Kindred of The East Terms and Words

Here is a list of general terms in Eastern Kindred society. It also explains what some of the places and things you may run across in my chronicle.


Age of Beauty — The Second Age of the Great Cycle, when the Middle Kingdom and Spirit Courts were still close together.

Age of Beautiful Sadness — The Fourth Age of the Great Cycle, heralded by the Kuei-jin's forsaking of their Heavenly duties. Human history begins during this period, and the Kuei-jin trace their vulnerability to sunlight to this time (the Chou Dynasty, specifically).

Age of Heaven — The First Age of the Great Cyclefi time before time, when all things were one.

Age of Darkness — The Fifth Age of the Great Cycle; the time period extending roughly from first contact with the West to the present nights.

Age of Legends — The Third Age of the Great Cycle; the mythical prehistory of the Middle Kingdom, when the Kuei-jin walked among and ruled humanity as benevolent spirits.

Age of Sorrow — The coming (Sixth) Age; the nadir of the Great Cycle. Analogous to the Kindred's Gehenna; however, most Kuei-jin see the Age of Sorrow as a necessary part of existence. ,

Akuma — "Devil"; a Japanese-derived epithet for those Kuei-jin who serve the Yama Kings.

Ancestor — An old and honored Kuei-jin? specifically, the vampiric ruler of a court or region. Similar to a Western prince.

Arhat — A vampire who has completely mastered his Dharma.

August Personage of Jade — In Kuei-jin myth, the current, though inactive, ruler of Heaven. When the Sixth Age arrives, the Personage will step down, to be replaced by the Demon Emperor.

Balance — See Center.

Bishamon — Mistakenly translated as "Bushi." A house of Japanese vampires.

Black Chi — Yin Chi.

Bodhisattva — In the Kuei-jin sense, a vampire who has nearly attained dah, but chooses to forego her transcendence in favor of helping other vampires progress.

Cathayan — Cainite term for Asian vampires.

Center — In Cathayan philosophy, the perfect midpoint between life and death

Chih-mei — A "feral" vampire who has not attained the enlightenment of a Dharma, or one who has forsaken the path to transcendence.

Ch'ing Shih — A vampire whose Yin aspect has overwhelmed it.

Clans of the Sun — Collective term for the various houses of Japanese Kuei-jin. (Note that the term "clan" in this context does not mean the same thing as a Kindred clan.)

Court — A group of Kuei-jin uiu who join together to advance common material or spiritual goals. A court somewhat resembles such Western institutions as the anarchs and the Harpies. Many courts use corporations, tongs or secret societies as pawns and smokescreens.

Crimson Fever — A vampiric disease manifesting in Cathayans whose Yang aspects have become imbalanced.

Dâh — "All-Awareness," i.e., Golconda. The ultimate enlightened state, which very few ever achieve.

Daimyo — A Japanese synonym for ancestor; a house leader.

Demon Emperor — In Kuei-jin myth, the ruler who will ascend to cosmic supremacy to usher in the Sixth Age of the Great Cycle. Most Kuei-jin believe that one of the Yama Kings will become Demon Emperor, though some think that the wraith tyrant Qin Shihuang, ruler of the Jade Kingdom, will assume this office.

Dên — A small satori (q.v.), or flash of insight, in which things suddenly become clear. Such flashes indicate progress in Dharmic journey.

Diao — Moments of blindness when a Kuei-jin loses track of her Way and wanders off into a sea of mortal illusions.

Dharma — A Kuei-jin's path to Golconda. The old form of the term, Di'hana, has been lost to many younger Kuei-jin; the old ones still remember it, however, and prefer that term to the modern corruption.

Direction — An astrologically based influence that allegedly governs a Kuei-jin's personality and duties there are five: north, west, center, east and south.

Dragon Line — A line of strong Chi connecting two or more dragon nests. Shen of sufficient power can use dragon lines to transport themselves vast distances. Dragon lines of Yang are known in the West as "Moon Bridges"; dragon lines of Yin are called "Byways." In the Middle Kingdom, these lines are much closer to "surface" reality than they are in the Western World of Darkness.

Dragon Nest — An area where Chi is strong and the Wall is weak (5 or below). In the West, dragon nests are known as caerns, haunts, nodes, etc.

Ebon Dragon — Hun Dun, the first lord of the Dgad. Representative of Yin. Some vampires believe that the Ebon Dragon has been deposed and eaten by the Jade Emperor; others, that the Jade Emperor is one of the Dragon's avatars.

Fifth Age — Age of Darkness.

Fire Nature — Frenzy.

Fivefold Way — The five principles that the vampire bodhisattva Xue taught to his followers. See Great Principle.

Gaki — A loose term for Japanese Kuei-jin.

Genji-myo — A "noble house" of Japanese vampires who are involved with modern corporate culture. '

Ghost Dancer — A Cathayan whose duties entail dealing with the spirit worlds; commonly used to refer 40 Cathayans of the west direction.

Golden Courts — General term for various societies of vampires dwelling in a specific geographic region largely encompassing Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Existence in the Golden Courts is often tumultuous and chaotic, and the vampires therein are infamous for decadent and "barbaric" practices; however, female Kuei-jin have historically enjoyed much more respectful treatment in this region.

Great Cycle — See Wheel of Ages.

Great Principle — A commonly accepted code of unlife through which Kuei-jin can cultivate correct behavior.

Green Courts — Various groups of Kuei-jin inhabiting Korea and nearby areas in China. The Green Courts are renowned for their love of jade and noncommittal stance in larger struggles.

Gweilo — A Chinese term for a foreign asshole, usually white. The more familiar Japanese version, gaijin, means more or less the same thing.

Harmonic — A Cathayan of the center direction, one whose duties entail exploring the vampiric condition and the soul.

Harvester — A Cathayan troubleshooter and agent provocateur among the mortal "herd"; a vampire of the east direction.

Heaven — In Kuei-jin parlance, that inexplicable force overseeing the interaction of Yin and Yang and ordaining what should and should not be. Most Kuei-jin see themselves and the rest of the Middle Kingdom as having fallen from Heaven's favor. Conversely, beings who transcend the eternal cycle of life and death are said to have reached Heaven.

Heike-myo — A house of Japanese vampires who are loosely allied with the Bishamon.

Hengeyokai — Shapeshifter.

Hima — The "goblin lantern" form that masters of the Ghost-flame Shintai can assume.

House — Synonymous with "court"; primarily used in Japan.

Hun — The "higher," rational half of the soul.

Hundred Clouds, The — A symbol of ultimate Kuei-jin enlightenment, when all duties are set aside. See Dak.

Jina — A vampire who has gained some status in Kuei-jin Society.

Kaja — The ancient, extraordinarily complex ideographic script of the Wan Xian. Kaja influenced, and was influenced by, early Chinese characters.

Kata — A series of ritualistic movements whereby Chi is focused properly and precisely.

Ki — The Second Disciple of Xue.

Ki Chuan — A holy book written by Xue's disciple Ki.

Kin-jin — A contemptuous slang term for Western vampires; a corruption of a term meaning "people of Caine."

Koa — Vampiric adolescence. Each Kuei-jin is allotted a mortal lifetime to act like a child before assuming his duties under Heaven.

Kuei-jin — An Asian vampire; the term is a recently created hodgepodge, primarily used by younger vampires. Thought to have derived from Gui Ren ("demon people"). "

Kyonshi — An insulting term for a young, impudent and often Westernized Asian vampire. Also pronounced as ki-wan chi.

Leyak — An Indonesian term for shen.

Magistrate — A Cathayan whose duties entail interpreting tradition, arbitrating disputes, passing and executing sentences; synonymous with the north direction.

Mandarin — A Kuei-jin official with specific duties, usually involving various functions in Kuei-jin society.

Mandator — A Cathayan whose duties entail enacting change or carrying out the will of the courts; generally of the south direction.

Na Kua — A primordial ancestress in Kuei-jin myth; believed to have some similarities to the Wesr's Lilith. See Scarlet Queen.

Oni — A Cathayan who makes excessive use of the Demon Shintai Discipline (see Raksha).

Palace — A communal meeting site for all the Kuei-jin in a region. Often, but not always, the haven of the region's most powerful court or ancestor.

Penangallan—Name given to certain sects of matriarchal vampires in the Golden Courts region. Penangalian commonly revere the Scarlet Queen and make extensive use of the Flesh Shintai Discipline, which they hone to a level of mastery beyond any of their other Disciplines.

P'o — The "lower," animalistic half of the soul; in Kindred terms, the Beast.

Quincunx — A sect formed by the alliance of five important Chinese courts. While not all Chinese courts pay tribute to the Quincunx, many do.

Raksha — Name given to certain P'o-aspected vampires, particularly ones who make use of the Demon Shintai Discipline.

Rangda — A hag-demon widely venerated by Indonesian and Southeast Asian vampires; believed to be a Yama Queen or an aspect of the Scarlet Empress.

Running Monkeys — Slang term for young Kuei-jin, those 40 years old or younger. Also, a Kuei-jin insult for Western vampires, who supposedly act like children no matter how old they become.

Satori — A sudden flash of enlightenment that turns one's world upside-down. Reaching a satori may take years, or it may occur in an instant of clarity. In either case, the world never seems the same afterward. See dên

Scarlet Chi — Yang Chi (of the type used by vampires).

Scarlet Queen — The legendary female progenitor of the Kuei-jin. Oddly enough, representative of Yang (traditionally a masculine force). A few scholars note her similarities to the Kindred's Lilith.

Scarlet Screen — A mortal or mortal institution used as an unwitting pawn for Kuei-jin activity.

Second Breath, The — The return from the spirit worlds; the Cathayan rebirth.

Serpent-borne — Vampires who arrived in Japan during the Fourth Age.

Shadow Nature — Period when a Kuei-jin's P'o dominates its body.

Shadow War — Ritualistic combat between Kuei-jin wu, or courts.

Shen — Any supernatural/Awakened being.

Shih — An ancient order of Chinese witch-hunters (further detailed in the Demon Hunter X supplement).

Shikome — Female, Yin-aspected vampires who serve the Yama King Mikaboshi.

Sifu — A respected teacher; also known as master, sabom, sensei or tetsu.

Spirit Courts — The intangible realms adjoining the material realm. From these places come spirits and Chi. In Western thought, the various Umbrae.

Strike Force Zero — A top-secret branch of the Japanese government dedicated to investigating the supernatural (further detailed in the Demon Hunter X supplement).

Ten Thousand Things — Creation and everything in it; the Tellurian.

Tong — In its vampiric connotation, any group of mortals that willingly and (in most cases) knowingly serves a vampiric master. Compare with Scarlet Screen.

Uji — A Japanese term for a court of like-minded Cathayans.

Urn — A mortal who has the potential to become Kuei-jin or who actually does so.,

Wa Nature — A Kuei-jin's "normal" persona, when she is not in a frenzied or P'o-possessed state.

Wall, The — The psychic barrier separating the Middle Kingdom from the Yin and Yang Worlds. In the West, the Wall is known as the Gauntlet or the Shroud.

Wan Kuei — "Ten Thousand Demons"; elder Cathayans' name for themselves.

Wan Xian — "Ten Thousand Immortals"; allegedly the original name of the Kuei-jin.

Wave Nature — Rotschreck.

Wheel of Ages — The eternal cycle of being, in which the earth suffers through eras of increasing misery, until the nadir of the cycle is reached and the world begins to right itself toward Paradise once more.

Wu — A Kuei-jin "family"; similar in some respects to a Sabbat or Lupine pack.

Xue — The first and most famous vampiric arhat, founder of the Fivefold Way. (Depending on tone, the name can mean "study" or "blood."}

Yama Kings — Various malignant spirit beings predating the coming of the Jade Emperor. The Yama Kings are powerful demonic spirits who hold territories in the outer reaches of the Yin and Yang Worlds. Yama Kings of Yang are known as "Banes" in the West, while those of Yin are termed "Malfeans" by Western ghosts. In the Fifth Age, the Yama Kings have a link to the Kuei-jin P'o, and they often seek to subvert Kuei-jin to their service. Ones who succumb are known as akuma:"devils."

Yang — In Kuei-jin terms, the active, positive principle of 'life, as well as Chi derived from that principle.

Yang World — The tumultuous, "higher" spirit world composed of Yang energy and inhabited by nature-spirits and kami.

Yin — In Kuei-jin terms, the passive, negative principle of death, as well as Chi derived from that principle.

Yin World — The negative, "lower" spirit world composed of Yin energy and inhabited by wraiths and Spectres.

Yomi, Yomi World — A nightmarish "hell world" formed from defiled areas of both the Yin and Yang Worlds. The Yama Kings have domains here, and the P'o soul of a Kuei-jin-to-be goes here to be tormented.

Zao-lat — Saulot.