Cham Fau

Cham Fau was a prosperous river port city in Hai Yuan region of Shou Lung.

Upper Town
The town of Cham Fau consisted of two joined settlements: the Upper Town built on the elevated green hills above the floodplains. The paved upper district was home to the rich and powerful inhabitants of Cham Fau and the town itself consisted of expensive manors and temples. The streets were accentuated by arched gates, intricately decorated with symbols of luck, lung dragons, and other monsters of the land shaped out of bronze. The monster designs served as repellents of evil spirits and misfortune.

The major place of interest in the town of Cham Fau was the material arts school – the White Tiger Monastery, ran by Master Wang Ho in the 14 century DR. The Monastery of the Path stood on the highest point of the town. Its entrance was a grand crimson intel gate with several golden shrines surrounding the main building. The next closest structure was just below the minister's elevation – the manor of the magistrate of Cham Fau. Rich home had white walls and wooden carved trimmings.

Lower Town
Floodplains were the Lower Town. It was a chaotic tangle of roads, bridges, canals, and tightly packed habitats of the common folk. The Lower Town roads were hard-trampled dirt that dissolved into mushy mud every monsoon and during seasonal flooding. The Lower Town was wrapped around the Huang Bay with two great canals that ran along both sides of the bay. They were filled with a colorful cornucopia of houseboats, sampans, rowboats, and barges, with crimson red brides rising above them, glittering in the sun with golden filigree and decorative Shou designs. Most buildings in the Lower Town lacked architectural coherency, being a collection of random designs and sizes but not higher than.

Geography
Cham Fau was built on the western border of Hai Yuan, on the eastern shore of the Upper Hungtse River, near a three-way delta, north of Shinian Bridge. The Hungtse Basin was a lush rice plain with the river bringing fresh water from high cliffs down to Cham Fau and its floodplains.

Homes
Most homes in Cham Fau were made out of stone or sundried brick and had thatch-tiled roofs. The noble and peasantry home alike followed the teachings of feng shui magic. Bigger homes had gated courtyards with ornamental gardens, waterfalls, or ponds filled with koi. Such gardens were called the courtyards of contemplative gatherings. According to feng shui, the main living quarters were called "then wu", and often was built on the southern walls of the home. Other rooms, including guest quarters stood along the side walls. One thing was common among all homes – the entrance never faced west as Shou associated west with the underworld. The living quarters were built elevated above the inner and outer courtyards. That space was used for storage, shelter for the household beasts, and protection against flooding.

Homes of clans, Cham Fau's nobility, were referred to as compounds. These structures were fortified buildings, big enough to fit the entire family, servants, livestock, and number of guests. Compounds included storehouses of freshwater, drink, and food, ready for a siege.

People of Cham Fau, like other Shou folk, preferred sleeping on large ornate beds of hardwood and iron, rather than floor mats used in Kozakura. In many cases the beds were massive enough to fit the entire family and passed along as family heirlooms. Traditionally, sons slept on the father's side, while daughters – on the mother's. Most other furniture was ornately carved with motifs of dragons, mythical creatures, and scenes of legends and historic battles. Despite the intricate mastery of such furniture, even the poorest of the Shou owned several pieces.

Family
An average clan consisted of as much as a dozen family members all living in one compound. The family included the family's patriarch, his wife, their grown up sons, their wives, and adolescent children. Grown up children were allowed to love with their families for a period of time needed to establish their own homes. Unmarried daughter lived with their parents while those who were wed moved to live with the husbands' clans. Grand parents also were parts of a clan.

Tradition demanded that younger clan members bowed when addressing older family members, using honorifics of "most honored," "Master," or "Mistress." Husbands and wives tended to refer to each other as "Old Lady" and "Old Man" with levity, when in privacy of their homes, while grandparents often gave nicknames to the grandkids, ending the names with "chan" suffix.

Fashion
The working-class Shou of Cham Fau were often dressed in simple garb: loose over-jackets, cotton trousers, and wide straw hats.

Culinary
Most food consumed in Cham Fau was simple, consisting of local rice, and freshwater fish like eel and carp. Tea was a staple, brewed with each meal, while other local foods included various pickles and steamed pork buns, or bow.

Religion
Each home in Cham Fau had a small altar frequented by family members that left home in the morning. Each family had its own collection of household gods and sticks of joss were lit in reverence with each prayer.

Defenses
The Upper Town was the safer between the two districts of Cham Fau. It was regularly patrolled by the magistrate's guards. The Lower Town received significantly less attention from the city guard and often sheltered thieves and scoundrels who lived among the commoners and merchants.

History
Cham Fau was established in the along the fertile shores of the Hungtse River to support the White Tiger Monastery and martial arts school that was constructed the same year.

Notable Inhabitants

 * An Ching Wang, a deadly wandering fighter and sister of Yen Tsu Wang, active in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Chen Ching Ch'ien, a river spirit folk and a student at the White Tiger Monastery in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Mok Tien, the patriarch of the fisher Mok clan and the owner of the Bright Flower of Heavenly Sunrise in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Yen Tsu Wang, daughter of Master Wang Ho and the wife of a magistrate of Cham Fau in the mid-14 century DR.