Post by zhongguo on Nov 18, 2010 10:52:27 GMT -5
★ My Reflection
Nation: 中國 (China)
Name: 王耀 (Wang Yao - In Chinese tradition, the last name should come first, but in an Anglicanized name he'd be Yao Wang).
Gender: Male
Appearance Age: 23
Hair Color: Chocolate Brown
Eye Color: Opal Black
Height: 169 cm (5' 6")
Weight: 56kg
Appearance:
Most people expect to see an old sage sitting on top of a mountain when they envision the personification of China and end up being surprised when they meet him. Compared to Europeans and Americans, Yao is on the very short side of average while his slight build causes him to look rather feminine. However, underneath the conservative clothing, one could see that the Chinese has a fairly toned body. His youthful countenance is void of wrinkles despite his long life, he smiles often, though it is often as a mask for something that has been troubling him. Additionally, if one looks carefully, one would notice that his smile is often tinted with a hint of melancholy due to what had happened to him during the Age of Imperialism. However, youthful appearance aside, those who meet his eyes and manage to lock gazes with him that lasted longer than a few seconds, one would notice that his opal eyes reflect the weariness of having such a long history.
Where Yao fails to carry through in appearance, he tries makes up for it in presence. Though his short stature makes it hard for him to stand out in a crowd, the Chinese carries himself proudly. He keeps his back straight as he walks, on-ward looking as he heads to the charged towards the next challenge. Though he is connected to the physical conditions of his land, the overall atmosphere around Yao exudes tranquility and mystery when he is quiet, reflecting the mystical scenes of mist surrounding pine studded mountains and influences of Confucianism and Daoism. For the most part, his skin is pale as he was kept out of the sun during the imperialistic age since the emperors saw him as a symbol of the health of the dynasty and kept as such. However, there was the occasion when he would be allowed to ride out to battle or go deliver a message to a prefecture. However, his skin is more of an olive tone, which became apparent when he spent more time farming and working during the twentieth century. Though pale skin was seen as a sign of wealth, Yao does have a scar on his back, a constant reminder of the fact that Kiku had turned on him.
In terms of dress, Yao tends to wear the dress of the age, often seen wearing clothes of the finest silk when he lived in the palace and the ordinary clothes of peasants when he was out travelling. During the foreign invasions of the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty) and the Manchu (Qing Dynasty), he was forced to wear their traditional clothes for special occasions, which he had resisted adamantly (without success). However, despite the differences amongst the different races that ruled China, they all made it a point to dress Yao up in elaborate clothes as a display of wealth. During the winter, he sports clothes that are lined with fur to keep warm. More often than not, he will wear red for special occasions because it is considered a lucky color traditionally. During the World Wars and the internal conflict that took place after, Yao often sported a dark green military uniform with a band around his arm representing his government. However, during the modern times, Yao has adopted a more westernized style, wearing suits for meetings and keeping up with the latest trends where he can, though his prudeness and frugality tends to keep him from looking trendy.
★ Ž©’m”V–¾
Personality:
Yao has somehow managed to maintain his youthful vigor despite having such a long life mostly due to his strong-will to exist and his confidence in his abilities. After all, one does not become one of the four oldest civilizations without having perseverance. That said, Yao's personality has been molded by a number of philosophers, rulers and military leaders. Thus, Yao had spent much of his life living according to the "procedures" that were set by Confucianism such as unconditionally honoring those who are older than him (in appearance) and those in a higher station than he is. Perhaps one could say that since he had spent so many years under this system, he often feels that others should follow it as well
Like with any nation, Yao has a love for his people very deeply ingrained in him, whether they be the peasants or the rulers. Coupled with the opposing philosophies found in China, Yao often found himself in conflict with himself. Throughout history, he found himself at war with himself, unable to successfully reconcile the different parts of his personality and his identity. However, there was one thing that he kept true to himself regardless. As Yue Fei taught him, he always made sure to serve his country with the utmost loyalty, though unlike his people, who were taught that it mean to serve the king, Yao sometimes took the liberty to join the opposing side it looked like it was for the better in the long run. However, that was not to say that he went into it because he often would spend years discerning the ideal action and forcing people to suffer for a long time.
Though Yao likes to think that he has his act together and that he certainly has the capability of handling situations, he often ends up failing. However, his pride often hinders him from successfully improving after each experience. In fact, he tells himself that he is very much aware of what was "the right way of doing things." Thus, as the western world advanced technologically, he refused to acknowledge their advances, convinced that he was the leader of innovation. His pride also prevents him from building valuable relationships with others. As a result, he found himself technologically inferior and with little to no allies during the Age of Imperialism and World War II. However, it appears that he had learned his lesson in the late twentieth century as he started opening up his borders for trading with other countries again and adopting their technological advances.
However, that is not to say that things have gone smoothly for China. Perhaps it is due to the fact that the nineteenth century had trampled on his pride and left him with an inferiority complex, Yao is very weary of being caught in a position that may cause him to lose face. As a result, he will work hard to avoid putting himself in such situations. However, if an incident should occur, he would do anything to salvage his pride, though there are times where he may just flat out deny having any part in a situation. Since he is very business-minded in recent years, there are times when he may sacrifice quality in a product because he is able to fit the niche for cheaper goods for the larger profit margin. However, that is unofficial information because if you went to ask him, he would flat out deny the situation, claiming that it is those nosy, jealous Americans just looking for someone to blame.
Likes:
★ Reminiscing about the past
★ Festivals
★ Pandas
★ Xiao long bao
★ Frugality (except when he has to spend to impress his friends)
★ Brand-names (bonus if they are cheap knock-offs)
★ Martial Arts
★ Being in charge
★ Basketball (mostly because of Yao Ming)
★ Good cuisine
★ Drawing
★ Swimming & Diving
★ Gymnastics
★ Money
★ Keeping things in order
★ Helping out his friends
★ Bicycling
Dislikes:
✖ Disobedient
✖
✖ Being ruled by invaders
✖ Korea acting like he created the world
✖ Disorderly households
✖ When people reach into his personal space
✖
✖
Fears:
☣ Being humiliated at the international stage and then see a decline in his influences.
☣ He fears being left behind because he cannot keep up with the trends and will any means to stay current, though he says he's over it.
Secrets:
♦ He has a tattoo. He doesn't like to talk about it so if you see it or have heard about it, don't ask about it. He'll kung fu you if you do.
♦ Part of him is over what happened during World War II between him and Kiku, but for the sake of his pride, he keeps demanding that Japan apologizes for its atrocities.
Strengths:
- Yao is a very quick learner and has been shown to adopt technology easily when he wants to. However, since he is often seen as a loner, he often has to figure things out by himself, he developed a technique called "reverse engineering," which may or may not be legal.
- In addition to his ability to quickly learn, Yao had managed to pick up certain phrases in the dialects of the people who have come to live in his home. Thus, he knows the foreign language of all the ethnicity that he use to interact with.
Weaknesses:
- While confidence is a great thing to possess, pride can be the downfall of a great person. Due to his achievements, Yao had a tendency to believe that he was self-sufficient and often shunned opportunities to adapt technological advances from others, which put him in a tough spot.
- Due to his pride, Yao has a tendency to justify his actions, regardless of how unethical it can be (ie. quality of products some of his companies had created).
- His reserved nature tends to hinder him from building any deep relationships with others.
★ Pages of History
History:
- 2100 BCE - 1600 BCE: The first dynastic rule is established with the founding of the Xia dynasty. Though other text reference the dynasty, a lack of written records found amongst archeological findings makes it hard to verify its existence.
- 1600 BCE - 1046 BCE: The Shang Dynasty is formed along the Huang River. Archeological discoveries of script on oracle bones reveal the oldest form of Chinese written language, which is the ancestor of the modern Chinese writing system.
- 1046 BCE - 256 BCE: The defeat of the Shang Dynasty establishes the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, known as the longest lasting dynasty in Chinese history. During this time, ironwork and bronze-casting is introduced to the region. However, the control of the its lands slowly declines as various warlords caused splits in the kingdom.
- 771 BCE: The capital of the Zhou Dynasty is sacked by the queen's father when the king replaced his queen with a concubine. A new king is placed on the throne and the capital is moved eastward. Historically, the era is split into the Eastern Zhou and Western Zhou eras.
- 722 BCE - 481 BCE: The Spring and Autumn period blossoms with the rise of many philosophical movements such as Confucianism and Daoism.
- 403 BCE - 221 BCE: The Warring States Period began after the collapse of the Zhou Dynasty lead to a series of fighting city-states, which eventually evolved into seven kingdoms. The fighting was chaotic enough that to this day, there is an idiom that roughly translates to, "as messy as seven kingdoms" to illustrate a chaotic physical state. The period would end finally when Qin Shihuang defeats the other six kingdoms to unify China.
- 221 BCE - 206 BCE: Qin Shihuang establishes the Qin Dynasty and unifies China through conquest. Though seen as cruel, he established a standard system of measurement across all the provinces, making it easier to communicate and conduct business across the kingdom. Despite his reformations, the emperor was incredibly paranoid, destroying any text (and scholar) whose teachings went against his legalistic rule and sending political enemies (and even his son when he opposed an idea of his) to help connect a series of walls that came to be known as the Great Wall of China. The Western name for China comes from the name of this dynasty.
- 202 CE - 220 CE: The Han Dynasty expanded the kingdom territory as far as Vietnam, Mongolia, Korea and central Asia. During this time, trade flourished on the Silk Road, the trade route that linked Asia to Europe. Recognized as the golden age of China due to economic wealth while its education system saw the reintroduction of Confucianism into its education system. This could be considered an age of inventions for the Chinese as they developed papermaking, raised relief mapping and a seismometer using an inverted pendulum amongst some other things.
- 220 CE - 280 CE: Known as the Period of the Three Kingdoms, the Wei, Shu and Wu engaged in chaotic fighting as each ruler claimed legitimate succession from the Han Dynasty after its collapse. Noted as one of the most bloody periods in Chinese history due to the number of deaths, a number of innovations were created during this time. This period concluded with Wei defeating Shu, which was in turn overthrown by Jin, which conquered Wu.
- 265 CE - 420 CE: Established by the Sima clan, which served the Cao family of Wei, the dynasty unified China by defeating Wu, but found itself weakened by internal conflicts, corruption and turmoil. This led to a period in which sixteen kingdoms arose in coexistence with the Jin Dynasty.
- 304 CE - 439 CE: The Wu Hu period saw a number of emperors and kings claim sovereignty as the uprising swept through the land ruled by the Jin. There would be chaotic fighting amongst the kingdoms, leading to the consolidation of the kingdoms into Qin, which sought to absorb Qin. The attempt failed, which allowed the Jin Dynasty to reclaim a lot of its lands. During this time, the Korean Goguryeo fought with one of the kingdoms while granting asylum to the Yan king until they decided to execute him.
- 402 CE - 589 CE: Despite the civil wars that plagued the period, China experienced a great number of advances in medicine, mathematics, astronomy and cartography. Additionally, Buddhism grew popular as travelers brought it over from India.
- 598 CE - 614 CE: The Goguryeo-Sui Wars (part of Goguryeo-China Wars) take place when China, newly unified by the Sui Dynasty in 581 CE, seeks to project power over the rest of Asia only to meet opposition from the Goguryeo Kingdom. Though the events ended with a peace offer, the discontentment over the number of deaths and depletion of supplies caused the people to revolt, which weakened the dynasty.
- 618 CE - 907 CE: The Tang Dynasty rises in 618 CE, marking the beginning of a very prospering time, one that exceeds that of the Han Dynasty. During this time, the dynasty built a very large army to fight against nomads for trade routes along the Silk Road and in Asia. It projected its power over Korea, Vietnam and Japan as a means to maintain influence in Asia. During this time, Chinese poetry evolved during its own golden age while Buddhism was introduced to China, only to be persecuted by the state.
- A LOT OF FIGHTING/CHAOS HAPPENS, will provide details upon request / when I come back to this.
- 1271 CE - 1368 CE: The invasion of the Mongols from the north caused the Chinese to find themselves under the rule of the Khans, who assimilated into the culture. During this time, though the Mongols launched a series of campaigns, were mostly peaceful for China and was noted to be prosperous by Portuguese traveler Marco Polo.
- 1368 CE - 1644 CE: After finally successfully overthrowing their foreign rulers, China established the Ming dynasty and tried to extend his sphere of influence by building an army and a navy. The rulers launched a series of campaigns that would lead to the capture of Vietnam and traveled as far as the Indian ocean. However, this would be noted as the last Chinese ruled-dynasty.
- 1644 CE - 1911 CE: The Qing Dynasty was formed when the Manchus invaded China. Unlike their previous rulers, who tried to adopt the culture, they made it a point to distinguish the men to wear a queue and Manchu style clothing.
- 1839 CE - 1860 CE: Great Britain was looking to establish a foothold in trade with Asia, but were met with strict trade rules established by China to protect its interests. During that time the British colony India was a major producer of opium and had been heavily exporting it to others, including Chinese people. The officials tried to ban it, turning any form of it found in its territory, which the British in turn created ways to circumvent the laws. Despite the discipline carried out on those caught selling opium on ships, the behavior led to a dispute about the destruction of property and eventually led to the Opium Wars. The Treaty of Nanking, which consisted of a series of concessions given the British, gave the British control of Hong Kong, which was then merely a natural harbor. This begins the opening of china to trade.
- 1910 CE: China prepares for a national parliament after having drafted a constitution four years prior and establishing provincial legislatures the year before. However, these reforms failed due to the opposition that the court faced while making these reforms.
- 1911 CE: The Wuchang Uprising allowed the revolutionaries in China and capture various parts of China. This caused them to firmly believe that they had successfully started the Republic Era of China, only to find themselves caught in more internal power struggles.
- 1912 CE: The formation of the Republic of China marked the end of Imperial China as Sun Yat-sen is voted as the first President of the Republic of China after twenty-four provinces declared independence from the Qing Empire. However, these were chaotic times for China as he had been torn apart by foreign powers and in-fighting as Yuan Shikai uses his control over the Beiyang Army to gain control of the Republic of China. The Kuomintang was created the same year in opposition of Yuan Shikai's control.
- 1913: Seven provinces in the south rebel against Yuan, triggering the Second Revolution. In exchange for international recognition, Yuan gave Russia autonomy over outer Mongolia and Tanna Tuva while Great Britain continued to influence Tibet. Since the leaders of the Kuomintang dissolved, the order was dissolved and its members were forced to leave parliament. This caused parliament to fail to meet quorum and subsequently suspended.
- 1931 CE - 1937 CE: A period of two Chinas, the Chinese Communist Party created another country inside of China, only to dissolve it in 1937 when it unified with the Kuomintang in face of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
- 1949: The Kuomintang is defeated and finally retreat to Taiwan and thus, leaving Mao Zedong to form the Peoples' Republic of China. From here on, Taiwan continues to experience tensions in its relationship with China, which includes having over 500 missiles pointed at the island while the United States stands behind Taiwan in the present day.
- 1953: Mao Zedong begins a rigorous persecution of former landlords and merchants, going as far as to execute powerful landlords to prove a point. Representations of the feudal past such as historical artifacts and buildings of cultural significance were destroyed.
- 1958: The Great Leap Forward ends with a flop as China attempts to create communally organized iron smelters to increase steel production, which led not only to failed attempts to create steel, but the rotting of unharvested crops. Though a lot of internal conflict took place, this list will be more focused on the external wars that he fought. Famines plagued the land while birth rates dropped in half.
- 1966: The Cultural Revolution takes place as Mao attempt to get ride of old Chinese elements and created the Red Guard to police civilians. Education and work come to a halt. The movement does not end until his death in 1976.
- 1980: Deng Xiaoping comes to power after the death of Mao Zedong and impose several policies to overturn Mao's old policies and to help China modernize, creating several economic zones to foster foreign investment.
-1989: Tiananmen Square massacres take place after spontaneous protests in the square caused the government to send tanks and soldiers to attempt to suppress the protests. The bloody ending cause a strain between China and its western allies.
- 1997: Hong Kong is returned to Chinese control, combining a major economic power in Asia with China's own quickly growing economy. The city was granted power to administer itself and maintain mostly independent from Chinese control.
- 1999: Macau is returned to China. The city was granted power to administer itself and maintain mostly independent from Chinese control.
- 2008: Major earthquake shares the Sichuan province of China, killing many.
Allies:
Due to his isolationist personality, China cannot really say that he has any permanent allies, as allies that would team up in one war may show up to fight against him in the next (though it seemed like he had more enemies than allies). Though a lot of internal conflict took place, this list will focus on the external wars that he fought.
Russian-Manchu border disputes (1652 - 1689): Joseon Dynasty (Korea)
Sino-French War (1883 - 1885): Vietnam
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 - 1945): United States
World War II (1939 - 1945): Soviet Union, United States, United Kingdom, France, Poland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Yugoslavia, Belgium, Netherlands, Greece, Norway and others
Korean War (1950): North Korea, Soviet Union
Losing count, will come back to work on this!
Enemies:
Though a lot of internal conflict took place, this list will focus on the external wars that he fought.
Goryeo-Khitan Wars (993 - 1019): Goryeo Dynasty (Korea)
Ming-Kotte War (1652 - 1689): Kotte (Sri Lanka)
The Revolt (1418 - 1427): Vietnam
Russian-Manchu border disputes (1652 - 1689): Russia, Cossacks
First Opium War (1839 - 1842): United Kingdom, British East India Company
Second Opium War (1856 - 1860): United Kingdom, France, British India
Sino-French War (1883 - 1885): France
First Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895): Japan
Boxer Rebellion (1899 - 1901): Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, France, United States, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Chinese (Pro-foreign faction)
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 - 1945): Japan
World War II (1939 - 1945): Germany, Japan, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Finland, Bulgaria, Iraq, Tailand and others
Korean War (1950): South Korea, United States of America & Allies
Sample Post:
[Takes place during winter of 208/209 CE, at Chibi, Hubei.]
As far as he could remember, the bitter winter always caused him to shiver, despite the amount of layers of silk and fur he wore. Granted, the youth had always gotten cold easily, regardless of how active he was. Some of the doctors said that it was due to poor circulation, though curable through periodic acupuncture. However, they unknowingly hit the youth's belief that while he did not look a day older than when he first met the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, he was convinced that old age was catching up to him. Yet at the same time, Liu Bei simply laughed when he had voiced his concern while Zhuge Liang merely thoughtfully stroked his chin and told the youth that at this point, it was best to just go along with that the doctor ordered.
Yet Yao was convinced that the easier solution would be if they moved south, where the weather was fairer and warmer. Well, except when the summer came, that is.
"Yao!"
The call of his name caused the Chinese youth to turn around to see who was calling him. Judging from the serene expression and confident stride, Yao could see that he was being approached by none other than Zhao Zilong, better known as Zhao Yun. Though he had not worked directly with the general, Zhao's reputation for undying loyalty to his lord and his keen fighting skills were well known among the ranks. Not to mention, despite his position as a trusted general, Zhao Yun never seemed to forget his humble origins as a farmer. Turning his entire body around, Yao walked towards the man, bowing his head politely as a sign of respect.
"Mister Zhao, how are you?" he greeted, "how was the council with Liu-daren?"
The general finally stopped walking towards him when they were close enough to have a conversation comfortably. gIt went well,h he said, gI believe that that things are looking up for us. Our strategists have worked tirelessly on developing a plan that would capitalize our strengths.h
The comment to cause Yao to nod in response to Zhao. gSo it looks like they will be sending Huang Gai to Cao Cao to discuss a possible surrender?h Yao asked, a look of curiosity in his eyes. Prior to their station at Chibi, Yao could not deny the fact that Shu forces looked weak despite the caliber of generals in the ranks. After all, regardless of the quality of their leaders, the Wei forces had their own formidable generals, along with their own number of strategists who have locked up the likes of Zhuge Liang (granted, the man was merely mortal and not a god of war). Despite the amount of respect that he had for the man, the bitter defeat that they had suffered to this point was a constant reminder of the vulnerability. Yao could tell that Liu Bei was secretly ashamed of the defeat, though he wore the face of a leader, encouraging his men to keep their chins up in spite of the outcomes.
However, a blessing had come unexpectedly after they formed an alliance with Wu. While they did receive more resources, a greater chance of defeat a common enemy, and an opportunity to tip the balances of power into their favor, scouts had given the news that Cao Cao had decided to convert his land forces into a navy. Though based on pure speculation, however, the Wei's lack of naval experience could mean that the Wei forces would not have the usual ability to carry out a carefully planned strategy. It was something that even Yao could figure out.
Shaking again as he stood in the cold, the Chinese youth finally looked up at Zhao Yun again as his frozen breath escaped his lips. "Yes," Zhao replied, though his expression showed that he was deep in thought, "perhaps we can catch the forces off guard enough to use it to our advantage."
Then they stood on the ledge overlooking the lake, facing Chibi, a set of landmark cliffs. They already received enough intelligence to know that Cao Cao will send his troops through the straight. However, the question would be whether or not they would sail to the cliffs and engage in battle there. Someone had mentioned that it would be best to cut off any possible risk of invasion by cutting them off at Chibi and then driving them into a retreat.
The reasoning behind the decisions were sound, however, Yao could not help but feel a slight sense of uncertainty as he walked himself through the strategy. As much as he wanted to believe in the abilities of both Shu and Wu, the worse-case scenarios continually played in his head endlessly and caused him to worry. Glancing up, he studied the general's expression, which was very different from his own. A sense of jealousy surged through Yao as he noted the stoicism in the way that the general carried himself. In the art of war, military genius was only half of the battle, the rest also depends on how much effort one would put into the battle.
Then looking over the lake again as Yao tried to scale the battle and ran a simulation of possible scenarios that could take place before finally stopping himself. Though it was important to determine the exact details of what could happen, he realized that he was regardless of what happened, the battle would be decisive and a potential morale booster if they won. Everyone recognized that.
"Would you want to go back to the camp grounds?"
Nodding vigorously as he wrapped his cloak tighter around himself, Yao replied, "yes, I think that I will do that. Any longer outside and I believe that I will freeze." To emphasize his sentiments, he proceeded to rub his arms as he shivered slightly.
The response garnered a chuckle from the general, who for some reason felt amused by Yao's sudden outburst of honesty. Nodding in agreement, Zhao gestured back to the camp. "That sounds good, and make sure to get some rest," he replied, "the next few days will be very engaging."
[I'm sorry for my LAME post. Orz]
Did you read the rules and Dark Reflections Canon?
Actually, I just got back from this new restaurant that opened up in my building, I think they serve Italian pasta and some types of appetizers, it looked good!
Random fun fact about yourself:
I use to throw up on my flights to Japan when I smelled teriyaki. But I don't anymore.[/font]