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Overview

The Jianshen villagers are an ethnoreligious group from the Western Continent of the Earth Kingdom, which spread somewhat Eastward, and, formerly, to the Fire Nation. They are an officially recognized minority.

Their bending is Earth, for the most part, though some are firebenders.

History

Antiquity

The Jianshen villagers believe their system originates from a series of prophets who lived in high antiquity. They do not believe these prophets represent a tulku, as the Jianshen religion does not teach reincarnation. They seem to have originated in the riparian valleys of the Five Rivers Province and North Honghu State, and been shaped by their conflicts with Honghu tribes in the mountains. They had relatively little contact with central Earth Kingdom civilization until the push for western colonization under the Gong Dynasty, and the expansion of the Ganjinese empire. Inclined to affiliate with these polities for protection against montane raiders, as long as their distinctive customs were tolerated, they did not particularly resist contact, and many adopted the Common language over the centuries.

Pre-War

In the lead up to Sozin's attacks on the other elemental nations, Jianshen villagers came under increasing civil debility in the Fire Nation, and many immigrated to the Western Earth Kingdom. Eventually, those that did not were forced to give up their distinctive traditions and conform to mainstream Fire Nation society. Thus, nowadays some Jianshen villagers are firebenders because of mixed heritage.

Since the War

Given the remoteness of their main villages, the war has affected them relatively little. Although not strict pacifists (they do not practice non-resistance), their many restrictions on the use of violence and peculiar customs of purity and eating make them poorly suited to common military life, and their villages have traditionally obtained exceptions from conscription into the Royal Earth Army in exchange for paying additional taxes.

On the other hand, in the case of the Jianshen diaspora arising from their past missionary efforts, there is no guarantee that such provisions will be applicable. Some have been forcibly conscripted by warlords into the fight against the fire nation, with varying results.

Physical Anthropology

The Jianshen are, broadly speaking, taller and darker-skinned than the surrounding peoples. They usually have dark hair and green or brown eyes, but some have yellow.

Distribution and Population

Culture

Language

Most Jianshen villagers speak Common. In the past, some spoke dialects of Fire, but few speakers remain. They have a liturgical language, the Divine Speech; the regularity of this language suggest it is artificial. It seems to be a highly refined form of a language spoken by them in remote antiquity, before they came into contact with Common literate culture.

Literature and Folklore

The Jianshen villagers have an extensive compendium of lore and law, which runs to six large volumes in codex form, and which is written in a liturgical language they call the Divine Speech. They also have many commentaries on their Jianshen Lawbooks, and tomes of theological and philosophical speculations. Overall, they are a highly literate culture.

Arts and Music

Cuisine

Jianshen villagers customarily abstain from overly-stimulating foods (generally peppers, garlic, and onions) and alcohol, and their "Elect" (priestly class) must additionally abstain from animal flesh and eggs. Various other special rules govern food preparation for the Elect. Their "Hearers," (laity) follow the more stringent dietary rules of the Elect on certain special occasions, as a meritorious spiritual practice, or in preparation for Election.

Jianshen food is generally quite rich, despite the lack of spices, and often incorporates ingredients preserved by fermentation. They treat their dairy animals with great care and respect.

Religion and Holidays

They believe in a single, absolute spiritual being, which is characterized as having a "broad end" and a "narrow end," the former expressing Themselves as the universe and its life-forms, and the latter being an ineffable divine being. Despite Their exalted position and all-encompassing universal scope, the divinity is nonetheless thought to have very extensive and particular opinions as to the way in which human beings should conduct their daily lives. By following their prescribed patterns of living, the practitioner hopes to attain a pleasing life, and die with the satisfaction that their life forms a consonant and harmonious part of an eternal whole. They do not believe in an afterlife or reincarnation, but rather consider that the past is, from the perspective of the Divinity (and the most legitimate perspective), not gone at all. They sometimes compare the Deity to an artist painting a picture (i.e. the universe).

The Jianshen villagers venerate their Deity (i.e. Jianshen, though that name is rarely used by them) in tall pagodas, the form of which symbolizes their theological understanding.

Apart from their various dietary taboos, ritual purity customs, and hygienic regulations, Jianshen ethics emphasize truthfulness and fair dealing, refraining from the offensive use of force, deliberation before making decisions, and support for decisions of their elders once made. The Jianshen Elect are celibate, but widows and widowers can be Elected after the end of their marriage. Polygamy is forbidden under the Jianshen laws.

Politics

The Jianshen villagers have never had a sovereign state of any size, but many of their colonies have enjoyed special privileges or home rule under larger polities. In general, their religious obligations and strictures have impeded their political and military power relative to other groups. They have generally got along well with the Ganjinese, and were officially tolerated under both Ganjinese empires, during which time their missionaries propagated their faith through much of the West. Although willing to make converts, the extensive obligations required of them tended to blunt their appeal to foreigners. Most conversions to the faith are of non-members seeking to marry a believer. As the Jianshen villagers concern themselves with orthopraxy rather than intentions or faith, this is considered an acceptable reason in itself - as long as the prospective spouse-convert seems temperamentally suited to keep their strictures.

Jianshen villagers under, as the Earth Kingdom terms it, "Indigenous Rule," have a council of Elect, who generally make decisions on a consensus basis, often after extensive deliberation and based on interpretations of the Jianshen lawbooks. The methods of interpretation can seem very arbitrary and confusing to outsiders, with seemingly unrelated statements being applied to contemporary problems. However, these methods do represent a system, and so geographically separated Jianshen villages often come to similar conclusions about novel issues.

Bending

The Jianshen school of earthbending is notable for emphasis on pair and team tactics. Pairs of Jianshen earthbenders work together to trap opponents. Less-lethal techniques are emphasized, for although their ethics allow for killing in self defense, it is only permited if "necessary," and the circumstances of necessity have been narrowed over the centuries. Jianshen earthbenders are not supposed to go outside their village alone, because it is thought that this would increase the odds of a lethal confrontation, and most also become Elect. All but basic techniques are reserved to the Elect.