Shinra = Overlords

Hello, i'm shizu, 14 years old, Filipino-Chinese and new to this board.

Recently we've been taking up the Eastern Zhou dynasty and I've noticed similarities between the Shinra and the Overlords.

First, a little background history. The Western Zhou dynasty was an orderly and systematic period, mostly due to the achievements of Duke Zhou. But the last king of the Western Zhou dynasty, King You, was killed by barbarians. They also ransacked the capital, so King Ping of Zhou had no choice but to move the capital to Luoyi.

This was the start of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, a turbulent period in Chinese History. It was divided into two sub-periods, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

During this period, the Emperor of Zhou was unstable and had little command over the masses. Sometimes the Zhou court had to seek help from dukes to solve internal affairs. Due to this the dukes had more power than the Emperor himself.

That's where the Overlords come into place. Basically, they were dukes who rose to power and became stronger than the Emperor himself. To become Overlords, sometimes these dukes would have to engage in battle with smaller countries or do some heroic feat.

Anyway, what has this got to do with FFVII? Here's my view: The Cetra were a very systematic and orderly race; peace-loving and in touch with the Planet. Then Jenova came and attacked the Cetra, wiping them out. The humans originated from the Cetra. They developed their own systems and culture. The Shinra started out as just a company, but became powerful; more powerful than the Mayor of Midgar himself. They fought with neighboring countries (Wutai) for them to acknowledge Shinra's power. The Overlords often fought with small countries so that they would acknowledge their power.

Two of the Overlords, Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin applied the philosophy "Respect the king and repulse the alien tribes". They fought against the barbarians: often with Rong and Ti. If a neighboring country needed their help, they would help them in battle. This is similar to what Rufus says to Cloud about Shinra, "Work at Shinra; get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you."

Also, there are five Overlords: Qi Huangong (Duke Huan of Qi), Song Xianggong (Duke Xiang of Song), Jin Wengong (Duke Wen of Jin), Qin Mugong (Duke Mu of Qin), and Chou Zhuangwang (King Zhuang of Chou). At the same time, there are also five members of the Shinra executive board: Reeve, Scarlet, Hojo, Heidegger and Palmer. Rufus is the President, but at the end, after he (SPOILER) dies , Shinra becomes unstable and the executives become more powerful and ruthless. Maybe this may not have much to do with my theory, but still, I'm just stating it for additional info.

Any thoughts?

I guess there are many historical parralells you can draw with Shinra. Very detailed one though! Twas a very informative read! Most of the history I know is European. :)

I'm not surprised there would be a link between the two. There is a lot of stuff 90% of us don't know about Asian history so sometimes things like that just slip by us ;p Welcome to EoFF ;)

Very nice piece of work, shizu!:)
There are many parallels between our own world's myth and history, and the story of FFVII. Final Fantasy VII, in particular, has strong elements of Asian history and mysticism. It's always interesting to explore these parallels. Shinra shows a kind of feudal structure, one large force taking over and expanding its empire till it owns everything. This happened in the European and Asian feudal eras, of course, but also happens in business today. Shinra shows a kind of combination of the two - a financial empire, but one which seeks dominion over real lands and using real weapons. One of the things I like about FFVII is the way its world is so different to ours in so many ways, but it's so effective in showing how and why our world works - or doesn't work.

Welcome, once again, to EoFF:)

An additional note: After the Spring and Autumn Period came the Warring States period. This was an even more turbulent period in Eastern Zhou where warlords were keen on destroying each other. This is what led to the eventual end of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. I find this similar to the demise of Shinra. The executives destroyed each other and failed to cooperate, eventually leading to their demise and the end of Shinra.

And I agree with Big D; Shinra seems like a sort of feudal empire. The Western Zhou dynasty was one, too. So I presume that Shinra is the Overlord of the FFVII world.

I don't really know much about the dynasty things, but i reckon the world where FFVII is set is a parallel to our world - people sucking the life-force out of the planet, natural resources being wasted... erm, some psycho wanting all the worlds power and energy (george W Bush). However, we don't get to use kickass materia which we can use to make almighty magic and monsters.
Thank you everybody, I rock!:rock: