Shang Fa

Supreme Fa 上法 Shàng Fǎ
Flag
Motto: 無上五解放 wú shàng wǔ jiě fàng Rien n'est au-dessus des Cinq Libertés Nothing Above the Five Freedom
Capital and	Vives-Eaux
Recognised national languages	Principean Literary Huranian
Recognised regional languages	Huranian languages Tartares languages Hmong–Mien languages Qiangic languages
Ethnic groups	Huranians Tartares Erma people Hmong people
Religion	Macakkanism Perendism Jiuism Neo-Macakkanism folk religion
Demonym(s)	自由人 zì yóu rén Freemen Rydhariens
Government	Constitutional monarchy

The Fa Dynasty, officially the Supreme Fa, and sometime also known as Shang Fa or Neidi, is a state in Surucia. Its political, economic, and financial capital is Vives-Eaux, where all of the Dynasty' institutions are gathered.

History

See also: Huran

Gao Dynasty (651 – 789)

Hegemon-King Lu Kang (祿康) reign is often considered the high point of the Dynasty

Often considered the golden age of medieval Huran, the Gao Dynasty (高朝; Yuán Cháo) was the last Hua state to have united the entirety of Huran. The Gao are also famed in historical records as the main early land rivals to the Alawokambese Milieu. There were five undisputed Gao "Hegemon-Kings" (高霸王) until the succession crisis of 755 turned into a 25 years long civil war which saw the intervention of many foreign elements, including the Tabgachs and the Alawese people. The Hegemony of the Gao was so thoroughly weakened by the war that despite being reunited under a single monarch in 780, the Dynasty would collapse and see most of Huran fall under the authority of the Alawokambese city-states after the latter launched the Last War of Gao in 784.

The Queen River' valley and the Great Plain, the original homeland of the Hua people, would remain outside of the Alawokambese' sphere of influence as it had already fallen to the Tabgachs of the Zhao Dynasty in 771.

The concept of Hegemony in Hua culture, often considered to be a form of feudalism, was revisited and popularized by the Gao. Through series of visits, meetings, and conferences, the Hegemon-Kings maintained their network of vassals and tributaries and collected taxes, tributes, and gifts. Vassals were allowed to raise armies and could be called to arm by their Hegemon, but until the Gao Civil War, the Hegemon-King was the sole leader of a standardized, professional army. Afterward, the Gao had to rely on foreign mercenaries and the private armies of their vassals as they could not afford to pay troops year-round. This explain the failure of the Gao to both retake the Great Plain from the Tabgachs, themselves ancient mercenaries of the Dynasty, and to push back the Alawokambeses.

Zhao Dynasty (782 – 1171)

It's during the first half of the 8th century that the turkish Tabgachs left the Steppes to migrate into the Great Plain. After a series of raids and warfare with the Gao, they submitted to the Hegemon-King and were granted a fief on the western edges of the Plain, protecting it against further nomadic invasion. This fiefdom of Tabgach Zhao (趙國; Zhàoguó) would expand to include much of the north-western border of the Gao Dynasty, and even expand into territories outside of it. The growth of the Tabgach however would remain unchecked as the Gao Civil War a mere 35 years after the establishment of Zhao.

During the civil war, the support of Zhao' famed cavalry was bought by the various claimants and factions with gold, regular tributes, shares of bounties, and lands. Mercenary work made the kings of Zhao wealthy, with lands spread across the Great Plain and further. When the Gao reunited, they immediately attempted to revert the situation and limit Zhao' influence which led the to the Zhao-Gao War in 781. While the Tabgachs lost all lands they had acquired south of the Bian River, they successfully forced the Gao to abandon the Great Plain. The following year, once the Bian River was recognized as the new border by the two opposite sides, the Zhao State became the Zhao Dynasty (趙朝; Zhào Cháo).

When the Zhao took over northern Huran, it had been devastated by the preceding 27 years of uninterrupted conflict. The collapse of the Gao meant the crumbling of the infrastructures controlling the flow of the Queen River, as well as of the Royal Granaries supposed to limit the effect of any famin. The intertwined war, raids, diseases, famins, floods, droughts, and emmigration meant that the Zhao had access to a very limited pool of workers and taxable subjects to rely on compared to their predecessors.

Rather than trying to restore the previous dynasty' infrastructure and attract back farmers and workers from southern Huran, the Zhao instead turned most of the Great Plains into pastures, adopting a semi-nomadic model while extracting wealth from the remaining Hua cities on the shores of the Queen River in the form of tributes. The political system of the Zhao as often be called Nomadic Feudalism, or "Nomadic Hegemonism".

Macakkanism spread quickly amongst the Zhao, whom allowed Alawokambeses missions to be established within their realm. As trade with the Alawokambeses city-states became more and more important to the economy of Zhao, the Dynasty itself began to convert to the new religion, adopting most of the Lankung rituals and practices while also merging its cosmology with their own pantheon.

As Macakkanism grew, the Zhao were confronted alongside the Alawokambeses to the rise of a new Macakkanist sect : the School of Moral Order. While at first this new sect attrated the Zhao aristocracy, it ended up being perceived by the Hegemon-Kings as a threat and waves of persecution were launched against it. Under the violent pressure of both the Zhao and the Alawokambeses, the school broke into multiple sects, one of which emerged as the most clear threat : the Four Eternals Movement which promoted a synthesis of the Macakkanist "Old Law" with the teachings of the Four Immortals, merged to a form of Hua proto-nationalism. The movement established its powerbase south of the Bian River, but quickly turned its attention northward after a series of victories against the Alawokambeses and their vassals. By 1170, the Militant Orders were parading in the Zhao' capital and the Dynasty was all but dissolved.

Yuan Dynasty (1544 – 1571)

Yaghma Yi, founder of the Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty (原朝; Yuán Cháo) was a short-lived state established by the Tegreg, the "People of the Carts" after they overthrew their Khitan rulers of the Tu Dynasty. It consisted of the reign of two monarchs : Yaghma Yi who reigned from 1544 to 1545 before he retired and left the throne to his youngest son, Yaghma Bulaq, rekindling an old tradition of leaving the ceremonial position of Monarch to a puppet ruler while their parents continued to rule from "behind the pearly veil".

Because of their violent takeover, the Yuan never managed to stabilize their rule. Quickly, the Khitan tribes revolted and re-formed a confederacy with the support of the Tabgach people, until the latter switched their alliegeance to the future Li Clan. Court intrigues and familial feuds, which led to the death of many royal princes, also weakened the Yuan forcing them to allow local clans (the Bulaq, Tashlyk, Sebeq...) to carve out their own feudal realms.

The Dynasty was brought to a final end during the Li Uprising which led to the creation of the first Hua Dynasty in centuries : the Lin.

Lin Dynasty (1571 – 1756)

Monarch Li Sheng, the bureaucrat-turned-warlord who founded the Lin Dynasty

The Lin Dynasty (林朝; Lín Cháo) was the first Dynasty of Huranian descent to rule over the Great Plain since the Kuang Dynasty and the Great Tribulation. It fought against both Tartares kingdoms and other Huranian states to expand its dominion over the entirety of Huran, although it never managed to do so. Despite recreating a purely Huranian court culture, the Lin remained heavily influenced by Tartares people, retaining the system of their predecessors whereas two separate governments operated in parallel with one another: one for the nomadic populations still inhabiting the Great Plain and the borderlands, and one for the urban Huranian populations.

It's during the Lin Dynasty that Auressians first arrived in Neidi, establishing trade ports and missions on the coastline under the strict overwatch of Imperial Supervisors. Tensions within Lin' aristocracy led to the Tan-Zheng Disorder (覃鄭亂; Tán-Zhèng Luàn), which tore down the imperial institution, before the Three-Brothers Uprising ended both the civil war and the Lin, establishing the Hong Dynasty in its stead.

Hong Dynasty (1750 – 1774)

See also: Charles-Gauthier de Fluery

The Three Brothers Uprising (兄弟起義; 三 Sān Xiōngdì Qǐyì) began as a peasant revolt in Pingding District (平定縣; Píngdìng Xiàn) against the double-taxation system established by the Zheng clan to finance their conflict against the Tan. The three Ruan brothers and their partisans managed to seize their province's military garrisons and defeat the Zheng and Imperial troops sent to repress them. Seeing their success, Ruan Yuan (阮元; Ruǎn Yuán) the eldest of the three brothers, established himself as King of the Western Mountains (西山王; Xīshān Wáng) and gave his brothers the rank of Princes.

The Ruan brothers then continued their warfare against the Zheng, crushing them after after a rapid succession of military campaigns that pushed them to their limits. During these campaigns, the Ruan also took over the Lin' capital, overthrowing the dynasty. It's then that, with the support of the western' Tartares tribes, the Ruan proclaimed their own regime : the Hong Dynasty.

The Tan, up until then spared by the Uprising, tried to profit from the chaos by launching large scale assault. The Tan columns were soundly defeated, losing their patriarch in battle. The survivors, led by the new Prince of Tan, were forced to flee north to escape the Hong troops who were now besieging their clan' capital.

Ruan Yuan died not long after, leaving his throne to his teenage son and the regency to the two surviving brothers. Quickly the relations between the two soured. Each led their independent campaigns to conquer the northern mountains and the southern border respecitvely, building the loyalty of their troops and acting as de-facto independent lords over the conquered lands. These divisions among the Hong would give the Prince of Tan the time needed to re-organize his troops and gather new supporters such as the remnants of the Northern Army as well as Auressian adventurers.

Former Tan (1774 – 1807)

Jean-Baptiste Chatellier as one of the twenty-four Dukes

After the Prince of Tan established his own dynasty and took the regal name of Tan Yandi, he tolerated Perenism and began employing his Blaykish supporters as officers and administrators. Principean born Jean-Baptiste Chatellier even became one of the "Pillars of the State" (zhuguo) with the honorific title of "Duke" (gong) while also serving as Resident minister for the Blaykish factories.

Tan Yandi' led large scale reforms and began the process of modernizing the state. This included getting rid of the previous dual administration in favor of a single central one, updating the program of the Imperial examination, and creating a new modern fleet based on Auressians design while also multiplying the number of canons available to the Tan' military.

When Tan Yandi' died in 1792, the throne went to his second son Tan Mingdi instead to his eldest grandson. Mingdi proved to be a much more conservative monarch, who wished to resist "Auressianisation" as he trusted neither the Principeans traders nor the Perenists missionaries. The Dynasty' administration was purged of the Reformists and Principeans who had been all powerful during his father rule. But in 1794, Viceroy Dujue refused to recognize Mingdi and instead proclaimed that his nephew was the legitimate monarch. He was supported in his rebellion by other Reformists and by the Principeans Factories. The civil war only ended in 1807, when the coalition took Beizhen the last bastion of Mingdi and arrested the monarch.

The Great Covenant (1807 – 1861)

The civil war led to the complete breakdown of the central institutions. Despite the enthronement of Tan Anmandi as the new Tan Dynast, local kings who sprang up during the revolt and joined the coalition were confirmed in their regal titles, with the support of the Principeans who financed their movements. These included the recreated Tabgach, Khitan, and Manchu states. Dujue himself, the general who installed Tan Anmandi on the throne, was recognized as King of Bian. The Principeans themselves obtained many concessions, creating a network of ports and direct dependencies along the Hou river, the main waterway of the Great Plain, the Cross-Canal, and thourough the coastline. Unconcerned with the Blaykish Civil War back in their homeland and by the wider crisis engulfing Auressia, these territories began organising themselves into a new entity, the Principean League in Surcia.

Each of the thirty colonies making up the Union were led by three officials elected by the colony' Odoquole : the Arioparte for the administration of the city, the Vellaune for law enforcement, and the Bretodane responsible of the judiciary. But gathering the representatives from all colonies was the Megodoquole held in Vives-Eaux. The Megodoquole held de-facto all legislative powers over the Principean colonies, checking in the powers of the Major-Resident, himself de-facto independent from Blayk because of the continuing republican wars in Auressia.

The Principean League and the various monarchs of the region, including both Dujue and Tan Anmandi, allied each others in a military pact known as the Great Covenant (大盟,Dàméng). The Covenant represented a Economic and monetary union as well as a joint military to which all member states needed to contribute men, but only the Tan Dynasty, the Bian Kingdom, and the Principean League were required to participate in its finances. At first King Dujue was the commander-in-chief of this common force, but following his death in 1810 military control over the Great Covenant de-facto went to the Principean League.

First and Second Minjak Wars (1805– 1810)

A Khitan Dragoon serving in the Great Army

The Minjak Wars were a series of conflict between the Great Covenant and Minjak, a kingdom that dominated the mountains west of the Great Plain. The first campaign, in 1805, was led personally by King Dujue as Commander-in-Chief of the entire Great Army despite his old age. But after some initial successes, he was forced to retreat, not finding a counter to the asymmetric warfare of the Minjak military before winter threatened to catch his troops in enemy territory. He resumed his campaign the following year, once again defeating the Minjaks in battle before being confronted to asymetric warfare and scortched earth tactics. This time however, by dividing his troops into two columns, Dujue managed to push through and ultimately found the Minjak' Khan hiding place. The latter managed to flee, but was assassinated by his followers who then surrendered to Dujue. An attempt to lead a guerilla by his eldest son was similarily squashed and it his second son, Murong Chengwei who ultimately succeeded to the throne and agreed to sign a peace treaty with the Great Covenant.

Chengwei' rule would last only four years before he was himself assassinated. The throne went to his young son, but power really went to the militarist Xionghun Clique (雄渾軍閥, Xiónghún Jūnfá) who then began building up the military of Minjak. This led to a diplomatic crisis with the Great Covenant, and ultimately to war in 1809. It lasted until january 1810, when the Great Army reached the Minjak capital after its successful sieges of Wulahai and Kiemen, two modern complexes of fortifications in which the Xionghun Clique had placed its hope. The new monarch surrendered, agreeing to sign a treaty of friendship with the Great Covenant and purge the remnant of the Xionghun Clique. A decade later, Minjak would be pressured into joining the Great Covenant.

The Social War (1861 – 1870)

Great Army (大軍,Dàjūn) soldier during an assault in 1868

The Great Covenant ended in 1861 in the flames of a civil war known as the Social War. After 54 years of existence, the Great Covenant' institutions had all been taken over by the Principean League, from the military to the diplomacy. While the main goal of most of the rebels and insurectionists was to rebalance the system, to have the same rights and equal treatement as the Principeans and limit the influence of the Megodoquole of Vives-Eaux. However, many other causes accelerated the civil war : religious conflicts between Macakkanists Grand Collegiums, Salvationists Schools, Neo-Macakkanists movements, and Perenists Missions, and the inner-conflict between the Principean League' colonies all played their parts in the turmoils.

The triggering event was the death of Paul Moisson, a Principean Odoque who was campaigning for reforms to the Great Army and to distribute lands and to better integrate the Tartares to the League. Accused of populism by his rivals, he was potentially murdered in December 1960. This sent a clear messages to the "three Tartares Kings" (of Tabgachy, Khitan, and Anchu) and their subjects that they would not be able to defend their cause through a patron in the Megodoquole. And so, they proclaimed their depart from the Great Covenant, to form their own Ligue Tartare. The question of the presence of Covenant garrisons in the three kingdoms quickly escalated into conflict and then war.

Similarly, the relatively recently integrated Minjak and Di states abandoned the Great Covenant and proclaimed their sovereignty. Moreover, The Later Tan' monarch Tan Wudi, no longer content to be a puppet of the Principean, published an edict that proclaimed the Principean League to be the Great Tan and to be fought by his subjects whenever possible. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Bian continued to be paralyzed by a legitimacy crisis that had left a power-vacuum filled by local warlords and rebellions.

What saved the Principean League during these early years was the disunion among their ennemies : The Tartare League was itself divided between each nation' nationalists movements and the Tartarists who wanted to unify the League into a single state. Both of these movements found themselves opposed to their Monarchies, although for different reasons. Meanwhile, most of the Later Tan territories did not rose up in arms because of their Monarch' edict, as the latter had expected, and did not oppose Great Army' troops movements within their districts.

By 1862, Tan Wudi had managed to re-organized the various pro-Tan peasant movements, Grand Army' desertors, and Tartare mercenaries into a single chain of command. This resurected Tan military would struggle against the remnant of the Great Army but in a direct confrontation, but through careful strategic manoeuvering they avoided such battles. They even managed to walk in and occupy the Kingdom of Bian, re-establishing the Viceroyalty of Bian instead.

The annexation of Bian by the Later Tan should've meant the Principean League' complete flanking and the opening of an entirely new front. However, the Tan had over-extended themselves and ended up facing strong resistance especially from the Hmong people and other Covenant Loyalists. By 1863 the Tan had been forced to abandon in catastrophe their position in Bianzhou. In its disastrous retreat, the Tan military ended up losing most of its fighting capability. By 1864, Beizhen was once more taken by the Principean, de-facto ending the Later Tan rule.

The Tartare Front would prove to be more mobile, chaotic, and confusing as it would take many months for an actual front to take shape. But by 1866, the Principeans had managed to integrate the resources and manpower of both the Tan Dynasty and Bianzhou to its military and industrial complexes and were now both outnumbering and outgunning the Tartares. The last pockets of resistance would be crushed in 1868.

Other loose ends, such as the Miniah and Di separatists, would be dealt with by 1870, the year traditionaly held as the end of the Social War.

One of the reasons behind the Principean victory during the Social war was their expansion of the Freeman status, sometime referred to as "Principean citizenship", to all cities or communities who joined their side. While cases of this policy happened as soon as 1861, it only became widespread in 1865 after Armand Dupic took power within the Principean League.

Early Shang Fa (1871 – 1901)

Portrait of Armand Dupic after he became Vergobret

The Social War had ravaged the various states of the Great Plains. Millions of people died during the conflict, be it during fightings or because of the famines, diseases, and disasters like floodings. And millions more had been forcefully relocated.

While the League was seemingly the victor of this "civil war", it's institutions had been more or less completely wiped out by the conflict. All powers had been concentrated in the hands of Armand Dupic, a popular Principo-Hua general, and the clique of military men, religious officials, and other scholars gathered around him. Dupic was characterized as Huanophile, liberal nationalist, and Caesarist. Under his leadership, acquired after the Crossing of the Kong, gone were the local councils, the assemblies, and the magistrates they elected. Instead they were replaced by Prefect, reincarnation of the bureaucrat-scholars traditional to the Huranian society. All inhabitants of the Great Plain were now Freemen who could participate in the public life, and not just the Auressianized elites.

The new system established by Armand Dupic was thought of as a synthesis of the Auressian and Huranian models. Naturally, this culminated in 1871 when Dupic crowned himself Hegemon King(霸王; Bà Wáng) of a new Dynasty with the support of his Tatares and Huaren clients and allies. This political shift also consummated the break between the Principo-Hua and Blayk, which was still the nominal colonial hegemon of the region but had been left powerless in the face of deteriorating relations, remoteness of the colonies, and political troubles at home.

Under the principle of "Inner Justice; Outer Peace" (內義外安; nèi yì wài ān; Justice à l'Intérieur, Paix à l'Extérieur"), Dupic maintained an authoritarian regime, ruling through his private cabinet and maintaining only a pretense of parliamentarism through a greatly weakened Megodoquole, now doubled by a Comitelle of elected representative from across Shang Fa, serving as a lower legislative house. This regime was maintained until the 1890s and the Red Blossom Revolution. The many protests, riots, and revolts were blamed on foreign agents and spies from Keian, and had to be put down with the help from secret societies and Fubing militias acting as Death squads.

Yun Liberation War (1901 – 1908)

Shang Fa soldiers in training during the Liberation War

Yun, a province located to the south of the Bian River and in modern Keian, had been integrated by force into the Great Covenant in the 1820s, just like other bordering states like Minjak and Dira. Like other members of the Great Covenant, Taizhou revolted during the Social War but was ultimately defeated by the troops of Armand Dupic, the new Hegemon King, and was integrated into Shang Fa with citizenship rights. This compromise suceeded in maintaining the social peace until the death of the Hegemon King in 1889, at which point disagreements over his succession rekindled the litany of griefs Taizhou and other Provinces.

In the years that followed, the Red Blossom shook the entirety of eastern Surucia. During this period of social conflicts and revolts, Yun was completely won over to the Red Cause and took the opportunity to proclaim its independence once more as a Republic. This provoked Shang Fa into attempting to military occupy Yun, which was met with heavy resistance from irregular forces and, after 1908, by Teian Liberation Forces. None of the forces involved proved capable of gaining the upper hand, and this first part of the conflict was prematurely ended by a truce between Shang Fa and Keian in 1908 due to the start of the First Great War.

Continuous Liberation War (1914 – 1917)

Immediately after the end of the Great War, conflict resumed between Keian and Shang Fa, leading to the former launching carefully planned wide scale assaults all across the unrecognized border. Imperial troops were pushed back to the Bian River where the frontline would bog down, despite the best efforts of both antagonists who lost great quantities of manpower and equipment in unfructuous assaults and counter-attacks. This Guerre de Taupes (鼴戰, Yǎnzhàn) continued until the signature of an official peace treaty in 1917 in which both belligerents recognized the new border at the Bian River and the integration of Yun into Keian. This Treaty of Shengu officially marked the end of close to three decades of uninterrupted social strifes and military conflicts for Shang Fa.

Interwar and Reforms (1918 – 1937)

In the 30 years following Armand Dupic' death, and through the many socio-political and military conflicts of that era, the Fa Dynasty had slowly moved away from its authoritarian and caesarist roots to a more Liberal Imperium.The Megodoquole and the Comitelle had acquired real legislative and controlling powers, no longer constrained to an advisory role. They controlled the budget, confirmed ministers, and could even propose laws without the direct approval of the Hegemon-King. The Comitelle was made up of representatives elected at the Universal suffrage by all Freemen, while the Danes, graduates who served at least once in an official position, elected the Odoques.

The 1921 Depression affected the economic situation in Shang Fa by depriving the country of foreign investments and needed export markets for its iron and textile, its two main export at the time. It's during these troubles that the Performances and Titles Party (刑名党 ; Xíngmíngdǎng), a Neo-Legalist political party, became dominant within the Legislature. The Xingmingdang was a far-right Ultra-royalist party which wished for the concentration of all powers in the hands of the Hegemon-King, to destroy the "corrupt administration", and promoted a system of "exceptional ministration" in which a minister was given all powers over a specific task after the Hegemon-King validated the minister' proposed program, and would then be judged on the concordance between the claims and the results.

The Xingming Decade (刑名十年 ; Xíngmíng shí nián) thus began with the PTP launching both its 5 years economic plan, focused on large scale public works and government expanditures to counter the effects of the crisis, and its Repression of Brigands and Criminals which targetted their political opponents, either concurent parties or workers unions and syndicates, in 1927.

Post-war troubles

The Post-war Troubles (後戰難 ; Hòuzhàn Nán), often only called the Troubles are a period of political violence, upheaval, and changes that struck the country in the wake of the Second Great War. It has its roots in the mishandling of the transition away from a war economy by the PTP and their attempted coup against the Dynasty, during which they took over the royal palace and walled off the Hegemon-King to die within his chamber, only to be stopped by the Four Glorious Days Uprising (四榮耀 ; Sì Róngyào ; Quatre Glorieuses ) during which the palace was stormed and the body of the Hegemon-King recovered.

Given that the PTP had purged almost all organisations that could threaten its rule, it took five years of confusion and violence for Shang Fa to find a new political balance. This process culminated to the Constitution of 1952 which gave birth to the modern dynastic system. The title of Hegemon-King was dropped in favour of Yi Wang (義王), "King of Justice". After many dynastic conflicts, its the nephew of the previous monarch who rose to a throne that was no-longer absolute in its authority, instead being limited to the position of head of state and Chief judge with no power over the government nor the legislature.

Geography

The Great North

The five Prefectures part of the "Great North".

The Great North (literary Huranian : 大北; Dàběi) is a geographical region that usually correspond to the three prefectures of Côte-du-Nord (北岸; ànběi), Calande (水田; Shuǐtián), Prasse (牧草 ; Mùcǎo), Estridère (無木, Wúmù), and Vieille-Anchun (老金; Lǎojīn). It lies between the eastern reach of the Sky Pillars (天柱山; Tiānzhù Shān) and the Neihai Sea. The climate of this region is extremely contrasted, ranging from humid, almost tropical heat in the summer to windy, dry, Arctic cold in the winter. It's a mostly hilly, forested region, with exception including the Plateau of Prasse, and the cold swamps of Calande. Soils are mostly fertile mollisols and fluvents except in the more mountainous parts. This make the region especially suited for agriculture, and is dominated by the culture of Sorghum, Wheat, and millet. The cultivation of maize is made possible by the high summer temperature, while wild rice is also cultivated in Calande's paddies and in other humid areas.

A train runing alongside the Tana river

Historically, the Great North made up the core of the jurchen kingdom of Anchun, and most of its population remain Tungusic speakers with the exception of Côte-du-Nord and Calande, which in modern days are now populated mostly by descendents of Principeans settlers and Auressian soldiers. Until the 19th century, the Great North was often considered by colonists as part of the greater Tartary despite its Tungusic inhabitants being settled agricultors, and not nomadic people like their neighbors. They did however raise war horses and used the same military tactics as the Tartares. The Prasse Plateau was especially famed for its stables.

It is important to consider that the geographical "Grand North" does not match a specific cultural region, even if it covers the Grandes Calandes in their entirety, prefectures traditionaly considered to be part of the "Anchun" cultural region are instead classified as part of the Great Plain or of the Tianzhu Mountains geographically.

Tianzhu Mountains

The Heitian-Baidi temple complex, the most important Macakkanist site in Northern Tartary, is located among the Sky Pillars

The Sky-Pillars (literary Huranian : 天柱山; Tiānzhù Shān) are a mountain range running down the northern border of Shang Fa with an average elevation of 1,500 to 2,000 metres. The region has a continental monsoon climate, and is rather arid. Average January temperatures are below 0 °C, while average July temperatures are around 21–26 °C. Winters are long, dry, and cold, while summer is warm and humid. Spring is extremely dry.

Sparcely populated, the Sky Pillars still are very important cultural and symbolical elements of Northern Tartary, while it protect the Great Plain to its south from the cold northern winds. The range is famed for its natural sights, its many Macakkanists Temples, and archeological finding.

The main natural ressource of the Tianzhu range is its coal and bauxite deposits, fueling its economy and heavy industries, but with disastrous environmental consequences. Otherwise, soils remain poorly suited to intensive farming, and agriculture remain centered around mountain pastoralism and cattle raising.

The Great Plain

The Vergobret Bridge crossing the Queen River

the Great Plain (literary Huranian : 太平原; Tàipíngyuán) is a great delta created from silt dropped at the Queen River (后河; Hòu Hé)'s mouth over the millennia. It extends over most Shang Fa, covering an area of about 400,000 square kilometers, most of which is less than 70 metres above sea level. Although its soil is fertile, the weather is unpredictable being at the intersection of humid winds from the Ocean and dry winds from the interior of the continent. This makes the plain prone to both floods and drought. Moreover, the flatness of the plain promotes massive flooding when river works are damaged. Thourough the millenia, the plain was the population and agricultural center of the successive dynasties that controled northern Huran. This did not change with Shang Fa.

Currently, the great plain covers slightly over half of the country and is the residence of eighty percents of its population. Sorghum, Wheat, millet, maize, and cotton are the main agricultural products cultivated in the region, although there are many others.

The Huranian name of the plain can be alternatively read as either "Greatest Plain" or "Plain of the Great Peace".

Politics

Shang Fa is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy. The current Constitution was last amended in 1985, giving the modern form to a framework consisting of executive, legislative and judicial branches. The Monarch (義王, Yì Wáng) is both the head of state of the country and the Chief justice of the Supreme court. He has no constitutional power over the Legislature and the Executive of the country, which are led by the bicameral parliament, and by the Vergobret respectively. This balance was found following social troubles, dynastic instabilities, and political tensions between the partisans of Republicanism and Absolutism.

Legislature

Speaker of the Comitelle Charles Ying and President of the Megodoquole Wu De-Lausonne

The legislature consists of the Megodoquole and the Comitelle. Legislators in the Comitelle, known as Députés (代表; Dàibiǎo), represent local constituencies and are directly elected for four-year terms. It has the power to dismiss the government and the General Staff by a two-third majority vote. Legislators in the Megodoquole, the Odoques, are chosen by an electoral college for nine-year terms, with a third of the seats being submitted to election every three years. The principle of the "seniority" of the Megodoquole over the Comitelle give the final say to the Megodoquole in the event of disagreement between the two chambers. The parliament is responsible for determining the rules and principles concerning most areas of law, political amnesty, and fiscal policy; however, the government may draft the specific details concerning most laws, under the eyes of the supreme court. It is also the role of the Legislature to ratifies international agreements and treaties negociated by the executive.

Executive

Marc Jonathan (恩神邊; Enshen Bian) is the current Vergobret of Shang Fa

The Vergobret is the head of government for the Fa Dynasty. They are elected by the legislature for a mandate of three years, matching the renewal cycle of the Megodoquole. They can also be dismissed by a two-third majority vote of the Deputies. The Vergobret appoints ministers (with the approval of the two houses), civil servants, negotiates international agreements (to be ratified by the Legislature). The main purpose of the executive is to administer and enforce federal laws and policies. While serving, a Vergobret is not allowed to leave the borders of the country.

Law

Shang Fa uses a civil legal system, wherein law arises primarily from written statutes. In agreement with the Five Liberties of Shang Fa' constitution, law should only prohibit actions detrimental to society. Judges are not supposed to make laws, but merely to interpret it, although the amount of judicial interpretation can give birth to case law analogues.

In practical terms, law in the Fa Dynasty comprises three principal areas : civil, criminal, and administrative. Each body of law is headed by a specific high court, but there is a supreme court with authority over all three. The 'Highest Magristrate' and 'Supreme Judge' that preside this court, which handle mostly matters related to the constitution, is the Yi Wang, the Monarch.

Security of the Monarch, Magistrates, and public buildings occupied by the judiciary is assured by a special branch known as the Justice Guards (正義衞; Zhèng yì wèi; Gardiens de la Justice), also nicknamed the "Feathered Forest" (羽林; Yǔlín, La Forêt de Plumes). This para-military unit is commanded directly by the Yiwang. Beside security, the Justice Guards can also be tasked with enforcing court decisions leading to the expression : 警前院;衞後院 (Pinyin : jǐng qián yuàn; wèi hòu yuàn, Principean : La Police avant la Court; la Garde après, translation : Police before the court; Guard after the court).

Military

General Tian Sheng during his nomination ceremony as Brène in 2017

Neither the head of state nor of government have constitutional power over the military. Its Commander-in-chief, the Brène, is appointed by the Parliament, just like the Vergobret, and is often considered to be the "Fifth Pillar" of the state. Beside the three traditional branches, Land Forces, Air Forces, and the Navy, Shang Fa' military also has a fourth : the Maréchaussée which serve as the doppelganger of the civilian police forces, enforcing law in rural areas and on the road network while civilian police forces are generally more confined to cities and urban areas.

There is currently 341,293 active troops serving within the various branches of Shang Fa' military.

Economy

Under the principles of the "Fives Liberties" written within the Constitution, Shang Fa guarantees the freedom of trade of every company registered in the country and placing strict constitutional limits on tariffs, taxes, and bans of certain products. A famous example was the abandon of the iron and salt monopolies traditional to the Huranese society by the Dynasty in 1872 after long debates within the court and the parliaments. Back then, free-trade was justified not only through the writing of modern economists, but also through the traditional Huranian philosophy of Ruism which brings in the idea that the state "should not compete with the people for profit" as the resulting competition between the two would ensure that the state will start oppressing its concurents, i.e its own people. The records of these courtly debates and the resulting privatization laws have remained important sources of inspiration for Dynastic' policies when it comes to the economy of the country. Even the printing of money was given to the independent and private New Bank of Huran specifically created for the occasion and which still operate as the dynasty' monetary authority to this day.

Half of the dynasty' GDP comes from tertiary sector, and so despite the dynasty' being a net importer of services products. The industrial sector represent another fourty percent of the GDP, and finally the agricultural sector and the mining sector represent together slightly less than ten percent.

Virtually all of Shang Fa's firms, 96 percent, are classed as being small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and account for 80 percent of the total employment. Alongside this, Shang Fa is one of the countries with the lowest unemployment rate in the world, reported as only one percent of the active population. However, this is due to a large proportion of the population working in employments considered to be vulnerable (own-account work and unpaid family work). Similarily, despite the predominance of SMEs in raw number, their contribution to the economy continue to decrease, from 41 percent of the total GDP in 2001 to 36 percent in 2021. Their declining contribution and low security is reflected in their turnover rate: seventy percent fail within a few years.

Shang Fa' largest economic partners, both for imports and exports, are Albrennia, the Commonwealth of Northern Auressia, and Amandine.

Energy

The Xiaopinniu Dam main purpose is to control the flux of the Queen River, but is still the largest hydroelectric power station of the country

Some 80 percent of all power is generated from fossil fuel at thermal plants. About 12 percent more are produced at hydroelectric installations, with the remainder coming from biomass and biogas. The main energy-producing regions are in the north and north east, where coal is abundant and oil easily found as well. More coal can be found on the hills and mountains of the western and southern borders, although the former is mostly known for its natural gas.

Due in large part to environmental concerns, there has been call to shift Shang Fa's current energy mix from a heavy reliance on coal toward renewable energy, and nuclear power. thousands of coal mines over the past ten to twenty years have been closed, to cut overproduction or because they had dried up. This has reduced coal production by over 25% since the 1990s.

Shang Fa is a net importer of oil. Imported oil accounts for 20% of the processed crude in the country. The Dynasty also plans to increase their natural gas production with the goal of expanding gas use from 10 to 25% of the total energy production. Clean coal is also heavily studied and experimented with in Shang Fa.

Agriculture

Farmlands in the Great Plain

Centered around the Great Plain and the Queen River, a region often referred to as the "breadbasket of Huran", Agriculture has traditionally been a pillar of the successive' dynasties economy. Shang Fa's main agricultural products are cereal crops including wheat, maize, millet, rice, and sorghum. Cash crops like cotton, peanut, soybeans, grapes and sesame are also produced. Agricultural exports, such as vegetables and fruits, fish and shellfish, grain and meat products, are sent to Vives-Eaux.

Animal husbandry constitutes the second most important component of agricultural production with sheeps, porks, and chicken being the three main kind of animals being raised, with large herds of cattle. Since the mid-1940s, greater emphasis has been placed on increasing the livestock output.

In the 21th century, aquafarming as been promoted in the Great North and in the south as a new source of revenues for farmers and a way to diversify the country's production while also strenghtening the agricultural ecosystem (of ricefields mostly). Traditional paddy-aquaculture had almost disappeared in the wake of the green revolution and is only now slowly returning to the countryside. Pond raising also serves to supplement coastal and inland fisheries threatened by overfishing and polution, while providing such valuable export commodities as prawns.

Environmental problems such as floods, drought, and erosion pose serious threats to farming in many parts of the country. The wholesale destruction of forests gave way to an energetic reforestation program that proved inadequate, and forest resources are still fairly meagre. The principal forests are found in the mountaineous regions of the country, as well as in the Great North where sylviculture is part of the countryside economy. It's there that most of the country's timber originate.

Manufacturing

Electrical and electronics (E&E) equipment is Shang Fa' largest export sector, amounting the 15 per cent of total exports and representing 12 per cent of the total employment in manufacturing. Despite its high performances, many problems loom over the dynasty' high-tech sector which is under the double threats of manufacturers relocating to nations with cheaper labor costs and of automation. More than 75 per cent of salaried workers in the sector are at risk of being replaced by robots as these positions consist of "repetitive, non-cognitive tasks".

Automation is a similar threat to workers within the autommotive industry, which represent 6 per cent of total employment and accounting for roughly 10 percent of the country's GDP.

In the consumer goods sector the main emphasis is on textiles and clothing, which also form an important part of Shang Fa's exports, although less so than before. The industry tends to be scattered throughout the country, but there are a number of important textile centers, including Tongzhou.

Services

The service sector in Shang Fa has grown fast and consistently in recent decades, reinforced by the rapid development of communication and information technology, access to education and an increase in specialist skills and knowledge among the workforce as an answer to automation.

Retail employs more than six million workers. Most are employed by small businesses. Large multinational and national retail players are estimated to employ less than half a million workers.

Shang Fa' tourism sector is its industry with the most distinct global competitive edge. Travel and tourism directly contribute to 3% of the total GDP of the country. Domestic tourism market makes up around 70% of the country's tourism revenue for 90% of the total traffic. A large middle class was already well established in Shang Fa' major cities, but is now emerging in secondary and tertiary settlements. Business travel spending also represent a sizeable stream of income for Shang Fa' economy.

Demographics

Population

Huren boys during a New Year celebration

The majority of Shang Fa' population live along the Queen River in densely inhabited cities or in their well-irrigated countrysides. In its overwhelming majority, this urban population is of Huren descent, with fractions of minorities who either came from other parts of the country during the successives episodes of rural flights, or by the Hurano-Blaykish minority.

Shang Fa officially does not collect ethnic data. Only non-citizens residing in Shang Fa have their nationality documented, and only as far as their country of origin. However, independent estimates place the number of Huren in Shang Fa to be around 85 percents of the total population, so around 83 to 84 million people.

The secondmost important ethnies population wise are the Tartares. This was the name given by the first Auressians explorers in Surucia to a wide array of people, from turkic to Mongolic and Tungusic speakers who shared a nomad or semi-nomad lifestyle in the plains and mountains of northern Shang Fa. To this day, certain areas of the country continue to be commonly referred to as Tartary. Important groups that are recognized as ethnies of their own within this broad category include the Khitans, the Tabgachs, and the Manchus. In total, it is estimated that there is between 4 to 5 million people who belong to tribes recognized as Tartares.

A Languan family in 1886.

Counting the exact number of Principean people in Shang Fa is especially difficult after more than a century of no demographic exchanges with Blayk and other countries of Principean Auressia. Many of the families who established themselves in Shang Fa came from second generation settlers in the Blaykish colonies of the "New World", who were tempted by more exotic adventures and profit-opportunities in Surucia. Most of Shang Fa' elite and upper class proclaim itself to be of Principean descent, but de-facto participate in an original culture often called "Hua-Blaykish" by foreign historians and sociologists. There exist however a sub-ethnies of Principeans, descended from the military colonists settled by the Great Covenant and then the Dynasty on conquerred or pacified territories. These Blue Caps (藍冠, Lánguān), living more rural lives, in semi-isolation from other communities, tend to be much poorer than their urban counterparts, while also having retained more visible "Principean traits".

Hmong rural marketplace

Other minorities include Qiang speakers (羌, Qiāng), generally collectively known as Rma, the Di (氐, Dī), and the Hmong. The Rma are themselves divided into a multiple of tribes, of which the Miniah are the largest. Meanwhile, the Di people live mostly in the Bian river valley (邊河谷地, Biān Hé Dīgǔ). Although they mostly live as "rurals" like the the Rma or their neighboring Hmong, unlike them their lifestyle is solely agricultural and their traditional organisation is not tribal. Finally, the Hmong live mostly in the swamps and hills of the Upper-Bian, and were known to be semi-nomadic cattle-farmers and agricultors. In the modern days government policies and economic pressures have pushed them toward creating permanent settlements, but they continue to live on the hills surrounding the Bian river.

Language

Principean is the official national spoken language of Shang Fa. More specifically, it's the Eastern Standard which is officially used as a lingua franca. However, no community in Shang Fa speak the Eastern Standard natively and it is taught in school in a fashion similar to that of a second language. As a result, fluence in Principean has become a mark of prestige and social standing in Shang Fa, with the Royal Dynasty and High-Magistrates commonly speaking the Eastern Standard and using is actively both in a public and private manner. Meanwhile, the Upper-classes use Principean abundantly during their public lives, but return to their mothertongues when in a private setting. Middle classes are similarly fluent in Principean, but have less occasions to train or use it, leading to a number of accents that betray their relatively lower status. Finally, the working classes may not be able to speak Principean at all, or do so in what has become known as the "Simplified Standard", also derogatively known as "Broken Principean".

But since 1955, Principean is no longer used in any official written documents and Romanization of local languages are proscribed. Instead, all texts in Shang Fa are written in the official national written language : Literary Huranian. This wényán ( "Text Speak" ) is a written form of Archaic Huranian and is the classical language of litterature in Huran. Nowadays no individual, not even educated scholars, can speak this Huranian dialect but its use of logograms mean it is still capable of transmiting concepts and informations regardless of the language of the reader. Its style and vocabulary are extremely concise and compact, limiting the need of uncommon characters and further simplifying reading.

Religion

Shang Fa is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. Despite the predominance of Macakkanism, there are no clear boundaries between the variously intertwined religious systems and the majority of the Freemen practice a combination of Macakkanist, Perendist, and folk religion.

Since the Kuang Dynasty, Huran has been dominated by Macakkanism and more specifically the Barukung school which developed itself as a very Huranian understanding of the religion. The following Tartares kingdoms and dynasties would also tie their legitimacy and authority to the Barukung faith, while also embracing the more mystical aspects of the faith. It also saw the fragmentation of the religious authority into a multitude of schools and sects, with the Lin Dynasty' being unable to recreate a singular Grand Collegium.

Perendism would arrive later in northern Huran, and only really take off under the Tan Dynasty. It reached the peak of its popularity in the era of the Great Covenant, spread by conversion within the Great Army where it was especially popular among the soldiery.

Culture

Cuisine

Shang Fa cuisine is highly diverse, drawing on several millennia of culinary history and geographical variety, with influences not only from Huran itself but also from the Tartares and, more recently, Principean cuisine alongside Marceaunian inspirations from other Blaykish colonies. This give cuisine in Shang Fa a wide variety of cooking methods and ingredients.

Generally, wheat is the stapple food of the population, consumed mostly in the form of breads and noodles. Bean products, such as tofu and soy milk, remain as a popular source of protein. While pork and mutton dominates the meat market, all sorts of poultry are also greatly appreciated, often being served during festivities or celebrations.

The "Four August Styles" of Shang Fa are thus called : "Calandaise", "Régale", "Tartare", and "Nuageuse". These styles are considered extremely representative of their respective regions (Calandes, Great Plain, Tartary, Beiyun) and to have either remained very distinct from other styles (Calandaise, Tartare) or to have been major influence over every other cooking styles (Régale, Nuageuse). Other styles, less distinguished or influential, but still sought after, are often grouped in other geometrically variable categories, such as the "Germe-du-sud" associated with the Hmong minority.