Menghean diaspora in Themiclesia

Mengheans in Themiclesia

震旦孟人
Total population
c. 1.72 million (2017 estimate)
Regions with significant populations
Tor (端)	323,000
Rak (雒)	229,000
Kien-k′ang (建康)	193,000
Gwra (邘)	72,000
Languages
Various Menghean dialects
Religion
Chŏndoism, Sindoism, Buddhism, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Menghe

The Menghean diaspora in Themiclesia consists of those of Menghean origin that have migrated to Themiclesia in the modern period. This temporal delineation is necessary as most Themiclesians can trace their ancestries to Menghe at some point in history, but contact almost completely stopped during the 17th to 19th centuries, during which both nations developed more distinct identities, which culturally and linguistically distinguishes the Menghean diaspora from other Themiclesians of Menghean origin. The Menghean diaspora is currently the most numerous ethnic diaspora in Themiclesia, at 1.72 million individuals who self-identify as Menghean in some sense, ahead of the Dayashinese diaspora, which numbers 1.5 million.

During and after the 19th century, Mengheans have sought settlement in Themiclesia for a variety of reasons. During the Three States Period, Menghe fractured into three states, and in the ensuing chaos a small number of Mengheans relocated to Themiclesia. This has been considered the foremost cause of immigration at that time and until the late 1920s, when the Federal Republic of Menghe was overthrown by General Kwon Chong-hoon, who installed a highly authoritarian regime, from which intellectuals and dissidents fled. After the Pan-Septentrion War, immigration to Themiclesia continued albeit at a moderate pace; the rise of the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe recreated the situation under Kwon's reign, and since the 1980s economic migrants, students, and businesspeople have formed the vast majority of Menghean immigrants.

The Menghean diaspora has made strong contributions to Themiclesia in scientific, artistic, and academic fields. Despite this, they are sometimes subject to association with racketeering and organized crime. Themiclesian views regarding the Menghean diaspora remains positive, according to recent polls, with few government actions either to distinguish or assimilate them into mainstream Themiclesian culture. Shared cultural heritage has been instrumental in bridging the two nationalities, which both governments have acknowledged are historically kindred.

History

Early history

Gojun-era, circa 1350 BCE, turquoise-inlaid artifact—some of the stones are radiologically traced to Themiclesia.

Proto-Chikai traders had access to lapis lazuli and turquoise deposits in Themiclesia, but the mining archaeological record suggests harvesting was done by nomadic populations native to Themiclesia, who also traded these gemstones with Merido-Casaterran groups in Maverica since the 3rd millennium BCE. After the fall of the Proto-Chikai civilization, Achahan traders exported some of the stones to Menghe, where they adorned Gojun-era artifacts due to associations with the mythologized sky.

Since the Achahan civilization mysteriously disappeared in the 9th century BCE, it is thought that a shortage of the prized gemstones motivated some Meng rulers to prospect for them, directly, in Themiclesia. Archaeologically, Meng settlements appeared between 800 – 700 BCE. While some of the settlements appeared to be permanent, protected by rudimentary walls and ditches, the vast majority of sites were created and abandoned within several decades, possibly after more accessible veins were exhausted. The family trees of early Themiclesian rulers appear to point towards distant ancestors who may have lived in this era, though this is "at most conjectural" according to mainstream historians.

Arrival of new Meng population intensified c. 500 BCE, co-incident with the Lapis Road's reopening. Archaeologically, it is recovered as a bloom of new sites of clear Meng affinity and the rejuvenation of several older ones. This is the period in which the earliest written material are found in Themiclesia, being ostraca inscribed with materials and quantities. In the 3rd c., more Meng people followed the Lapis Road to Themiclesia due to ongoing warfare between Meng and Yang states. This wave of immigrants is characterized by the introduction of iron metallurgy, as larger armies could thus be armed cheaply. Their legacy included a scramble for land during the subsequent colonial period. Meng population in Themiclesia is thought to have exceeded two million in the 2nd century BCE, with the largest cities exceeding 10,000 at the same time.

A change in settlement phenomena occurred just before or as the Meng empire unified most of the Meng states around 200 BCE. Some historians believe that enhanced control over populations prevented migration away from Meng states and corresponded with the sudden disappearance of land grants to Meng clans that migrated to Themiclesia, which had been ongoing for centuries. Others, however, think that parcels of land were no longer granted to Meng migrants because arable land, limited by the state of irrigation works, had been exhausted. The final large-scale migration to Themiclesia occurred in the 6th century, when Emperor Wŏn of Chŏllo (Shinasthana: Emperor Ngjon of Sn′ing-ragh) fled Jin armies that eventually overran his state.

Due to the devestating effects of the Menghean Black Plague, the Myŏn Dynasty adopted an reclusive approach to foreign contact, barring any and all individuals of Casaterran origin from entry. Themiclesia, though not Casaterran, also found itself less than welcome at the Myŏn court and ports, and intracontinental trade and diplomacy stalled between the two states. The collapse of the Myŏn ushered in a new age of restored contact between the two states. Themiclesia faced stern competition in the export market for its want of industrial technology, but by the 1870s unfolding industrialization had garnered the attention of the Namyang government, which ruled the part of Menghe culturally most similar to Themiclesia, amongst the three successors to the Myŏn. Diplomatic relations between the two states quickly warmed as Namyang viewed Themiclesia as a model for late development based primarily on a capitalist and liberal economy.

1900 – 1945

The consolidation of Menghe under the Federal Republic in 1897 began a new chapter in population interchange between the two nations. For their openness and positive attitudes towards industrialization, international commerce intensified. Academic exchanges also became frequent, and professors regularly travelled to give seminars to a foreign audience.

The overthrow of the Federal Republic by Kwon Chong-hoon in 1927 introduced new uncertainties in the two nations' relationship. The Themiclesian government was, from Kwon's self-coronation as emperor, weary of his intentions. While this did not develop into open enmity, Kwon dispatched ideologues to Themiclesia to promote his variety of nationalism to what he believed would be a sympathetic audience. An incident involving Kwon's nephew where some sects of Themiclesian nationalists attempted a coup on the government provoked the latter respond violently, killing no fewer than 400, including Kwon's nephew. Knowledge of his involvement swayed public opinion against Menghe, and Menghean visitors were ordered to declare their intentions before admission.

On the other hand, Kwon's increasingly tight control over the nation's politics prompted a number of intellectuals, journalists, and political opponents to seek refuge in Themiclesia. These individuals fled the country covertly, as Kwon prohibited emigration. Though notionally one could emigrate with his permission, this became politically impossible when Menghe declared war against Themiclesia in the Prairie War in 1933. Menghean immigration in Themiclesia after 1933, excepting those fleeing persecution, was mostly limited to captured soldiers that chose naturalization. These decisions were widely publicized by the Themiclesian government to subvert the morale of Menghean forces, much to the chagrin of the Menghean government.

1945 – 1964

Menghe's capitulation in 1945 to the Allied invasion ended the decade of misgivings between the two nations. There was a considerable wave of re-immigration to Menghe amongst the diaspora, which has been attributed to the belief that the "time was ripe" to restart life in Menghe, particularly amongst those who initially sought refuge for political reasons. This also occurred in some naturalized ex-Menghean soldiers, who claimed they only naturalized to avoid punishment, should they have returned to Menghe under Kwon's or his successor's regime. The discriminatory law on Menghean visitors was lifted in 1948.

The completion of the Trans-Hemithean Railway in 1954 further linked the recovering economies of Menghe and Themiclesia. Deprivation under Kwon's pro-military policy as well as lingering instability in rural areas compelled some Mengheans to migrate to Themiclesia. When those conflicts escalated in the early 1960s, the communists have already formed a government in Maverica, cutting off the Trans-Hemithean Railway; therefore, most immigration in the 50s and 60s were via sea and air. In desperate cases, some trekked the vast Dzhungestani steppes to cross into Themiclesia. The victory of the Menghean Communist Party in 1964 over the Republic again set relations back with Themiclesia; with most of the First World, Themiclesia did not switch recognition from the Republic to the Democratic People's Republic.

The faltering prospects of the Republic in 1963–64 further forced another exodus to Themiclesia. Some of these migrants were connected with either the Republican government or its key allies, who have participated in suppressing the rebellion, and the threat of retribution was a significant motivator of migration. A small number of them, enjoying social stature and political or financial preferrment under the Republic, brought their extended families to Themiclesia with cash, bullion, and movable properties, but most were small entrepreneurs, who stood to lose their livelihood under a communist regime. Many of the migrants have already converted Menghean assets to Themiclesian ones in anticipation of an eventual migration. A number of prominent statesmen, industrialists, academics, professionals, and celebrities that held pessimistic views about the impending regime change also migrated to Themiclesia.

1964 – 1987

The primary source of immigration to Themiclesia from Menghe during this period is political persecution; however, Themiclesia was not the destination par excellence for dissidents, who preferred Altagracia for its proximity to Menghe, large Menghean community, and protection as a Sylvan enclave. Still, members of the Menghean Government in Exile were present in Themiclesia, mostly accuring support from the diaspora. As with the Greater Menghean Empire, emigration from Menghe was all but outlawed.

Since 1987

Due to a series of poor, ideological policies leading to a famine in Menghe between 1985 – 87, exaggerated by an embargo imposed on account of the DPRM's development of nuclear arsenal, army officer Choe Sŭng-min led a successful coup against the leader of the DPRM and, in short order, declared the Socialist Republic of Menghe. Choe (Shinasthana: sl′jui-gjêng-mrjing) superintended the re-integration of the Menghean economy with global trade. Sensing a potential breakthrough in dealing with Eastern Hemithea (most of which hostile), the government organized relief efforts in late-1987 and throughout 1988, providing food, sanitary water, and medicine, all in acute shortage, to famined Mengheans. These gestures have somewhat counteracted the negative view of Themiclesia under the previous administration.

Businessmen of both nationalities composed the first corpora of migrants to the other state. They have been followed by academics, who have been virtually isolated from each other for the better part of the two previous decades. As a widely published example, the Faculty of Historical Linguistics of the University of Sunju launched an official conference with Themiclesian counterparts that had been delayed since the 60s. The cross-section of both societies that contacted each other then spread from there to include various types of economic migrants, students, and exchange programmes organized publicly and privately.

The Menghean government's proclamation of an amnesty on all illegal emigrants who fled the country during the civil war had a profound influence on the immigrant community. A considerable amount of them desired to return to Menghe, though others expressed reservations regarding Choe's sincerity. Still others have already fully settled in Themiclesia and established local interests, and these typically did not wish to return to Menghe. While the Themiclesian government did not want them to leave the country, the policy of détente with the Socialist Republic prevent actions to discourage retromigration, though it did encourage acquiring a full understanding of the political, social, and economic situation of Menghe and re-establishing contacts if they decide to return. Many of those returning possessed expertise in business and industry; their return Choe especially desired, who sought to re-establish a market economy in Menghe.

Culture

As Menghe is home to a vast array of regional cultures that possess some commonalities amongst themselves, the cultural identities of Menghean-Themiclesians frequently reflect those of their origins. Menghe is linguistically divisible into the Haedong and Chŏllo regions, and immigrant populations often retain those affinities. This has sometimes manifested as sectarianism within the diaspora.

The earliest immigrants in the modern age have, for the most part, merged into the primary Themiclesian identity. Those arriving during the last decade of the 19th Century, however, have tended to form distinct social enclaves, which their larger and more concentrated population enables, largely corresponding to their state of origin: the Society of Namyang Expatriots (南陽僑民會, nem-lang-gjaw-mrjing-gobh) was set up in 1892, not only to care for the welfare of Namyang immigrants, but also to lobby the Themiclesian government in favour of Namyang State; conversely, the Society of Haedong Mutualism (海東互助會, m′e′-tong-gah-dzrjah-gobh) was founded by the epinymous community in 1893. Conflict between these two bodies frequently erupted, sometimes in courtrooms and others in the streets, much to the exasperation of local magistrates around the coastal city of Tonning. It is interpreted that such animosity was carried over from their native states, and the union of Namyang and Haedong in 1897 did not soothe tensions between the two bodies, which would remain a sharp, intraversible rift until after the Pan-Septentrion War.

Post-war

The Pan-Septentrion War profoundly affected Themiclesian social structure through not only conscription but civic mobilization. During the war, some Menghean-Themiclesians doubted their decisions to emigrate, and certain communities have been subject to degredation or physical abuse by xenophobic individuals. Nevertheless, the experiences shared by Themiclesian natives and the Menghean diaspora in support of the war effort has been regarded as a potent and positive reinforcement to bonds between these communities of differing culture and language. Since the 1950s, Menghean-Themiclesians have generally become more assertive towards the majority public and less evasive about their origins and cultural heritage.

A frequently-cited example of the increased assertiveness of the diaspora is the use of military apparel. The benefactor's edition of the Blue Army Shoe, whose sole imprinted "benefactor" wherever the wearer walked, was particularly valued and visible in this behalf. It was originally awarded as a memento of large donations of money or factory time, hence the "benefactor" footprints. In the 30s, many immigrants of means donated specifically to acquire these shoes, which were thought to disspel unfair suspicion. Subsequently, the army-issue combat boots, which were not blue but still recognizable, were used for a similar ends by returning soldiers. While these articles were originally worn for self-protection, the diaspora community developed the culture of wearing them even after wartime prejudices abated.

A community leader, Ko Pye C., wrote in 1957, "I support wearing these shoes in public to eliminate any notion that Mengheans chose silence in the face of unfair suspicion. We wear them to protest our right to equal treatment. We will wear them in this generation, the next generation, and the one after that to show that it is our nation who have freely chosen to support Themiclesia in her hour of need. If in 100 years someone points out that every person who contributed to the war has died, I shall say the credit goes not only to us as individuals, but to us as a nation living in Themiclesia and all people who choose to live with our community and our ways."

1960s

The growth of diaspora culture in the 50s continued into the new decade, but the impending Communist victory in the Menghean War of Liberation and the revival of the Imperial Menghean Army impelled another transformative phase for the diaspora. Akin to their emigration motivated by the rise of Kwon Chong-hoon, Mengheans affiliated with the Republic of Menghe left the country to escape mass purges, which the Communists threatened. Some resettled in Altagracia, which was under the protection of Sylva, but more considered the enclave insecure and instead relocated to Themiclesia.

Though this mass-migration is defined, for the Menghean economy, by the relocation of social notables, assets, and entrepreneurship, most new immigrants were not capitalists but identified as the petty middle class, who felt severely threatened by the promised purges. Most of this wave of migrants were raised during Kwon Chong-hoon's regime, and their political views directly contrasted with the diaspora community. According to some authors, there was a stronger desire to defend Menghean identity, and Themiclesia's hostility to communits Maverica, then friendly to the new regime in Menghe, was considered an factor that attracted migrants. An organized diaspora community that offered support to new-arrivals also influenced many migrants' decision to settle in Themiclesia. According to a surveys in 1999, these migrants and their offspring on average prefer right-wing parties and candidates. Their arrival was used politically by the Liberal Party to support military expenditure and strengthen military co-operation with Hallia and Tír Glas.

Not all migrants encountered immediate success and financial security, and relations with the established diaspora, which the government expected would play a major role in settling newcomers, were disappointing. While most of the existing diaspora were economic peers with natives, much of the 60s wave was in need of economic assistance, and the capital influx the Liberals anticipated had not materialized, either because they did not bring money or were reluctant to spend it. In 1968, the Liberals proposed to give housing and occupation assistance in preference to immigrants who would do military service; the Opposition Leader in the House of Lords condemned the proposal as an "abominable scheme" to exploit "those that have entrusted their very lives to Themiclesia". The diaspora frequently complained of newcomers taking their jobs, and the political orientation of the second wave starkly contrasted with that of the first, who did not share a distaste for socialism.

Linguistic identity was a major concern amongst the working-class families that arrived in Themiclesia. Many parents chose to educate their children at home, but the law at the time considered home education acceptable only for families that could hire full-time tutors. Disputes thus broke out between Themiclesian policemen and Menghean families, some of whom thought the police were abducting their children. Others were driven by a sense of profound insecurity, leading to a rejuvenation of several Triad organizations. Some businesses set up by newly-arrived Menghean immigrants actively co-operated with them to protect their property and profits. The rumour that agents of the newly-established Democratic People's Republic had sent agents to extradite, sabotage, or kill emigrés only exacerbated insecurity in immigrant communities and created support for government spending on security.

1970s

In 1970, a group delinquents identified by the press as immigrants set fire to the Constellation Gate (閶闔門) of the Sk'ên'-ljang Palace, reducing a culturally-important and symbolic building to ashes and claiming the lives of four firemen. This event caused the incoming Progressive government to open policy fora for welfare programmes that aimed to "erect proper regard" on the culture and autonomy of Menghean-Themiclesians. On the other hand, it also redoubled on efforts to extend services deemed necessary, such as education, health, transport, and sanitation into immigrant enclaves, which had at this point acquired an uneviable reputation of dilapidation and danger. At the same time, the policies were meant to reduce reliance on Triads for protection. Another aim was to provide work to unemployed immigrants in a familiar environment and facing their own community.

Several Themiclesian charities argued if Menghean artists achieved national fame, they would become positive role-models for less fortunate members of the diaspora who could feel a "personal connection or commonality" with them. In 1975, the Progressives instituted the National Endowment for Minority Communities to fund artistic activities by ethnic minorities, though not limited to diaspora. However, this commission was subject to stern criticism by Dayashinese-Themiclesian and Menghean-Themiclesian legislators almost immediately for prejudices in what the managers deemed "helpful" artistic content. Moreover, in the 80s, there were concerns that selective amplification of ethnic culture could affirm stereotyping and discourage members of the diaspora from seeking employment or expression beyond their communities. Seong Kip MP in 1992 said that cultural autonomy should be actively preserved, "insularity" cannot become the objective of a multi-ethnic society.

The Progressive government in 1970 instructed the Rak police to arrest suspects of gangsterism and subject those sentenced to detention to arbitrary lessons for many hours a day, for which the pretext was that they did not complete compulsory education in their youth and must now do so. The policy aroused condemnations from all quarters of Themiclesian politics, especially by Conservatives who accused the government of a "fascist programme of brainwashing and indignity". The Liberals, then the third party, characterized the policy as disagreeable to a society founded upon freedom of choice. In 1975, the government imitated private schools that respected Menghean customs and provided instruction in their native language on a provisional basis. This policy was sanctioned by the Liberal government in 1978 when it returned to majority in the House of Commons.

The experience of the 1970s is still considered instructive in Themiclesia's cultural policy today. In the view of one historian, the mass migration created a large community with strong cultural and political distinctiveness as well as mutual organization, and the government's policies were not always intended to address their requirements as they were, but to alter them for the convenience or even preference of the majority. While political discourse of the early 20th century emphasized the inclusiveness of Themiclesian law and society, citing the success of Dayashinese immigrants of the age, these notions were subject to considerable strain in the 1970s and prompted doubts to extant values, norms, and outlook on the position of immigrants in society. The policies of the early century "assisted, restricted, or even endangered" the daily lives of Menghean immigrants of the 1960s.

The position of the established diaspora, especially through its political organizations, regarding new immigrants shifted from a "sense of duty and compassion" towards "indifference and fatigue" by the early 70s. On the one hand, the Menghean Committee's finances were exhausted by programmes to support newcomers to their community, and on the other hand, the political priorities of their newest members were not always harmonious with established ones.

Language

Main article: Menghean language

Menghean immigrants predominantly speak a variety of languages found in Menghe as their native tongue. While this is a source of resentment in some nations, most Themiclesians, particularly those in major cities, do not find this unusual or objectionable, as a given Shinasthana dialect may be as foreign to another as a Menghean one.

Integration

Linguistic integration in Themiclesia has been, surprisingly, less general as one may expect out of two related cultures. Almost all second-generation Menghean-Themiclesian children acquire a working command of the common dialect though the nation's compulsory education programme, especially in more recent decades; formerly, some immigrant children, due to economic circumstance, had to avoid education to make ends meet, but, with the advent of social security and child welfare legislation, this is rarely the case today.

One of the main complains that Menghean-Themiclesians generally have is that the mandarin dialect, though nominally standard nation-wide, is actually seldom used in daily conversation, and some Themiclesians prefer to speak in their native dialect, to the extent of hesitating to converse with Menghean immigrants familiar with only the mandarin. Yet the local vernacular is almost never taught in schools, leaving the Menghean-Themiclesians "perpetual semi-outsiders in any place except the largest cities" according to Yi Chon-nae (1957).

The earliest arrivals tended to speak Chŏnro-based dialects or the Gwanhwa, which are linguistically part of the same family as Shinasthana. Though the use of Sinmun is less prevalent in the Namyang State than the Haedong-based state of Sinui, knowledge of Mengja was uncommon and an asset in any immigrant. The situation in the Haedong-based community is considerably worse. Whereas Chŏnro-based dialects typically retain a limited degree of mutual intelligibility with Shinasthana dialects, Haedong-based dialects do not, and the prevalence of Sinmun script in the Haedong region has virtually eliminated Mengja literacy, which at the very least enables written communication with Themiclesians. Experiencing similar limitations as their brethren from the Chŏnro region, their language, more similar to modern Standard Menghean, has largely remained the sole language of the community until the 1950s.

The linguistic capabilities of Menghean university students studying in Themiclesia have recently worsened, compared to the situation several decades ago. Under the Socialist Republic, Mengja is no longer a mandatory subject, and the operation of this policy now manifests as the frustration that Menghean students experience when attempting to write in Shinasthana. Students from the Chŏnro region no longer exhibit any significant advantage in Shinasthana proficiency. For some studying more Mengja-reliant disciplines, this handicap has proven debilitating; many universities offer supplementary crash-courses in Mengja, to varying degrees of inefficacy. Native Themiclesians are introduced to around 8,000 characters through 12 years of compulsory education, and desired results have eluded replication under severe time constraints.

The drastically contrasting scripts of Sinmun and Gomun may explain why some Menghean students, in fact, experience more difficulty than Casaterran ones in acquisition of Shinasthana. While over 70% of vocabulary are cognate to Shinasthana, pronunciation has diverged such that few useful rules could be asserted connecting a given sound in Menghean to one in Shinasthana. In more recent times, particularly after Choe's policy of openness, Menghean-Themiclesians have enjoyed the advantage of teaching courses in Menghean.

Challenges

Economic disadvantage

Early migrants to Themiclesia can, in a broad sense, be described by one of two conditions: either they are escaping from political pressure or economic difficulties. Themiclesia's more liberal society held a strong appeal to both groups. The first group, consiting mostly of political figures, journalists, and academics, were generally well-to-do in Menghean society, and this did translate into relatively high living standards, or at least not far from those in Menghe. The second group faced a much more daunting challenge in seeking a better life. Though wages were certainly higher than those in Menghe (under the Empire particularly), prices in industrial cities far exceeded those expected by some migrants, and it remains difficult to decide if they experienced a much-improved existence even years after immigrating.

In seeking employment, prominent Mengheans in media often were able either to find a position in another news agency in Themiclesia, where their reputation would almost guarantee a well-salaried plce, or found their own newspapers, in which their reputation would also assist them. Particularly, their stories revealing the "inner workings" of Kwon's Empire were of particular interest to Themiclesians. Menghean political figures, of the several dozen that Kwon forced into exile, generally did not enter politics personally in Themiclesia; however, they formed the Menghean Civic Society (大孟公民會), which lobbied on behalf of certain Menghean commercial interests and published periodicals lambasting Kwon's administration. Economic migrants, in contrast, were generally at a disadvantage; with no reputation to rely upon, little expertise, and an intrinsic lack of fluency in the local languages, many bunked with settled relatives in the immediate term to seek work, a process that may take months and itself cause violent disputes. Even when they find work, some are seasonal, and most did not pay well. Additionally, in signing employment contracts, many had no legal counsel and unknowingly assented to severely iniquitous provisions worded deceptively. Similar issues occurred in the settlement of labour disputes, and many employers, for one reason or another, failed to remind newly-arrived migrants to naturalize, which would have been invaluable in levying public authority to combat some of these problems.

These adverse conditions existed from the start of the 20th Century to well beyond the Pan-Septentrion War. Government attention to immigrant welfare only began in the 1950s due to the problems that the immigrant community experienced (see below) and with the economic boom at the time, which highlighted the economic disparity between immigrant families and native ones, since may of the limitations seen above extended onto second-generation immigrants.

Bigotry

While there is little evidence for a systematic prejudice or suspicion against Menghean immigrants, many of them, especially the financially less well-endowed, did fall afoul of certain cultural and behavioural criteria of decency that Themiclesians expected out of their community members. Apart from the natural language barrier, immigrants from the Haedong region were typically described as insensitive, alcoholic, and prone to violence, which definitely had a negative impact on their career prospects. Though these characterizations may have some foundation on the more nationalistic and militaristic education which these Mengheans received as children, these traits may have more positive interpretations or manifestations and are not limited, in reality, to immigrants. The "culture of reservations" in Themiclesia, generally encompassing the use of less overtly contradictory or negatory language, the avoidance of unpleasant terms, the strategic application of ambiguity to avoid firm commitments, circumlocution to deny information, and the employment of predictive or resultative description, is not a matter of course in most cultures. Most Themiclesian parents would publicly declare that they have no issues over marriages between natives and immigrants, with the (unspoken but endemic) proviso that it does not involve their own offsprings.

During the Pan-Septentrion War, some Themiclesians questioned the allegiance of some Menghean immigrants. The strength of this sentiment ranges from avoiding Mengheans when conversing about sensitive topics to openly promoting the dismissal or suspension of Menghean-born government officials. The government found these voices unhelpful in maintaining social cohesion when the efforts of every individual was needed desperately to resist a superior enemy; no policy discriminating individuals on the grounds of origin was enacted during the war. After the war, this body of opinion seems to have dissolved or refuted by the statistics of Mengheans serving in the Themiclesian Army: they did not desert or defect at a rate any higher than their native comrades. The surprisingly high rate of voluntary enlistment by Menghean-born men has been attributed to the courtesy dispensation that some local magistrates, responsible for local conscription, gave to Menghean immigrants who felt an attachment to their native countries, who were exempted as the breadwinner in their households or medically disqualified as flat-footed, severely myopic, or asthmaic.

Organized crime

Amongst the most publicized issues within the Menghean diaspora is its association with organized crime. Though prevalent in the 20th Century up to the 60s, much imagery attached to this issue is artistic in nature. The substance of organized crime also needs to be dealt with separately from the aesthetic of delinquency and working-class roughness in general, which for a variety of reasons was common in the diaspora until the 60s (see above).

Early immigrants typically congregated in specific sections of the city for reasons of familiarity and economy. In these places, literature and service would be provided in their native language. However, these places that would permit intensive settlement as well as employment tended to be in less organized quarters of industrialized cities. In the late 19th Century, these places were notorious for disorder and lack of sanitation, as a large population crammed into it and built dwellings out of makeshift materials, often outside of and adjoining a city wall. The Themiclesian administrative system relied upon clearly defined households as basic units, to which land, buildings, livestock, properties etc. were attached. Taxation, infrastructure, and important government functions were prohibited by the excessive density and fluidity in the their demograhpics, leading to chaos and neglect.

Rampant criminal activity therefore permeated these areas, not only amongst immigrants, but also domestic migrants. It is quite possible that some of the domestic migrants took advantage of immigrants' infamiliarity with their new environments and extorted from them, and, as a result, the Mengheans resorted to bonding with their kin to foster collective security. These organizations are not necessarily criminal in modern terms, and indeed they had philanthropic functions within the diaspora community. In contemporary literature, officials decried these bodies as "strangely-clothed individuals forming questionable societies to disparage social order". Yet into the 20th Century, some of them turned to racketeering and blackmail for income and took up drug dealing. Themiclesian police found enforcement of any law in these locations virtually impossible, since they had no household records to rely upon. In spite of sporadic efforts to impose social order during the 20s and 30s, the influence of such bands of mostly male, uneducated, and unemployed people was a quotidian reality in many cities across Themiclesia. In the dealing of drugs between cities, these gangs formed syndicates to control the source and pricing of drugs, which had a constant demand.

The Menghean Triad is often contrasted with the Dayashinese Nanai-dantai

See also

• Menghe
• Themiclesia
• Menghean language
• Shinasthana
• Dayashina
• Dayashinese diaspora in Themiclesia