History
Worldweep Opening History
Lingshen, unlike its neighbor Quain, was the nation least affected by the opening of the Weep. With its strict hierarchical governing body, cultural emphasis on discipline in the face of adversity, and the entrapped souls of thousands of soldiers, it could be easily argued that Lingshen benefitted from the Weep's appearance. Though the War of 108 Stars slowed its expansion, Lingshen managed to expand its borders into Songbai, Po Li, Quain, Kaoling, Jinin, Linvarre, and even parts of Shenmen. Though its fast expansion did not last forever, to this day Lingshen maintains incredible soft power over central Tian Xia.
Age of Collapse History
A common Lingshenese idiom is "Forged metal makes strong spears." While the Hero's March failed and the Weep upturned the Cycle of Souls, Lingshen was forging its metal. When the rest of the world struggled and broke, Lingshen pointed its spears outward, and won.
But even Lingshen has its fair share of problems. Before it could expand outwards, the country had to settle its own conflicts.
The War of 108 Stars defined an entire decade — nine long years of infighting, with 108 claimants for the throne of the Eternal Emperor. The great noble houses, countless merchants, and decorated military leaders schemed, plotted, and backstabbed each other in the Ranking of Stars, a country-wide magical field that determined the order of succession to the throne. Bound by blood magic, the ranking took into account duels, deeds, and debts alike to output an exact numerical representation of a claimant's worth.
When all was said and done, one man rose to the throne, perhaps the most surprising and yet least surprising possible winning candidate: Huang Shixin. The former Emperor had undergone a ritual to place his soul in the body of a mechanical construct, granting him incredible strength, endless endurance, and immortality. He took the country by storm, claiming titles and heads alike in a bloody path to his destined throne.
And then began the conquest. First to Songbai, to take back both the lands and dignity lost in the Lingshen-Shokuro War. Then to Jinin and Linvarre, then Po Li, and finally Quain, Lingshen's longtime rival. Even the southernmost parts of Kaoling were not spared. Lingshen was a war machine.
Lingshen's war engine, of course, was powered by the thousands upon thousands of souls it used to run its terra-cotta legions. Upon conscription in Lingshen, every soldier gives a drop of blood to be tied to the Cradle of Immortality. Upon death, the soldier's soul would be housed inside a premade terra-cotta soldier, ready to return to the field of battle once more in service of the Emperor. This binding magic surpassed even that of the Weep's soul magic, and thus, Lingshen lost nearly no manpower from the opening of the Weep. Even the War of 108 Stars merely fed the endless legions of terra-cotta soldiers.
The Empire's expansion didn't last forever, though. Some of the countries offered enough resistance to push back the conquest, only for Lingshen to return with greater force, only to be pushed back again. Scholars have likened the Empire's borders to the rising and falling of the tides, with a specific ebb and flow defined by the Eternal Emperor's moods and whims.
Only Songbai never managed to throw off Lingshen's Yoke. Even Quain, as shattered as the country was, proved enough of a trouble (mostly from its rampant monster problem) to warrant a retreat. Huang Shixin ordered decreased military presence at Lingshen's borders after almost a thousand years of expansion—likely turning his attentions toward internal affairs.
Age of Renewal History
About 250 years before the present day, even before the Weep fell, the Emperor ordered an expansion of the Ranking of Stars. Rather than just soldiers being bound by blood magic, every single citizen was to be woven into the magical field binding the country. The specifications were to be expanded, and more parts of everyday life were to be restricted by the hierarchy set by the list. Every single citizen would be provided a ranking within their town, province, and region. Serving the country, contributing to progress, and protecting the Lingshenese way of life would increase one's ranking. Delinquency, insubordination, and defiance would decrease it.
Suddenly, life began to revolve around one's Star Rank. Jobs, marriages, schooling, everything became defined by one's standing in the Ranking. Now, in the present day, Lingshen has become the most hierarchical society on Golarion. The language itself has morphed, with extra qualifiers for one's standing, another's standing in relation to oneself, and even qualifiers for the conversation's standing within the greater whole of Lingshen have been normalized.
Low-ranked families, mocked as ‘fallen stars,’ often survive only through mutual aid. To the bureaucracy, they are failures; to each other, they are lifelines.
Cracks are beginning to show within the Ranking of Stars as well. Some areas have learned ways to exploit the opaque methodologies behind the rankings. A verbal affirmation or even a business exchange with a higher-ranking individual or organization can directly improve one's rank. Communities with stable rankings often sponsor individuals from poorer families, taking on short-term risks for long-term gain when the newcomers contribute to the community's long-term rank.
Still, the Emperor appears to be satisfied with his internal reforms—and once again has begun to turn his attention outward, towards Tian Xia, and even the world.
Government
Lingshen's government used to revolve around the royal family. No longer, for one man comprises the entirety of the noble class. Now, only chancellors, merchants, and counselors hold any position in government. Legions of scribes maintain its inner workings, and hundreds of strictly defined military ranks encompass the country's armed forces. Military accomplishments are the only real opportunity for social mobility, and so the machine creates and feeds its own progress, eternally.
Other notable changes from the past Golarion
None. While technological progress was largely halted due to the Weep, Lingshen remains generally stable due to the reign of the Eternal Emperor.
Real World Inspiration
Lingshen takes inspiration from the centralized bureaucracy of Qin China. The concept of the Ranking of Stars exaggerates these ideas into a dystopian system where every citizen is judged and ordered. It also draws on broader themes of hierarchical societies across history, blending Chinese influences with speculative elements like soul-binding armies and magical bureaucracy.