Tiandao

Tiandao (Chinese: 天道; pinyin: Tiāndào, meaning "Heaven's Way") is the official ideology of The Empire of Amenria. The first ideas that would spawn it came to the mind of the first Heavenly Emperor of Amenria, Tianshi, around 2018, but is considered "founded" as a complete ideology in 2030 with his publishing of A Nation's Road to Enlightenment: the 56 Principles, the book that defines and outlines the thoughts around the ideology.

Tiandao was defined in the aforementioned book as an ideology that aims to establish and maintain a moral, just, prosperous, and advanced society under a leader who derives his/her authority from God's will. It has thus been characterized as an authoritarian centrist ideology with emphasis on religion, order, technological developments and technocracy and moderatism, although its economic stance has been described as left-leaning by some.

Etymology

The name Tiandao was chosen as it was created as a means for a leader to rule as the representative of God wherever they may be, and take both themselves and their subjects to "a blessed and meaningful existence" in their current lives, and Heaven in their next.

Tenets

Authority

At its core, Tiandao is an authoritarian ideology as it emphasizes the concentration of power on a select few, culminating in the head of government, which in Amenria's case is the Heavenly Emperor. Under Tiandao, the individuals are carefully screened before joining the government, and are further filtered as they climb the ranks of their respective organizations. The higher one's standing in society, the higher the standard of morality (s)he is held to. The idea that the individuals at the top are the most competent and benevolent people justifies the concentration of power, as well as the harsh punishments on them should they fail to meet the moral standards of their post.

Moderatism

Tiandao considers extremes to be undesirable, encouraging moderation in all things.

Globalism

Tiandao does not consider itself as a permanent solution to society's ills. Instead, it serves to guide sentient beings of the current era to the inevitable point where society has progressed past the need for multiple states in one planet and where the average citizen has reached a level of wisdom and morality to be trusted with a chance at governance. When a unified planet under a benevolent leader has been achieved, Tiandao is considered to have succeeded.

Pacifism

While Tiandao sees war and violence in general to be a component of sentience and cannot be ended lest every sentient life form in the multiverse ceases to exist, it considers violence as a last resort. It values all life and encourages one to do no harm with one's words or actions except in situations where it is absolutely necessary for self-defence, which hints to its traditionalist roots. It is for this reason that the Imperial Amenrian Army is rarely used offensively, and in cases where it is, it is done to contain multiversal threats.

Criticism

Libertarianism and democracy

Tiandao has been criticized as "a libertarian ideology wearing the skin of a authoritarian one" and "an autocratic system with democratic ideas", with its neutral stance on several issues and non-existent stance on others. This is highlighted by the lax stance on media censorship under Heavenly Emperor Tianshi, which allows the depiction of acts in written, drawn, and animated works illegal in live-action works. Critics also argue that the lack of Lèse-majesté laws is a sign of his weakness and indecisiveness. The aforementioned factors, combined with its modernist approach towards religion and its views on gender roles has lead it to being slammed as socially liberal at best and heretical at worst by opponents.

See also

• Order of Heaven, an unaffiliated organization in Realms 2600 which appropriated Tiandao's symbol.
• Islam Nusantara, the basis of Amenrian religious modernism.