Dong Guojia: The republic set on the eastern most of the continent. It is heavily based on historical Chinese and Korean culture with some modern influences and futuristic technologies.
Landscape and geography: Dong Guojia is made up of mostly hilly grasslands, occasionally dotted with forests of bamboo and other trees, which are common in Asia. The region becomes more mountainous as one heads further west. There are three notable landmarks
- Lánbǎoshí hé (Sapphire River): Starting from the southeast, this famous river branches into hundreds that snake all over Dong Guojia. Due to this, ferries and waterbending is the most common mode of travel in the country, second only to hover vehicles and airbending.
- Yù píngyuán (Jade Plains): In the center-most of the country are the jade plains which are lush grasslands that go on for several miles. Due to the fertile soils; farms, apothecaries and the like are very common here.
- Shí bùxiǔ de zhīzhù
(Stone Immortal Pillars): Towards the western mountains of Dong Guojia are these stone formations. There is a famous tale of an earth bender named Guan Pi who was set upon by a large gang of bandits. Knowing he could not defeat them all in one sitting, he used his earthbending techniques to raise this maze of stone pillars, trapping and isolating the bandits. This allowed him to pick them off one-by-one or in small packs and arrest them. Since then there has yet to be a greater feat of earthbending.
Zoology & Wildlife:
Fashion: Long, flowing, robe-like clothes are quite common in Asia. Dong Guojia, while having some long shirt styles, typically wear collared shirts, jackets, gowns and the like.
Men: Men typically wear long Changshan during the winter, along with slacks and boots. In the spring and autumn, Tangzhuang suits, along with slacks and slipper-style shoes are worn. While in the summer shorter-sleeve or sleeveless versions of Tangzhuang are popular along with either shorts or lighter slacks and the same slipper-style shoes and sneakers.
Women: Women in Dong Guojia wear Qipao of various lengths and styles, depending on the weather. In winter the Qipao tends to be very long with long sleeves and women wear long boots and stockings to protect against the cold. In Spring and Autumn the Qipao is lighter and slipper-style shoes or heeled shoes are popular. In the Summer, shorter-sleeve or sleeveless Qipao are accompanied by the same slipper shoes and heeled shoes as in the Spring and Autumn. Short-shorts are also sometimes worn, but most women are too reserved or easily embarrassed to wear such revealing clothes.
Not all women in Dong Guojia wear gowns and dresses, especially airbenders and gliders (so as to avoid giving unintentional peeks at their undergarments). Those who don't, prefer to wear pants and shorts, similar to men, but more form fitting.
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General Society: The people of Dong Guojia greatly value scholarship, health, good etiquette and culture. As such, the average Dong Guojian would have an IQ level of about 275 and a life expectancy of 150-200 years. Dong Guojian people are very polite, always bowing in greeting and farewell while maintaining eye-contact and are also tactful in what they say. It's rare to find a Dong Guojian that swears regularly, though the occasional cuss word does slip out in times of high emotion.
It's worth noting that the Dong Guojian public is somewhat reserved in "mature matters". Censorship in media is very high with violence, sexuality and foul language are either kept out or in the case of Mature-themed and even Adult films and shows, censored. However, nudity in the context of art such as paintings, artistic films, plays or medical-theme works are now uncensored due to recent laws. This is meant to show the human form in a non-sexualized and artistic manner, though this isn't still without some controversy. Entertainment in Dong Guojia tends to be very high-brow, popular genres include Historical Fiction, Drama, Science Fiction, Educational and Comedy.
-Education: Dong Guojia's emphasis on education and intellect has caused it's education system to be among the best in the world. Schools teach a wide range of subjects from including science, history, math, language arts, foreign languages, philosophy, art, music, political science, computer science and physical education. At an elementary level, foreign languages would include those local to the continent such as Timog or Nishitamin. Physical education teaches a wide range of exercises including basic calisthenics and Qigong to develop both external and internal fitness.
The school year is typically eleven months out of the year, ending during the spring for Chūnjià or 'Spring Break'. The School week is six days out of seven and rarely closes except on important holidays such as the Dōngzhì (Winter Solstice). The education system is broken into three stages: Elementary which goes from ages 4-10, High School which goes from 11-18 and University. Schools also include extracurricular groups and clubs that include debate teams, drama clubs, Go clubs, music bands, art clubs, poetry clubs and martial art clubs.
-Music: The music of Dong Guojia is taught as a complex and expressive science of sound. Traditional music can be played solo or in small quartets. Traditional instruments come in various forms which are separated into three main categories.
-Woodwind & Percussion including
-Bowed Strings
-Plucked and Stuck strings.
Modern music in Dong Guojia takes advantage of modern computers, synthesizers and sound sampling creating genres such as Huánjìng, meaning Ambience, Gǔ dīyīn, meaning Drum n Bass, Dàqì de , meaning Lounge and many others. Artists who work in these fields are typically solo artists, but collaboration between musicians is also common in Dong Guojia.
-Celebrity culture: Celebrity culture in Dong Guojia is not the same as it would be in most countries, due to cultural emphasis on intellect and high culture. As aforementioned, celebrities include scientists, doctors, philosophers, authors of various genres, actors of various genres, musicians of various genres, artists of various genres and martial artists. Due to local laws of privacy, tabloids and gossip is very low, while some underground forums and websites focus on such things.
Those who are able to master several of study and accomplish great things with them are awarded the title Wényì fùxīng shíqí de rén, meaning 'Renaissance man' or Wényì fùxīng shíqí de nǚrén if a woman. These people are somewhat rare and it's considered a great honor to be awarded this title. As such all people of renaissance are inducted in a hall of fame and are historically recorded for their accomplishments.
-Martial Arts Culture: The martial arts techniques and practices in Dong Guojia had evolved the techniques practiced in the Old Kingdom, or "Gǔ wángguó". There exist several forms and techniques in Dong Guojia which are separated between hard-external & soft-internal. Hard-external styles such as
Pigua Zhang and
Choy Mok practiced fast and emphasize the use of muscular power, gradually becoming softer and more internally based as the user advances. Meanwhile soft-internal styles such as
Taiji Quan and
Bagua Zhang are practiced slowly and emphasize the use of internal Qi-power, gradually becoming harder and more external as the user progresses. There also exist several forms based on animals; the most famous five being the
tiger, crane, snake, leopard and dragon and even styles from the Gǔ wángguó such as
Taekkyon and
Kuk Sool Won. No matter the form, most martial art institutions include grappling techniques in the form of
Chin na which uses submission holds & joint locks and
Shuai Jiao which emphasizes throwing & wrestling techniques.
The dong Guojian martial arts arsenal uses hundreds of different weapons which are categorized into
18 weapons; 9 long, 9 short. The main four are the
dao (saber),
jian (sword),
qiang (spear), and
gun (staff). The weapons also have dozens of variations and combinations.
The practice of martial arts has always been a spiritual one, focusing on personal development and self-actualization as well as self-defense. As such; many Chán and Tiandao temples across Dong Guojia also teach martial arts. The techniques of
Chán monasteries are hard-external and include mind-based Qiángzhì techniques meanwhile
Tiandao temple techniques are soft-internal and teach various Qishu techniques and Qí mó spells & rituals. Other institutions that teach martial arts are education institutions that offer martial arts as an extracurricular activity, the police and the military. The latter two of which focus more on practical technique in order to increase survivability of the practitioner. More information on this will be found in sections regarding military and police.
As aforementioned; the practice of martial arts in Dong Guojia is considered a spiritual one of self-development. As such, schools generally emphasized teaching prearranged forms and partnered sets, saving the martial applications for more advanced students who had developed good physique and technique. However some schools and clans secretly warred with one another for supremacy of the martial arts world. Anyone who gained such would be able to more widely promote their school's techniques and acquire great amounts of social-economic influence as well as work for the military as a high-ranking officer. By the end of the 20th century, these conflicts began to worsen when certain schools who practiced forbidden techniques began to force the conflicts out in the open. Many rival schools and temples continued to battle them in order to stop them in order to keep them from gaining any more power and influence.
However, despite their and the police's efforts, the conflicts only continued to escalate to the point of innocent bystanders were killed in the process. At this point the military had to properly intervene to bring some measure of order. In the year 2005, the Hépíng zhǔyì zhě (Pacifist age) began in which the government first disbanded it's military forces in an attempt to encourage peace amongst the world. Originally there came a large demand to have all martial practices and weapons banned. However, at the same time there was just as much demand to keep the martial practices alive as they had been integral in Dong Guojia's history. To satisfy both parties, the Republic Council at the time began what is known as the 'Wǔshù movement'.
This had many schools and institutions begin to place a greater emphasis on perfecting forms for performance arts and sportifying martial applications for competition sparring. This caused them to either place far less emphasis on self-defense & battlefield-oriented martial applications or stop teaching them altogether. While this movement gained great popularity, it did not go without criticism from many martial arts purists who felt the movement was hurting the true spirit of martial arts by watering down its techniques into a performance act and sport. Other institutions that maintained that purist school of thought included Chan and Tiandao monasteries and temples who needed to combat evil spirits, demons and cult followers and police institutions who needed to apprehend criminals. However, maintaining their arts' purity also caused this institutions to fall into decline from lack of students. Some of these schools were even forced to shut down while others moved to other countries that would appreciate the pure martial techniques.
This continued until the year 2100, when southern province Zhaikou was invaded by the Timog National Army. By this time, Zhuge Àidéhuá, a Duōcáiduōyì de rén who had been framed for destroying a research lab and killing his colleagues, had returned from a journey with Akechi Edo-Bushiōji and Magippo Inosanto. After clearing his name and exposing councilman Liu Ying-Too as a traitor, Àidéhuá began recruiting volunteers of policemen, local martial artists and other able-bodied citizen to form a militia. This militia cooperated with the Nishitami Armed Forces and the Sektor Pitong rebels to first fight off the Timog invaders and then remove Tagapangulo Alejendro Abutin and dismantle his dictatorship government.
Afterwards, Zhuge Àidéhuá began another movement to rival Dong Guojia traditional martial arts practices while being named commander of the newly established Dong Guojia Zìwèiduì.
-Supernaturalism: Like most of Asia, mysticism in Dong Guojia is devided between Qi-based 'Qishu' and mental-based 'Shēngwù'.
Use of supernaturalism in Dong Guojia is generally Qi (internal energy)-based, so use of actual magic and sorcery is not very common. However, before the aspects of Qi-based arts, one must understand the aspects of Qi by itself.
Qi is the lifeforce energy present within living things, much like the battery or power source to an electrical device. The flow and balance of Qi is closely related to one's health and in some cases stamina. Contrary to ancient belief, imbalance or lack of Qi is not the cause of illness, but rather rather a consequence. One of the basic functions of Qi is to strengthen a body's immune system. As such imbalance or lack of strong Qi flow can allow bacteria and viruses to settle in the body and attack it.
While having a strong Qi-flow and/or abundance of Qi can help keep the body healthy and increase life-span somewhat, it does not cause immortality as the body still ages and eventually shuts down. On the flip-side if one's Qi is completely depleted, then the body will die. One needs the other to keep a person alive.
In Dong Guojia, any technique of cultivating and manipulating one's Qi is referred to as 'Qishu' or 'Energy-art'. However, this has caused a misconception in countries outside of Asia that these arts use only Qi, the life energy. It must be understood that Qi actually has two sides: Qi, which refers to life energy and Jing, which refers to power or essence. Nearly every Qishu technique first teaches a form of Qi-gong to create this energy.
Qi is produced in the Dan Dian point, which is located in the lower stomach (as such Qi flow and abundance is also closely related to sexual health and fertility), and flows throughout the body through meridians, which are located throughout the body. Eventually Qi flows up to the brain and from there is converted into Jing and flows back down throughout the body, eventually going back to the Dan Dian point.
Different styles of Qishu are usually referred to as bending, which are taught in two versions in Dong Guojia
Trade schools and medical schools that teach bending, teach domestic versions also known as 'tool styles'. Meanwhile temples and other institutions that teach martial arts teach the martial version of bending. There are some institutions that teach both versions of bending techniques, however those who are clever and have the control could manipulate either style to resemble the other.
There are various forms of bending;
-Shuǐ jìshù is the technique of bending liquid by externally expanding one's Qi into water or water-based substances. Typically the user can manipulate the molecular speed of water to use any of its three phases; ice (solid) water (liquid) and steam (gas). Through this, the waterbender can control the temperature of water as well as it's shape and movement. While Shuǐ jìshù is generally taught to use all three phases, some institutions emphasis use of one phase, such as liquid bending.
The tool version of Shuǐ jìshù is often used for fishing, water travel, fire-fighting, plumbing, ice sculpting, ice skating and cooking to a small degree. Meanwhile the martial styles of Shuǐ jìshù manipulate water to crash, whip, restrain & control, create projectiles and fixed weapons of ice and encase either an opponent to restrain them, themselves to create a layer of armor, as well as various other applications.
A sub-skill of Shuǐ jìshù is bloodbending which is used to bend the blood within living beings. Due to dangerous and homicidal philosophy behind this technique, it has been banned from use.
-Xiāofáng jìshù: Firebenders can use their Jin to regulate their body temperature and ignite it into flames. At higher levels, firebenders can also externally expand their Jin to control surrounding flames. This can be used to either make flames bigger and burn brighter or extinguish them. Firebenders can also intensify their flame, which also causes it to change color. Flames can burn a low red, high yellow, intense blue and at its highest level a powerful white.
The tool version of Xiāofáng jìshù is used for welding, fire-fighting, cooking, factory use (such as glass making and metallurgy). Meanwhile the martial style teaches to project flames through one's hands, feet and even mouth. A firebender using can project concentrated jets or compacted blasts, either of which can be charged for greater effect.
Subskills of Xiāofáng jìshù include magmabending which allows a user to control molten lava and combustion which focuses on firing bursts of concentrated heat. The tool version of this is used for demolition purposes.
-Tǔ jìshù: The technique of bending the earth to one's use by expanding their Jin into the ground. This extends to just about any mineral and type of earth, including dirt, crystal & gemstone, sand, mud and so on. Earthbenders can either create fissures in the ground, raise stalagmites or lower craters or even lift piece of earth, giving them an element of telekinesis.
Tool versions of Tǔ jìshù are often used in construction, grounds keeping & gardening and sculpting as well as travel. The martial application typically involves creating fissures or earthquakes to disrupt an opponent's footing, raising pieces of earth to strike an opponent or create cover, hurl projectiles or shape pieces of earth into a weapon, or encase themselves in earth to create a layer of armor.
A subskill of Tǔ jìshù is metalbending, which is sometimes taught as a separate style. Metalbending is obviously the skill of bending metal, which is simply refined earth. Tool versions of metalbending is used in metallurgy or other metal works. Meanwhile the martial style of metalbending is used in a similar manner of Tǔ jìshù.
-Kōngqì jìshù: The skill of manipulating the very air itself by channeling one's Jin into it. Kōngqì jìshù is considered a very versatile skill as air almost always available. This allows the user to generate gusts of wind, cyclones, whirlwinds, hurricanes and tornadoes, as well as vertical air funnels and even increase or decrease air resistance to augment speed.
The tool version of Kōngqì jìshù is mostly used for personal use such as travel when couple with a hang glider or flying suit. The martial version uses the aforementioned abilities to knock down and trap opponents. In more extreme cases, the air gusts generated can be used to cut opponents or objects.
-Fáng léi jìshù: Once considered a sub-skill of Xiāofáng jìshù, lightning bending is know taught as its own art. The user can use their Jin to separate the electrons and protons in their cells and then channel the resulting electrical current throughout their body. Fáng léi jìshù is very straight forward and often used to project streams of electricity through one's fingers. Holding fingers together will project a single stream, while spreading them will project multiple streams-one through each finger-
However more advanced techniques allow the Fáng léi jìshù to project electricity along their body, objects (works best with metal) and from there generate electromagnetic fields.
The tool version of Fáng léi jìshù is often used by electricians to regulate electrical current in devices and machines. Meanwhile the martial version teaches the user to externally project electricity in either singular bolts, streams or in multiple streams and bolts to hit multiple targets. Later, the user learns to channel electricity through their body to either create electromagnetic fields that can stop metal projectiles, or electrify the body to either add electrical damage to physical strikes or electrify metallic or wet surfaces.
-Jīn jìshù: The art of Jīn jìshù is the technique of manipulating one's internal energies by itself, without the use of external elements. Jīn jìshù is mostly body based and is almost exclusively taught in martial art institutions, since it's applications are mostly combat-based. Every martial art institution that teaches physical combat, whether they be internal or external, teach the elementary and intermediate techniques of Jīn jìshù at one point.
These include light-body skill, which makes the body lighter, allowing a user to move faster, float on water, jump higher and glide distances, fajin and neijin, which allows the user to increase physical power (note: this is not the same as increasing physical strength) in short bursts or sustained use respectively. When these techniques are taught depends on the system being taught-external arts teach these are advanced stages, while these are taught at beginner to intermediate stages in internal systems.
Martial arts institutions that teach the advanced to master techniques of Jīn jìshù will also teach the techniques of Qi-healing, which uses Qi to stimulate the immune system to expedite the healing process. However, if used to treat broken bones and similar injuries, the bones must be reset before the technique can be attempted.
There is also the technique of Jin expulsion which is simply firing off blast of Jin energy through one's hands or feet. This can be done in either concentrated bursts or sustained blasts. This can sometimes be used as an improvised method of propulsion for flight.
Finally there is the technique of Dim Mak which is the technique of striking pressure points. This is similar to the external art of Telegu. However, where Telegu hits vital points such as nerve bundles, blood vessels, etc, Dim Mak strikes the meridians by having the user inject their Jin into specialized pressure points through their fingers, fists or feet. Also unlike Telegu, the effects and techniques of Dim Mak are far more complex and difficult to use since these pressure points are not immediately visible.
Furthermore; while Telegu can merely disable or kill an opponent, Dim Mak can also heal a subject connecting their internal energies with that of the subject, allowing them to apply the Qi-healing technique to injuries, regulate Qi-flow to restore regularity, read vital functions, siphon off the subject's Qi or supply their own and finally purge Qi, which is also effective for removing malicious magic effects and exorcism.
While powerful, this technique requires an extremely high amount of Qi abundance, control as well as coordination and accuracy to hit those pressure points. As such, there is only one place in Dong Guojia, or moreover the whole world, that teaches Dim Mak and that is the Liù xióngfēng (Six treasures) temple. This is also the only martial institution that teaches all six bending arts.
Outside of bending, Tiāndào spells and rituals are also used in order to create various effects such as seals and enchantments. These are done most commonly with paper charms or magically enchanted swords, ritual circles and more. Tiāndào sorcery is only taught within temples and monasteries to advanced monks. The magic techniques taught in several categories based off the Elven system in Hasari.
- Yuánsù : Known as 'Elemental' magic. This is manipulation of the elements including earth, wind, fire, water, lightning, spirit and Qi/Jin.
- Zhìliáo : In this case is the manipulation of Qi to heal injuries, cure illnesses and even restore someone from death. However, the latter has various limitations. Spells in this category also uses spells to fortify one's health.
- Huànxiàng : The creation of manipulation of illusions. These are split between physical illusions such as ethereal constructs, etc, and hallucinations which is manipulation of a subject(s)'s senses to perceive something that isn't there. Illusion magic was also common in theatre and opera until the use of practical special effects became more common since a camera couldn't pick up the illusions
- Biàndòng : Known as 'Alteration', is manipulation of the physical world's properties. Techniques in this field includes changing a person or object's physical properties (I.E. weight, height, etc.), multiplying a person or object (or cloning), transmutating an object (most commonly turning a stick into a rose) and shapeshifting a person.
- Bǔchōng : Known as 'Supplemental' magic This field involves spells that can be used to enhance a subject's abilities such as improving one's physical and/or mental performance. This field also uses this to improve an object's abilities such as a sword's sharpness and durability. Offense spells in this category are used to achieve the opposite effect such as making an enemy weaker or slower, decreasing the effectiveness or durability of their armor & weapons, etc.
- Mèilì : Most commonly done through ritual, this is the field of imbuing an object with any of the above magical effects. Most enchantments in Tiāndào tend to be permanent, but its style of enchanting is somewhat difficult and somewhat rare in Dong Guojia
- Wèizhì : Meaning 'Location'. This field includes spells such as teleportation (either short or long range) of a person or object, tracking and marking and even telepathy.
- Liànjīn shù : Meaning Alchemy, is similar to enchanting; Alchemy is the field of creating potions that bestow magical effects. While this field holds no actual spells, it's still integral in the magic community, especially in Tiāndào temples.
Mind-based Shēngwù has slightly less influence in Dong Guojian general culture, at least that it's not commonly taught in educational institutions. Shēngwù is more commonly taught in Chán monasteries and Chán-influenced martial arts schools.
The term Shēngwù translates to 'Biotics' and is first developed in the mind through intense meditation. This causes the mind to create energy through divination of bodily cells. This begins in the mind and as the practioner progresses they are able to create energy from the cells in the rest of the body which then flows through the meridians. In essence, as Qi flow starts in the Dan Dian, goes to the mind and flows back down; The flow of Shēngwù goes in reverse, starting in the mind and ending in the Dan Dian and then back up.
At Shēngwù's basic levels, the user can augment their physical ability by increasing the range and effectiveness of the body's senses More advanced forms of Shēngwù branch into telepathic and telekinetic techniques.
-Telekinetic: The user would begin to general 'Dark Energy' to create telekinetic fields. The first skill of which is used to increase the body's physical performance through Tactile Telekinesis or 'Chùjué de xīnlíng cù dòng', in which the user channels the Dark Energy to create gravitational fields over their bodies. This is used to increase the user's strength, speed, toughness or levitation. At first this can only be done separate, but later combined at more advanced levels.
Later the user project this Dark Energy over distances for a variety of purpose; project blasts of Dark Energy in either concentrated bursts, shockwaves or sustained beams, manipulating the gravitational fields of others to lift, move or restrain them to the ground or against surfaces, creating energy barriers of various sizes and shapes or most famously creating a gravity well that can draw in and tear apart anything it sucks in.
-Telepathic: The user can project telepathic fields unto other living beings with a consciousness. This can be used to transmit thoughts from the user to the subject and vise-versa, allow the user to look into a subject's mind, hypnotize a subject through eye contact to enforce their will over them or create sensory illusions. At later levels convert their body into energy and inter a subject's mind to possess them or in the case of Chan monks, perform an exorcism.
As the skill and Shēngwù power of the user increases, their ability to connect with multiple minds increases. However, possession can only be used on a single subject at a time. However, there are many laws regulating the use of telepathy. As such peering into a subject's mind without prior consent is illegal and punishable for up to twenty-five years in prison.
Finally there is a final skill that allows the user to alter the mental function of a subject, changing their personalities, erase memories and even perform lobotomies. However, this technique has been banned in Dong Guojia and many other countries and are mostly used by demon worshiping cults and criminal organizations.
-Religion: In general, the various gods are respected and revered rather than worshiped in Asia and instead philosophical followings exist in , mainly Tiāndào and Chán
Due to Dong Guojia's down-to-earth and intellectual attitudes, there is a separation between temple and state. As such, spiritual matters, including that involving spiritual beings, magic and the like are often left to temples and monasteries. In some cases monks and priests are sometimes called
Jīngshén jǐngchá or 'spirit cops'.
Many cases include haunting & possession to attacks by demons and other mystic beings, cults practicing forbidden arts, smuggling and trade or contraband and immigration of spiritual creatures into the human realm. Larger cases would call upon the government and religious institutions to cooperate with one another.
There are many gods and deities who have shrines located in many places, usually in relation to their affliation. Below are some examples
-Guan Ti is the Deity of Scholarship and is very popular in Dong Guojia. Shrines dedicated to him usually have books, abacuses, pens, modern calculators and other scholastic objects.
-The Goddess of the Sun, Xihe and the Moon Goddess, Chang'E both have shrines that include a mirror to reflect the light of the sun and the moon.
-Zhu Rong is the god of fire, whose shrines include an open flame of some sort.
-Fēi Lián is the God of Wind, whose shrines are often outdoor and accompanied by fans
-Tu Di Gong is the God of Earth whose shrines are set upon some type of earth
-Gong Gong is the God of Water whose shrines are set near rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water
-Lei Gong is the God of Lightning whose shrines include lightning rods or devices creating open streams of electricity.
-Tiāndào, meaning 'Heavenly path' is derived from Dogyo of the old kingdom. This is not so much a religion but a philosophical path, though temples do observe some ritualized prayer to the gods. It has been observed that the forces of the universe are in constant flux and as such, Tiāndào's systems and doctrines have been in flux throughout its history and actual beliefs and practices vary from person to person.
However, what has been determined through modern science is that the universe first began as a vast nothingness, Wuji. From this nothingness came the gathering of cosmic energy known as the Yang phase. From there, this energy began to move until Yin energy was born within and the two energies interacted. This resulted into the energies splitting into four phases of Yin and Yang. This is also known to scientists as 'The Big Bang'. The process of evolution is represented by the four phases further splitting into eight, known as Bagua or Eight Trigrams and the Bagua continuously subdividing from there.
It has been determined that the gods and deities mortals worship are not so much the great creators of existence, but those who have mastered themselves and ascended into higher states of being, thus becoming immortal. Hence, the ultimate goal of Tiāndào is to negotiate one's fate by becoming immortal. This is done through the process of Alchemy which comes in two forms.
Waidan is the art of external alchemy which uses physical ingredients and ritual to concoct potions. A Tiāndào monk and priest can concoct various types of potions of varying types and affects- which are too numerous to list here. Meanwhile, Neidan is the art of internal alchemy, which uses specilized Qi-gong exercises to manipulate and mold the energies of the body to create immortality. In this vein, one could become immortal by brewing a potion that grants eternal youth, or manipulate their Qi to convert their physical body into spirit.
There are historical records of those who have been able to accomplish either of this and a few of them head some Tiāndào shrines and the secrets behind this are fiercely guarded. There is a saying; Tài zìyóu jǐyǔ de zhùfú biànchéngle zǔzhòu, meaning 'A blessing too freely given becomes a curse'.
-Chán is a philosophical path that was developed in the Old Kingdom in ancient times. Chán's overall philosophy is that one's extravagant ambitions for power, wealth, status, etc. is the overall cause of human suffering and personal depression. Only by letting go of those desires and 1. Finding happiness in one's station and 2. Taking a path of self cultivation in order to achieve a higher state of consciousness and 3. Showing compassion to all living things, one would eventually find peace and happiness.
In the second vein, Chán and Tiāndào share similarities beyond occasional worship of the gods and deities. However, Chán places far more emphasis on mental meditation and the present moment. This has led to the misconception that Chán practitioners tend to disregard the past and future.
This addressed with a saying; “We can learn from the past, but those days are gone. We can hope for the future, but there may not be one.” As such, the Chán practitioner places more focus on the present moment, including what one is currently occupied with and what is happening around them at the present moment.
-Government: The nation of Dong Guojia is governed by a republic. The republic as a whole is headed by a council which are elected by the people. This council is made up of seven chairmen/chairwomen who would vote on various policies and laws. Each individual in the council would serve a term of five years and can be re-elected once.
The council works in a palace located in Dong Guojia's capitol, Peking. Cities and towns around the country follow a similar format in local government. Every month there is a town or city hall meeting where citizen can come meet with government officials to make inquires, make suggestions or express other concerns.
-Military: During the Hépíng zhǔyì zhě (pacifist) age, three hundred years ago; the then council of Dong Guojia nearly completely disbanded its military in favor of maintaining peaceful foreign relations. This lasted until fifty years ago when the dictatorship of Timog attempted to violate the Tri-Nation treaty by first attacking Dong Guojia.
The Republic hastily threw together a military force made up of local martial arts masters, doctors, computer and mechanical technicians and the like in order to cooperate with the Nishitami army and the rebel militias in mainland Timog. Since then, the Republic of Dong Guojia maintains it's diplomatic foreign policy, but now maintains a military force of two-hundred thousand men and women. It is dubbed the Dong Guojia Zìwèiduì (Self-defense force)
Breaking from usual martial culture, military style martial arts follow a similar format to police-styles and teach short, simplified forms with heavier emphasis on martial application. In this case, techniques are derived mainly from the Xingyi Quan system, but include some techniques from other martial arts. Actual weapons vary between unit types, but all use the same weapon load-out of a dao (saber) polearm and amplifier bracelets to increase power and effectiveness of bending techniques.
Commanding officers such as captains, lieutenants and generals instead carry a double-edged jian (straightsword) as a symbol of their rank. As an officer gains a new rank, this jian is reforged to reflect their new rank.
All units wear a lightweight poly-alloy armor coupled with an electro-magnetic force-field generator to act as an energy shield. Earth and water bending troops can further increase the effectiveness of armor by encasing themselves in an extra layer of earth and ice respectively.
The armor is based off the design and function of the Nishitami royal army and is outfitted with environmental regulators which adapt to climate and temperatures, a back storage unit used to carry supplies. The helm of each armor suit is further outfitted with a heads-up-display (HUD) which displays time, local radar, readings of vital signs, visual-audio communication and a re-breather mask which can be in toxic environments or underwater.
The Dong Guojia Zìwèiduì is broken into four many categories that, while wearing identical armor are color-coded to distinguish unit type.
-Ground infantry: Dressed in greens and browns to distinguish themselves. Ground Infantry fight using the dao and shield, lang ya bang (wolf's tooth saber) and earthbending. Earthbending techniques are used to travel, attack at a distance and augment the environment to create cover for the soldier, disrupt terrain for the enemy, add to body armor by encasing the user in stone, crystal, metal and so on.
Transport units typically travel in tanks that can also dive underground vie a large drill mounted in the front. This can also be used to breach structures and ram through enemies.
-Heavy Artilitary: Dressed in shades of red and orange to distinguish themselves. Heavy artillery are more offense minded. They are armed with miao dao (long saber), ji (halberd) and baat jam do (butterfly sabers) and taught the skill of firebending, emphasizing the combustion skill. This causes the user to fire concentrated burst of heat in order to destroy large structures, vehicles or groups of enemies, meanwhile firebending is used to propel the user either on ground or airborne. Because of the versatility of firebenders in terms of travel, units are often coupled with infantry, naval and air force units.
-Naval: Dressed shades of Aquamarine blue to distinguish themselves. Naval units are armed with the single dao and pudao (horse chopping saber) which tend to be more useful on ships and tighter corridors. Naturally, naval units are taught waterbending, using a balance of liquid water and solid ice. This is used in a manner similar to fashion to the earthbending ground infantry, manipulating the terrain to create cover, disrupt enemy forces, encasing the user in ice to increase armor and so on.
Naval units use an advanced amphibious craft that travel both above and underwater as well on land. This vehicle as an external atmospheric manipulator which allows it to manipulate the molecular speed of surrounding water into solid, liquid and gas which can be used for a variety of purposes such as increasing increasing armor, creating projectiles, creating smoke screens. Essentially it's a vehicle that can waterbend.
-Air Force: Dressed in white and sky blues to distinguish themselves. Soldiers here are taught the use of the cicada wing blades, which can be separated into shuang dao (double sabers). Air forces are taught the use of airbending which allows them to glide, fly (with further assistance of back mounted wings), decrease air resistance to increase speed of moment, attack with air blades and create tornadoes and whirlwinds for defensive and offensive purposes.
Air units are carried by large planes.
-Police: Due to Dong Guojia's emphasis on intellectual development and education and current technologies of computers and cyber databases, most crimes are white-collar and/or cyber-based and well organized. This includes fraud of various forms, corporate embezzlement, and sophisticated robberies. As such police institutions are outfitted with latest in forensic science, computer technologies and surveillance.
However, there are still privacy laws that put some limits on what police are able to do with these surveillance technologies. As such, no such equipment is allowed to be used to track a purpose without probable cause and a warrant approved by the local court.
While violent crimes such as assaults and murders are relatively low, the activity of criminal groups can, at times, lead to murder and if cat-and-mouse evasion tactics fail, a suspect will resort to lethal force to resist arrest. As such, police officers and investigators are trained in martial arts, mostly derived from Wing Chun coupled with Chin Na joint manipulation and Telegu external pressure point striking which is also useful in dealing with benders.
Police units are often outfitted with a collapsible gùn that can extend up to seven feet. Wing Chun also includes the use of Húdié dāo (butterfly sabers), lethal force is discouraged in police institutions and instead a pair of electrified tazer sticks are used.
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