Haisan
Rulers of Sunhollow, the Haisan are a religious and pious people who have cultivated a rich culture of literature, music, and education. Historians, poets, bureaucrats, priests and hedonists all find a home in the Province of the Sun. Once a theocracy, the modern Haisan kingdom is metropolitan society steeped in tradition but embracing the possibilities of the future.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Helena, Sophie, Argentia, Calixta, Terradia, Ionna, Mithria, Cavora
Masculine names
Justinum, Martinus, Alexis, Opilio, Calliphane, Bardix, Priscian, Cyril
Family names
Meloda, Lacuna, Ostinatio, Neumaera, Dulcinae, Trocentor, Panis, Conebrae
Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Education
Elementary or grammar school is widely available and not limited to elites. Secondary school exists only in larger cities. Higher education and philosophy exists only in the capital of the region. Private tutors provide education for the wealthy. Educators live simple lives and are paid by the parents of children. Elementary education is simple reading and writing and arithmetic, without textbooks. Secondary education uses a standard 2-4 primers on the basics of poetry, history, and the Litany. Around the realm, most tutors are Haisan.Entertainment
Horse races, personal crafts for the wealthy (metalwork, ivory, and enamel), poetry. Horse sports and musical instrument playing. Singing is a popular family activity.Average technological level
Silk, fine ceramics. Book production and duplication is done frequently here, and many expensive books with illuminated pages are produced by the illuminators of Haisan. Plentiful marble and Marbleworks.
Much of the craft industry is managed and controlled by the Craftsman Guilds.
Art & Architecture
Architecture
Architecture Religious buildings are often symmetrical and built from a central point, either circular or polygonal. Towns are made of narrow and uneven alleys, and their dominating colors are the white façades and the red roofs of its houses. Towns or larger are built with boundary walls around the so-called “Upper town”, which is the oldest part of any town and the basis of any military district, built opposite the castle, built in the most inaccessible part of the town. Walls of Castles usually form an octagon and the structures feature eight strong towers decorated by rows of tiles. Often times, there are elements from an ancient Latizan structures which have been incorporated into the construction of the castle. Castles often have frescoed halls and stunning courtyards with fountains and garden. Ashlar construction over rubble masonry, using a joining material like mortar. Often alternating vertically between two colors of stone, one light and one earthen colored.Art, Visual
Much of the art of the region is religious in nature or attempting to capture religious scenes or moods. Mosaics of incredible detail are popular. and craftsmen from Haisan are often exported to decorate the homes of the wealthy in the Weinel Valley. Much of the visual art depicts ethereal figures that seem to float against a gold background that is representative of no identifiable earthly space. Artists are often supported by a patron system in which a wealthy lord maintains artists in his employ on the condition that they produce new works on demand or beautify spaces in the name of the patron.Art, Performing
Mimes and jesters perform vernacular entertainments in courts and marketplaces, while the rituals of the church focus on an almost theatrical presentation, especially on feast days. The Litany of the Octan was heard first in Haisan, and so choral and other works are popular here.
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
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