The Dragon and the Phoenix
Table of Contents
1. Setting: 1040/1000
Create a setting. This would be where it takes place, be it a school, a house, a city, an imaginary world, etc. We want you to be detailed in this. It needs to be 1000 words or more (you will thank us for this later).
2. Main Character: /1000
Create a main character. This would be your main protagonist. Tell us about them - what do they look like, where did they come from, what are their strengths and weaknesses and what are their flaws. Why are they in this story and what do you want them to gain from their adventure. Be as detailed as you can regarding this. It needs to be 1000 words or more (you will thank us for this later).
3. Main Plot: /1000
Create a main plot. This is where you talk about the main story itself. What are they doing? Is this a journey, a coming of age experience, a battle against a terrifying nemesis, etc. Consider doing this in an outline format to make things more organized. It needs to be 1000 words or more (you will thank us for this later).
4. Two Subplots: /500; /500
Create 2 subplots. Subplots are other important and relevant stories that are ongoing but are not a part of the main story. Love interests or dealing with a school bully/rival are a few examples of this. Again, consider writing this in an outline format to make things more organized for yourself. It needs to be 1000 words or more (you will thank us for this later).
5. Three Secondary Characters: /333; /333; /333
Create at least three secondary characters. Who are they? What is their relationship to the main character? No story is ever only about one character, there's a whole world full of people around your protagonist! Think about why they are important and what their function in the story is. There need to be 300 words per secondary character.
Last edited by Avery Chen on 30 Oct 2021, 20:28, edited 1 time in total.
The Dragon and the Phoenix
1. Setting
The story takes place in a fictional world under the following assumption: What if the Chinese discovered the Americas in 1421, before Christopher Columbus did, and colonized the New World ahead of the Europeans? Resulting colonialism and trade alliances established with the Americas (Meiguo) would enrich the Ming Dynasty, allowing the dynasty to outlast all its dynastic predecessors. The life of this economically and culturally prosperous dynasty would extend well into the early 1800s, where our story takes place.
Upon Zheng He’s discovery of South and Central Americas, tribute was established with the local empires during the rule of Emperor Chengzu. A fruitful trade alliance was subsequently formed, in which the Chinese traded silks, paper and porcelain in return for gold. Following the trade alliance, the Chinese would establish trading ports. The Ming Dynasty’s growing economic might would force Japan, Korea, and Vietnam to become vassal states. As such, the wars that would have broken out between these countries and China would never exist to deplete the Ming Dynasty’s coffers and cause its subsequent downfall.
In the late 1400s, the Europeans would arrive in Meiguo as trade competitors. War broke out amongst the Europeans, Chinese, and locals as each party vied for control of the bountiful ‘new’ lands, with the European and Chinese forces dominating due their superior weaponry and as new diseases rampaged the local populations. Eventually, in the mid-late 1500s, the Chinese would exercise primary control over central and southern Meiguo (our United states, Central America, and parts of South America), and the Europeans would have primary colonial control over northern Meiguo (our Canada).
Throughout the 1600s, the Ming Dynasty would expand the reach of its empire into Southeast Asia, where it would recruit many seafaring peoples in the Philippines and Indonesia for its trade missions. Shipbuilding and seafaring technology would speed up exponentially, as would immigration; the natural resources and ‘free’ land of Meiguo were appealing to those who had grown up with no land or inheritance to their names. Merchants eager to enter the seafaring and trade business immigrated from mainland China to Southeast Asia. The civilizations that conquered the seas were the ones that experienced the fastest growth. It was a time of industry and trade. The European economy grew in wealth from colonialism and the African slave trade, and the Chinese economy grew from colonialism and its growing merchant classes in Southeast Asia who paid bountiful taxes back to the empire.
In the early 1700s, democracy as an ideology blossomed in Europe, half a century earlier than it would in our own world during the French Revolution. In the mid-1700s, the colonies of Europe in northern Meiguo would become independent nations following the American Revolution and the formation of a democratic government.
However, the Chinese empire remained steadfastly imperial due to its meritocratic imperial exam system, its vassal state form of government, and its accelerating farming technology. The practice of imperial examinations would continue well into the early 1800s, allowing the studious sons of merchants to take on the title of magistrates and hold local government office if they performed well during these series of exams. The imperial exams were held every three years, and allowed for the reshuffling of rankings among central government bureaucrats and rankings among those interested in positions of local government office. This meritocratic government system would serve as a competing force to the ideology of democratic governmental elections. As such, the colonies had an illusion of self-government, as any of their own in the local population had the potential to rise into the ranks of local government.
Second, the Chinese empire’s practice of upholding local traditions within its vassal states ensured the empire’s political stability. China allowed locals within its vassal states in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia to practice their own cultural traditions and religions. The Chinese would not impose their own culture or seek to dominate the cultural traditions already established within those lands, much as the Mongols had done. Stability within its own empire was paramount to the Chinese.
Third, the Industrial Revolution which began in China was able to improve technology and efficiency within the empire, and allow it to maintain economic stability within the mainland. The Industrial Revolution spurred fast development in Chinese farming technology, and the invention of the steam engine fueled trade and faster transport. Productivity increased, and more workers of the rural population flooded into the cities looking for industrial work, or found themselves with more time to prepare for the imperial examinations to climb the ladder in government.
Our story takes place on both sides of the world in the early 1800s: In Beijing at the imperial court, and in Xijing, the busiest port city of Meiguo. The Forbidden City houses the Emperor and his imperial court. It is a magnificent palace of red-painted woodwork and golden, gilded roofs. Outside the palace is a bustling city with street vendors, residential courtyard housing (hutongs), and horse-drawn carriages. There is the occasional automobile tumbling down the streets, but these vehicles are expensive to maintain and easily break down during travel. From Beijing, you can take the steam-engine train to neighboring cities from its grand central terminal.
Xijing is located on the northeastern coast of Meiguo. The city is less dense than its counterpart in Beijing, with its wider boulevards and more structured residential and commercial areas due to more cognizant urban planning. Along the shipyard to the east line warehouses and taverns. As you go west into the heart of the city, you reach the central business district, where many of the city’s offices congregate. Further west, you find the larger residential houses lining the streets, each a mansion in their own right. Within these mansions live Xijing’s wealthy merchants, bankers, and import-export tycoons. On the roads, you will often see horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians, and bicycles, as the wider boulevards allow for safer passage of these devices than they do in the cluttered streets of Beijing. However, the city shows a more apparent income inequality than anywhere else within the empire, with beggars on the streets, tired of their manual labor, while the merchant class paraded their wealth in their ornate carriages and automotive vehicles. Social unrest was bound to brew.
(WC 1040)
The story takes place in a fictional world under the following assumption: What if the Chinese discovered the Americas in 1421, before Christopher Columbus did, and colonized the New World ahead of the Europeans? Resulting colonialism and trade alliances established with the Americas (Meiguo) would enrich the Ming Dynasty, allowing the dynasty to outlast all its dynastic predecessors. The life of this economically and culturally prosperous dynasty would extend well into the early 1800s, where our story takes place.
Upon Zheng He’s discovery of South and Central Americas, tribute was established with the local empires during the rule of Emperor Chengzu. A fruitful trade alliance was subsequently formed, in which the Chinese traded silks, paper and porcelain in return for gold. Following the trade alliance, the Chinese would establish trading ports. The Ming Dynasty’s growing economic might would force Japan, Korea, and Vietnam to become vassal states. As such, the wars that would have broken out between these countries and China would never exist to deplete the Ming Dynasty’s coffers and cause its subsequent downfall.
In the late 1400s, the Europeans would arrive in Meiguo as trade competitors. War broke out amongst the Europeans, Chinese, and locals as each party vied for control of the bountiful ‘new’ lands, with the European and Chinese forces dominating due their superior weaponry and as new diseases rampaged the local populations. Eventually, in the mid-late 1500s, the Chinese would exercise primary control over central and southern Meiguo (our United states, Central America, and parts of South America), and the Europeans would have primary colonial control over northern Meiguo (our Canada).
Throughout the 1600s, the Ming Dynasty would expand the reach of its empire into Southeast Asia, where it would recruit many seafaring peoples in the Philippines and Indonesia for its trade missions. Shipbuilding and seafaring technology would speed up exponentially, as would immigration; the natural resources and ‘free’ land of Meiguo were appealing to those who had grown up with no land or inheritance to their names. Merchants eager to enter the seafaring and trade business immigrated from mainland China to Southeast Asia. The civilizations that conquered the seas were the ones that experienced the fastest growth. It was a time of industry and trade. The European economy grew in wealth from colonialism and the African slave trade, and the Chinese economy grew from colonialism and its growing merchant classes in Southeast Asia who paid bountiful taxes back to the empire.
In the early 1700s, democracy as an ideology blossomed in Europe, half a century earlier than it would in our own world during the French Revolution. In the mid-1700s, the colonies of Europe in northern Meiguo would become independent nations following the American Revolution and the formation of a democratic government.
However, the Chinese empire remained steadfastly imperial due to its meritocratic imperial exam system, its vassal state form of government, and its accelerating farming technology. The practice of imperial examinations would continue well into the early 1800s, allowing the studious sons of merchants to take on the title of magistrates and hold local government office if they performed well during these series of exams. The imperial exams were held every three years, and allowed for the reshuffling of rankings among central government bureaucrats and rankings among those interested in positions of local government office. This meritocratic government system would serve as a competing force to the ideology of democratic governmental elections. As such, the colonies had an illusion of self-government, as any of their own in the local population had the potential to rise into the ranks of local government.
Second, the Chinese empire’s practice of upholding local traditions within its vassal states ensured the empire’s political stability. China allowed locals within its vassal states in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia to practice their own cultural traditions and religions. The Chinese would not impose their own culture or seek to dominate the cultural traditions already established within those lands, much as the Mongols had done. Stability within its own empire was paramount to the Chinese.
Third, the Industrial Revolution which began in China was able to improve technology and efficiency within the empire, and allow it to maintain economic stability within the mainland. The Industrial Revolution spurred fast development in Chinese farming technology, and the invention of the steam engine fueled trade and faster transport. Productivity increased, and more workers of the rural population flooded into the cities looking for industrial work, or found themselves with more time to prepare for the imperial examinations to climb the ladder in government.
Our story takes place on both sides of the world in the early 1800s: In Beijing at the imperial court, and in Xijing, the busiest port city of Meiguo. The Forbidden City houses the Emperor and his imperial court. It is a magnificent palace of red-painted woodwork and golden, gilded roofs. Outside the palace is a bustling city with street vendors, residential courtyard housing (hutongs), and horse-drawn carriages. There is the occasional automobile tumbling down the streets, but these vehicles are expensive to maintain and easily break down during travel. From Beijing, you can take the steam-engine train to neighboring cities from its grand central terminal.
Xijing is located on the northeastern coast of Meiguo. The city is less dense than its counterpart in Beijing, with its wider boulevards and more structured residential and commercial areas due to more cognizant urban planning. Along the shipyard to the east line warehouses and taverns. As you go west into the heart of the city, you reach the central business district, where many of the city’s offices congregate. Further west, you find the larger residential houses lining the streets, each a mansion in their own right. Within these mansions live Xijing’s wealthy merchants, bankers, and import-export tycoons. On the roads, you will often see horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians, and bicycles, as the wider boulevards allow for safer passage of these devices than they do in the cluttered streets of Beijing. However, the city shows a more apparent income inequality than anywhere else within the empire, with beggars on the streets, tired of their manual labor, while the merchant class paraded their wealth in their ornate carriages and automotive vehicles. Social unrest was bound to brew.
(WC 1040)