The Poppy War

These chapters address the overlap between the material and spiritual planes. In Chapter 11, Jiang tore a hole in the fabric between the two worlds with his Gatekeeper powers in order to save Rin and Nezha. However, Jiang has disappeared; without him there to control it, “demons [are] climbing through at will” (358). Jiang’s weaponization of the gods has come with a deadly price. An unnatural creature called a chimei devastates Khurdalain’s population. Most of the Militia doesn’t know what it is, but Rin recognizes the name. Jiang’s previously esoteric instruction and his emphasis on Nikara cultural stories prove unexpectedly fruitful. Even in the oldest history books, though, the chimei “only gets a few mentions” (357), as it is not an entity that belongs in the material world. The chimei’s presence represents the gods’ growing encroachment on the material world, which the Militia is not equipped to handle. However, without Rin and Nezha, the chimei would have continued to ravage Khurdalain—this makes the existence of shamans a double-edged sword. Every choice the characters make is fraught with the decision of whether the price is worth it.

Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the balance between the exercise of shamanic powers and the eventuality of being overtaken by the gods. Altan once seemed to have immaculate control, but these chapters depict the Phoenix’s growing influence on his mind and behavior. Rin’s addiction to praise blinds her to Altan’s suffering. When she talks to Chaghan in Khurdalain after the saltpeter incident, he tells Rin that Altan is more fragile than she thinks: “Altan is used to winning. His entire life he’s been put on a pedestal. […] He’s been fed a steady stream of constant affirmation for being very good at destroying things” (378). Altan has been weaponized since childhood. Both the Mugenese and the Nikara have been influenced by stories of Speerly power, and Altan’s only value to them lies in his combat and shamanistic abilities.

Altan’s past bred a never-ending rage and a thirst for vengeance within him. This makes him compatible with the Phoenix, who drives its shamans to destroy and burn. The god increasingly takes over Altan’s mind and affects Altan’s behavior outside the battlefield. Altan endangers the Cike and physically abuses Rin. While Rin previously envied his ability to call the Phoenix without ingesting drugs, it becomes increasingly obvious that Altan can access such power because the Phoenix never leaves him. The rage and pain Altan feels as a survivor of The Brutality of War is constantly present. Occasionally these crack his carefully maintained exterior, such as when he convulses, sweating and shaking, at Golyn Niis.

Chapter 21 begins Part 3 and details the Golyn Niis Massacre, which is based on the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 to 1938. Kuang has said that this scene “was pulled directly out of history books” (Kuang, R. F. “R. F. Kuang on the Dark History Behind The Poppy War.” B&N Reads. 29 June 2018). Among the most harrowing brutalities at Golyn Niis are the Federation’s killing contests, Venka’s tales of sexual assault and mutilation, and Venka’s account of the murder and mutilation of a pregnant woman and her fetus. These atrocities are directly drawn from the Nanjing Massacre, and they are the starkest examples of The Brutality of War and the Dehumanization of the Enemy. This event serves as a turning point for many characters’ approaches to war. In Chapter 10, Kitay insisted that the Mugenese were “more human than [they realized]” (232). After the massacre, Kitay renounces this stance, saying they “are parts in a machine” (422). Kitay and Rin realize that the Mugenese are merciless because, as Altan says, they were trained that way: “When you believe your life means nothing except for your usefulness to your Emperor, the lives of your enemies mean even less” (422). Altan’s words carry authority because he has been dehumanized by both Nikan and the Federation his entire life.

The Brutality of War and the Dehumanization of the Enemy is a vicious cycle with no clear end. Altan’s driving goal is revenge against the Mugenese who experimented on him and the other Speerlies. In Chapter 21, Venka commands Rin to “[s]wear on [her] blood that [she] will burn them” (425), foreshadowing Rin’s fiery genocide of the Mugenese people. A few characters, like Kitay, Jiang, and the Woman, argue for breaking this cycle, but they are largely ignored.