The Shanghai Papers

The time has come for us to set aside what makes us different from the rest of the Multiverse, and instead embrace what makes us the same. We share common goals that are better handled as one rather than as hundreds of disconnected groups. The time has come to join with the Seven.

— The beginning of a letter sent to what is now the Sacramento Sanctuary

The Shanghai Papers are a series of handwritten letters by Yang Changpu of the then Shanghai Magic-using Society that arrived en masse at every major magical institution on Earth at around 11pm Greenwich Mean Time. Each letter was formally addressed to the leader of each institution and, much like the example illustrates, indicated that joining the Seven would be of vital importance for the continued survival of Terran mage society. The meetings that followed became the basis for the formation of the Sanctuary system and the Terra Doctrine.

The Letters Themselves

Magical society on Earth was extremely fragmented at that time, but each kept very meticulous records of the arrival of the letters. Yang also described them in detail in his memoir, noting how he carefully sent emissaries and utilized divination to discover the people who needed to receive the letters. He then carefully tailored each letter to each institution, wording them differently to be sure that they would have the greatest chance of success. 
Each letter was written on two pages of simple blank paper, with Yang's beloved calligrapher writing out the message once Yang had figured out the diction. In each letter, Yang makes three clear points: 1) the mages of Earth cannot stand alone against the destruction caused by demons, 2) the Seven have more than enough expertise to revolutionize the way warfare was conducted on Earth, and 3) the threat of mundane interference was growing too quickly to not be addressed on a planet-wide scale. After writing, the letter was sealed in a thin envelope with the grey symbol of the Shanghai Magic-using Society and sent, alongside 3,524 others.

Delivery and Aftermath

Yang hoped that at least a few of the various organizations reached by the letter would respond positively, but the sheer number of affirmative and cooperative responses was astounding. Each institution was heavily under threat and many had made smaller, informal networks over the past couple of decades, particularly in Europe. There was recognition that Yang's argument was very persuasive, and so many meetings were established between the leaders of various magical societies to discuss these topics. The outcome of the last of these meetings in November of 1951 was the Terra Doctrine, which outlined the rights of Terran mages, established the Sanctuary as the main unit of magical community on Earth, and clarified the necessity for mages to prevent mundane exposure to magical happenings.

Type

Text, Letter

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

1948

Location

Earth

Authors

• Yang Changpu

A Selection of Responses:

I've been instructed to inform you that this letter will be read at the next meeting of the Johannesburg Wizardry Council and a response will be returned shortly thereafter.

I appreciate these words of encouragement to join this organization. We were in the process of planning a meeting with the Seven ourselves fairly soon with an eye to this very kind of partnership.

I'm not sure who you think you are, but if you think that you can simply bully us into joining some off-world organization or whatever, you are sadly mistaken.

All images in this article were created by me, EmperorCharlesII, unless otherwise credited.