China (cWOD)

China is the center of the Middle Kingdom, one of the greatest nations in Asia and home to various Shen. The relationships with their western counterparts are often stressed and many of the natives value their ancient traditions very high and react from conservative to outright hostile to any attempts to change their climate

Kindred of the East
China is the spiritual heart of the Quincunx. Cathayan civilization first developed along the banks of the sacred rivers; the great texts and teachings regarding the Kuei-jin's nature have their source here as well. Kuei-jin of pure Chinese origin, regardless of the Age in which they took the Second Breath, know the special position China historically occupies in the Middle Kingdom. The original center of the Five August Courts of the Fourth Age, it is now divided into five Courts, with each centered around an important mortal city: Beijing, which is the home of the Blood Court and acts as the center of Kuei-jin jurisdiction and the authority of the Five August Ancestors, Shanghai, which is home of the Flesh Court, which is locked into perpetual battle with akuma and foreigners since the end of World War II, Hong Kong, which housed the Flame Court and now desperately tries to secure the city for the Quincunx after centuries of Kin-jin rule and is the gateway for the Great Leap Outward, Chongquing, which houses the Bone Court and is dedicated to preserving the rites and ways of the elder Kuei-jin and the Wan Xian, and Changan, which houses the Jade Court that acts as a spiritual center for the Quincunx.

The Kuei-jin within China mostly have superior attitudes towards their brethren in other Asian countries, seeing themselves as their parents whom they owe respect and obedience. This creates various fractures between them and other Courts, who are unwilling to part from their own traditions and Dragon Nests in order to satisfy the Quincunx vanity.

Vampire: The Masquerade
Few Cainites mange to gain a foothold in this hostile land, but it is possible for those who are silent and respectful. The Giovanni have a branch family called the della Passaglia that originated in China and who are among the few Kindred that are tolerated by the Blood Court within Beijing. Ravnos enclaves exist sporadically, as the Deceivers travel too much to be pinned down and exterminated by concerned Kuei-jin. Remnants of the Salubri, in the form of the Wu Zao, hound the local Kuei-jin, who remember their traitorous ancestor Zao-lat as a failed student of their own great philosopher Xue, and the Assamites are rumored to possess strongholds in the lands of the Uihgurs. Broods of Lasombra have dwelled within China since 1300 B.C and have remained mainly unmolested by the natives, although in modern times, many of the neonates of these broods have joined in with the Sabbat. It is known that the Tremere underwent several attempts to build a chantry there to study the strange powers of the Kuei-jin, a project that was thrown back with the Week of Nightmares and Thrace’s defection.

Until 1998, the Camarilla possessed a beachhead in the form of Hong Kong, which was under the control of Robert Pedder and contained the sole Tremere chantry on Chinese territory. By now, the city has wandered from English hands back to Chinese and one of the first things that the Kuei-jin did was killing any Kin-jin that they found. Survivors either hid themselves well or made bargains with the Asians.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse
China is fairly in the hands of the Hengeyokai, a federation of various Changing Breeds that came together after the War of Shame, and the chief lair of the Zhong Lung. Western Garou are rare, especially since the Stargazers defected to the Beast Courts. The only tribe with noteworthy presence is the Boli Zouhisze, a branch of the Glass Walkers with a strong presence in Hong Kong and other urbanized areas. Exiled members of the Garou Nation sometimes wander around China, sometimes allying themselves with the Beast Courts. The Kumo werespiders have many of their lairs there, preying on mortal misery and the results of industrialization. Some Pentex divisions also try to gain a foothold in the growing Chinese economy but are by now mostly repelled.

Mage: The Ascension
The Chinese mages, regardless of craft, commonly believe that they first appeared in the Second Age. The Metaphysic Trinity is still revered among Eastern mages as Tiger (Dynamism), Phoenix (Stasis) and Dragon (Entropy). The Akashic Brotherhood originates in China (well, Tibet) and have many strongholds there left, although Communism has weakened their hold over their Nodes. The Wu Lung – or Dragon Wizards- are an autonomous craft that regard themselves as servants and speakers of humanity to the Celestial Bureaucracy. From them, the Dalou’laoshi came, a society dedicated to science which are the Technocracy’s allies in the East. Their modern influence continues to grow steadily. Both sides battled each other for many centuries over control over the mortal belief, while the Akashics espoused Buddhism and self-knowledge, the Dragon Wizards and the Five Metal Dragons espoused legalism and Confucianism doctrines, resulting the destruction of the Shaolin Temple in 1735. In modern times and the stifling paradigma, both sides are forced to teeth-gnashing cooperate, but they are getting along surprisingly well after a while.

The Cult of Ecstasy has also some sects in China, particularly the K’an Lu. Other crafts are the despised Wu Keng, who originate as the ancient Chinese shamans and who were forced to turn to the Yama Kings during the Chou Dynasty.

Wraith: The Oblivion
In the Underworld, Quin Shihuangdi, the first Emperor of China, now better known as Yu Huang, still rules over the dead of his former realm with an iron fist. His Immortal Guard of terracotta soldiers has suppressed any uprising in the Yellow Springs and stretched its influence to other Asian underworlds. Only Han Chinese wraiths are considered citizens by the Imperial Bureaucrats, while all others are considered as resources to be meliorated or soulforged. Wraiths are dependent on their family within the Shadowlands to survive, resulting in long dynasties of wraith families that sometimes seek to aid their living counterparts in exchange for prayers (which generate Pathos).

The Yellow Springs and the Stygian Empire were at war since the occupation of Macau and only an uneasy truce between Yu Huang, Charon and the Ivory Queen settled the affair, although contempt of the west runs still strong in the Imperial Ministries. The last try to invade the Dark Kingdom of Iron, however, was thwarted by the Sixth Maelstrom, resulting in a near annihilation of the Imperial Army and the dissolution of much of the Shadowlands infrastructure.

Changeling: The Dreaming
Western Changelings seldom come to China, this land lies secure in the hands of the Shinma, who protect their holdings against incursions from the waigoren. The Shinma part China into various Provinces that are supposed to rely on another. China is home to the Hunan Province, which contains various port towns in the East and South, with the capital being in Hong Kong ( in order to better supervise the influx of foreign supernaturals), the Jilin province, which covers the Eastern coastline of China and both Koreas, which resides currently in Seoul, the Beijing Province, which focuses solely on Beijing, the Xinjiang Province, which contains most of western China, the Quinghai Province, who are centered around the Himalayas and thus suffers from the influx of military forces to Tibet, the Sichuan Province, which is located in central China and suffers from the effects of the Three Gorges Dam. As the Shinma maintain themselves via prayers and ceremonies, Communistic activities against these traditions possess the potential to severely weaken them.

Hunter: The Reckoning
The Shih originated in China during the Xia dynasty and later during the Shang dynasty as the Celestial Army, who opposed the supernatural corruption of mortals and fought against those who did not follow their nature, but indulged in their base desire. The Celestial Army fell after a joined effort of the Kuei-jin, and the modern Shih are vagabonds and avengers, who try to keep fighting their fight for justice and balance, although many succumb to the lure of vengeance. Others are Strike Force Zero, a hunter organization dedicated on exterminating all non-humans within the Middle Kingdom, China included.

Mummy: The Resurrection
China, as well as the whole Middle Kingdom, has its own population of Immortals, the Wu T’ian, who are tasked with preparing the Middle Kingdom for the Sixth Age and are clad in taoistic notions of the world around them. The Amenti respect the boundaries of their realms of influence and such stay out of China. Some of the old Shemsu-Heru were seen in Hong Kong, but most acted covert, instead seeking to understand the secrets of the Eastern Immortals that were beyond the reach of Horus.