Debayarization

Debayarization (Zhou: 去霸葉化) refers to the phenomenon of the removal of culture associated with the Bayarid Empire in Ochran. Debayarization is mostly associated with the programme of Liuism as practiced following the Blossom of Nations, but has also been undertaken by non-Liuist states and groups for various reasons.

Background

The expansive conquests of the Bayarids spread their customs over a large area, and such culture persisted in the post-Bayarid period as most of the states emerging from the empire were still dominated by Chorigtols, or more or less inherited completely its political mould. This continued in areas such as Taizhou and Uluujol with the perpetuation of Bayarid political themes, and the continued positive association of Chorigtol practices with the nobility.

However, it was not only high culture across Ochran that was "Bayarified"; practices in everyday life had also received significant influence, from cuisine (with the introduction of instant-boiled mutton), to sports, to clothing, to language (with the introduction of Chorigtol loanwords). The most notable social change however was the introduction of Chorigtol gender roles and culture, which changed the landscape of the previously rigidly patriarchal Zhou society heavily. The allocation of administrative roles and intellectual pursuits near-exclusively to women was enforced by law as the new imperial examinations forbade male participation; the changeover to female predominance of the intelligentsia was made smoothly as clan culture in Zhou, valuing the standing of the family as a whole, were quick to accept the elevation of females in the household to retain their positions or be able to obtain some.

In Taizhou in particular, the bureaucracy had by the 18th century been staffed nearly entirely by females at all levels. Political culture also retained significant influence from Bayarid political philosophy. The native Zhou culture was still present though heavily mixed or weakened, and generally considered inferior to the Chorigtol superstrate.