Hist speech

Wu Ai—Shaman from Chu, persuader (Courtier)

You come from an originally non-sinitic (non-Chinese) culture of the Southern Yangzi River. Your state however has been one of the strongest and largest states since the fall of the Zhou Dynasty. Your ruler is no longer vassal and is king of a beautiful and agricultural rich region. While the Chu kings have adopted some aspects of Sinitic culture, hired political and military advisers from northern states, many cultural practices have remained distinctly Chu. You are a woman like many of the shamans of your state. You know the poems of your state of Chu that speak of gods and spirits and imagine the possibility of a Chu-centered “China.” You have been an advisor to an earlier King of Chu where you helped with performing of shamanistic rituals of dance and communication with natural spirits and ancestral spirits of the Chu Royal House to control the rains and other natural phenomena. You have just come back to the Chu Court to serve King Xiong Fuchu. Despite political infighting and corruption at court, you manage to keep being called to court to work for several Kings of Chu, including King Kaolie of Chu (r. 237-228 BCE) and his son King You of Chu (r. 228 BCE). You also know medicinal herbs and roots that can help cure illness and prolong life. According to your reputation, you have traveled far and wide through heaven and earth. You distrust many of the traveling persuaders and foreigners in the Chu court who come from Northern states. You know they neither believe in nor respect the nature spirits of your state and that they often call your culture barbaric. You also particularly distrust foreign military specialists who despite Chu’s large territory have disparaged Chu culture. You know in particular of a passage from the Wuzi that says something about the Chu people not being strong. Now your King seeks these foreigners’ advice to reform Chu and face the Qin. You want to make sure your King does not abandon his royal ancestors and the nature spirits. You also want to make sure that those who despise Chu do not influence too much your King. Affiliations You are most likely to affiliate with people from Chu who often fear and respect you, like Merchant Qu from your state, and of course with your King to whom you owe allegiance and devotion. His consort, Zhao Liying, has at times sought your counsel. Although she is an outsider, she seems genuinely interested in understanding the Nature Spirits. You distrust your King’s ministers Li Yuan and Yan Ju, but you cannot show this openly. Your main rival is the occultist and astrologer Wang Li. Position You want to support your King’ s decision to reform Chu’s institutions, but you also want to make sure he does not cast away the Royal ancestors and the Nature Spirits. You will need to be selected by either Li Yuan or Xiang Yan to limit the scopes of the reforms. You do recognize that the Qin are a threat. Despite your mistrusts of foreigners and of philosophical and military strategies against the state of Qin. You want to make sure that your state survives an attack by the Qin. You only have the ears of the King of Chu and of

Chu officials close to the King. The traveling persuaders, except for the Mohists, will neither look nor talk to you even though they know you are a trusted adviser to King Fuchu. You know however that the Mohist do not trust in the power of the supernatural and disregard rituals. You think King Fuchu has been a weak king, but it is your duty to make sure he survives this crisis. Responsibilities

a. Read: You must read three poems from the Chu Ci. b. Find: In the poems, find two rituals you should perform that will help you guide the

King. Find at least one reason why the supernatural world should be listened over the advice of mere learned and political men.

c. Prepare: a speech that highlights the importance of the ancient history and traditions of the state of Chu and to its unique nature among the Central States. Use the Chu Ci poems to illustrate the rituals of your people and call on the King to reform without going too far away from Chu’s traditions.

d. Session 1: Introduce yourself to the Traveling Persuaders. Try to impress upon them that the power of spirits are paying attention.

e. Session 2 Present your speech and Comment on other advisors’ speeches. f. Throughout all of the sessions, Continue to help Chu against the Qin threat using

omens from the Nature Spirits and Royal Ancestors. Comment on the debates in Sessions 3 and 4.

g. Throughout attempt to influence the King of Chu that he should listen to the will of nature spirits and of the ancestors using the rituals found in The Chuci even if chooses to reform Chu’s institutions.

Strategy for winning You are wary of many of these outsiders…be careful not to allow them to exclude you. Be a voice for the Royal Ancestors and the Nature spirits. Do not let your King ignore or cast them aside. To win, you will need to explain your idea of good rulership effectively, so you can be kept into the Chu court and be part of a reform faction. To win or draw, you must be alive at the end of the game. If you die, you lose regardless. King Fuchu must also be alive. To win, you must have King Fuchu and the court of Chu show they still listen to the supernatural world. This could be fulfilled by being chosen to work on the reform council (and to have your values included in it) and then have that reform plan chosen. Or there may be other ways that you can get the King to show that he still supports the rituals and beliefs, even if you are not directly involved with creating the reform efforts. Special Powers

You can communicate with spirits. If you influence the King and communicate with spirits, it will lead to your faction’s increased power of persuasion. To Do

1. Before the session 1 meeting, Read the excerpts from The Chu Ci. Write a paper on the history and traditions of the state of Chu and why reforms should not eradicate traditions.

2. During the session 1 session, Introduce yourself. 3. Session 2: Give your speech 4. Throughout the game continue helping Chu by seeking guidance from the Nature

Spirits and Royal Ancestors and commenting on the debates