Bia Thin

**Bia Thin** is a name commonly used by Nordling and Nilfgaardian cartographers that refers to a vast, rich region in the Far East. The term came into use in the mid 1280s after Fabio Sachs returned from his expedition to the Far East and published the book Chronicles of the Far East Vol.1, book which quickly gained much popularity, both in the kingdoms and the empire.

One of the Continent's most diverse regions, it is home to myriads of ethnicities (including non-humans), each speaking their own language or dialect thereof. In the logographic writing system shared by nearly all cultures that inhabit it, the area is known as **貝國**, which can be roughly translated as *The Land of Cowrie Shells*. **Bīa Thin**, or **Bîia Tìn**, is how the name is read in the southwestern area of the region; some of the other variants include **Bi-guêd** and **Bối Quốc** (in the languages spoken in the southern interior and along the southeastern coast), **Buói-guók** and **Pòe-kok** (in the language predominant in the central and eastern regions), and **Bèiguó** (in the northernmost areas). In Bia Thin's prestige language, the so-called "Imperial Speech", the name is read as **Buêgog**.

It is said that the country was named after its abundance of shells, used as a currency since the Conjunction. The first human settlers brought with them ancient logograms, the origin of which is shrouded by many a myth. Each symbol represents a word or a morpheme, providing an efficient way for Bia Thinese to communicate across the language barrier.

Bia Thin borders Melukka to the west, the Korath Desert to the northwest, Manku tribes to the north, the Asatta Peninsula to the northeast, the East Sea to the southeast, and Sunda to the southwest.

## Known territories

* Diyu
* Ophona
* Luko
* Biringan
* Manku
* Nurem
* Meru
* Lichavis
* Ketu Rahu
* Bikol
* Uzek
* Pagu
* Gaosan
* Tian
* Tewo
* Mendari
* Xuánpǔ

## Notes

* The region is meant to be inspired primarily by cultures of Southern China and mainland Southeast Asia; Han Mandarin inspired peoples are present, but primarily in northern areas and the interior, thus relatively unknown to Nordlings and Nilfgaardians. Bīa Thin's northern neighbors however might be more familiar with cultures of the interior and likely call the area "Bèiguó".
* The prestige language, so-called "Imperial Speech" (帝話, *Dìuê*), was the official dialect back when Bīa Thin was united as single empire. To this day, educated people of the area are expected to learn it. When writing Bia Thinese names as they would be pronounced in Imperial Speech, use the Teochew dialect of Chaoshan.
* Real-world origins for each reading of 貝國:
	+ *Bīa Thin*: Lao
	+ *Bîia Tìn*: Thai
	+ *Bi-guêd*: Meixian dialect of Hakka
	+ *Buói-guók*: Min Dong
	+ *Bối Quốc*: Vietnamese
	+ *Pòe-kok*: Hokkien
	+ *Bèiguó*: Hànyǔ Pinyin (Standard Mandarin)
	+ *Buêgog*: Teochew

## Art Credits

* Bia Thin Sorceress by Kathy Le.
* Bia Thin Wén by Cd Projekt Red **( Gwent : The Witcher Card Game )**
* Bia Thin Rabbit Year Celebration Art by Cd Projekt Red **( Gwent : The Witcher Card Game )**
* Bia Thin Tiger Year Celebration Art by Cd Projekt Red**( Gwent : The Witcher Card Game )**
* Bia Thin Bull Year Celebration Art by Cd Projekt Red**( Gwent : The Witcher Card Game )**

## Trivia

* Chronicles of the Far East Vol.1 will be The Witcher equivalent of *The Travels of Marco Polo*.
* When Fabio Sachs and his expeditionary team passed through this region, more specifically through the kingdom of Ketu Rahu, they were the ones who gave it the name of Bia Thin. Being a nordlingfied version of the name with which the people of the kingdom, referred to the whole region.
	+ The first Fanon name for the area was **Feiwo** (非我, *fēiwǒ*). The name change was suggested by User:SMiki55 in order to have it follow the traditional Chinese pattern of country names (two syllabes with the second being "國", "land") and disassociate the area from a Buddhist term sharing the same name.

## Gallery

Bia Thin SorceressBia Thin WénBia Thin Rabbit Year Celebration ArtBia Thin Tiger Year Celebration ArtBia Thin Bull Year Celebration Art