Jiaoren

Jiaoren are pelagos (marine) merfolk that are primarily found to dwell in the Nanyang sea of the Yaojing Region. They can also handle freshwater as they have smaller communities in or near the lakes of rivers of nation Jianghu.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Jiaoren are merfolk that along with others in the Yaojing region (like the ningyo) that trace their ancestry to Longryu Drakains. For generations, their equivalent to nobility were and still are closely related to the ruling families of these sapient dragons on the mainland.

Shared customary codes and values

Jiaoren are highly sociable with other merfolk within the Nuyang sea, and are known for trading their wares for food, for safety and for companionship while travelling. They even have positive relations with many terrestrial races of Jiangshu and nearby Nusantara.

Common Dress code

Jiaoren have used their signature dragon silk mainly as the main component of their dress style. The use of their marine material developed the rudiments of their traditional clothing; it consists of a yi, a narrow-cuffed, knee-length tunic tied with a sash, and a narrow, ankle-length skirt, called chang, worn with a bixi, a length of fabric that reached the end of their tails or knees when on land. Vivid primary colors and green were used, due to the dyes collected from trade. 
Overtime, the Jiaoren dress began to take more inspiration from mainland Jiangshu cultures, mainly the long running Longryu ruling class of the Yoajing region. Male Jiaoren came to wear black hats similar to the Minzu hauflins on the mainland for example.

Art & Architecture

Jiao Tear

Jiaoren are known for making beautiful art through various techniques such as sculpting, weaving and making jewelry from the pearls that form from their tears. These pearl-tears are highly prized by outside sources, but are rarely traded away, more often they are made into gifts for close friends and family.

Mermaid Silk

Jiaoren merfolk are arguably even more known for the unique cloth they weave known in the region as "jiaoxiao" or more commonly Mermaid Silk. It is though that the jiaoren were the first merfolk to produce sea silk by collecting byssus from molluscs and the kinds made by them are still considered the best of any mer group encountered.
While most merfolk often use strong fibers from various mollusks, the mermaid silk material is valued for its properties and luxurious looks due to jiaoren mermaid's delicate fingers and their techniques that specifically harvest the most material. This has lead to large counterfeiting operations to foreign places which has lead to many to hire people that are experts in authenticating official jiaoren artworks. Partly this was due to demand leading to overfishing of the pen sehlls, the main clams used for raw material for Mermaid Silk.

by Choco

Encompassed species

• Merfolk