The Poppy War

by

R. F. Kuang

Themes and Colors
Dehumanization and the Horrors of War Theme Icon
Identity, Cultural Trauma, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
Addiction, Drugs, and Control Theme Icon
History Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Poppy War, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon

Particularly through the novel’s first and second sections, which detail teenaged Rin’s years at Sinegard, an elite military college, The Poppy War continually explores what the purpose of education is—and questions what it should be. Rin’s reasons for setting her sights on Sinegard in the first place are straightforward: receiving an education will save her from an arranged marriage, and she sees it as a bonus that she’ll then have job security by serving as a commander in Nikan’s military. However, as she spends more time at school, she’s repeatedly forced to question whether it’s truly appropriate to study simply so that a young person can become a great military commander and militarize anything they might learn, or whether it’s better to learn for personal fulfillment and simply for the sake of doing so. Notably, though Rin admires her tutor, Master Jiang, and at times feels like she agrees with him that she should be content to simply learn to understand her place in the universe, she continually returns to her belief—which she shares with most of the other masters and her classmates—that the purpose of her education should be to facilitate the creation of an efficient, skilled, and deadly Nikara military. And this, the novel shows, has horrific consequences, from unleashing gods to wreak havoc on the country, to Rin’s increasing anger and desire for revenge, and ultimately to Rin’s decision to pledge herself to the fire god the Phoenix and burn Nikan’s enemy, the nearby island nation the Federation of Mugen, to the ground.

Master Jiang also notes that Sinegard Academy has another important purpose: the Empress hopes to educate the Warlords’ children together so they all like one another—and will thus be more willing to work together toward a common goal than their parents are. Nikan’s education system, in a generous view, is one method of fostering community and national pride—though Jiang heavily implies the Empress’s goals veer more toward brainwashing. As the first in a trilogy, The Poppy War doesn’t fully resolve this question of what the purpose of education should be. But it does suggest that education, when used (or abused) as a tool to achieve some ulterior motive rather than as a helpful and valuable undertaking in itself, can enable corruption and have devastating consequences, from widespread death and destruction (including of a country’s own top students) to the loss of surviving students’ humanity and compassion.

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The Purpose of Education ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of The Purpose of Education appears in each chapter of The Poppy War. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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The Purpose of Education Quotes in The Poppy War

Below you will find the important quotes in The Poppy War related to the theme of The Purpose of Education.
Chapter 3 Quotes

Rin had always wondered whether the loss of Speer was purely an accident. If any other province had been destroyed the way Speer had, the Nikara Empire wouldn’t have stopped with a peace treaty. They would have fought until the Federation of Mugen was in pieces.

But the Speerlies weren’t really Nikara at all. Tall and brown-skinned, they were an island people who had always been ethnically separate from the Nikara mainlanders. They spoke their own language, wrote in their own script, and practiced their own religion. They had joined the Imperial Militia only at the Red Emperor’s sword point.

This all pointed to strained relations between the Nikara and the Speerlies all the way up through the Second Poppy War. So, Rin thought, if any Nikara territory had to be sacrificed, Speer was the obvious choice.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin), Kitay, Master Yim, The Red Emperor
Page Number: 53
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

“The Keju doesn’t mean anything,” Rin said scathingly. “The Keju is a ruse to keep uneducated peasants right where they’ve always been. You slip past the Keju, they’ll find a way to expel you anyway. The Keju keeps the lower classes sedated. It keeps us dreaming. It’s not a ladder for mobility; it’s a way to keep people like me exactly where they were born. The Keju is a drug.”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Kitay, Nezha, Master Jun
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 86
Explanation and Analysis:

She adored praise—craved it, needed it, and realized she found relief only when she finally had it.

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. Good test scores brought only momentary relief and temporary pride—she basked in her grace period of several hours before she began to panic about her next test.

She craved praise so deeply that she felt it in her bones. And just like an addict, she did whatever she could to get it.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin), Empress Su Daji (The Vipress), Master Irjah
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 95
Explanation and Analysis:

Irjah looked deeply uncomfortable. “You must understand that this is a very awkward part of Nikan’s history,” he said. “The way that the Speerlies were treated was...regrettable. They were used and exploited by the Empire for centuries. Their warriors were regarded as little more than vicious dogs. Savages. Until Altan came to study at Sinegard, I don’t believe anyone really thought the Speerlies were capable of sophisticated thought. Nikan does not like to speak of Speer, and for good reason.”

Related Characters: Master Irjah (speaker), Rin (Fang Runin), Altan Trengsin
Page Number: 86
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“Sinegard likes to collect the Warlords’ broods as much as it can. Keeps them under the Empire’s careful watch.”

“What for?” she asked.

“Leverage. Indoctrination. This generation of Warlords hate each other too much to coordinate on anything of national importance, and the imperial bureaucracy has too little local authority to force them. Just look at the state of the Imperial Navy.”

“We have a navy?” Rin asked.

“Exactly.” Jiang snorted. “We used to. Anyhow, Daji’s hoping that Sinegard will forge a generation of leaders who like each other—and better, who will obey the throne.”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper) (speaker), Empress Su Daji (The Vipress)
Page Number: 117
Explanation and Analysis:

“And so modern martial arts were developed: a system based on human biomechanics rather than the movements of animals. The enormous variety of techniques, some of which were only marginally useful to a soldier, were distilled into an essential core of forms that could be taught to a soldier in five years rather than fifty. This is the basis of what you are taught at Sinegard. This is the common core that is taught to the Imperial Militia. This is what your classmates are learning.” He grinned. “I am showing you how to beat it.”

Related Characters: Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper) (speaker), Rin (Fang Runin), Master Jun
Page Number: 125
Explanation and Analysis:

Oink? Sunzi looked imploringly at Rin.

“Don’t look at me,” Rin said. “It’s the end of the road for you.”

She couldn’t help but feel a stab of guilt; the longer she looked at Sunzi, the more she was reminded of its piglet form. She tore her eyes away from its dull, naive gaze and headed back up the mountain.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper), The Widow Maung
Page Number: 128
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“I asked Jima to let me train him. But the Empress intervened. She knew the military value of a Speerly warrior, she was so excited...in the end, national interests superseded the sanity of one boy. They put him under Irjah’s tutelage, and honed his rage like a weapon instead of teaching him to control it. You’ve seen him in the ring. You know what he’s like.”

Related Characters: Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper) (speaker), Rin (Fang Runin), Altan Trengsin, Empress Su Daji (The Vipress), Master Jima
Page Number: 156
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

“You’ve seen what poppy does to the common man. And given what you know of addiction, your conclusions are reasonable. Opium makes wise men stupid. It destroys local economies and weakens entire countries.”

He weighed another handful of poppy seeds in his palm. “But something so destructive inherently and simultaneously has marvelous potential. The poppy flower, more than anything, displays the duality of hallucinogens. You know poppy by three names. In its most common form, as opium nuggets smoked from a pipe, poppy makes you useless. It numbs you and closes you off to the world. Then there is the madly addictive heroin, which is extracted as a powder from the sap of the flower. But the seeds? These seeds are a shaman’s dream. These seeds, used with the proper mental preparation, give you access to the entire universe contained within your mind.”

Related Characters: Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper) (speaker), Rin (Fang Runin), Altan Trengsin
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 192-193
Explanation and Analysis:

“You must conflate these concepts. The god outside you. The god within. Once you understand that these are one and the same, once you can hold both concepts in your head and know them to be true, you’ll be a shaman.”

Related Characters: Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper) (speaker), Rin (Fang Runin), The Phoenix
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 194
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

“I wonder what a Federation soldier looks like,” [...]

“They have arms and legs, I’m guessing. Maybe even a head.”

“No, I mean, what do they look like?” Kitay asked. “Like Nikara? All of the Federation came from the eastern continent. They’re not like Hesperians, so they must look somewhat normal.”

Rin couldn’t see why this was relevant. “Does it matter?”

“Don’t you want to see the face of the enemy?” Kitay asked.

“No, I don’t,” she said. “Because then I might think they’re human. And they’re not human. We’re talking about the people who gave opium to toddlers the last time they invaded. The people who massacred Speer.”

“Maybe they’re more human than we realize,” said Kitay. “Has anyone ever stopped to ask what the Federation want? Why is it that they must fight us?”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Kitay (speaker)
Page Number: 232-233
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

That felt stupid now. So, so stupid. War was not a game, where one fought for honor and admiration, where masters would keep her from sustaining any real harm.

War was a nightmare.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin), Kitay, Nezha
Page Number: 238
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

She looked up. Their eyes met.

Naked fear was written across his face, round and soft like a child’s. He was barely taller than her. He couldn’t have been older than Ramsa.

He fumbled with his knife, had to adjust it against his stomach to get a proper grip before he brought it down—

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin), Altan Trengsin, Ramsa
Page Number: 311
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

She felt so utterly, entirely useless. Even if she could call the Phoenix then, summoning fire now would not save this man from dying.

Because all the Cike knew how to do was destroy. For all their powers, for all their gods, they couldn’t protect their people. Couldn’t reverse time. Couldn’t bring back the dead.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin), Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper), Altan Trengsin
Page Number: 334
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

“Altan is perhaps the most powerful martial artist in Nikan right now. Maybe the world,” said Chaghan. “But for all that, most of his life he was just good at following orders. Tyr’s death was a shock to us. Altan wasn’t ready to take over. Command is difficult for him. He doesn’t know how to make peace with the Warlords. He’s overextended. He’s trying to fight an entire war with a squad of ten. And he’s going to lose.”

“You don’t think we can hold Khurdalain?”

“I think we were never meant to hold Khurdalain,” said Chaghan. “I think Khurdalain was a sacrifice for time paid in blood. Altan is going to lose because Khurdalain is not winnable, and when he does, it’s going to break him.”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Chaghan (speaker), Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper), Altan Trengsin, Empress Su Daji (The Vipress), Tyr
Page Number: 377-378
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

“He’s not human,” she said, recalling the horrible anger behind Altan’s power. She’d thought she understood Altan. She’d thought she had reached the man behind the command title. But she realized now that she didn’t know him at all. The Altan she’d known—at least, the Altan in her mind—would have done anything for his troops. He wouldn’t have left someone in the gas to die. “He—I don’t know what he is.”

“But Altan was never allowed to be human,” Chaghan said, and his voice was uncharacteristically gentle. “Since childhood, he’s been regarded as a militia asset. Your masters at the Academy fed him opium for attacking his classmates and trained him like a dog for this war.”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Chaghan (speaker), Altan Trengsin, Nezha, Master Irjah
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 390
Explanation and Analysis:

“That boy is beyond redemption,” said the Woman. “That boy is broken like the rest. But you, you are still pure. You can still be saved.”

“I don’t want to be saved!” Rin shrieked. “I want power! I want Altan’s power! I want to be the most powerful shaman there ever was, so that there is no one I can’t save!”

“That power can burn down the world,” the woman said sadly. “That power will destroy everything you’ve ever loved. You will defeat your enemy, and the victory will turn to ashes in your mouth.”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Mai’rinnen Tearza (The Woman) (speaker), Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper), Altan Trengsin, Kitay, Chaghan, The Phoenix
Page Number: 390
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

Rin forced the last parts of what was human out of her soul and gave way to her hatred. Hating was so easy. It filled a hole inside her. It let her feel something again. It felt so good.

“Total victory,” she said. “It’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“What I want?” The Phoenix sounded amused. “The gods do not want anything. The gods merely exist. We cannot help what we are; we are pure essence, pure element. You humans inflict everything on yourselves, and then blame us afterward. Every calamity has been man-made. We do not force you to do anything. We have only ever helped.”

“This is my destiny,” Rin said with conviction. “I’m the last Speerly. I have to do this. It is written.”

“Nothing is written,” said the Phoenix.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), The Phoenix (speaker), Master Jiang (the Gatekeeper)
Page Number: 501
Explanation and Analysis: