The People of Tiangchou

- Some well known Tiangchouians - 
- The tribes of Tiangchou -
- Organizations -
- Economy -
- Culture -

The Economy and Government of Tiangchou

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Finance

No coins are minted within Tiangchou, Imperial coins are used but the traditional methods still prevail. In 704, the ruler Fan Chia introduced paper money, this was promissory notes to the rulers treasury and can be exchanged for imperial coin at the tax office, where of course taxes are collected as well. In fact should any strangers wish to enter the inner city they must declare the value of their coins and must exchange anything over 10gp for notes. The tax office is located in the outer city and the customs house just inside the gate. There is no charge for transferring coinage to notes however a 5% levy is imposed upon exchange to coin. Traders within the city are forbidden to trade goods greater than 5GP in value in anything other than notes. The second method of purchase is barter, this is more commonly used due to the imposition of the tax above. However within the Inner City most prefer notes unless the purchaser has something of value to the merchant/artisan or has gone to find it.

Government

The Mandara's rule is complete, however her commands are interpreted by the inner council. This consists of several Mandarins, some of which can affect the lives of individual citizens. The Mandarin in charge of collection is the worst liked figure. He can charge whatever he wishes and call upon the help of the whole city guard. The Mandarin Chancellor is in charge if spending the money, he decides what the budgets are and what is spent against those budgets. The Law Mandarin interprets and decides on the laws and changes to those laws. He is the ultimate arbiter *S* in any dispute within Tiangchou.

Law

The laws of Tiangchou are well developed, in fact suprisingly so. Corruption within the courts is a formalized affair which recognizes that judges are corruptible and therefore gives a minimum limit for bribing the court official in order to allow the trial and sentence to be delayed 100 years.. However the justice system is based on the premise of punishment and reform, this means that individuals who are found guilty are subjected to imprisonment and forced labor. In an enlightened move criminals are also subjected to lectures by moral leaders to allow them to see the errors of their ways. Petty crimes are dealt with using short imprisonment and work, whilst larger or repeat crimes have heavier penalties including branding of the criminal. There is also a slim chance of criminals being sent to the Pit, this is especially true of murderers.

Religion

The church of Telgard has been growing in strength gradually over the last 100 years. The Traphar is now a local rather than someone brought from elsewhere in the Empire. It is important to realize that the tribes still adhere to their traditional animal spirit and ancestor worship and therefore do not generally follow the way of the church. Thos in the city however are now turning more and more to the church for guidance.

Trade

The city has a ring dedicated to artisans and factories. These buildings hold the industrious heart of Tiangchou and it is from these that its wealth is gained. The factories produce porcelain, made and decorated to the highest quality. The clay found from the river bank is exceedingly fine and the workmanship of the potters and artists is superb. Using wools and cottons collected and purchased from the horse tribe the inhabitants of Canton make cloth and clothing, however this is mainly used within the area around Tiangschou as the styles are simple and very specific to the region. There is one section of the artisans ring that is dedicated to leatherwork, it is here that the export clothing is made. The tanners road stenches from lime collected near the river and many leather goods are made within this area. Cuirbolli armor is prepared and decorated here and is sold to the merchants who traverse the empire bringing profits to the city. The leather armor of Tiangchou is especially hard and renowned for its quality. Another section of the artisans quarter is the jewelers. Gems are rare within Tiangchou, however many precious stones can be found in the region, especially jade, and it with this stone that the finest work is done. There is also a small paper mill in the upper level that produces a variety of paper, some of which is exported, but the finest quality is used for the printing of the money chits.