Blossom of Nations
 Siege of Shaosong in 1855 | |
| Date | 1855 – 1861 |
|---|---|
| Location | Eastern Ochran, mainly in modern Taizhou |
| Also known as | Chaos of Late Jiang, Great Tumult, Great Torrent |
| Participants | Liuist nationalist Sinhaysianist revolutionaries |
| Outcome |
|
The Blossom of Nations (Zhou: 百國之茂 Baegwo jy maw) was a revolutionary wave and period of political upheaval across eastern Ochran, primarily occurring in Taizhou, that lasted roughly from 1855 to 1861. The Blossom was a nationalist and localist movement in principle, particularly guided by Liuism, and resulted in the establishment of independent nation-states in southern Taizhou based upon the concept of Sinhaysia.
The Jiang dynasty that had ruled over Taizhou since the 13th century had began to decline in the 18th century, being wracked by financial issues and frequent rebellions. The erosion of the over-extended and ineffective bureaucracy put onto stage local interests, namely landed gentry, who exploited the inability of government to become local providers of order and later welfare to unstable regions. Such local forces expanded in power and drove the formation of regional identities, which as the Jiang state's faltering worsened became open calls for secession that was moulded into nationalism. Intellectuals such as Liu Du invigorated nationalism in Taizhou through comprehensive academic repudiations of imperial ideology. By the 1830s, nationalist groups were a substantial subversive force in Taizhou, enjoying support from a wide variety of local interests such as landed gentry and incipient bourgeoisie, initiating terrorism, assassinations, and sabotage across the country despite official suppression.
In 1854, the rebellion of Lu Gui-ying plunged Taizhou into chaos, and ample opportunity emerged to be exploited by Liuist revolutionaries. Local militias seized control of towns and even cities across the southern provinces, imprisoning bureaucrats and disarming unmotivated military garrisons, establishing a number of republics proclaiming to be free from imperial subjugation. The first such rebellions occurred in Puphania, Loenhae, and Hsiangley, before spreading to Hiaben and Uchu by 1855, and then much of the country in 1856. Dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the imperial government translated into support for Liuist forces from across society, contributing to a rapid consolidation of revolutionary governments in southern Taizhou. An underground of secessionist revolutionaries emerged to become the main leaders of these new states, having coordinated most of the uprisings. Generally, in the south, loyalists to either the Jiang government or the newly crowned Lu (now the 1st Yellow Northern Hegemon) were outnumbered and defeated in brief 'independence wars', or simply defected to preserve their statuses.
Northern Taizhou also experienced a wave of upheaval, particularly rebellions by Yenchiey and Chinlunian nationalists, but the nascent Yellow dynasty solidified its control over the area through a mixture of purges of and alliances with local interests to avoid repetition of the uprisings in the south. In the north, besides the ultimately suppressed regional rebellions, revolutionary activity was limited to terrorism and ill-fated coup attempts; by 1859 the strength of Liuist revolutionaries in Yellow-controlled areas had been nearly annihilated by the elimination of leaders and prominent supporters. However, it was also around that time that the newborn Sinhaysian states south of the Tungtien river had mustered strength for a final 'march on Nucen' to destroy the remainder of imperial Taizhou and secure the establishment of free national republics there.
The nationalist coalition initiated a large expedition to the north that sparked the Torrent War, which was to cover the last 2 years of the Blossom. Initially steadily making gains and supported by revolutionary sabotage of the Zhou rear, the Sinhaysian armies were decisively defeated at the Battle of Zuomen and the Battle of Suwan. In 1861 the Bitter Truce was signed between the Sinhaysian alliance and the Yellow dynasty, putting an end to military hostilities and dividing spheres of influence by the Tungtien river, although tensions remained cold between the signatories.
The Blossom was the beginning of the Sinhaysian period, during which nation-states and Liuist ideology thrived in eastern Ochran. With most of the revolutionary wars being short and low-intensity, the newborn republics economically repaired rapidly, and southern Taizhou emerged as a prosperous region soon enough. Politically, it failed to dissolve the Taizhou empire, but did inspire a series of nationalist revolutions elsewhere in the world, although those were not as successful as the ones in east Ochran. The threat of localist ideology caused the Yellow dynasty rump state itself to adopt reforms compromising with civil society and landed gentry, and similar effects were seen elsewhere in Ochran as governments sought to preserve stability against possible inspired insurrections.