Gan Pingzhi

[Pingzhi]

I've made this character because I have an idea for a thread of correspondences from a Nanyue soldier to his family to help flesh out some aspects of the Tian Xia setting. Please let me know if anything requires tweaking/clarification - otherwise, the character is ready for appraisal.

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Player Name: James

Character Name: Gan Pingzhi
Age: 24
Race: Human
Height: 5'2"


===Physical Description===

Pingzhi seems somewhat soft-featured compared to other soldiers, despite his military training, though this is largely due to his tendency to daydream when not on duty. Worry-lines from a difficult and stressful career already mar his young face. Pingzhi's skin is a darker tan to that of most Tian Xian citizens, a trait of mixed heritage: his grandfather on his father's side was a jungle tribesman exiled for trading with Tian Xian soldiery.

However, Pingzhi has been a soldier for eight years, and is undeniably physically fit. He has a collection of scars and burn marks on his body from various horrors and conflicts within the jungles of Nanyue.

Pingzhi keeps his hair cut short, and generally remains clean shaven - though this is more due to Nanyue military protocol than any consideration for fashion.

===Possessions===

A small house of his own: one bedroom, kitchen, storage room, and a basic bathroom.

Writing and calligraphy kit: ink brushes, inksticks and inkstone
Erhu (stringed instrument with a sound reminiscent of the violin)

=Nanyue standard military kit=
Light chain and leather armour with some plating for the torso neck and shoulders
Short recurved bow
Dao
Small shield
Cane knife
Hatchet

===Powers or Strengths===

=Nanyue Military Training=

Assigned to the military as part of the Weisuo system of conscription, Pingzhi was one of the young men of Gan who volunteered to join the army in exchange for his village receiving taxation rebates.

Pingzhi isn't the fastest sword, the sharpest shot with a bow, or the strongest/swiftest in his squad. However, he is fit, athletic, handy with a sword, can shoot a bow, and is basically like most young men who go through heavy physical training.

One important aspect of Nanyue training which is different to other areas of Tian Xia, however, involves jungle survival training: how to recognise safe plants and animals, dangerous plants and animals, and relatively safe ways to investigate those things which are still uncategorised to the Nanyue Survey Auxiliary.

=Veteran=

Surviving for eight years of service in Nanyue is a respectable feat.
Most soldiers rotate out to a less dangerous role after the minimum term of three years when assigned to Nanyue. Pingzhi has his reasons for staying on.

Pingzhi's survival can be attributed partly to blind luck, partly to the skill of the Southern Talon's healers, partly to Pingzhi's calm thinking when in danger, and partly to the benefit of prolonged experience. Although his personality has led to him being passed over for leadership roles, he is often considered a vital part of any squad he is in on the basis of experience and cool-headedness alone.

=Calm=

Pingzhi is not the kind of young man who likes a fuss, and who believes in retaining dignity in even the most unpleasant of circumstances. He has gained some respect among his comrades for being able to keep his calm during ambushes and the sundry emergencies which often arise for the military of Nanyue. Part of his calm under pressure comes from a stoic acceptance of the inevitability of life's hardships.

=Music lover=

If there is one thing which keeps Pingzhi grounded, it is the erhu. In his downtime, he is often to be found in a shaded garden playing the instrument for his own pleasure. While he does know the formal pieces which are enjoyed in social settings, he prefers to play improvised pieces when alone. Sometimes, all it takes is the sound of a well-played erhu to bring Pingzhi some measure of peace.

=Writer=

Though Tian Xian soldiers are expected to have a basic literacy, Pingzhi has studied the formal structures of poetry and the written word.

Although he does write poetry and songs, his most frequent use of ink is in the form of letters home.

=Filial piety=

Pingzhi loves his mother, loves his father, loves his little brother, and loves his village of Nanbaihu. His childhood was wonderful, and he knows that with every season he spends as a soldier in Nanyue he directly benefits the village. Certianly a lot more than he would have had he stayed there to help with planting the paddy fields. The knowledge gives him strength in the darker moments of his life.

=Multilingual=

Apart from speaking Imperial Tian Xian, Pingzhi also speaks the Nanyue dialect as well as having a passing understanding of the language common to the tribes closest to the southern edge of Nanyue. Though not fluent in the latter, he can understand basic communications and make himself understood in a broad fasion.

===Weaknesses===

=Too placid=

Pingzhi may be almost unnaturally calm, but this can be a downside. It is hard to get him fired up, or passionate, about almost anything. Even his music tends to the slow and melancholic rather than rousing or inspiring. This lack of passion has resulted in a commensurate lack of ambition and somewhat questionable leadership abilities. He has been passed over for promotions on many occasions because of this, and his interpersonal relations tend to suffer as well.

=Regarded as an eccentric by his peers=

Although his comrades may respect Pingzhi for his cool head in skirmishes, they do not necessarily understand him. His preferences for poetry and music for recreation instead of drinking and seeking the attention of local girls marks him as different from most other soldiers. His introspective and quiet demeanour do not lend themselves to the most scintillating of conversation when he finds himself entangled by social obligation. His preference for his own company is well known.

=Given to bouts of depression=

Sure, he may be calm. But Pingzhi is homesick. Pingzhi misses his parents and little brother. Pingzhi is tired of killing. Pingzhi is tired of people and things trying to kill him. Pingzhi is tired of midges. Pingzhi is also tired of mosquitos the size of cats. Pingzhi sometimes wants to find an ocean to drown himself in. Sometimes even waking up is an accursed thing to be lamented.

Pingzhi's strong sense of filial piety prevents him from succumbing to the darker desires attached to his depression, though he tends to become bleak and pessimistic until he pulls himself out of it. At such times he becomes noticeably quieter and less amenable to even the most basic of social discourses. At his worst, even a morning greeting to others might be a silent nod or bow. When possible, Pingzhi will find a quiet spot and console himself with the mournful song of the erhu.

=A career not known for its longevity=

The Tian Xia military are not be an amateur outfit. Certainly the soldiers of Nanyue under Great General Tianlong Qin are well trained and properly equipped for their task.

However, the jungles of Nanyue are an extraordinarily dangerous place, and the tribes of the jungle frequently conduct guerilla warfare on Tian Xian communities in Nanyue.

Although trained in jungle survival techniques and skirmishing tactics, the soldiers of Nanyue have to deal with less than ideal terrain and circumstances when on patrol or exploratory expeditions.

Part of the reason why being stationed in Nanyue brings a bonus to wages and hime village benefits is due to the higher deathtoll experienced by the Southern Talon of Tian Xia's military.


===History===

=Childhood=

Pingzhi was born in Nanbaihu village, part of Gan province on the edge of northern Nanyue.

In rural communities, it was common practice for a handful of the brightest children to be pushed to prepare for the Imperial Examinations. A small percentage of boys were encouraged to consider joining the military, in line with the Weisuo conscription policies, and the rest learned how to be good farmers.

Pingzhi's mother, Meilan, had passed the examinations with adequate but hardly stellar marks, and had obtained a local appointment with the ministry of works. His father, Zanyi, was a simple rice farmer whose quiet humour and ready smile had won him his musically talented and intelligent wife.

Pingzhi learned literacy and his love of music from his mother. From his father he learned to accept all life's fortune and misfortune as one would rain on one day and sunshine the next. One could go to great lengths describing the small and simple joys and trials of his childhood, - along with the mischiefs caused by his little brother Huanchen - but suffice it to say Pingzhi grew to have great affection for his home village.

When he became of age at sixteen, Pingzhi elected to apply for the military. As being stationed in Nanyue would give his village - and by extension his parents - the most benefits and easing of taxes, he applied there without hesitation.


=Nanyue; the Southern Talon=

Training was long, difficult, and complex. But it was nothing compared to the reality of military life in Nanyue. Downtime in the cities may be pleasant enough, but the time in the jungles were frequently the stuff of nightmares.

When plants sometimes attack, and animals can be warped beyond anything recognisably natural, the stress upon the mental health of Nanyue's soldiers was constant and intense. With typical jungle patrol rosters of one week on patrol and at least a week of recovery, a soldier's life can go from heaven to hell in the space of a handful of days.

Pingzhi has, overall, coped well. His quirks of personality became more pronounced over time, but he remained a constant bastion of stability within his squads over the years.

However, the tales he could tell of his years thus far would be enough for any to question his sanity in remaining.

To this day, Pingzhi isn't quite sure why he has remained in Nanyue, instead of transferring out.
Some days he tells himself it's for his family and village.
Other days he reminds himself that his payroll in Nanyue is better than for any other station in Tian Xia.

He has yet to admit to himself that a perverse part of him, deep down, has fallen in love with the deadly nature of the jungle over the years he has survived its terrors.

[Metarie]

Approved.