Zhen
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Great Zhen Empire | |
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  Flag
 National Emblem
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| Motto: 为人民服务 "Service for the People" | |
| Anthem: 卿雲歌 Qīng Yún Gē (Song to the Auspicious Cloud) | |
| Capital and largest city | Zhenmenjing |
| Official languages | Ascalonian Caoyan |
| Recognised national languages | Gojan Suchari |
| Demonym(s) | Zhen |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Emperor | Vacant |
• Regent | Princess Shi |
• Premier | Long Shen |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| Formation | |
| 1700-202 BCE | |
| 202 BCE-1637 | |
| 1637-1644 | |
| 1644 | |
| 1937 | |
| 2009-2010 | |
| 2010 | |
| 2011 | |
| 2011 | |
| 2012 | |
| Area | |
• Total land area | 13,120 km2 (5,070 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 1,265,000 |
• 2020 census | 1,245,105 |
• Density | 94/km2 (243.5/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | 277 billion IBU |
• Per capita | 42,443 IBU |
| GDP (nominal) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | 257 billion IBU |
• Per capita | 37,110 IBU |
| Gini (2020) | 34.4 medium |
| HDI (2020) |  0.793high |
| Currency | Kuai (₭) |
| Time zone | DST |
| Date format | YYYY年MM月DD日 (Messianic) 帝国YYYY年MM月DD日 (Zhen) YYYY/MM/DD (Modern) |
| Driving side | left |
| ISO 3166 code | ZH |
| Internet TLD | .zh |
Zhen, officially the Great Zhen Empire, is a country in South Iteria. Alternatively, the state refers to itself as the State of Zhenmen or Zhenmen. It consists of the archipelago of the Zhenmen Islands, the mainland provinces of Chaoyang and Qingrendong, including major port city Sihuan, and it totals an area of approximately 13,120km².
Zhenmen has a small population of 1.2 million, but Zhenmen recognizes the 10.5 million people in USSI Zhen as its citizens. According to the Zhen Sovereignty Declaration, the United States of South Iteria (USSI), which controls most of the mainland, is an illegitimate state and the State of Zhenmen has sovereignty over all Zhen territory. The capital city, Zhenmenjing, is the largest city in the archipelago with a population of 148,147.
While the Sinnitic peoples spread out from South Iteria, there were tribes who opted to settle in the nearby areas. The nomadic Caoyan hordes controlled northern Zhen and the south was cultivated by the sedentary Ascalonians, who found prosperity in trade by the southern coast. This later became the center of the Empire of Dazhou, uniting Ascalonians and Caoyans.
In the 17th century, the Empire of Dazhou began to decline and its power weakened over the outlying territories. The Zhen states renounced allegiances to Dazhou in a scramble for power. Instead, Goyanes conquers Dazhou and it became a colonial possession, which would later become Ascalon. Disgruntled by non-Iterians ruling former Dazhou, the Ascalonian Sima Jin clan sought the backing of Syrixia, a rival to Goyanean interests in Iteria. Sima Jin, uniting the fragmented Caoyan and Ascalonian states of Zhen, formed the Great Zhen Empire as a tributary state of Syrixia. Syrixian rule of Zhen was undisturbed until the 2nd Nordic-Imperial War.
The decline of the Syrixian Empire in the 19th century motivated Zhen to pursue its own interests. Vestiges of Zhen's tributary relationship ended when it refused to join the Fascist Wars. During that period, modernization and major political reforms were achieved, but democratization was halted due to radical socialist uprisings plaguing Zhen. Following the war, Zhen aimed to restore friendly relations with Syrixia and joined the Syrixian Commonwealth. In 20XX, Zhen joined the Iterian League.
In 2009, a military coup led by Prince Meng usurped Emperor Jianzhong and murdered the Zhen Imperial Family. Princess Shi escaped with loyalists to the Zhenmen Islands. In 2012, after a series of negotiations, the USSI government and the Zhen government-in-exile jointly declared the Great Zhen Empire continues to exist, retaining sovereignty over mainland Zhen and demanded foreign countries to maintain policies of non-intervention. Relations were established with the USSI and a cease-fire was successfully negotiated.
At the turn of the 20th century, Zhen was, by definition, a developed country. However, due to the lack of progress in social and democratic reform, Zhen was an authoritarian one-party state that heavily-controlled all aspects of society. Economic sectors were divided between state and privately-owned monopolies. Freedom of press was non-existent as state media regularly fabricated news. Civil rights and political freedoms were drastically curtailed and human rights abuses were commonly reported.
It was not until the Zhen Revolution when significant changes finally took place, especially in the mainland where the USSI abolished most of these oppressive policies. Zhenmen was able to achieve the majority of democratic reforms that Zhen needed and expanded economic and individual freedoms. Full democratization is promised by Zhenmen once re-unification begins.
Zhenmen has an upper-middle income economy. It has a welfare state that serves universal health care, free education up to college, and free public transportation. Renewable energy, mostly biomass and wind parks, power the entire country. It depends on industries such as banking, fishing, petroleum, tourism and services.
Due to the lack of military capabilities equal to the USSI, citizens are required to do compulsory military service for two years.
Zhenmen, as the legitimate representative of Zhen, conducts its membership roles in the Syrixian Commonwealth and the Iterian League.
Etymology
The name "Zhen" originated from one of the Ascalonian characters of the Zhen dynasty (真王朝). Da Zhen diguo (大贞帝国; meaning Great Zhen Empire), Zhenguo (真國) or "True Country", and the dynasty name were used to refer Zhen as the true successor state to the Empire of Dazhou and to reject Goyanean sovereignty over its former territories. When Zhen gave up all claims to former Dazhou lands after Goyanes returned Zhenmen in 1999, the official translation was changed from "True Country" to "Enlightened Country." In the Umbrial Script, it is also translated as "Chengguo."
History
Ancient Zhen
The first humans lived in Zhen between 2.24 million and 250,000 years ago. The hominid remains of the "First Zhen", famously known as the Gaodu Man, was dated between 680,000 and 780,000 years ago, found in a cave near Gaodu. Modern findings suggest that the earliest form of civilization in Zhen entered the Neolithic Age by 4050 BCE. Numerous tools made of stones, shells, bones, jades, and ceramics were found scattered in Gongmenzhou. Spinning wheels were also found. The two major Neolithic groups, the Guiyang people and the Riko people, co-existed peacefully in Southern Zhen. Both cultures lived in long, stilt communal houses. Hunting and fishing were predominant sources of food. Agricultural settlements were few.
Between 5500 and 3300 BCE, evidence from that period found in archaeological sites by the Guiyang River has shown that the Guiyang successfully domesticated and cultivated rice. Hoes made out of animal bones and stones were used. The Guiyang also made bowls out of lacquer wood. Wood was important to fasten sharpened bones as arrowheads for their bows, which they used for fishing and hunting. Towards the end of the Neolithic Age, the Guiyang learned how to make pottery. They also made ornaments out of jade and crafted clay and wooden figurines.
Among the Riko, clan leadership hierarchies were matriarchal in comparison to the patriarchal Guiyang. Riko women and children usually ranked higher social status. Most Riko leaders were women. Their priestesses led the cross-people worship towards sun and fertility spirits, converting many stilt houses to shrines and performed shamanistic rituals.
Growing conflicts between Riko and Guiyang peoples eventually grew due to land disputes. Most of the Riko founded new settlements in the Guiyang River Valley. Faunal remains in the Guiyang Valley indicated the Riko have domesticated pigs. Archaeologists excavated mountainside paddy fields in the Guiyang Valley. This is where clan socio-politics shifted from matrilineal-descent leadership to patrilineal.
By 2500 BCE, people from both Riko and Guiyang peoples began to migrate south in search for new land.
Pre-imperial Zhen
In circa 2070–1600 BCE, new techniques were introduced from Skanda on rice cultivation. This led to the increase of rice farmers in Ascalon and along the coast of Zhen. The Skandans influenced millet growers in the South Zhen Plains, that has a wet and dry climate which is bad for millet, to transition to rice growing for greater yields.
Sedentary Ano'ans called the Dongfan people (東番; meaning "Eastern Savages") came around 1600 BCE from the Zhenmen Islands and settled in spread-out communities across the North Zhen Plains. They had a difficult though manageable relationship with the mainlanders, often securing peace through inter-clan marriages and generous trade.
When the Riko and Guiyang entered the bronze age in circa 1250-1200 BCE, settlers from Takashima, or the Wo people (倭), migrated to the North Zhen Plains. They were joined by the Huaxifangxia nomads (华西方夏), meaning the "Magnificent People of the Western Light." They lost their homeland around 2500 BCE to the invading Iziku people who also came from Takashima.
The new Riko and Guiyang settlements in Ascalon became centers of bronze and cooper production in the region. City-states and principalities were formed along the Ascalonian coast as visitors from Skanda frequented the area with trade and new knowledge. The Skandans introduced the Kensu faith and shared their language, which the Riko and Guiyang peoples adopted and would later lead to the creation of a new language and unite the two peoples as the "Ascalonian people."
In Northern Zhen, though the lands were fertile, the collective trauma of the expelled Huaxifangxia people drove them to continue their nomadic way of life. They roamed the North Zhen Plains and united in a nomadic confederation called the Tsenkher Ord (Blue Horde) to defend themselves from their fear of Skandan invasion. Pastoral and lived in portable tents, the Huaxifangxia easily spread out across the Uplands and practiced Bougdan, a shamanistic and animistic belief. They gradually became hostile towards outsiders and, after years of jealousy, regularly raided the prosperous south and the eastern borders of Takashima and Skanda.
The unification of Skanda under the Kingdom of Kiyumashu in 376 BCE provoked Ascalonian clans to a series of wars between 300 BCE and 202 BCE called the "Unification Wars." Powerful clans fought and sought the support of fellow clans to lead a united Ascalonian nation. The Tsenkher Ord, guarded by a formidable army that could conquer Ascalonian South Iteria, refused to support any clan and only sent mercenaries to any clan who could afford them.
Zhu Zheng and his family, the Zhu clan, ruled the mercantile City of Dazhou. He promised Oghul Khan, leader of the Tsenkher Ord, that they will reign as co-rulers over the new united Ascalonian nation in exchange for Tsenkher support. In 12 February 202 BCE, or the 1st day in year 1 of the Dazhou Imperial Calendar (达州帝国曆; meaning Dazhou Empire calendar), the city-states and clans were united, with the help of the Tsenkher Ord, by the new Tian dynasty and formed the Empire of Dazhou. To appeal to the religious sensibilities of the people, Zheng founded the Tianxia faith and proclaimed himself Tianzi (天子), or "Son of Heaven," and instituted Tianming (天命; lit. meaning "heaven's will"), the "Mandate of Heaven," for future imperial succession. This concept was inspired by the Skandan divine rights of the Kōʻi.
Oghul Khan also adopted Zheng's title, which was translated in Caoyan as Khagan or "Khan of Khans," and she became Emperor of the Northern Dynasty (北朝天子). Zheng became Emperor of the Southern Dynasty (南朝天子). They held a joint enthronement ceremony in Zhujing in the then newly-built Palace of Supreme Harmony (Vermilion City).
Empire of Dazhou
At the time of the empire's formation, Zhen had long developed a culture: They mastered agricultural techniques, built walled cities, and developed bronze technology. They had also invented an advanced system of writing which was the early foundation of the Ascalonian script, which itself was the foundation of Skandan ikama script. The people were deeply religious and applied this in almost every aspect of daily life.
They believed in a multitude of deities and spiritual forces that controlled nature and destiny, offering them extravagant offerings to seek their wisdom and protection. Most of these offerings were animal sacrifices, which they also used to invoke the spirits. A clan-based society, they worshiped their ancestors apart from a number of gods.
Zhen people asked spirits through divination rituals where they inscribed their wishes on ox-bones or tortoise shells, to name a few. These were called "oracle bones" (甲骨). Diviners grew from this culture as a profession and began to perform the rituals themselves.
Zheng, who had become Emperor, adopted the reign title "Kaihuang" or "Impenetrable Victory." In 200 BCE, he assembled the Ascalonian clan rulers and the Caoyan khans in the Caoyan capital of Avraga (modern-day Zhujing) to organize an efficient government to rule Dazhou. With his new and demanding religious duties, Zheng could not effectively exercise his other new imperial and secular role. He appointed lesser lords to administer lands in return for tributes in part of their obligation to pay imperial homage.
Oghul made attempts to invade Skanda and Takashima between 190-183 BCE, but was always at odds with Zheng, who tolerated her campaigns for the sake of the Empire's unity. Raiding border towns and territorial disputes were exaggerated to build up conflict. Thus began the Caoyan ambition to conquer Skanda and Takashima.
Tributes and imperial homages eventually became frequent in and after the end of Zheng's reign and established the basis of a monarch-vassal relationship between the emperor and the lesser lords. In 60 BCE, there was another assembly of lords in Avraga where Emperor Wu instituted "Fengjian" (封建; lit. "enfeoffment and establishment"). It is a system of governance that defined the basic political and social structure of Dazhou, which was a decentralized form of government that respected the privilege of the lesser lords and limited the powers of the Emperor and the Khagan. Under Fengjian, the people were divided into seven categories: Wangzi (王子; the Emperor, the Khagan, and their families), Gongzi (公子; nobility), Shi (士; scholars), Wu (武; warriors), Shang (商; merchant and traders), Gong (工; artisans), and Nong (农/農, peasants).
Before the end of the 1st Century BCE, the prospering ports in Ascalon motivated traders and people to look at the northeast and populate the Zhen coast. They created new ports and the new economic opportunities increased foreign interests in trade with Dazhou. The Zhen coast, particularly Sihuan in Chaoyang province, attracted many foreigners and its harbors became major ports to visit. The expanded trade network gave value and convenience to nearby arable plains in East Zhen, and attracted farmers from the South Zhen Plains. As more coastal towns and farming villages sprung up along the Zhen coast, the rise of a new center of trade rivaled even the great port cities in Ascalon. The continued development of agriculture in the region gave Zhen the reputation of "Rice Granary of the Empire."
By the end of the 2nd Century, growing political unrest in Skanda had greatly weakened the Kiyumashu dynasty. In 125 CE, Khagan Möngke and Emperor Wen led their armies to Skanda and invaded their eastern territory in a united effort to subjugate them in the 1st Dazhou War of Skandan Subjugation. After the Dazhou forces occupied and ravaged much of Eastern Skanda, the Kiyumashu dynasty was usurped by the Wakayama dynasty. The new Wakayama kōʻi, Koiki Wakayama (equivalent to a king) called for negotiations. The peace settlement was the concession of the eastern Skandan territories of Senkoi (Shanbei) and Yamatsu (Shanzhong).
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Sharing common heritage, the Caoyans recognized the Tsaizargans west of Skanda and maintained a mutually beneficial alliance for years. But in 1107, futile disagreements between the Caoyans and the Tsaizargans over plans to conquer Iraelia forced Ajinai Khan to proceed on his own, without Dazhou support. He united the Tsaizargans and proclaimed the Uulyn Khaganate. In 1115, Ajinai successfully invaded Iraelia. In 1118, he led his armies north and defeated the Astragonese, taking most of Southern Astragon. Then Rafhazan and Southern Bashime in 1120. They were ruthlessly uncompromising, pillaging and burning down entire villages and cities either out of spite or tactical movement, striking fear upon the denizens of their territories. The people were easily submissive to the Uulyn. In 1124, to avoid the destructive forces of the Uulyn armies, Dazhou proclaimed Ajinai Khan as the "Emperor of Emperors" (万天子之王; lit. King of Ten Thousand Heavenly Sons). Skanda followed no sooner, but unlike the Dazhou, they resisted and tried to stop the Uulyn invasion. Takashima was the last South Iterian country to fall under Uulyn rule in 1125.
In 1128, Caoyan Khagan Ögedei asked Ajinai if there were any plans to invade Alnaria next. The Uulyn Khagan replied, "The Heavens have mercy. The Alnarians have none." Disturbed by the Uulyn's fear of Alnaria, Ögedei ordered a great wall to be built along the northern borders. Though traders from both Alnaria and Skanda continued to travel to and fro without much interruption at the new designated enty points. But with the new wall built, the movement of people and goods were streamlined and most illegal activities at the borders became manageable. Despite the so-called threat, the Great Wall of Ögedei has never seen an actual war ever since its construction was finished in 1172.
Under Uulyn rule, Ajinai famously remarked, "A virgin could walk with a basket full of gold from one corner of the empire to the other without ever coming to harm." Their rule, though firm, was tolerant of all cultures and religious creeds. The Uulyn undermined the Fengjian system, blurring it with meritocratic preferences for the Uulyn imperial bureaucracy. Individual merit took precedence over wealth, ethnicity, and hereditary descent. Mandatory state civil service examinations were introduced, fostering competitiveness and awarded actual performance in governmental service. They also built the Road of Silver, a network of roads that connected Zhen, Ascalon, Skanda, Takashima, Iraelia, Astragon, and Bashime. The heart of the Imperial Road was Zara, the capital of the Uulyn Khaganate in Tsaizargan, and it was connected with the historical economic hubs of South Iteria, such as Zhujing, Dazhou, Kuhena, and Adonai Jireh. This helped lessen travel time in trade and eased the transport of goods throughout Iteria, and also served as the basis for the routes of the highly efficient Uulyn system of horseback couriers, known as the dacun morin. Remnants of the Road of Silver exist to this day in some regions of South Iteria. Expert foreigners were invited to the Uulyn khagan's court. They helped in imperial administration and gave new ideas for the greater prosperity of the empire.
It was also a great time for Zhen philosophy. Restrictions on the possession of certain books and the formation of a professional bureaucracy gave rise to a new academic elite. Caoyan-Astragonese philosopher Baako criticized the elitism and requirement of high lineage in positions of influence, which was limited to the Ascalonians and a few Caoyans, who were still discriminated despite their equal standing. Known for his hatred of the Astragonese caste system, he pointed out that any man can serve according to his personal achievements and not only by birthright, and said: "Water seeks low places, resists nothing, but fills and overcomes everything." He also pointed out the futility of imperial power and the vassal lords, calling for the limitation of their powers by sharing them with the common folk and use power as a responsibility, to be benevolent and to look after the realm and adequately meet the needs of its people, who would command enough soldiers to defend them, and who would use morals rather than laws in state decisions.
As a measure to strengthen village defenses against a possible Alnarian invasion, the Uulyn innovated tulou houses (土楼; lit. earthen buildings). Large, enclosed and circular earth buildings with thick walls that can house up to 800 people. These buildings resemble small fortified cities and are usually between three to five-storeys high. The Uulyn settlements in Northern Zhen and a few sedentary Caoyan villages were obligated to build these dwellings, which gave more land to farm due to the less space used for housing. Farmers in other parts of Zhen began to build tulou houses. Their shape was said to be inspired by the circular Tsaizargan tents.
The shared military powers of the co-ruling emperor and khagan shifted to the latter when in 1248 CE, Khagan Güyük began the Khagan Invasion of Skanda without the consent of Emperor Xuan, hoping to take advantage of a still weak ‘Empire’ of Ishiyama after they had spent much of their resources expelling the remnants of the Maru-based Uulyn Khaganate. Though the Skandans doubted the ability of the Dazhou armies to traverse the Akitu Mountains efficiently, they were prepared for the worst and dug in with heavy fortifications in Akitu Mountains. Caoyan forces began siege after siege in Atsumare (Northeastern Skanda) but were unsuccessful in their invasion of Skanda; the Skandans were far too well dug into their mountain fortifications to permit a full scale invasion as had occurred a millenia prior and the Dazhou forces were repelled. The war ended with a white peace as Ishiyama had no territorial ambitions in Zhen or Ascalon, and only demanded monetary reparations and a peace treaty.
At the conclusion of the 2nd and final Dazhou Conquest of Takashima in 1351, the new territorial addition put the Empire in an uncontested position of power in South Iteria and was facing a long period of peace. The Caoyans, who were occupied in war and periodic raids, began an experiment in a sedentary way of life. As a nomadic culture, their mobile settlements rotated around their territories, which were designated for their exclusive use while they shared the land with the Dongfan and new settlers from Ascalon. To assert their ownership of territories, they built a few yet central permanent settlements. However, they were more like outposts and military garrisons than actual towns and villages.
Throughout the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the relatively long-term stability that overshadowed wars and border skirmishes encouraged Dazhou warlords and elite to pursue the arts, knowledge, and religious philosophy. These were The Golden Years (黄金岁月; lit. The Best of Times). It was the most prosperous period of Zhen history with significant developments in art, literature, and technology. The renewed, now cultured hereditary elite, who staffed most governmental offices, made innovations in literary and material culture. This ushered in the Golden Years, a period of intellectual and cultural enlightenment in Dazhou history. This period laid down most of the foundation of Zhen norms. The Cardinal Virtues of Dazhou Subjects was established, as defined by Caoyan philosopher Ah Sun: Inner integrity, righteousness, loyalty, reciprocity and, above all, love or human-heartedness. Although he believes that only cultured men can attain these virtues, ordinary men also can through learning, respect and conformity to tradition and faith, and self-cultivation. It was also the duty of cultured men to enlighten others. Sun also believed that, in a society of hereditary leadership and categorized social status, men should live and serve accordingly in their assigned roles. In direct contrast to Baako, he characterized it by saying: "There is good government, when the prince is prince and the minister is minister; when the father is father and the son is son."
Zhen Warring Clans
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Great Unification and Syrixian rule
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End of Syrixian rule, 20th century
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Revolution and recent history
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Evacuation to Zhenmen Islands
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Civil war
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Armistice
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Sovereignty declaration
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Geography
Biodiversity
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Politics and government
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National Assembly
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Premier
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Monarchy
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Regency
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Imperial family
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Demographics
Languages
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Ascalonian language
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Caoyan language
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Gojan language
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Suchari language
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Culture
Calendar
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