# The Poppy War  Author:: R. F. Kuang ## Highlights > In Tikany, an unmarried girl like Rin was worth less than a gay rooster. She could spend her life as a foot servant in some rich household—if she found the right people to bribe. Otherwise her options were some combination of prostitution and begging. ([Location 151](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=151)) > Everything hung in suspended animation. She felt as if she were drifting, her whole existence reduced to a single score. ([Location 358](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=358)) > “You’re a war orphan. You’re a southerner. You weren’t supposed to pass the Keju. The Warlords like to claim that the Keju makes Nikan a meritocracy, but the system is designed to keep the poor and illiterate in their place. You’re offending them with your very presence.” ([Location 603](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=603)) > “Nikan did not win the Second Poppy War,” Yim reiterated. “The Federation is gone because we were so pathetic that the great naval powers to the west felt bad for us. We did such a terrible job defending our country that it took genocide for Hesperia to intervene. ([Location 795](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=795)) > “Power dictates acceptability,” Kitay mused. “If the capital had been built in Tikany, I’m sure we’d be running around dark as wood bark.” ([Location 1012](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=1012)) > She realized, too, that she felt about praise the way that addicts felt about opium. Each time she received a fresh infusion of flattery, she could think only about how to get more of it. Achievement was a high. Failure was worse than withdrawal. ([Location 1438](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=1438)) > She saw now that reality was a facade; a dream conjured by the undulating forces beneath a thin surface. And by meditating, by ingesting the hallucinogen, by forgetting her connection to the material world, she was able to wake up. ([Location 3270](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=3270)) > Why is it that they must fight us?” “Because they’re crammed on that tiny island and they think Nikan should be theirs. Because they fought us before and they almost won,” Rin said curtly. “What does it matter? They’re coming, and we’re staying, and at the end of the day whoever is alive is the side that wins. War doesn’t determine who’s right. War determines who remains.” ([Location 3528](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=3528)) > “The point of every lesson does not have to be to destroy,” he said. “I taught you Lore to help you find balance. I taught you so that you would understand how the universe is more than what we perceive. I didn’t teach you so that you could weaponize it.” ([Location 3553](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=3553)) > Amateurs obsess over strategy, Irjah had once told their class. Professionals obsess over logistics. ([Location 4623](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=4623)) > That’s why the Speerlies became addicted to opium so easily, she realized. Not because they needed it for their fire. Because for some of them, it was the only time they could get away from their horrible god. ([Location 7252](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=7252)) > Jiang was wrong. She was not dabbling in forces she could not control, for the gods were not dangerous. The gods had no power at all, except what she gave them. The gods could affect the universe only through humans like her. Her destiny had not been written in the stars, or in the registers of the Pantheon. She had made her choices fully and autonomously. And though she called upon the gods to aid her in battle, they were her tools from beginning to end. She was no victim of destiny. She was the last Speerly, commander of the Cike, and a shaman who called the gods to do her bidding. And she would call the gods to do such terrible things. ([Location 7984](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=7984)) --- Title: The Poppy War Author: R. F. Kuang Tags: readwise, books date: 2024-01-30 --- # The Poppy War  Author:: R. F. Kuang ## AI-Generated Summary None ## Highlights > In Tikany, an unmarried girl like Rin was worth less than a gay rooster. She could spend her life as a foot servant in some rich household—if she found the right people to bribe. Otherwise her options were some combination of prostitution and begging. ([Location 151](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=151)) > Everything hung in suspended animation. She felt as if she were drifting, her whole existence reduced to a single score. ([Location 358](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=358)) > “You’re a war orphan. You’re a southerner. You weren’t supposed to pass the Keju. The Warlords like to claim that the Keju makes Nikan a meritocracy, but the system is designed to keep the poor and illiterate in their place. You’re offending them with your very presence.” ([Location 603](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=603)) > “Nikan did not win the Second Poppy War,” Yim reiterated. “The Federation is gone because we were so pathetic that the great naval powers to the west felt bad for us. We did such a terrible job defending our country that it took genocide for Hesperia to intervene. ([Location 795](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=795)) > “Power dictates acceptability,” Kitay mused. “If the capital had been built in Tikany, I’m sure we’d be running around dark as wood bark.” ([Location 1012](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=1012)) > She realized, too, that she felt about praise the way that addicts felt about opium. Each time she received a fresh infusion of flattery, she could think only about how to get more of it. Achievement was a high. Failure was worse than withdrawal. ([Location 1438](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=1438)) > She saw now that reality was a facade; a dream conjured by the undulating forces beneath a thin surface. And by meditating, by ingesting the hallucinogen, by forgetting her connection to the material world, she was able to wake up. ([Location 3270](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=3270)) > Why is it that they must fight us?” “Because they’re crammed on that tiny island and they think Nikan should be theirs. Because they fought us before and they almost won,” Rin said curtly. “What does it matter? They’re coming, and we’re staying, and at the end of the day whoever is alive is the side that wins. War doesn’t determine who’s right. War determines who remains.” ([Location 3528](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=3528)) > “The point of every lesson does not have to be to destroy,” he said. “I taught you Lore to help you find balance. I taught you so that you would understand how the universe is more than what we perceive. I didn’t teach you so that you could weaponize it.” ([Location 3553](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=3553)) > Amateurs obsess over strategy, Irjah had once told their class. Professionals obsess over logistics. ([Location 4623](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=4623)) > That’s why the Speerlies became addicted to opium so easily, she realized. Not because they needed it for their fire. Because for some of them, it was the only time they could get away from their horrible god. ([Location 7252](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=7252)) > Jiang was wrong. She was not dabbling in forces she could not control, for the gods were not dangerous. The gods had no power at all, except what she gave them. The gods could affect the universe only through humans like her. Her destiny had not been written in the stars, or in the registers of the Pantheon. She had made her choices fully and autonomously. And though she called upon the gods to aid her in battle, they were her tools from beginning to end. She was no victim of destiny. She was the last Speerly, commander of the Cike, and a shaman who called the gods to do her bidding. And she would call the gods to do such terrible things. ([Location 7984](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072L58JW6&location=7984))