Cathay (Warhammer)
Encyclopedia
Cathay is a fictional nation in Games Workshop
's Warhammer Fantasy
universe. Cathay is the Warhammer equivalent of China
, based upon Chinese History with an added mixture of High Fantasy and Chinese folklore
. Cathay was actually the name given to northern China in the 14th century by Marco Polo
. To date, no Warhammer army has been released for Cathay, and almost no official fiction has been written.
Official information on Cathay is hard to find, but in the 6th edition Warhammer Rulebook there is a text describing the fabled kingdom of Cathay and the surrounding lands. Cathay (also known as 'The Kingdom of the Dragon' and the 'Empire of the Celestial Dragon') is described as an enormous empire, ruled over by a divine Emperor. According to what lore is available, merchants from the old world occasionally travel to Cathay upon the Silk Road
: a perilous journey due to the hordes of the Hobgobla-Khan who roam the steppes along the Ivory Road west of Cathay. Ogres, who also pose a threat to merchants and travellers, hail from the Mountains of Mourn to the north-west of Cathay with some even going to Cathay to find employment as mercenaries. Some minor information on Cathay can be found in the Warhammer: Ogre Kingdoms book, where a weapon called "Cathayan Longsword
" is given rules, and a number of magic items such as Jade Lion and Cathayan Jet are also listed. In the north of Cathay is the dreaded Chaos Wastes
.
The Skaven Clan Eshin spent many years in Cathay and Nippon ('Nippon' being the Warhammer world's equivalent of Japan
) learning the ways of Ninjitsu. The Skaven troop types Night Runners and Gutter Runners are martial art apprentices that graduate to become Skaven Assassins.
and being decimated by two hurricanes sent by the Slann, conjured on the strength of an ancient prophecy (an event similar to the real world Kamikaze
that destroyed a Mongol Invasion of Japan). Yin-Tuan, the narrator, speaks of Cathay being ruled by an 'Emperor Wu'. The captain also bears a tattoo of 'the Imperial Dragon
' which the Lizardmen
mistake to be an image of their god Sotek, saving him from ritual sacrifice. The text implies the existence of multiple Cathayan ruling dynasties, historically, explaining that at this period Cathay was ruled by the Wu dynasty.
The voyage of Yin-Tuan also mentions the use by the Cathayan military of lacquered hide shields, and an elite guard of the Emperor who sport tiger pelts.
Jack Yeovil
's Beasts in Velvet and Silver Nails feature the character of Dien Ch’ing, a sorcerer of Tzeentch ('Lord Tsien-Tsin') who was driven out of Cathay. In order to bring about the ruin of the Old World he masquerades as the Cathayan ambassador to the Empire. Among his talents is the ability to summon his ancestors and elementals of earth, fire, wind, water and wood. The addition of the fifth ‘wood’ elemental bemuses one of the Old World characters who is only used to four elements. Dien Ch’ing makes constant references to the grudge he has against the ‘Monkey-King’, presumably the current ruler of Cathay. He is frequently referred to, not as being 'Cathayan', but a 'Celestial'
The Estragon's Island campaign (which was published in White Dwarf 297) featured several mystical objects of Cathayan origin along with a character (Ty Chan'Cho) who was presumubly Cathayan.
According to another story, when the vampires fled from Lahmia after their defeat, many went north, yet reference is also made to a vampire who travelled east. A conspiracy theory of sorts has developed that the Immortal Dragon Emperor of Cathay is none other than this vampire.
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
's Warhammer Fantasy
Warhammer Fantasy (setting)
Warhammer Fantasy is a fantasy setting, created by Games Workshop, which is used by many of the company's games. Some of the best-known games set in this world are: the table top wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay pen-and-paper role-playing game, and the MMORPG...
universe. Cathay is the Warhammer equivalent of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, based upon Chinese History with an added mixture of High Fantasy and Chinese folklore
Chinese folklore
Chinese folklore includes songs, dances, puppetry, and tales. It often tells stories of human nature, historical or legendary events, love, and the supernatural, or stories explaining natural phenomena and distinctive landmarks.-Folktales:...
. Cathay was actually the name given to northern China in the 14th century by Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
. To date, no Warhammer army has been released for Cathay, and almost no official fiction has been written.
Official information on Cathay is hard to find, but in the 6th edition Warhammer Rulebook there is a text describing the fabled kingdom of Cathay and the surrounding lands. Cathay (also known as 'The Kingdom of the Dragon' and the 'Empire of the Celestial Dragon') is described as an enormous empire, ruled over by a divine Emperor. According to what lore is available, merchants from the old world occasionally travel to Cathay upon the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
: a perilous journey due to the hordes of the Hobgobla-Khan who roam the steppes along the Ivory Road west of Cathay. Ogres, who also pose a threat to merchants and travellers, hail from the Mountains of Mourn to the north-west of Cathay with some even going to Cathay to find employment as mercenaries. Some minor information on Cathay can be found in the Warhammer: Ogre Kingdoms book, where a weapon called "Cathayan Longsword
Longsword
The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...
" is given rules, and a number of magic items such as Jade Lion and Cathayan Jet are also listed. In the north of Cathay is the dreaded Chaos Wastes
Chaos Wastes
The Chaos Wastes is a fictional place in Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy world setting. The Chaos Wastes are a vast warped, cold and barren wasteland to the north of the habitable areas of the world. It is referred to by the Norse as Shadowlands and sometimes as Umbra . With Norsca Wastes are...
.
The Skaven Clan Eshin spent many years in Cathay and Nippon ('Nippon' being the Warhammer world's equivalent of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) learning the ways of Ninjitsu. The Skaven troop types Night Runners and Gutter Runners are martial art apprentices that graduate to become Skaven Assassins.
Other facts about Cathay
- Merchants who trade in Cathay often return with silksSilksAerial silk is a type of performance in which one or more artists perform aerial acrobatics while hanging from a special fabric...
, goldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, porcelainPorcelainPorcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
vases, and magical artifacts and items. - There are great temples where mystics study the heavens and monks study martial artsMartial artsMartial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
. Although Cathay also has many gods, few are mentioned by name or description. - The most famous such mystics are the Vimtose monks, who follow the Orange Simca.
- Gunpowder is known in Cathay and employed, among others, in warfare.
- Strange creatures abound, from serpentine dragons and tribes of monkey warriors living in the Mountains of Heaven to gigantic, living stone dogs that guard the holy temples of the empire.
- Cathay is at constant war with the armies of the Grand KhanateKhanateKhanate, or Chanat, is a Turco-Mongol-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish, the word used is kağanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate...
of the Hobgoblins (this is heavily influenced by the real world conflict between the Mongols and China in the 13–14th century). - Tzeentch worshipment is legal in Cathay, albeit in less extreme forms as the NorsemenNorsemenNorsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
. - The only date associated with Cathay is in the year c 1699 when 'Emperor Wu' of Cathay received the TileaTileaIn the fictional universe of Warhammer Fantasy, Tilea is the region of the warhammer world roughly analogous with that of renaissance Italy. Some are Republics, such as the Republic of Remas....
ns Ricco and Robbio, mirroring the journey of Marco PoloMarco PoloMarco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
. - In the rulebook of the 7th edition, it is revealed that the current Emperor of Cathay bears the name (or title) Xen Huong, possibly influenced by Huang LongHuang Long (mythology)Huang Long or 黄竜 is a hornless dragon who once emerged from the River Luo and presented the legendary Emperor Fu Xi with the elements of writing. According to legend, when it appeared before Fu Xi, it filled a hole in the sky made by the monster Gong Gong...
("Yellow Dragon"), a creature from Chinese mythology often associated with the Emperor. It is claimed that the Emperor is immortal, a claim perhaps borne out by the fact that the Emperor at the time of the creation of the Great Maw (some thousand years ago) was also called Xen Huong. The rulebook also suggests that the Emperor of Cathay might in fact be a dragon in human form. - Nippon also has an Emperor, and a Warrior caste very similar to real life SamuraiSamuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
. There has been a lot of economic rivalry with Cathay, and they have been at war more than once. - Published maps of the Warhammer World show some details of Cathay, including the city of Weijin, seat of the Dragon Throne and presumably the empire's capital, the cities of Nan-Gau and Fu-Chow, and the Great Bastion, a massive wall built to protect Cathay from the barbarian Hung (this is a reference to the Great Wall of ChinaGreat Wall of ChinaThe Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
). In some maps, a peninsula, called Han Kuo, is also visible in the north-eastern corner of the country. This is a reference of the Korean PeninsulaKorean PeninsulaThe Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
(since "Han Guo" is the Chinese name for South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
). - There has also been references to one of the original vampire masters (stated as being the head judge of Lahmia) going to Cathay after the fall of Lahmia, and inserted himself and into the ruling elite and is rumored to even be the emperor, which would explain the emperors immortality. These vampires are referenced as the "Jade Blooded" as their blood has turned into a very viscous green substance.
Games Workshop tales about Cathay
A story entitled The Voyage of Yin-Tuan to Lustria, presented in White Dwarf 280, relates the history of a Cathayan expedition to the SouthlandsThe Southlands (Warhammer)
The Southlands are a mythical location in the Warhammer Fantasy universe, closely corresponding to real world Central Africa. The Southlands lie south of the Land of the Dead and are dominated by dense swamplands and rain forest...
and being decimated by two hurricanes sent by the Slann, conjured on the strength of an ancient prophecy (an event similar to the real world Kamikaze
Kamikaze (typhoon)
The Kamikaze , were two winds or storms that are said to have saved Japan from two Mongol fleets under Kublai Khan. These fleets attacked Japan in 1274 and again in 1281...
that destroyed a Mongol Invasion of Japan). Yin-Tuan, the narrator, speaks of Cathay being ruled by an 'Emperor Wu'. The captain also bears a tattoo of 'the Imperial Dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
' which the Lizardmen
Lizardmen (Warhammer)
The Lizardmen are an army in Warhammer Fantasy Battle-Development history:In earlier versions of the setting there was a separate Slann army based in Lustria...
mistake to be an image of their god Sotek, saving him from ritual sacrifice. The text implies the existence of multiple Cathayan ruling dynasties, historically, explaining that at this period Cathay was ruled by the Wu dynasty.
The voyage of Yin-Tuan also mentions the use by the Cathayan military of lacquered hide shields, and an elite guard of the Emperor who sport tiger pelts.
Jack Yeovil
Kim Newman
Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
's Beasts in Velvet and Silver Nails feature the character of Dien Ch’ing, a sorcerer of Tzeentch ('Lord Tsien-Tsin') who was driven out of Cathay. In order to bring about the ruin of the Old World he masquerades as the Cathayan ambassador to the Empire. Among his talents is the ability to summon his ancestors and elementals of earth, fire, wind, water and wood. The addition of the fifth ‘wood’ elemental bemuses one of the Old World characters who is only used to four elements. Dien Ch’ing makes constant references to the grudge he has against the ‘Monkey-King’, presumably the current ruler of Cathay. He is frequently referred to, not as being 'Cathayan', but a 'Celestial'
The Estragon's Island campaign (which was published in White Dwarf 297) featured several mystical objects of Cathayan origin along with a character (Ty Chan'Cho) who was presumubly Cathayan.
According to another story, when the vampires fled from Lahmia after their defeat, many went north, yet reference is also made to a vampire who travelled east. A conspiracy theory of sorts has developed that the Immortal Dragon Emperor of Cathay is none other than this vampire.
External links
- The Grand Army of Cathay, a converted Cathayan army by a Games Workshop employee.
- Cathay WFRP sourcebook, a fan-created sourcebook about Cathay and the inspiration for the above army.