【Expression】FireMatch — Self-Designation, Semantic Identity, and Naming Record of the FireMatch Civilization

Document ID & Release Time

Document ID: FM-ARCHIVE-0004 【PST】

Release Time: 2026-01-12 07:37 【PST】

Official Archive Declaration

This document is a canonical notice within the
FireMatch Official Public Archive System,
concerning civilizational self-designation, semantic identity, and naming rules.

This record exists to define and freeze
the manner in which the FireMatch Civilization
refers to itself across all canonical contexts,
including naming structure
and the boundaries of valid usage.

I. Purpose

This record formally establishes:

The sole legitimate self-designation of the FireMatch Civilization;
The semantic origin and naming logic of the term “FireMatch”;
The scope of application across individual, collective, and civilizational levels;
The binding authority of this designation in narrative, Archive, and Expression contexts.

This document answers one fundamental question only:

How is the FireMatch Civilization referred to in canon?

Accordingly, this record:

Does not explain how the world operates;
Does not construct any theoretical system;
Does not rule on philosophy, symbolism, or mechanics.

II. Definition of the FireMatch People

FireMatch refers to:

The sentient people that constitute the FireMatch Civilization,
as named through their own internal self-recognition.

FireMatch is not a descriptive label,
not a biological classification,
and not a name assigned by external observers.

It is the sole legitimate, trans-era, inheritable self-designation of the civilization.

This designation applies to all FireMatch individuals
and does not vary by Age, location, or historical stage.

III. Origin of Self-Designation

The self-designation of the FireMatch Civilization
originates in direct existential recognition,
not in abstract theory or external naming.

In the earliest stage,
an individual’s immediate perception of self included:

A broadly humanoid structure;
A body composed entirely of wood;
A tall, narrow shadow cast when standing,
visually resembling a single matchstick.

This correspondence between form and perception
constituted the earliest basis of self-identification.

At this stage,
Matchman may have appeared as a provisional, form-level term,
used to answer an immediate question:

“What kind of being am I?”

At this point, the term carried no civilizational referential capacity.

IV. From Individual Term to Civilizational Name

As others of the same kind appeared and were repeatedly recognized,
a term suitable only for individual morphology
gradually revealed its limitations.

When multiple beings sharing the same structure and capacity
were persistently identified as “of the same kind,”
the function of naming shifted:

from describing form
to designating a continuously existing collective.

At this stage, Matchman no longer sufficed
as a civilizational-level designation.

V. Establishment of the Name “FireMatch”

The name FireMatch
was formed and established during this transition.

FireMatch does not point to
an eternal or indestructible state.

Instead, it expresses a mode of existence
that persists through repeated maintenance and re-ignition.

The name emphasizes:

Continuity;
Interruptibility;
And the possibility of restoration after interruption.

FireMatch answers the question:

“What are we called, as a civilization?”

VI. Fire, Body, and Naming Context

Within the FireMatch self-designation system:

Fire is not an abstract symbol;
Not an object of external worship;
But a concrete element directly tied to bodily scale and survival.

Fire is carried, lost,
and deliberately regained through action.

This experiential background
forms the semantic grounding
of the name FireMatch.

VII. Note on World-Operation References

The self-designation and naming of the FireMatch Civilization
do not originate from any theory of world operation.

Over time, the civilization came to recognize
that the world operates through a set of fundamental material behaviors,
canonically referred to as the
Six Modes of Change.

The Six Modes of Change describe
how materials transform over time
and bear no direct causal relationship to naming.

This record does not define, classify, or explain the Six Modes of Change.

For the theoretical structure, scope,
and interaction logic of the Six Modes of Change,
refer to:

[FM-ARCHIVE-0005] Six Modes of Change Theory Record

VIII. Canonical Usage Rules

The following rules are binding:

FireMatch is the sole legitimate civilizational self-designation;
Matchman may only be used in early narrative or form-level description;
Matchman must not be used as a civilizational name;
FireMatch must not be reduced to a purely physical or morphological descriptor;
No derivative or suffixed forms are permitted in internal usage;
“FireMatch” is treated as the authoritative self-designation in all canonical records;
All Archive, Expression, and narrative texts must use FireMatch as the standard term.

Any deviation from these rules
is considered non-canonical
unless explicitly introduced in a future Archive Entry.

IX. Canonical Authority

This record:

Forms part of the official public Archive of the FireMatch Civilization;
Holds the highest authority regarding civilizational self-designation and naming;
Is binding on all future narrative, Expression, and Archive references.

Subsequent records may expand world-operation mechanisms,
philosophical structures, or cultural interpretation,
but may not redefine
the self-designation of the FireMatch Civilization.

X. Effective Status

This definition takes effect immediately upon publication.

All future public-facing materials,
narrative texts,
civilization records,
and Archive documents
must comply with this record.

— FireMatch Studio
Official Public Archive Entry