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The Years of Rice and Salt

192 statements
36 feature instances
18 referencing feature instances

The Years of Rice and Salt	type	TVTItem
The Years of Rice and Salt	label	The Years of Rice and Salt
The Years of Rice and Salt	page	TheYearsOfRiceAndSalt
The Years of Rice and Salt	comment	The Years of Rice and Salt is a an Alternate History novel by writer Kim Stanley Robinson, which depicts world history in an alternate timeline where the Black Plague epidemic that ravaged Europe in the 14th century was even more destructive, and killing 90% of the European population.With Europe out of the game, the two civilizations that grow into global superpowers in the following centuries are the Islamic world and China. Eventually, their geopolitical rivalry escalates into total war.The story is told from the perspective of a small group of characters, who get reincarnated into new but recognizable selves from generation to generation.
The Years of Rice and Salt	fetched	2023-06-19T17:58:12Z
The Years of Rice and Salt	parsed	2023-06-19T17:58:12Z
The Years of Rice and Salt	processingComment	Dropped link to AvertedTrope: Not a Feature - IGNORE
The Years of Rice and Salt	processingComment	Dropped link to Candide: Not a Feature - ITEM
The Years of Rice and Salt	processingComment	Dropped link to HistoricalDomainCharacter: Not a Feature - IGNORE
The Years of Rice and Salt	processingComment	Dropped link to ThePlague: Not a Feature - ITEM
The Years of Rice and Salt	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_1439161f	type	Heroic BSoD
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_1439161f	comment	Heroic BSoD: All characters after The Alchemist.
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_2d4fa515	type	Ax-Crazy
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_2d4fa515	comment	Ax-Crazy: The K Character frequently has shades of this throughout their different lives (though usually for good reason). In particular, Kyu, the African firebug eunuch, though to be fair, the slave traders just sort of sprung the whole "eunuch" thing on him without his consent.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_2d4fa515	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_2d4fa515
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_2f5b9954	type	Alphabetical Theme Naming
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_2f5b9954	comment	Alphabetical Theme Naming: To help us keep track of who was who in a past life, all reincarnations of a character always keep the same first letter in their names.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_2f5b9954	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_2f5b9954	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_2f5b9954
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_36e63b81	type	Rule of Cool
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_36e63b81	comment	Rule of Cool: During the Long War, Dar-al-Islam uses long-range artillery to blow the top off of Mount Everest, making K2 (within their borders) the tallest mountain in the world. A tactic with no military value, and arguably minimal effect on enemy morale. At the end of the book, a more heartwarming variation, as mountain climbers bring bricks with them, rebuilding the summit piece-by-piece.
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_36e63b81	featureConfidence	1.0
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_47fea76b	type	Butt-Monkey
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_47fea76b	comment	Butt-Monkey: K goes through a rather shocking amount of pain and indignity over the course of their many lifetimes, being (among other things) castrated by Chinese slavers, caught in a tree snare, captured and nearly sacrificed by hostile Incans, and having a hand chopped off by the Khan of the Samarkand.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_47fea76b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_47fea76b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_47fea76b
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_4921aad7	type	Expanded States of America
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_4921aad7	comment	Expanded States of America: An odd, allohistorical example. By the time the reader first meets them, the Hodenosaunee federation (which partly serves as an analogue for the U.S. in this timeline) has already expanded beyond the six tribes that it comprised in real-world history. It adopts additional members (ostensibly with their consent) over the course of the story, and ends up governing much of North and Central America by the "present day."
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_49d59be9	type	Scenery Porn
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_49d59be9	comment	Scenery Porn: Vibrant descriptions of the settings are frequent.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_49d59be9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_49d59be9	featureConfidence	1.0
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50b05d30	type	Disproportionate Retribution
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50b05d30	comment	Disproportionate Retribution: Kokila is reincarnated into a tiger because she poisoned a guy who seduced her best friend, got her pregnant and abandoned her to die.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50b05d30	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50b05d30	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50b05d30
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50f5dabe	type	Reincarnation
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50f5dabe	comment	Reincarnation: The entire cast is reincarnated together repeatedly.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50f5dabe	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50f5dabe	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_50f5dabe
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_53f88d36	type	Reincarnation-Identifying Trait
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_53f88d36	comment	Reincarnation-Identifying Trait: The continuously reincarnating characters are identified by their shared initials, such as Kyu and Kokila.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_53f88d36	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_53f88d36	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_53f88d36
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_547b632	type	Space-Filling Empire
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_547b632	comment	Space-Filling Empire: Dar al Islam, China, and the Hodenosaunee League.
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_547b632	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_547b632
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_5b9cf82b	type	Education Mama
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_5b9cf82b	comment	Education Mama: Widow Kang mercilessly drills her youngest son in the Confucian classics in order to make a proper scholar out of him.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_5b9cf82b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_5b9cf82b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_5b9cf82b
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_5eb8a669	type	"Angry Black Man" Stereotype
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_5eb8a669	comment	"Angry Black Man" Stereotype: Kyu, very much Kyu. Interestingly his anger is directed at the Chinese for enslaving him rather than white people, who really aren't in a position to do much of that in this timeline.
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_5eb8a669	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_5eb8a669
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_60b166be	type	Reformed Criminal
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_60b166be	comment	Reformed Criminal: Kheim is a former pirate who ended up an admiral of the Ming fleet. Khalid went from trying to con a Sultan to providing him with scientific military advances.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_60b166be	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_60b166be	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_60b166be
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_6b4f4350	type	Zeppelins from Another World
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_6b4f4350	comment	Zeppelins from Another World: Airplanes remain limited to military use, while civilian air flight is accomplished mostly by airship (and later, "space planes"!).
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_6b4f4350	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_6b4f4350
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_79fa704c	type	Training the Peaceful Villagers
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_79fa704c	comment	Training the Peaceful Villagers: When Busho is taken in by the Hodenosaunee League, he begins to teach them about modern warfare, agriculture and industry, so that they will be able to withstand the Chinese colonizers on the West Coast and the Islamic ones on the East Coast. Centuries later, the Hodenosaunee League survives as a major world power.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_79fa704c	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_82b1fd4f	type	WorldHalfFull
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_82b1fd4f	comment	World Half Full: Eventually. The list of challenges facing the world after the Long War (which one character helpfully lays out for the reader) is daunting, but humanity has plenty of hope and potential to meet them.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_82b1fd4f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_82b1fd4f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_82b1fd4f
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_8411ab92	type	Red Oni, Blue Oni
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_8411ab92	comment	Red Oni, Blue Oni: K is very much the red to B's blue.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_8411ab92	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_8411ab92	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_8411ab92
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a65288e2	type	Ascended Extra
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a65288e2	comment	Ascended Extra: In a couple stories, the P character (see Theme Naming below) plays an unusually large role.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a65288e2	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a65288e2	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a65288e2
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a70223	type	Karma Houdini
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a70223	comment	Karma Houdini: Remember Shastri, that guy Kokila killed? While she came back as a tiger, he reincarnated as a prince.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a70223	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a70223	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a70223
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a86069f	type	Alternate History
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a86069f	comment	Alternate History: One where Europe is taken out of the picture and it ripples from thereon out.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a86069f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a86069f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_a86069f
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b0ae741	type	The Black Death
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b0ae741	comment	The Black Death: In this world, it was much more virulent, killing off 90% of the European population.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b0ae741	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b0ae741	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b0ae741
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b593baf1	type	Author Filibuster
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b593baf1	comment	Author Filibuster: Particularly in the Widow Kang section.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b593baf1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b593baf1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b593baf1
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b82ca416	type	Rage Against the Heavens
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b82ca416	comment	Rage Against the Heavens: K often does this in the Bardo.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b82ca416	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b82ca416	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b82ca416
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b8cbdffb	type	Celestial Bureaucracy
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b8cbdffb	comment	Celestial Bureaucracy: Every time they die, the characters find themselves in the Bardo, where the souls of the dead await reincarnation according to Tibetan Buddhism. As China grows in power in the world of the living, the Bardo falls under the influence of the Chinese Celestial Bureaucracy.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b8cbdffb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b8cbdffb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_b8cbdffb
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_bbd25056	type	Eunuchs Are Evil
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_bbd25056	comment	Eunuchs Are Evil: Kyu, though not so much evil insomuch as he's Ax-Crazy and pissed off.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_bbd25056	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_bbd25056	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_bbd25056
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: The first chapter is written in a style that imitates Journey to the West. The last chapter has a shout out to Candide. Two characters in the "Age of Great Progress" chapter are named Kiyoaki (one of the protagonists of Yukio Mishima's The Sea of Fertility cycle, in which the same person is reincarnated in each book) and Tagomi (a character in The Man in the High Castle, another very famous alternate history novel). The last chapter references the real-life historiographical scholarship of Hayden White, attributed to one "Scholar White" in the alternate-timeline present day.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_c75df49a
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e26f04b4	type	Last of His Kind
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e26f04b4	comment	Last of His Kind: The English fisherman who shares his campfire with Bold in the opening chapters. It's significant that the only English dialogue in the entire book is the word "dead;" naturally Bold doesn't know what it means, but he can guess.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e26f04b4	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e26f04b4	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e26f04b4
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e2ccee25	type	Animal Motifs
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e2ccee25	comment	Animal Motifs: K and tigers. They even get reincarnated as one in "The Haj in the Heart".
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e2ccee25	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e2ccee25	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e2ccee25
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e8cae797	type	Freudian Trio
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e8cae797	comment	Freudian Trio: B, K and I, with the rest of the jati spinning around them. K as The Id, B as The Ego and I as The Superego.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e8cae797	featureApplicability	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e8cae797	featureConfidence	1.0
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Years of Rice and Salt / int_e8cae797
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_ee9877ea	type	Too Good for This Sinful Earth
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_ee9877ea	comment	Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Butterfly and Bihari. Averted in the fact that all characters eventually die. And come back.
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_f1d6144a	type	War Is Hell
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_f1d6144a	comment	War Is Hell: The Long War can best be described as being like World War One leading directly into World War II without a pause.
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_f1d6144a	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_f9c17447	type	The Remnant
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_f9c17447	comment	The Remnant: Although Western civilization is all but destroyed, a few fragments remain such as Georgia and New Norway. Some extremely isolated communities on the far peripheries of Europe (e.g. the Orkney and Shetland islands) turn out to have survived the plague, although by "modern" times they're little more than a curiosity. There are brief mentions of Ethiopia as the home of one of the last remaining Christian cultures (perhaps the last).
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_f9c17447	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_fbb54ba6	type	Forever War
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_fbb54ba6	comment	Forever War: The Long War between China and Dar al Islam lasts for over 60 years, at which point hardly anyone remembers or cares what started it in the first place. China wins. Or, rather, Dar-al-Islam loses.
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_ffad4e9f	type	Shown Their Work
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_ffad4e9f	comment	Shown Their Work: Events shared with our timeline are handled in very great detail.
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_name	type	ItemName
The Years of Rice and Salt / int_name	comment
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The Years of Rice and Salt / int_name	itemName	The Years of Rice and Salt

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Alphabetical Theme Naming / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Celestial Bureaucracy / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Education Mama / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Eternal Hero / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Eunuchs Are Evil / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Eurabia / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	In Which a Trope Is Described / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Istanbul (Not Constantinople) / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Point of Divergence / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Reformed Criminal / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Reincarnation-Identifying Trait / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Sliding Scale of Alternate History Plausibility / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Space-Filling Empire / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Theme Initials / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Universal-Adaptor Cast / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	Zeppelins from Another World / int_14af238b
The Years of Rice and Salt	hasFeature	The Lifestream / int_14af238b

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