The Price of an Ideal World
"What kind of country do you want?"
"With a green field... I want a country where no one starves. Nobody is homeless because he has lost a family. People live their everyday lives without worrying about war and starvation. I've always wanted a country that can be rich without throwing away its children."
- 12 Kokuki (Alternate title of the novels and anime - 'The Twelve Kingdoms')
According to the dictionary, "Ideal" means - a conception of something in its perfection. I'm no scholar, so I don't know whether my title of today's entry is an oxymoron. Can something that is ideal has a cost?
I found the novels of 12 Kokuki and have just recently finished reading some of it. The novels give new insights into the world that the anime fails to deliver. It was an interesting but difficult read, as I had to struggle through the simplified version of Chinese (translated from original Japanese). 12 Kokuki is fantasy with an ancient Chinese setting (altered) and ancient Chinese custom. The twelve nations are governed each by a King and a Kirin (sacred creature that can take the form of a human), and underneath them, the government and military officials of different provinces. Those who have attained the seats of official power are given eternal life. They live forever unless their status is taken away.
But here is something very interesting. A god shapes the entire world. This god created Kirins, who have the sole mission to choose the Kings. The throne is not hereditary. A King, whether he was previously a farmer or just a school girl, will become King once he/she is chosen by a Kirin. The King will only die if he breaks the rules set down by the god, which mostly involves doing something horrible to the people - like a Tyrant. When the King loses his life, the country is automatically plunged into chaos by monsters: the setting up of a new King can restore order. The Kirin and the King are partners in that Kirin is the physical manifestation of the will of the people. Kirin is merciful, kind and tender-hearted. Kirin Abhors war and is weak against blood. A King can be hard and make decision necessary to ensure the prosperity of the nation. A combination of Kirin and King makes a combination of mercy and harsh necessity. Hence, a balance.
Ideal isn't it? If a benevolent King cannot die, then the country will continue to prosper so long as the King stays focussed.
But then here comes the catch.
First, it's strictly forbidden to interfere in other countries' affairs. Obviously, war with another results in the death of the King. You'd think war usually translates to war for personal gain, but there is a case in which a King made war with another who was a tyrant. Though the intention was good, the King died. *note: civil war is an exception.
Second, once chosen, the King only has one thing to do: to govern a country. Being given eternal life and authority, he has the responsibility to bear it to the end of his days (oh, that is, unless he turns bad).
Third, a Kirin is the same. His one and only mission is to choose the King and help make and maintain a peaceful, prosperous country. He is the next most powerful person in the country, second only to the King. However, a Kirin must obey the King in all things. And that is Everything. If a King wants the Kirin to kill, even though it's against his nature, Kirin would carry out the order. To say Kirin lives for the country, it's more apt to describe the entire scenario as - the King lives for the country and Kirin lives for the King.
Fourthly, appointed by Heaven, the King and Kirin are not all-powerful. They are immortals, but they can die if they bleed enough. This is the case with one of the nations, in which the Kirin has been wounded to such a state that he's lost all his power as a Kirin, and the King has gone into hiding. The insurgents seized power not because the King has been making barbaric demands that are characteristic of a tyrant, but because the head of the insurgents harbours deep hatred towards the Kingdom itself and wants to see it wrecked into an irrecoverable state. With both Kirin and King incognito, the country falls prey to monsters for 6 years (and continuing, because the novels aren't finished). As the Kirin isn't dead, a new Kirin won't be born, and a new King won't be chosen. As the King is unable to take back control (for whatever reason it is) and as he doesn't have the Kirin there to prove his identity and hence rouse the support of the entire nation, he can only remain hidden.
12 Kokuki explores a world where measures have been set in place to ensure peace. "Enforced peace" is more like it, since the King cannot survive unless he is good to the people. War is also next to impossible because invading another country would result in the death of the King and Kirin, and prosperity of the country. Civil war, if caused by the King's oppressive behaviour, will also strike the King dead. Kirin picks the King according to the god's decision. So what can go wrong?
Yet war still exists in the twelve Kingdoms.
Ah, I see my train of thought has run off into another area. Does all evil stem from human nature?
Who possibly believes that humans are good by nature?
Coming back to the price of the ideal world, 12 Kokuki, though fantasy and written in a manner more suited to young adult with a content that appeals more to adults (doesn't that make you wonder why Asian teenagers are much more mature?), tells a heart-broken story of the Kingdoms' struggle to maintain peace and prosperity. Despite its short length (classified as light novels) and being dialogue dominated (descriptions in eastern novels are often less wordy and more exaggerated), 12 Kokuki's characters and people seem to be trapped in a never-ending cycle of peace and war. Looks similar to our world, doesn't it? Is that why the author has abandoned 12 Kokuki to pursue other writings because she cannot find a solution? For the first time, since watching the anime more than a year ago, I feel the terrible burden of the story in its entirety.
Appalling and horrendous, extremely forlorn, heart-rending and agonising.
I think it frightens me.
"With a green field... I want a country where no one starves. Nobody is homeless because he has lost a family. People live their everyday lives without worrying about war and starvation. I've always wanted a country that can be rich without throwing away its children."
- 12 Kokuki (Alternate title of the novels and anime - 'The Twelve Kingdoms')
According to the dictionary, "Ideal" means - a conception of something in its perfection. I'm no scholar, so I don't know whether my title of today's entry is an oxymoron. Can something that is ideal has a cost?
I found the novels of 12 Kokuki and have just recently finished reading some of it. The novels give new insights into the world that the anime fails to deliver. It was an interesting but difficult read, as I had to struggle through the simplified version of Chinese (translated from original Japanese). 12 Kokuki is fantasy with an ancient Chinese setting (altered) and ancient Chinese custom. The twelve nations are governed each by a King and a Kirin (sacred creature that can take the form of a human), and underneath them, the government and military officials of different provinces. Those who have attained the seats of official power are given eternal life. They live forever unless their status is taken away.
But here is something very interesting. A god shapes the entire world. This god created Kirins, who have the sole mission to choose the Kings. The throne is not hereditary. A King, whether he was previously a farmer or just a school girl, will become King once he/she is chosen by a Kirin. The King will only die if he breaks the rules set down by the god, which mostly involves doing something horrible to the people - like a Tyrant. When the King loses his life, the country is automatically plunged into chaos by monsters: the setting up of a new King can restore order. The Kirin and the King are partners in that Kirin is the physical manifestation of the will of the people. Kirin is merciful, kind and tender-hearted. Kirin Abhors war and is weak against blood. A King can be hard and make decision necessary to ensure the prosperity of the nation. A combination of Kirin and King makes a combination of mercy and harsh necessity. Hence, a balance.
Ideal isn't it? If a benevolent King cannot die, then the country will continue to prosper so long as the King stays focussed.
But then here comes the catch.
First, it's strictly forbidden to interfere in other countries' affairs. Obviously, war with another results in the death of the King. You'd think war usually translates to war for personal gain, but there is a case in which a King made war with another who was a tyrant. Though the intention was good, the King died. *note: civil war is an exception.
Second, once chosen, the King only has one thing to do: to govern a country. Being given eternal life and authority, he has the responsibility to bear it to the end of his days (oh, that is, unless he turns bad).
Third, a Kirin is the same. His one and only mission is to choose the King and help make and maintain a peaceful, prosperous country. He is the next most powerful person in the country, second only to the King. However, a Kirin must obey the King in all things. And that is Everything. If a King wants the Kirin to kill, even though it's against his nature, Kirin would carry out the order. To say Kirin lives for the country, it's more apt to describe the entire scenario as - the King lives for the country and Kirin lives for the King.
Fourthly, appointed by Heaven, the King and Kirin are not all-powerful. They are immortals, but they can die if they bleed enough. This is the case with one of the nations, in which the Kirin has been wounded to such a state that he's lost all his power as a Kirin, and the King has gone into hiding. The insurgents seized power not because the King has been making barbaric demands that are characteristic of a tyrant, but because the head of the insurgents harbours deep hatred towards the Kingdom itself and wants to see it wrecked into an irrecoverable state. With both Kirin and King incognito, the country falls prey to monsters for 6 years (and continuing, because the novels aren't finished). As the Kirin isn't dead, a new Kirin won't be born, and a new King won't be chosen. As the King is unable to take back control (for whatever reason it is) and as he doesn't have the Kirin there to prove his identity and hence rouse the support of the entire nation, he can only remain hidden.
12 Kokuki explores a world where measures have been set in place to ensure peace. "Enforced peace" is more like it, since the King cannot survive unless he is good to the people. War is also next to impossible because invading another country would result in the death of the King and Kirin, and prosperity of the country. Civil war, if caused by the King's oppressive behaviour, will also strike the King dead. Kirin picks the King according to the god's decision. So what can go wrong?
Yet war still exists in the twelve Kingdoms.
Ah, I see my train of thought has run off into another area. Does all evil stem from human nature?
Who possibly believes that humans are good by nature?
Coming back to the price of the ideal world, 12 Kokuki, though fantasy and written in a manner more suited to young adult with a content that appeals more to adults (doesn't that make you wonder why Asian teenagers are much more mature?), tells a heart-broken story of the Kingdoms' struggle to maintain peace and prosperity. Despite its short length (classified as light novels) and being dialogue dominated (descriptions in eastern novels are often less wordy and more exaggerated), 12 Kokuki's characters and people seem to be trapped in a never-ending cycle of peace and war. Looks similar to our world, doesn't it? Is that why the author has abandoned 12 Kokuki to pursue other writings because she cannot find a solution? For the first time, since watching the anime more than a year ago, I feel the terrible burden of the story in its entirety.
Appalling and horrendous, extremely forlorn, heart-rending and agonising.
I think it frightens me.