Primer on the Great Houses

The era of the Zheng Dynasty's reign is one where birth plays a great part in determining success. While the masses toil away at their own stations, the reins of power are held firmly in the hands of a prominent nobility. And given historical circumstances, the Zheng Imperial Court relies all the more heavily on these great houses to sustain its rule.

The struggle between the different great houses for favour, prestige and power is never-ending, though, and as an Emperor-to-be, the dispenser of these favours, you work to fulfill nearly impossible needs. An Emperor leans towards any one house, or any one faction of houses, at his own peril. Struggles and arguments at court, open fistfights in the streets of Jiankang, even plots and outright murder - all these are minor problems.

The real terror for the Emperor, the real nightmare scenario, is - what if you are no longer the one they look to to give favour? What if, instead of pleasing you, they looked only to empower themselves?

The Crimson Gates
The Great Houses of the Empire form a society all of their own. Most of them have residences within the Walled City of Jiankang, in close proximity to Yonghua Palace and the Emperor's presence; these grand, sprawling residential compounds all have gates painted bright crimson, with gilded bronze knockers, a marker of their esteemed position. This is why the noble houses are also called the Crimson Gates (Chinese: 朱门).

Within the Crimson Gates, the nobles have perhaps the greatest luxury afforded by wealth and privilege - the luxury of freedom to pursue their interests and desires. Of course, this is bound by what Confucian culture deems 'good' pursuits - culture and the arts, official service, and the like. But of course, there are far more unseemly pursuits - some just considered a little uncouth for cultured men and women, while others are far beyond the pale of acceptable Chinese society.

But who's going to stop a noble, after all?

Retainers and Social Prestige
The social basis for each noble clan's power is based on a few things. On the one hand, there is favour from above. The Son of Heaven's benevolence rains down on his subjects, and it rains particularly hard on the Crimson Gates.

On the other hand, though, the great houses are also paradoxical engines of social mobility. They do this in several ways, most notably through retainers.

Retainers, also known sometimes as Gate Guests (Chinese: 门客), are men of talent who are retained by the great houses. They are not servants; they are not obliged to do work, and are entitled to stipends, food and lodging from their patrons. In exchange for this, of course, the nobles can brag of having particularly talented people in their keep, and use them to improve their status in the Dynastic Court.

Refugees and Locals
The southward flight of the Imperial House to Jiankang was not a small affair. Along with the Emperor and his house, tens of thousands of the northern nobility also went south - noble men and women, as well as their retainers, guests, students and workers.

But these refugee houses did not move south into an empty landscape, for during the Zheng Empire, the south was also developing a thriving nobility of its own. The two groups, then, were headed towards a cultural and political clash, over the suddenly diminished physical territory of the empire.

Refugees
The northern houses traditionally enjoyed higher prestige than their southern rivals; after all, they had lived in Luoyang, at the Emperor's side. In the south, though, their influence was severely weakened; cut off from their land holdings, they became more reliant on Imperial favour to maintain their wealth.

To entrench their positions, then, the refugee houses tended to depend on two things. First was their inherited knowledge of classics and history, which assured that their scions could enter the Dynastic Court and serve as civil administrators. Secondly, they made sure to intermarry with the Imperial House; with each entwined couple, they also tied their fortunes more firmly to that of the Empire at large.

By 13 Chengyuan, the most prominent of the Refugee houses include the following:

Locals
Distant from the centre of power, sitting on their own landholdings and aspiring to regional posts at best, the nobility of the south were a class below their fellows in Luoyang. Their networks could not penetrate the old boys' club in the then-capital, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of marginalisation.

At least, that's how it was until the flight happened.

The local houses had never been particularly esteemed or trusted by the Dynastic Court, but when the time came for them to prove their loyalty, they nonetheless stood and fought like tigers. They were defending both their own property and lives, and also the remnant of the Empire; and when they managed to beat the northern invaders back, the local houses also vaulted to positions of honour to the Imperial Court. Given their background of service, they often became military and regional commanders, forming a counterbalance to the concentrated power of the Refugee Clans in the capital.

By 13 Chengyuan, the most prominent of the local clans include:

Conflict and Balance
Strangely, the situation settled into what it had been like before, in a way. The Local great houses became more empowered in the regions, practically dominating regional appointments; the Refugee Clans, meanwhile, became even more concentrated around the capital, since there was nowhere else they could now go to form their own power base.

Thus began decades of mutual sniping and rivalry between the two main groups. The Locals, still somewhat resentful of being looked down on, see the Refugees as effete and weak. They lost their lands and property because they were too sissy to defend themselves, and now they're over here taking our jobs!

The Refugees, meanwhile, viewed the Local houses as being ferocious and uncultured, lacking in the qualities of knowledge, learning and cultivation that befits true gentlemen. Sure, they did a great job defending the Empire at its frontiers... and that's likely where they should stay.

Decades later and this conflict has settled down into an uneasy balance, prompted by intermarriage and punctuated by occasional rebellions. The Imperial House tries to entwine the Locals the same way as they did the Refugees, and also to tie them down in marriage alliances so they will vouchsafe each other's behaviour. This system has worked pretty well so far; when some of the great houses did revolt, there were always enough loyal families to crush the malcontents.