A R C H I V I S T
[SIZE=26pt]The Jin[/SIZE]
A drawn example of Yu-Jin male
Name: Jin
Designation: Sentient Near-Human
Homeworld: Tiantang
Language: Yuyan (Traditional Language), Basic (Adopted), regional Yuyan dialects.
Average height of adults: 1.7 for Males, 1.6 in females.
Skin color: Most Jin have skin that ranges from yellow=tinted tan to pale brown, to peach at the lightest.
Hair color: Generally black or dark brown
Breathes: Type I, Oxygen
Strengths:
+Disciplined – Most Jin follow the regimented and disciplined air of their culture, and usually come off as cool and collected.
+Higher Cognition – If one were to compare the structure of a Jin brain to a base Human brain, one would notice that Jin seem to be built to process information quicker than an average human. This leads them to do great mental tasks, from tactics to mathematics to being intellectually expressive in the arts.
Weaknesses:
-Honorbound – Unfortunately, the Jin culture has roots in a philosophy of honor. If a Jin were to commit an act that would seem shameful or dishonorable, they have a cultural obligation to regain that honor by way of punishment, either by a tribute to the offended or even ritual execution of the offender.
-Shorter than Average – Most Jin appear to be shorter than their Human counterparts, leading to all of the disadvantages both physically and socially that come with those of a lessened height.
Distinctions: They appear mostly as human, but with broader nostrils and almond shaped eyes. In all instances, they exhibit the typical phenotypes one might find in East-Asians of Earth.
Average Lifespan: Most Jin can live up to 80 to 100 standard years of age.
Races:
-Yu-Jin: The most populous race of the Jin. Around 65% of all Jin appear to be of this ethnic origin. Aesthetically speaking, the Yu are comparable to the ancient Imperial Chinese and Korean peoples of Earth as far as looks and style.
-Riben-Jin: The second largest ethnic group of the Jin. 15% of the Jin population come from the Riben-Jin culture and ethnicity. They are similar to the Yu, but are aesthetically different. They have much in common with Earth’s feudal Japanese. The Riben-Jin are particularly known for their skills in refined blacksmithing.
-Kagan-Jin: The third largest Jin race. They are a very tribal people that keep to an agricultural community. They are known to be great horsemen and farmers. About 10% of the Jin are Kagan. By comparision, if the Yu correspond to Sino-Koreans, Kagans are reminiscent of the Khanate Mongolians.
Estimated Population: 10 billion (6 billion on the homeworld, 4 out in the intersolar colonies).
Diet: Their diet consists of fruits, vegetables, and meats. Because of their near-human ancestry, whatever substances are poisonous to baseline humans are also poisonous to Jin. Culturally, they are rather found of drinking tea.
Communication: Jin communicate through a spoken language, much like their human cousins.
Kagan-Jin women dressed up for a shamanistic religious festival
Culture:
The overall culture of the Jin is one dictated by one’s honor and discipline. All Jin races believe in honoring your family, self, and your guests. Any
perceived insult usually met with a need for apology or, in the most rare and severe cases, death. The Jin are very disciplinarian, believing that having regimented and ordered lives helps stave off foolishness and behavioral problems. All Jin within the Empire fall under the rule of the ruling Emperor.
Most Jin follow the Fangshi religion, also known as “The Way”. Fangshi is appears to be a local Force-driven faith, with monks of its order appearing to have an almost Gray Jedi philosophy on balance in the Force. However, unlike the Jedi, Fangshi monks do not practice offensive martial arts like swordsmanship, instead opting to meditate and use defensive hand-to-hand combat to subdue attackers. The Grand Master of the monks is also tasked with teaching the Emperor’s heir apparent, especially in controlling their Force powers, as the Imperial family appears to have a strong connectivity in the Force.
With the Riben-Jin, honor is taken more strictly than the other Jin races. Most honor disputes end with one-on-one combat, a severe apology in the form of servitude, or a ritualistic self-execution if one feels the insult was grave enough. Riben-Jin are well known for their blacksmiths, known to be among the best blade-makers in the Empire.
The Kagans are the most dissimilar in comparison to the other two Jin races. They are less industrialized, living in mostly tribal conditions. Tribes keep to themselves, raising agriculture. Particularly, Kagan-Jin are proficient in equestrian arts, as they are descendants of great barbarian conquerors known for their mounted combat. Also unlike their Yu or Riben cousins, Kagans follow shamanist religion.
Concerning government, the Jin follow a constitutional monarchy, with the Emperor acting as Head of State, and regional governors taking input from locals on laws. Recent generations have also seen equality for women as well, allowing them to apply for the same positions as men and not be treated differently or paid differently. As such, the Emperor’s current heir apparent is his eldest daughter.
The Jin military is very minute, with most of it being applied to act as guardsmen to royals and officials, or as the policing body of Imperial law. Jin are also known for a passionate for creative arts, with a cultural disposition to stage plays based on myth, and written poetry.
Technology level: Most Jin technology appears to be on par with that of the rest of the tech savvy parts of the Galaxy. They certainly make use of droids, blasters, holo-tech, and interplanetary star-craft. However, it has only been recently that the Jin have been able to create a functioning hyperdrive / FTL engine.
General behavior: Generally, most Jin come off as polite and hospitable people. They do not go looking for a fight, and only react to violence if they feel they are threatened. They follow much disciplined customs, which seem to be rooted in age old traditions. Most Jin appear to have a taste for fine arts, such as music and theatre.
Riben-Jin men dressed to reenact ancient battle
History:
According to Jin manuscripts, their history begins when their ancestors fell from the stars on to Tiantang in a silver egg. From there, the first Jin stepped upon their new world, the egg unable to take them back to the stars. There, the ancient Jin defended themselves for generations from the natural apex predator of Tiantang, the Keun-Yong. Savage dragon-like beasts that could harness the Force in ways other animals could not.
Yet, the ancient Jin prevailed against these ferocious creatures, creating a tradition among the later Emperors. Most of Jin history saw civil war
after civil war among its people, tribes against tribes. However, one leader from the Yu-Jin people brought about peace between the tribes. This leader later became recorded in Jin history as the First Emperor. The First Emperor was known to wield a strange, burning blade that was claimed to belong to his clans’ ancestors. The same or similar weapon has since become the weapon of Emperor’s heir. Once in every few generations, there would be dissatisfaction among the people, causing one ruler to be disposed of before putting a new dynasty on the throne. With each emperor of a new dynasty, they had to prove themselves worthy by slaying a Keun-Yong.
In the past 1000 standard years, the Jin have made great strides in technology. Most of it was reverse-engineered from the silver egg of the ancestors, contained within a holy site from its landing point. With most recent generations (200 years worth), however, communications constructs across both Tiantang and the rest of the Empire have been picking up stray messages from beyond their native solar system. It took many years to translate the messages, leading to the adoption of Basic as spoken language, and the creation of a successful hyperdrive system. Now, the Jin’s first FTL craft has been sent on an ambassadorial mission to introduce the fledgling Jin Empire to the rest of the known galaxy.
Notable Player-Characters: N/A
Intent: To create a race of near-humans that are aesthetically similar to ancient Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Mongolian to allow players to have some diversity. Much in the same way the Valkyri injected the exoticism of psuedo-Norse culture.
