This thread is for any research about settings and lore that you do that you think might be helpful for other players.
The Jade Empire - Settings and Lore
- Thread starter Louanne Learning
- Start date
The Walled Chinese City in Shanghai, 1858
The walled Chinese city in Shanghai—commonly referred to as the Old City or Nanshi—was a dense and bustling urban center surrounded by a stone wall built during the Ming Dynasty (late 16th century). It represented the historical and cultural heart of Shanghai before the city’s rapid expansion due to foreign influence and treaty port development.
1. Physical Layout and Structure
The walled Chinese city in Shanghai—commonly referred to as the Old City or Nanshi—was a dense and bustling urban center surrounded by a stone wall built during the Ming Dynasty (late 16th century). It represented the historical and cultural heart of Shanghai before the city’s rapid expansion due to foreign influence and treaty port development.
1. Physical Layout and Structure
- City Wall: The wall was approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) in circumference, with a height of about 10 meters (30 feet). It was fortified with six main gates (four cardinal and two smaller ones) and a moat encircling it for defense.
- Gate Names: Notable gates included the Dàjìng Gate and Xiaonan Gate.
- Street Plan: The streets were narrow and winding, in contrast to the grid systems of Western settlements. They were crowded and lively, filled with pedestrians, carts, and street vendors.
- Buildings: Most buildings were low-rise, constructed of wood and brick, with tile roofs. Residences, shops, temples, and teahouses were tightly packed.
- Markets and Commerce: The city was a hub of commerce with traditional Chinese markets, guildhalls, herbalists, craftspeople, and small-scale industry.
- Temples and Culture: It housed important temples such as the City God Temple (Chenghuang Miao), a center for local worship and community events.
- The walled city was predominantly Han Chinese, in contrast to the newly established foreign concessions just outside its walls, which began forming after the Treaty of Nanjing (1842).
- Residents lived in close-knit neighborhoods often centered around clan associations or trades.
The City God Temple within the walled Chinese City
Within the walled city of Shanghai in 1858, Chinese temples remained essential pillars of religious, social, and communal life, operating largely as they had for centuries—even as foreign powers pressed at the city’s edges. Though the British and other foreigners had carved out their own modernizing enclaves just beyond the city walls, the temples of Shanghai remained deeply rooted in traditional Chinese cosmology and society.
The Chenghuang Miao (City God Temple), a Taoist temple, was located at the heart of the walled city. Both a religious and civic hub, local officials and commoners alike made offerings there, especially during festivals or times of crisis (flood, disease, political unrest).
Layout followed classical Chinese design: a central axis with multiple halls, side wings, incense burners in the courtyards, and high, tiled roofs with upturned eaves. Red and gold were dominant colors, symbolizing luck and imperial favor.
Personnel: Temples were staffed by monks, Taoist priests, or lay custodians. They performed daily rituals, maintained altars, accepted offerings, and interpreted omens or dreams for the faithful.
Visitors: Worshippers came to:
Temples were thus not just spiritual hubs, but also economic and cultural centers, especially important in a crowded, urban space like Shanghai’s old city.
Within the walled city of Shanghai in 1858, Chinese temples remained essential pillars of religious, social, and communal life, operating largely as they had for centuries—even as foreign powers pressed at the city’s edges. Though the British and other foreigners had carved out their own modernizing enclaves just beyond the city walls, the temples of Shanghai remained deeply rooted in traditional Chinese cosmology and society.
The Chenghuang Miao (City God Temple), a Taoist temple, was located at the heart of the walled city. Both a religious and civic hub, local officials and commoners alike made offerings there, especially during festivals or times of crisis (flood, disease, political unrest).
Layout followed classical Chinese design: a central axis with multiple halls, side wings, incense burners in the courtyards, and high, tiled roofs with upturned eaves. Red and gold were dominant colors, symbolizing luck and imperial favor.
Personnel: Temples were staffed by monks, Taoist priests, or lay custodians. They performed daily rituals, maintained altars, accepted offerings, and interpreted omens or dreams for the faithful.
Visitors: Worshippers came to:
- Burn incense and pray for health, success, and protection
- Make offerings to deities or ancestors
- Consult temple priests for fortune-telling, dream interpretation, or feng shui advice
- Participate in temple fairs and seasonal festivals
Temples were thus not just spiritual hubs, but also economic and cultural centers, especially important in a crowded, urban space like Shanghai’s old city.
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The British Concession (Quarter) of Shanghai in 1858
The British quarter of Shanghai—also known as the British Concession—was a key part of the emerging Shanghai International Settlement, a semi-colonial district governed by Western powers after the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) and the Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue (1843), which opened Shanghai to foreign trade following the First Opium War.
By 1858, the British quarter was still developing but already central to Shanghai’s growing role as a global port. The concession was located north of the old Chinese city (which remained walled and segregated) and was bordered by Suzhou Creek to the north and the Huangpu River to the east. The Bund, the riverfront promenade, was beginning to take shape as the heart of foreign commercial activity.
Features of the British Concession
Architecture: The concession featured neoclassical buildings, Georgian townhouses, and warehouses constructed in brick and stone—quite distinct from the traditional Chinese wooden and tiled structures. Buildings were often two- or three-story with colonnades, reflecting British colonial aesthetics.
Infrastructure: Streets in the concession were wider and more orderly than those in the Chinese city. While drainage and sanitation were poor by modern standards, they were better than in the surrounding areas. British authorities had begun improving roads and installing gas lamps and rudimentary sewer systems.
Social Structure: The British community consisted of merchants, traders, diplomats, missionaries, and a small number of military personnel. The opium trade was still a major economic force. Local Chinese residents often worked as servants, laborers, or intermediaries, and a few Chinese merchants gained wealth by dealing with British firms.
Institutions: British governance was informal but influential. The British Consul acted as the de facto authority, and British subjects were exempt from Chinese law due to extraterritoriality. By 1858, British settlers had established:
Security: After the Small Sword Society uprising (1853–55), foreign powers—including the British—became more assertive in patrolling and defending their quarters. The quarter had its own guards and relied on the presence of British Naval vessels anchored nearby.
The British Concession of Shanghai in 1858 had the feel of an imperial outpost: alien, opportunistic, and self-assured. British nationals lived a life that was both privileged and insulated from the realities of the native Chinese city just beyond their borders. The contrast between the British enclave and the Chinese urban fabric was stark—physically, culturally, and politically.
The British quarter of Shanghai—also known as the British Concession—was a key part of the emerging Shanghai International Settlement, a semi-colonial district governed by Western powers after the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) and the Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue (1843), which opened Shanghai to foreign trade following the First Opium War.
By 1858, the British quarter was still developing but already central to Shanghai’s growing role as a global port. The concession was located north of the old Chinese city (which remained walled and segregated) and was bordered by Suzhou Creek to the north and the Huangpu River to the east. The Bund, the riverfront promenade, was beginning to take shape as the heart of foreign commercial activity.
Features of the British Concession
Architecture: The concession featured neoclassical buildings, Georgian townhouses, and warehouses constructed in brick and stone—quite distinct from the traditional Chinese wooden and tiled structures. Buildings were often two- or three-story with colonnades, reflecting British colonial aesthetics.
Infrastructure: Streets in the concession were wider and more orderly than those in the Chinese city. While drainage and sanitation were poor by modern standards, they were better than in the surrounding areas. British authorities had begun improving roads and installing gas lamps and rudimentary sewer systems.
Social Structure: The British community consisted of merchants, traders, diplomats, missionaries, and a small number of military personnel. The opium trade was still a major economic force. Local Chinese residents often worked as servants, laborers, or intermediaries, and a few Chinese merchants gained wealth by dealing with British firms.
Institutions: British governance was informal but influential. The British Consul acted as the de facto authority, and British subjects were exempt from Chinese law due to extraterritoriality. By 1858, British settlers had established:
- Churches (notably Anglican)
- Clubs (e.g., the Shanghai Club)
- Schools for expatriate children
- Newspapers, like the North-China Herald
Security: After the Small Sword Society uprising (1853–55), foreign powers—including the British—became more assertive in patrolling and defending their quarters. The quarter had its own guards and relied on the presence of British Naval vessels anchored nearby.
The British Concession of Shanghai in 1858 had the feel of an imperial outpost: alien, opportunistic, and self-assured. British nationals lived a life that was both privileged and insulated from the realities of the native Chinese city just beyond their borders. The contrast between the British enclave and the Chinese urban fabric was stark—physically, culturally, and politically.
Rennie Macpherson is a character introduced in the opening post of the official story. He was born in Scotland and retains some of the flavour of a Scottish accent. We don't want to overdo it, but just pepper his dialogue with a few Scottish intonations.
Here's some guidelines if you plan on writing dialogue for Rennie:
You = ye
Of = o'
No = nae
Yes = aye
And = an'
Cannot = canna
Will not = willna
Would not = wouldna
Should not =- shouldna
Here's some guidelines if you plan on writing dialogue for Rennie:
You = ye
Of = o'
No = nae
Yes = aye
And = an'
Cannot = canna
Will not = willna
Would not = wouldna
Should not =- shouldna
The wilderness destination to the west of Shanghai:
Jixi County, Xuancheng, Anhui, China
This wilderness region, approximately 300 km (185 miles) west of Shanghai, was very sparsely populated in 1858.
Containing rugged mountains and vast swaths of forested valleys, it was home to bandits, hermits, Daoist practitioners, or reclusive monks.
It’s about a seven-day ride on horseback from Shanghai to Jixi.
From Shanghai, you’d travel west through the Yangtze Delta, then into Zhejiang or southern Jaingsu, crossing into the hilly terrain of southern Anhui. The last stretch through southern Anhui (Huangshan/Xuancheng area) is mountainous and forested, which would slow progress significantly.
Jixi County, Xuancheng, Anhui, China
This wilderness region, approximately 300 km (185 miles) west of Shanghai, was very sparsely populated in 1858.
Containing rugged mountains and vast swaths of forested valleys, it was home to bandits, hermits, Daoist practitioners, or reclusive monks.
It’s about a seven-day ride on horseback from Shanghai to Jixi.
From Shanghai, you’d travel west through the Yangtze Delta, then into Zhejiang or southern Jaingsu, crossing into the hilly terrain of southern Anhui. The last stretch through southern Anhui (Huangshan/Xuancheng area) is mountainous and forested, which would slow progress significantly.
A personal steam-powered airship:
- a fusion of Eastern artistry and Western industrialization. Made of such materials as teakwood etched with mother-of-pearl inlays, the gondola could have stained-glass windows depicting mythic Chinese creatures.
About the size of a carriage, some are two-seaters, and larger ones are four-seaters.
The steam engine – hissing pistons and clanking gears and steam-release valves - is below the gondola.
Above the gondola is the gas envelope, housing helium. A network of bamboo struts and steam-release valves there regulate altitude and stability.
The interior follows a Victorian aesthetic with velvet-upholstered benches, and a dashboard with compass, levers, gauges and valves.
Most Developed People (the Fādá) own their own personal steamship, but most Elemental People (the Yuánsù), if they require one, would have to hire one (much like someone could hire a horse at a stable.)
- a fusion of Eastern artistry and Western industrialization. Made of such materials as teakwood etched with mother-of-pearl inlays, the gondola could have stained-glass windows depicting mythic Chinese creatures.
About the size of a carriage, some are two-seaters, and larger ones are four-seaters.
The steam engine – hissing pistons and clanking gears and steam-release valves - is below the gondola.
Above the gondola is the gas envelope, housing helium. A network of bamboo struts and steam-release valves there regulate altitude and stability.
The interior follows a Victorian aesthetic with velvet-upholstered benches, and a dashboard with compass, levers, gauges and valves.
Most Developed People (the Fādá) own their own personal steamship, but most Elemental People (the Yuánsù), if they require one, would have to hire one (much like someone could hire a horse at a stable.)
A Treatise on Shanghainese Cuisine:
Chinese food is exceedingly diverse, to the extent where it's impossible to try every possible rendition of a single dish in a lifetime. Like how every region in China has its own version of hotpot, though the spicy type from the Northern region of Sichuan has seen the most international popularity.
Our story is set in Shanghai, a city that is considered part of the wider area of Jiangnan. Shanghainese cuisine is known for its extensive use of soy sauce and oil, and rice is often consumed as the primary carbohydrate (though steamed breads are not out of place). Seafood and poultry are regular ingredients, sometimes cooked while drowned in wine (said to be made "drunken").
Shanghainese cuisine is also known for its mellow and sweet taste, using condiments to enhance the flavour of fresh ingredients. As in Chinese cooking, drenching a dish in seasonings and sauce is used often to combat the "off" flavours of poor quality ingredients and to make them more palatable.
You will notice that the combination of sweet and sour is an iconic Shanghai flavour.
Some iconic dishes include:
Chinese food is exceedingly diverse, to the extent where it's impossible to try every possible rendition of a single dish in a lifetime. Like how every region in China has its own version of hotpot, though the spicy type from the Northern region of Sichuan has seen the most international popularity.
Our story is set in Shanghai, a city that is considered part of the wider area of Jiangnan. Shanghainese cuisine is known for its extensive use of soy sauce and oil, and rice is often consumed as the primary carbohydrate (though steamed breads are not out of place). Seafood and poultry are regular ingredients, sometimes cooked while drowned in wine (said to be made "drunken").
Shanghainese cuisine is also known for its mellow and sweet taste, using condiments to enhance the flavour of fresh ingredients. As in Chinese cooking, drenching a dish in seasonings and sauce is used often to combat the "off" flavours of poor quality ingredients and to make them more palatable.
You will notice that the combination of sweet and sour is an iconic Shanghai flavour.
Some iconic dishes include:
- Shanghainese red braised pork belly (红烧肉, or Hong Shao Rou) Sliced pork belly is braised with a healthy helping of rock sugar, two types of soy sauce and other seasonings until glossy and soft. Served with rice and alongside other dishes.
- Xiaolongbao, or soup dumplings (小籠包) A small soup dumpling steamed in bamboo baskets. Made from pork wrapped in a flour-based wrapper. There are leavened versions.
- Tangyuan (汤圆) Sticky rice balls stuffed with peanut sauce or sesame paste served in a sweet soup, traditionally eaten at the Lantern Festival, but is eaten at any other festivity. The round shape of the dumplings represent wholeness and togetherness.
The Taiping Rebellion was a massive civil war (1850-1864) in Qing dynasty China. It began among poor peasants and disaffected groups, fueled by poverty, corruption, and ethnic tensions. The rebels promoted radical reforms, like equality of land distribution, shared property, bans on opium, alcohol, gambling and gender inequality. The Qing dynasty struggled to supress the rebellion, eventually relying on regional armies.
Both sides engaged in mass killings, scorched-earth tactics, and the burning of villages. The rebellion devastated much of central and eastern China. Millions were killed.
(British and French forces did not enter the war until around 1860, on the side of the Qing, to protect their economic interests.)
One place that we might take our story to is the city of Nanjing. The Taiping captured it in 1853, and renamed it Tianjing (“Heavenly Capital”). In 1858 (the year of our story), they still hold it.
Both sides engaged in mass killings, scorched-earth tactics, and the burning of villages. The rebellion devastated much of central and eastern China. Millions were killed.
(British and French forces did not enter the war until around 1860, on the side of the Qing, to protect their economic interests.)
One place that we might take our story to is the city of Nanjing. The Taiping captured it in 1853, and renamed it Tianjing (“Heavenly Capital”). In 1858 (the year of our story), they still hold it.
