Overview | History
Jinping (金平) was a location in Tai Sui by Priest. It was the imperial capital of Southern Wan and the home city of several major characters, including the protagonist Xi Ping.
Jinping was at the center of Wan's rapid industrial revolution, to the point that its sky was constantly filled with great clouds of steam from its factories. This new industry created a city of great extremes, with incredibly high rents within the city walls and a ramshackle second city of shacks built up around the factories in its outskirts.
Due to Jinping's industrialization, the steam of countless steam engines formed an ever-present fog over Jinping during the Taiming Era.1
Jinping was known for its flowers.
The Lingyang River ran through the middle of Jinping, splitting the city into an east and west side. Homes on the east bank were much less fine than on the west, referred to at one point as "dog kennels."1
Past the city walls to the south, there was a factory district sometimes referred to as the southern outskirts. Workers that could not afford to live within Jinping proper constructed a shantytown there.
Maze Station was about thirty li (~ten miles) west of the city. This station served as a centerpoint for Jinping's vast railway system.1
Within the city, paths were lit at night by gas streetlamps. In at least one neighborhood to the west of the river, these lamps were decorated with hanging wooden carvings.
During the Taiming Era, Jinping was at the center of Southern Wan's rapidly expanding industrial revolution. It was from there that goods, especially textiles, were shipped all across the continent.
Cotton yarn was Jinping's biggest export, selling especially to Northern Li and Western Chu. It also sold great amounts of silk and gauze to Southern Shu, where the weather was endlessly hot. Shipping these goods was done via both the grand canal that ran through the city and the network of railways that converged to the city's west.1
Jinping's industrial prosperity became a great draw for workers from all over Southern Wan, and countless hopefuls traveled to the city to make their living in the factories there. This was especially true just after the New Year each year, when new arrivals flooded Maze Station to capacity each day.1
Pleasure boats floated down the Lingyang river in the middle of the city. These were a luxury available only to the wealthy and noble, with others being drawn simply to look at them.1.
Jinping was home to multiple brothels, the most well-reputed of which was the House of Overflowing Splendor.1
Due in large part to the ever-rising population of the city, rents in Jinping became exorbitant during the Taiming Era. Even a very cheap home on the city's east bank could not be rented for less than half a string of copper coins per month, the same price as a full month's food. Due to this, migrant workers that came to Jinping from elsewhere in the country lived almost entirely outside the city walls. They constructed a town of shacks in the southern outskirts, the factory district to the city's south.1
Jinping, like the rest of Wan, suffered severe disparities between social classes. The Lingyang River split the city in two, and the two sides were occupied by very different citizens. The West bank was the seat of wealth and power, while the East bank was much less fine. Rapid industrialization has also attracted flocks of low-wage workers to the city from elsewhere in Wan, but almost none of them could afford to live within the city walls, even on the east side. Instead, the city's poorest and newest residents were outcast to the shacks of Southern Outskirts.1
Where the social classes did interact, lower class residents were held subservient to the wealthy and the nobility. Nobles in particular were to be accomodated and obeyed, especially by those of low standing such as sex workers.1
Every ten years, the state sect Xuanyin sent an immortal envoy down from the mountain to Jinping in order to choose a new class of disciples. This tradition was referred to as the Grand Selection.1
Only the scions of nobility were eligible to become Xuanyin disciples. However, the grand selection was treated as a cause for celebration among all residents of Jinping. The presence of an immortal master was considered auspicious. People across all walks of life marked the occasion with tests and competitions of their own—everything from imperial examinations to brothel beauty pageants. These events, including the selection itself, drew people from all across Southern Wan to come participate and observe, and this flood of visitors meant there were always jobs available for those able to work. Every business needed extra hands to support the crowds.1
Among the events of the selection year, the Flower Viewing Festival was particularly well known. This was a pageant put on by the Jinping's most famous brothel, The House of Overflowing Splendor, during which courtesans performed and competed to be crowned the Queen of Flowers. Invitations to this event were incredibly valuable and hard to come by, thus it was attended entirely by the wealthy and noble. The camelia crown awarded to the Queen of Flowers was highly coveted, and the chance to hear the voice of the woman crowned Queen was coveted in turn by the public.1