Category: 4D Foundation II – G3

There isn’t much entertainment in the poverty stricken town, but on the rare occasions, you can see vendors making malt candy sculptures.

 

 

During the afternoon, adults and children alike will gather at a corner on the street and listen to the town’s storyteller weave his tales.

In the sect itself, members will come together to play chess during their free time. Each division will also prepare feasts to strengthen the bond within the sect. Occasionally, you can also see sect members playing various musical instruments or choreography martial arts dance. Sect members with nothing to do, will find pleasure in sitting in when the others are practicing.

 

The only major celebration in the sect is the day the sect leader exterminated all the smaller unorthodox sects in the area and claimed themselves the ruler of the valley and the land that surrounds it. In present time, the celebration takes place on the 12th of December every year. Legend has it that on that very day, the blood belonging to the enemies of the sect painted the snowy mountain red. Not only that, ever since that day, a rare type of flower that is blood red in colour managed to bloom while every other flower died. This day was therefore officially proclaimed as 雪红日. It has a double meaning. It could take on the meaning of its literal translation, Red Snow Day or its darker and more accurate meaning Blood Snow Day as in Chinese, snow and blood have the same pronunciation.

 

 

This particular flower is known as the hellebore. Of which many species are known to be poisonous. It is also the symbol of the sect and the sect leader is known to have a small red hellebore tattooed onto their right wrist.

During the celebration, the entire villa is decorated with red chiffon like cloth and one can find the presence of the hellebore in every nook and cranny of the villa. Sect members will choreograph a special formation with the skills they have learned and perform it during the celebration. This is the only time the sect leader will appear publicly to their following, even if only to kickstart the entire event.

Wine never stopped flowing and food is always available. Talented sect members will take turn to showcase their artistic talents and the ones that are exceptional will be rewarded by the division leaders. As the day is special, the villa is only protected by deadly traps. Despite that, highly skilled martial artists who had managed to find the sect by a stroke of luck and who naively tried to invade the sect have always faced death at its face, for the villa is impenetrable.

 

Law in the town itself should have been upheld by the officials and the local magistrate court. However, due to the rampant corruption, laws of the town are manipulated to fit the needs of the rich and the powerful. It is not uncommon to see the sons of wealthy family walking away scot-free despite committing serious crimes neither is it uncommon for the officials to simply execute innocent people just to release their anger.

 

In the sect, the sect leader is the alpha and the omega. However, they rarely mete out punishments, they simply come up with a set of laws and pass down orders and expect them to be carried out. Only on the occasions where serious offences have been committed would the sect leader step in. Usually, the 5 division leaders are the one in charge of maintaining law and order.

 

Offenders would either be expelled or killed, depending on the severity of their crimes.

Betrayers will be killed.

Undercover agents from opposition sects will be killed.

Members caught stealing valuables will be flogged and whipped in public. If they were to do it again, they would be expelled.

 

The town at the bottom of the valley is densely populate with houses that are packed very close to each other. However, due to the rampant tyranny by the corrupted officials, a lot of families and people have been killed and hence many of the houses are left vacant.

 

 

This is probably what the exit of the town into the forest that surrounds the valley will look like. A flat wooden bridge will connect the back of the town to the entrance of the valley.

 

 

Inside the town will be main roads and many narrow alleys. During the day, commoners will come out and set up make shift stalls by the side of the road, selling crops, commoners’ desserts and other kind of food. Due to the hard life in the town, entertainment such as molten candy sculpturing are rarely seen.

 

 

This will be the kind of houses the rich will live in.

 

 

It is not easy to find the location of the sect amongst the poisonous floras and faunas, but if you walk in the correct direction, you will eventually be able to find a pathway that can lead you to where the sect calls home.

 

 

Sect members’ living quarters are arranged accordingly to which division they belong to. The houses are all interconnected and to travel from one division’s quarter to the other, one must utilise the bridges that are built all around the enormous villa.

 

 

The Science division conducts their experiments, research and manufacturing in tall pagodas such as the one in the picture.

 

 

This is the parade square in front of the main hall of the sect leader’s living quarters. Every morning, young members will come together in front of the parade square for training. Throughout the days, the younger members will be allocated cleaning duties which involves trimming the shrubs and sweeping dead leaves away from the floor.

 

 

In the center of the sect leader’s abode is a garden that is exclusive to them.

 

Most of the architecture in this world are built using rammed earth, stone, and wood.

 

A recap…

 

100 years ago, humanity fell to a new low.

江湖侠客 (Jianghu heroes) slowly became obsolete. Some were jaded by the hopelessness of the situation, while others were blinded by money, power and greed. 武俠’s code of chivalry soon became forgotten and ultimately, lost.

This 100 years of dark period saw the rise of powerful evil sects who thrived because of the widespread corruption and their unorthodox martial arts. However, 10 years ago, majority of these evil sects were destroyed by an unimaginable force. People celebrated, thinking that this power came from an honourable source and that salvation had finally arrived. They have never been more wrong.

The unknown force swept in and called itself king over a large piece of land that was inhabited by kind and hardworking folks. As the sect never revealed its identity, people referred to it as 绝谷 (juegu) and their new overlord as 绝谷主 (jueguzhu).

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Hierarchy 

In 绝谷 (juegu), nobody can be as powerful as the 绝谷主 (jueguzhu). They are supported by the 5 division leaders, whose skills and powers are bestowed by the 绝谷主 (jueguzhu). The only time they can level up their skills is when the sect leader allows it to happen.

Below is the order of authority:

Sovereign – Sect Leader

Followed by the 5 division leaders in no particular order.

1. Majordomo (In charge of the running of the entire sect)
2. Security (Of both the sect leader and the sect)
3. Science (Poison and medicine research)
4. Assassination (Of both enemies and betrayers)
5. Information (Keeps the sect leader updated of the worldly happenings)

Below all of them is the head attendant, who is the only person allowed to be within close proximity of the sect leader. He is highly skilled and only follow the direct orders of the sect leader, making him a very special presence in the sect. His loyalty to the sect leader is steadfast and unmovable, as with the 5 division leaders.

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Structure of authorities

In order to ensure that there are no betrayals, every sect member has to take a poison concocted by the sect leader. The so-called antidote that is given out every month is only a temporary solution and the real antidote formula is unknown even to the Science division.

Each division has around 100 – 150 sect members and are controlled directly by the division leaders.

This universe is set in China, Song Dynasty.

Song Dynasty’s costume carried features from the Tang Dynasty. The costumes were simple and natural, reflecting the development tendency of the era.

Women’s costumes mainly included:

Blouses
Jackets
Coats
Skirts
Robes
Short gowns
Long coats

Garments without belt and buckle often had an erect collar and were buttoned down the front, and protective collar was sewn on the outer edge at the neckline. Collar and sleeve edges of clothes were decorated with laces or embroidered patterns while the clothes themselves were decorated with patterns of flowers.

Men

Military

Consist of layers in different length
Worn with tunic and trousers
Boots and caps
Belts hold swords, arrow bags and bows

 

 

Scholar

Simple wrap coat bordered with a band decorated with a knot pattern
A cord holds the apron-like scarf that drapes the front of coat

 

 

 

Commoner

Robe is brought upwards and tucked in at the waist for ease in walking.
Shortened pants.
Outfit is completed with sandals and a hat made from a piece of cloth.

 

 

Women

Imperial officials’ households

Older women wore high-waisted skirts over a robe and has a flowing shawl-like scarf. Extremely long sleeves on gown makes doing work impossible. Younger girls wore shortened wrap skirts over a long rope, which displayed the popular double-bird motif. Open side seams reveal several under-skirts. Outfit was completed with a massive fan and decorative hair ornaments.

Upper-class women

Outfit consisted of a robe, skirt, long scarf, and upturned embroidered shoes.
Scarf falls low on the figure.
Hair is padded to achieve preferred shape and height and decorated with gold and gemstone ornaments.

 

 

Commoner 

Warp robe and a high-waisted long skirt circled at the waist by a knotted sash.
Single-bun hairstyle is decorated with a simple ribbon.

 

 

 

Upper-class women

Narrow-sleeved wrap top over an underskirt. Long skirt is held at the waist by an embroidered pocket.
Long scarf serves as shawl.
Double-bun hairstyle adorned with jewels and clasps.

 

 

Upper-class women also wore closely fitted jackets with narrow sleeves. Woman on the left paired a long skirt with a short wrapped skirt while woman on the right displayed a low neckline under her jacket.

Front, sleeves and hems of both jackets are decorated by embroidered floral designs. Embroidered silk hair ornaments are embellished with jewels and gold or silver details.

 

The neckband of this woman’s wrap top is embroidered with a floral design.
Pocket at the high-waist skirt is also embroidered with colourful silk thread.
Knotted ornamental sash flows downward to flutter with movement.
Pleated fans are add ons.

 

 

 

Transport

People generally travelled around by foot, riding horses and carriages pulled by horses.

On land, goods were carried in backpacks, larger wheelbarrows, wagons and on donkeys and camels. Camels carried goods from Inner Asia or further west across large desserts.

Water transport was cheaper than land transport and goods were carried in vessels, ships and boats.

Sources:

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/econ/commerc.htm

15 Pictures of Traditional Chinese Clothes in Song and Tang Dynasties