China
China, officially known as the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the most populous country in the world. Governed by the Communist Party of China, the state includes 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing), and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
Taiwan's political status remains disputed. Chinese magical practitioners do not discuss Chinese politics openly and the magical government branch does not concern itself with Muggle affairs.
Language
The lingua franca of China is Mandarin Chinese, though this is not accounting for the dozens of dialects scattered throughout China's provinces. Most educated Chinese are able to speak English fluently as well, though they will usually prefer speaking in Mandarin unless absolutely necessary.
Magic incantations in China are of course done in the native language - or so most people assume. The trouble with this assumption is that China as a large land mass home to billions of people has multiple dialects, some of which have never been heard outside of China. This means that any incantation is open to being spoken in any dialect, which both offers creativity and yet increases the difficulty of learning them.
As such magic tends to not necessarily be restricted to an incantation. Some incantations have been turned into body movements or hand gestures instead. Others use their life force, more known as qi, to power their movements and allow magic to flow through the body. The idea is that language is but one part of the equation of magic and it should not be restricted to language alone.
Magical Culture
The following information is not official Harry Potter canon. This article contains entirely original ideas, and provides a more specific look at magical culture in China within the universe of AO.
To even begin to understand magical China and its society, one must comprehend that in China magic is everywhere as part of the world itself. Chinese society believes that there are the Unseen - spirits both good and evil, minor gods, ghosts and so on - who live alongside humans as humans do. Magic is knowledge, and knowledge is power - and everything in this realm desires it. Due to these desires, magical China is described to be a country with military tactics at the forefront.
Magical society does not hide away from normal life, living normal lives with normal day jobs and using magic at the right time and place. They use Muggle technology freely, only employing magic in magical affairs. Magical China is much like a peaceful society trained for combat - and magic is for war.
Magical Foci
The Chinese do not use wands; rather they use objects of importance and symbolic of power as foci. These objects are usually mundane in nature to be easily carried around in public without drawing attention, such as Shaozu Gan's ornamental gold needle.
Due to China's storied history of war and conflict, these foci are actually the ordinary forms of magical weaponry. Shaozu's needle, for example, transforms into a 6-foot fighting staff similar to the legendary magical staff Ruyi Jingu Bang, weapon of the Chinese literary figure Sun Wukong. Such weapons are specially crafted as magical foci, allowing their user to wield magic alongside martial arts non-verbally but at full strength as now both the body and the weapon are combined to use spells.
The most common Chinese martial weapon is the sword owing to its favoured status, but weapons such as the glaive (guandao), butterfly sword, monk's spade and even the meteor hammer are not excepted.
There is a pervading belief among the older generations of Chinese magical society that as those blessed with magic they are obliged to protect the realm from threats, including the Unseen who are said to have greater magical aptitude than humans. While younger generations are not guaranteed to share this belief, the tradition of arming oneself with a weapon as a magical focus and learning its martial skills continues to be dominant today. It is mandatory for any employee of the Chinese magical government to be skilled in martial arts, for example.
The Middle City
The Middle City is what magical China calls the magical world, in the same way the British wizarding world is a term. So named because they see it as existing as a reality between the mundane and the spiritual, and it is hard to actually distinguish between both in normal speech since to magical Chinese they all live in the same space as non-magical people rather than in secluded areas like the British wizarding world does.
Despite the use of the word 'city', the Chinese use it for the society of every magical country even if they don't live in a city. The idea is that the Middle City is a united existence where all magical folk exist by way of being magical.
Society
The Chinese have different terminology depending on magical experience level.
- Chinese wizarding folk in general are referred to as adepts.
- Students who have not graduated or are doing further education are referred to as apprentices.
- Professors and learned academics are referred to as Sages.
- Very immensely powerful wizards and witches are referred to as Great Sages or by their titles.
The Chinese do not care for blood purity. In their eyes, individuals are either capable of magic or they aren't. In order to be considered an adept, a fully fledged individual versed in magic the Chinese way, they must graduate from a magical school and demonstrate control over their magical powers - only then can they be 'qualified' as an adept.
There is a social hierarchy in terms of ancestral lineage. Many major Chinese families are possibly linked to famous figures from history tracing back to major incidents in China's storied history such as the Warring Period. Though some of these ancestral claims are dubious at best, this doesn't stop these families from boasting of their long lineage of virtuous and noble people, even if those figures are known for their ruthlessness and violence moreso than their virtues.
Many traditionalists are still trying to hold on to the old ways, but they're not succeeding very well thanks to the younger generations bringing home more ideas from the West. There is a cultural intergenerational clash in society over this.
A more common way of thinking is regardless of origin and magical affinity, one can defy the circumstances under which they were born and rise to become a great adept. The Dragon's Gate Academy, known for its acceptance towards more progressive values, adheres to this kind of thinking and provides a comprehensive education in order to encourage individuals to find their path in life rather than hold them to one single achievement.
Werewolves and vampires are generally treated as second-class citizens. Anyone who isn't 'purely' human isn't seen as 'whole', and anything to do with death and animals is shunned.
Government
The Chinese magical government is intertwined with the Chinese normal government, meaning that there are no two separate governments in one country. Rather, the departments overseeing magical affairs are separate from their normal parts as China recognises that magical affairs require different skillsets and beliefs.
The organisational structure of China's government can roughly be applied to magical China with a few exceptions, namely that not all departments have a magical counterpart. Sometimes one department handles both (the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine under the National Health Commission is one).
The magical divisions are known as Commissions and so far three have been named on Absit Omen.
- National Realm Defence Commission
- National Realm Secrets Commission
- Ten-Lords Commission
The National Realm Defence Commission
This commission is responsible for all magical law enforcement and military of China. It stands out as answering to three Muggle authority groups higher up the chain: the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security and the Central Military Commission. The commission itself does not meddle with normal politics and security, instead existing as a magical counterpart to domestic and international law enforcement. Members of the Realm Defence Commission are known as Enforcers and mostly serve on a national level. However, high-ranking Enforcers such as the Chief Enforcer, like Shaozu Gan, can be involved in international politics.
The National Realm Secrets Commission
Realm Secrets is both responsible for intel and espionage as well as research and development of magic in the same manner as the British Department of Mysteries and the American Eldritch and Profane Agency. Many private R&D companies in China are also sponsored by the Commission in some way, allowing multiple research projects to be undertaken simultaneously. Members of the Commission are known as agents, and this Commission is semi-autonomous from the CCP. Examples of agents would be Hai Yun Li and Yuan Bo Zhang.
The Ten-Lords Commission
This department is in charge of determining China's magical laws, as well as dealing with any magic and research related to death and the afterlife. The Ten-Lords Commission is largely shrouded in mystery, supposed to have great black doors as mentioned by Hai Yun that are not meant to keep people out but to keep things in. Many Chinese government officials do not discuss or interfere with this Commission's affairs out of both respect and fear, as demonstrated by Hai Yun. The Ten-Lords Commission operates almost fully autonomously of the CCP and is headed by Director Lady Huangquan.
Education
Magical practitioners born in China who choose to study magic attend one of two major Chinese magical schools: Dragon's Gate Academy of Guangxi or Xinjiang Institute of Learning. An institute of further learning exists in Taiwan, the Kunlun Sages' Institute.
Quidditch
Quidditch has a healthy popularity in China, though those who participate in it believe that brooms are a bad idea as brooms are seen to be tools that sweep out good luck. Domestic Quidditch matches are held using flying swords instead where players must surf on these swords and falling off while not considered a penalty does take valuable time during matches to get back up and resume once more. This method of flying in play has its advantages and disadvantages, but overall is seen as a good thing as the finesse needed to fly on a sword can translate to broom flying on the international level.
In 2010, the Chinese National Quidditch team participated in the 2010 Quidditch World Cup. They competed against Moldova in the finals for three days, with Moldova finally winning 750 to 640. The match is widely held to have produced some of the finest Quidditch seen in the 21st century.
Creatures
Creatures native to China and regions under its administration that the Western world knows about are the Chinese Fireball and the Yeti.
With that said however, the CCP only grudgingly accepts the existence of the Chinese Fireball and denotes that the Yeti is not necessarily the creature they think it is. Chinese magizoologists claim that these creatures aren't truly Chinese in nature and they are what the Western world thinks Chinese magical creatures look like instead. This has sparked debate between Chinese and Western magizoologists, with the Western side noting that China has not shown them what their magical wildlife looks like and the Chinese side retorting that as their magical wildlife is sacred they do not need to show them to the public.
At Absit Omen
Adrianna Xin transferred to and worked in China's Auror counterpart for almost twenty years before transferring back to England. As part of her acclimatisation to China, she had to take a crash course in Chinese magic and use it, as part of the job requirements.
As seen in Migration, Chinese magical society is not against using Muggle technology to travel, although they may add additional enhancements to make their journeys smoother.
Chief Enforcer Gan Shaozu is investigating in England as to the origin of fake Chinese artefacts.
Agents Hai Yun Li and Yuan Bo Zhang are on the Unspeakable exchange to the UK.
Characters Born in China
- Shaozu Gan, Hong Kong (more commonly known as Gan Shaozu)
- Yuan Bo Zhang, NPC
- Hai Yun Li, NPC
- Lady Huangquan, Director of the Ten-Lords Commission
