exclusively used for religious texts.
Metal, Clay and Wood are a step below. Metal can be reshaped and reforged, clay is easily shaped, but brittle once it takes shape, and wood decays with time. Official documents and poetry are most commonly committed to these materials.
Finally there are the most transient materials, paper, parchment, leaves and fabric. Inferior materials for preservation, which makes them perfect to record things that must be remembered for some time, but not for long, missives, a general's orders, business ledgers and the like.
What makes this noteworthy is that this is the only account of The Idanasha being able to “create” Wildkin, a contrast to their usual depiction as mighty nature spirits. This has led some to the belief that The Towering Jin-Su may be something else entirely.
It is rare for foreign slaves to find their way into The Divine Realm of Tang, though some are acquired for experiments, as curiosities or simply as exotic pets.
En-Seong - more commonly referred to as The Radiant Citadel, En-Seong is a monastic community nestled in the peaks of the northern Shashan Mountains. It is a famous pilgrimage site for the people of Tang, as it is here were The Gajihya stands and is being maintained and protected by a sizable retinue of masons, monks and warriors. It might seem strange to some that one would dedicate their entire life to protecting a stone pillar somewhere in the mountains, but En-Seong sports a steady population of roughly 500 people, not counting the pilgrims.
Ganjeo - is Tang’s main (and only) proper port city, and serves as a major avenue for foreign trade through The Sea of Ganpung. Ganjeo, and Tang in general are renowned for their high quality silk, attracting buyers from far and wide if they can be bothered to make the admittedly long trip. As of 32 SF, Ganjeo has a population of roughly 3.500 people, with a proportionately higher population of outsiders than the rest of Tang's cities.
Yeowan - The Capital of Tang. It is from here that The Yeongju and their massive court rule and administer the nation, a solid quarter of the city being dedicated to administrative complexes, courthouses and debate halls. As of 32 SF, Yeowan is home to roughly 8.000 people, over an 8th of which consists of just the Yeongju court.
Tang as a society is known to highly value rules and law, to a point that borders on worship: “For as Jin-Su, he who carved wisdom into stone decreed, Law set in Stone must be infallible.” They overwhelmingly worship The Towering Jin-Su, one of The Idanasha who supposedly granted them the gift of speech and writing.
As of 267 pSF, Tang has voluntarily declared itself as a Vassal to The Yuyan Dominion, following the massacre of The Oyagi Clan (see: The Yuyan Dominion). Due to their voluntary submission, The Divine Realm of Tang enjoys a great degree of religious and legislative freedom, further enhanced by the isolated nature of the region they call their home. Tang is predominantly inhabited by moth-like winged Insectoid and Avian members of The Wildkin Strain, referred to as the Gonchu and the Haneu respectively.
Territory:
The Divine Realm of Tang is located in the west of Yamato and comprises the lands around The Yeongsu River, south of The Hisame Region of Yamato. Its borders extend to The Sea of Ganpung in the west and The Nishima Woods and The Tomai Pass in the east, the latter used to be one of the only ways through which travel was possible to and from The Yuyan Dominion.Government:
As its name suggests, The Divine Realm of Tang is run by a Theocracy in which its leader, The Yeongju or Radiant One, rules with absolute authority… At least that is what it looks like to outsiders, though in reality The Yeongju finds themselves with greater checks to their powers than most worldly rulers.The Yeongju is first and foremost an individual supposed to distill personal wisdom upon their people, and guide their nations with the help of a proverbial army of advisors and ministers.
Advisory and ministerial positions in Tang are also not hereditary, but filled through aptitude tests of various types: from writing essays through which they must prove a firm grasp on the legal system of Tang, to demonstrations of etiquette, skill in debate and numerous other tests depending on the positions. These positions are highly coveted, and there are dynasties of scribes, advisors and ministers that pride themselves on having held a position for generations.
The Yeongju cannot make decisions alone, let alone put their plans into action alone, and as their advisors are highly trained at resisting threats, flattery or any attempts at coercion safe a sound argument, they must find actual good policy to get their will.
Laws in Tang also have little permanence, having to be renewed every 5 years, further ensuring that, even if something bad somehow slips through the cracks, the damage it can cause is minimal.
There is one exception to this rule, The Gajihya or “perfect wisdom”, laws carved in stone upon a pillar in the Radiant Citadel of En-Seong. These words were supposedly the first gift of The Towering Jin-Su and make up the unalterable basis for the law of Tang, outlining the duties and rights of The Yeongju and their Advisors, as well as some of the fundamental codes of civil obedience, rights of the common people and punishments for the most vile of crimes, such as murder, rape and tax evasion. No law can ever be removed from The Gajihya, though things can be added, ao long as The Yeongju proposes it and every single one of their 1193 Advisors, Ministers and Scribes agrees. It goes without saying that in the alleged 1000 years of recorded Tang history, this has been an extraordinarily rare occurrence. The current Yeongju is a Gonchu woman by the name of Han Mi-sung.
History:
The History of Tang supposedly begins sometime during the Ages of myth, well over 1000 years ago when The Towering Jin-Su made itself known and gave the gift of enlightenment to the beasts of Tang, turning them into Wildkin in the process. The Towering Jin-Su gave them many gifts: Words to speak, Laws to live by, and writing with which they would be able to record their story for those who would come after them.And so The Divine Realm of Tang was established, the oldest dated records reaching back to sometime around 900 pSF, give or take a few decades, so there is at least some truth to its claims of ancient history. From then on the history of Tang is honestly quite boring, borders almost unchanging, as expansionist wars are strictly forbidden by The Gajihya. Very limited cultural exchange due to their geographical isolation, and little to no social unrest even during the worst of times. The most exciting thing are probably the yearly raids and skirmishes from the tribes of northern Yamato which have by now become a matter of mundanity for the people of Tang.
When The Oyagi Clan, one of Tangs only steady trading partners, vanished in a matter of weeks and The Yuyan Dominion arrived soon after, the then Yeongju followed one of the highest ideals of The Gajihya, “Waste not Life in senseless pursuits”, and suggested a tributary relation before The Yuyan diplomats even arrived. This caught them off guard, and allowed Tang to negotiate terms that they otherwise would have never gotten. A war prevented, safety in perpetuity, countless lives saved, autonomy secured, and all it cost was some lip service and tribute.
And so it is that since 267 pSF, The Divine Realm of Tang serves as a tributary to The Yuyan Dominion, though the trade that is coming into the nation through this connection more than makes up for it.
Culture & Society:
Tang as a society is known to highly value rules, law and social hierarchies:Truth Carved in Stone:
The Divine Realm of Tang is the origin of The Saegyeo Script, the oldest writing system of the region and possibly the entire continent. Given that, it may seem strange that most of Yamato and Soukoku did not develop codified writing systems until more than half a millennium later, but this dichotomy serves to perfectly illustrate one of the core tenets of the Tang belief system: The Sanctity of Texts and Writing.The people of Tang believe that Speech and Writing are related yet wholly separate, both an expression of thought, but clearly distinguished by their purpose. While speech is first and foremost a method of passing along flawed information, writing serves the preservation of ideally flawless information. Some see it as an analogy to the act of thinking itself: people have many thoughts, but only a few of those really deserve to be committed to memory, and carefully selecting what and what not to remember and care about is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy state of mind.
Writing something down is, as the people of Tang believe, in essence the external version of that. To commit something to writing that is not well thought out, or even worse, plain wrong, is at best benign foolishness and at worst can have disastrous consequences for thousands, if not tens of thousands of people. To write something faulty or provably false at best makes one a laughing stock, and at worst can land one a hefty prison sentence for defiling the holy script in its purpose. Therefore, rather than making a mistake on accident, most people in Tang tend to just not write things down, and writing is generally reserved for royal proclamations, holy scriptures, business ledgers and poetry, as art rarely can be proven to be false.
There is also a hierarchy in materials used for writing: The more transient the material, the less permanent the thought it conveys, and as such materials that easily break, tarnish, weather or are easily altered are more permissive to tiny mistakes.
Stone is the prime material, to carve words into stone is to believe them wholeheartedly, know it to be true not just in the moment, but for all of time. Stone is almost exclusively used for religious texts.
Metal, Clay and Wood are a step below. Metal can be reshaped and reforged, clay is easily shaped, but brittle once it takes shape, and wood decays with time. Official documents and poetry are most commonly committed to these materials.
Finally there are the most transient materials, paper, parchment, leaves and fabric. Inferior materials for preservation, which makes them perfect to record things that must be remembered for some time, but not for long, missives, a general's orders, business ledgers and the like.
Faith:
The people of Tang almost exclusively worship The Towering Jin-Su, one of The Idanasha. It was supposedly it that, in a sense, created The Wildkin of Tang by granting animals sapience and enlightenment, and gave them the of The Gajihya, perfect wisdom which now serves as the basis for Tang law and belief.What makes this noteworthy is that this is the only account of The Idanasha being able to “create” Wildkin, a contrast to their usual depiction as mighty nature spirits. This has led some to the belief that The Towering Jin-Su may be something else entirely.
Staunch Matriarchs:
The Divine Realm of Tang is a Matriarchy in totality, with males essentially being treated as lower class citizens, several ranks below a woman of theoretically equal status. A male Minister for example would only be around the same rank as a female shopkeeper. (Not that there has been such a thing as a male Member of the court in the past 150 years.)Xenophobic:
The people of Tang have a general sense of superiority toward people from other places, one that does not stem from their Strain, but culture. To them, most outsiders are bloodthirsty barbarians, willfully defiling their scripts, knowingly committing lies to text without shame and worshiping false gods. They see themselves as a timeless bastion of reason and stability, while everyone else seems to be hellbent on destroying each other. The way this sense of superiority manifests varies from person to person, but most simply treat outsiders as one would a child or a pet, not expecting them to know basic social cues or rules of propriety, one can’t expect a stray to be house-trained after all.Laws & Institutions:
The Laws around Kashura generally don’t vary all that much from one another, murder and theft is pretty much illegal everywhere for instance, this section will therefore focus only on the noteworthy:Harsh Punishments:
Tang is strict with its laws and even more strict with their enforcement. Even relatively minor crimes carry hefty prison sentences and corporal punishments, and care nothing for age or status. Men do tend to be punished a lot harsher than women though.Slavery:
Slavery is legal in Tang, and a sizable chunk of the male population finds itself in indentured servitude, serving as cheap labor or fodder, manning the gates of Dal-Mun. There are also female slaves, but it is rare, usually as a punishment for defiling the holy script.It is rare for foreign slaves to find their way into The Divine Realm of Tang, though some are acquired for experiments, as curiosities or simply as exotic pets.
Major Settlements:
Dal-Mun - Literally translating to “The Black Bastion”, Dal-Mun is a fortress more than a city, lying in the northernmost part of Tang, where it blocks any would-be intruders from The Haejin Marches. And block them it does, for since the very founding of Tang, it has found itself in conflict with the tribes of northern Yamato, and had to fend off raids on an almost yearly Basis. Dal-Mun is the first and final defense blocking those raids from spilling into Tang proper, and as such receives a sizable budget to maintain its defenses and replenish its numbers. As of 32 SF, it is home to around 3.000 people.En-Seong - more commonly referred to as The Radiant Citadel, En-Seong is a monastic community nestled in the peaks of the northern Shashan Mountains. It is a famous pilgrimage site for the people of Tang, as it is here were The Gajihya stands and is being maintained and protected by a sizable retinue of masons, monks and warriors. It might seem strange to some that one would dedicate their entire life to protecting a stone pillar somewhere in the mountains, but En-Seong sports a steady population of roughly 500 people, not counting the pilgrims.
Ganjeo - is Tang’s main (and only) proper port city, and serves as a major avenue for foreign trade through The Sea of Ganpung. Ganjeo, and Tang in general are renowned for their high quality silk, attracting buyers from far and wide if they can be bothered to make the admittedly long trip. As of 32 SF, Ganjeo has a population of roughly 3.500 people, with a proportionately higher population of outsiders than the rest of Tang's cities.
Yeowan - The Capital of Tang. It is from here that The Yeongju and their massive court rule and administer the nation, a solid quarter of the city being dedicated to administrative complexes, courthouses and debate halls. As of 32 SF, Yeowan is home to roughly 8.000 people, over an 8th of which consists of just the Yeongju court.
The Divine Realm of Tang
Geography:
Region: North-West: YamatoSociety:
Population: ~150.000 peopleStrains: Wildkin ~85%, Hominids ~10%, Other ~5%
Religion: The Idanasha - The Towering Jin-Su
Politics:
Government: TheocracyRuler: Yeongju Han Mi-Sung
Influence: minor
Commerce:
Currency:50 Tong (Copper) = 1 Yin (Silver)
25 Yin = 1 Yuan (Gold)
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