Dwarfism in Daxia

Airen Youdu, Dwarf Imperial Viceroy of Ganshu

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. This attitude changed very little through the centuries, only seeing a significant change during the Qian dynasty. The last Corummese dynasty happened to have 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. 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.

Elderly Corummese dwarves