Dwarfism in Daxia

In ancient Corumm dwarves and pygmies were seen as people that had been cursed by deities or whose parents were being punished for transgressions. This led dwarves to be shunned at best and persecuted at worst. Ancient Corummese religions sometimes made use of dwarves in rituals, and many times the dwarves did not make it out unscathed. While this attitude changed very little through the centuries, the arrival of Christianity and its doctrines of mercy saw some limited shift in public attitudes. Significant official changes in the societal status of dwarves only came about with the Qian dynasty.

The last Corummese dynasty happened to have included through its history a significant number of members born with dwarfism and it banned the killing of dwarves, who were often preyed upon for the supposed miraculous properties of their body parts. Moreover not only did royal dwarves were able to attain high office in this period, but base born dwarves too served as eunuchs, bureaucrats and there even was a dwarven admiral. For their protection of dwarves the Qian came to be known as the dynasty of dwarves. One of the more well known dwarves of the period was Digen Youdu who was a member of a cadet branch of the Imperial family and distant cousin of Emperor Lizong. As a learned man of noble blood, he was invited to work in the palace as a junior minister. His hard work and succesful maneuvering at court won him the task of building the Emperor's new summer residence in Zoushi. Upon completion of the palace Youdu was rewarded with the post of Dwarf Imperial Viceroy of the coastal province of Ganshu and a share of the incomes of its ports, something unheard of for any official before him. As Viceroy he developed the road network, fostered the local economy and revived local fishing. When Metzettan pirates began raiding in the nearby waters, Youdu built up a provintial war fleet of thirty ships and led it in person against the pirates. He smashed the pirate fleet at the Battle of Heihai Cove and pursued its remnants all the way to the coast of south Tanhai. For this action he was named Admiral of the White Sea and became the first of several dwarf officials to hold active military commands. The patronage of dwarves by the Qian backfired terribly after the collapse of the imperial system, as they were seen as complicit in the corruption and mismanagement of the nation. While some dwarf officials were indeed corrupt and self serving, the vast majority of the dwarven population were entirely innocent citizens. Many dwarves were forced out of the cities and denied employment during the early period of military rule. Rising military oppression helped dissipate residual ill will against dwarves as they were later seen as just as oppressed as anyone else.