Great Xia

Biodata

History

Zhao Sheng and Wen Chao helped end an age of chaos and found Great Xia. Zhao, thereafter called Di Jiazi, united the Nine Provinces under the Di Lineage. Its rulers used Di and a distinguishing designation rather than an ordinary sovereign’s name 24 294 352.

The founders’ partnership broke down over the Nine Provinces Grand Array. According to Wen Chao, Zhao intended to concentrate the realm’s spiritual power and become an eternal ruler. The Pan Lineage’s account says a trusted imperial guard commander sabotaged the array, damaged the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and entrusted an adopted child with the mission of destroying the array. Pan Long later encountered evidence that conflicted with the family’s account of the saboteur’s identity 24 266 294.

Great Xia endured for more than a thousand years. Di Yihai defeated the Northern Desert Royal Court and established the Northlands beyond the Nine Provinces. By Di Renchen’s reign—the twenty-ninth—accumulated taxes, labor demands, and bureaucracy had prompted calls for reform 24 120 544. Di Renchen later died, and Crown Prince Di Hedong succeeded him as Di Guimao 742.

Government and Society

• Social ranks: The order described by Pan Long places the debased below commoners, followed by gentry, nobles, and the imperial family 24.
• Provincial authority: Powerful Yi Province families maintain intelligence networks capable of rivaling the court locally, though their rivalries limit cooperation 114.
• Institutions: The Heavenly Secret Bureau fields senior officers such as Li Wu; the Royal Secret Guard serves the imperial family directly 350 437.
• Citizenship: Icefield people who settle in Great Xia, obey its laws, and hold steady jobs can apply for citizenship after ten years 598.
• Half-demons: Law-abiding half-demons have ordinary civil rights and may take the civil service examinations 520.

Territory and Trade

• Nine Provinces: Great Xia’s core realm covers nearly thirty percent of the inhabited world’s land, according to the geographic account Pan Long encounters 565.
• Northlands: This territory lies beyond the Nine Provinces. It depends on supplies from the Central Plains and is anchored by the Golden City Defense Line 544.
• Western Regions: Great Xia’s caravans travel the Silk Road. He Qiong’s violent response to an attack on one caravan established a long-standing expectation of safe passage 543 546.
• Southern Sea: Cape City is a major center of Great Xia’s Southern Sea territory and its food supply 568.

The Nine Cauldrons and the *Classic*

• Grand Array: Di Jiazi planned to combine the Nine Provinces Grand Array with the Classic of Mountains and Seas to monopolize extraordinary power within the imperial circle. The Pan Lineage inherited a mission to destroy the array 24.
• Nine Cauldrons: When activated during a later imperial crisis, the cauldrons drew power through the provinces’ earth veins, strengthened nearby soldiers, and projected force toward a distant battlefield 445.
• Scattered copies: Li Wu’s account says eighteen replicas of the Classic were made and half dispersed under a prophecy. The court later offered rewards for their recovery, although Li Wu could not explain why that search began when it did 25 352.
• Unfulfilled pact: Demon Gods guarding the Zhou Tian Grand Formation say the founders promised to help them attain higher paths. After a thousand years without that promise being fulfilled, they sought Great Xia’s fall to gain their freedom 731 741 743.

Reform and Opposition

• Cang Yuan’s memorial: After surveying the Nine Provinces, Cang Yuan documented burdens on the population and urged changes to policy, staffing, communication, and taxation. Di Luonan was appointed to accompany the resulting provincial investigation 120.
• Di Luonan’s program: His later proposals included surveying land and enterprises to determine ownership and who received their profits. Pan Long doubted such reforms could overcome entrenched interests without upheaval 353 400.
• Rebels: The Pan Lineage, Bi Lingkong, and Paijiao oppose Great Xia for distinct reasons rooted in the array, the court’s actions against the Confucian School, and Paijiao’s conflict with Di Yihai 24 276 364.
• Attacks on imperial authority: Bi Lingkong’s campaign against the Royal Secret Guard and an attack during Di Renchen’s Moon-Viewing Conference exposed the dynasty’s vulnerability. Pan Long expected the loss of confidence to encourage further challenges 437 549 554.
• Continuing crisis: Imprisoned Demon Gods plotted to intensify conflict between Reformers and Conservatives. More than two hundred Wind Patrol Envoys then died, creating a crisis at court 693.