Zhangwo

Foreigners grovel at the Qian court

Zhangwo or Mastery of the Material is the guiding national ethos of the Daxian people and their State. It is a belief in the superior cultural, moral and racial worth of Daxian people and their special place in the history of not just Alshar but the world. The term Zhangwo was coined in 680 by the First Minister and philosopher Heian Xiujian in a treatise describing the foreign policies of the Yang dynasty and his justifications of external conquest by claiming the material world as the divinely granted inheritance of the Daxian race. Later intellectuals sponsored by various dynasties would further expound on notions of racial and cultural superiority veering on arrogance and xenophobia, ideas that further seeped into the public consciousness upon contact and conflict with non Daxian polities such as the expansionist Muslim caliphates, nomads from the northern plains and western explorers. In the modern era the Party of Daxian Democrats has appropiated the concept of Zhangwo and mutated it to serve its own geopolitical ends, using it to justify national involvement in the Deluge as a paramount national effort to neuter hostile and inferior peoples and aggrandize Daxia at their expense, a vital step on the road to fulfilling the nation's destiny of world conquest.

Etymology

WIP

Development

The original use of the term Zhangwo come from the treatise Considerations of Yang Imperial Expansion written in the year 680 by Heian Xiujian, First Minister of the Yang court. Written as a rebuttal to criticism of the aggressive foreign policy posture of the early Yang by the philospher Mei Guan, the original text defended Yang expansion as a divinely ordained rearranging of the world. Mei Guan was executed by burning as a result of his continued opposition to Heian Xiujian. Destructive invasions by the nomads from the Degei confederation over several decades served to ingrain feelings of xenophobia in the average peasant, reinforcing the idea that the foreign was to be opposed and crushed at every available opportunity. Considerations of Yang Imperial Expansion was used and adapted by the dynasties that succeeded Yang with changes over time such as emphasizing the role of the Emperor in guiding the nation's effort at 'reclaiming' the birthright of the Daxian people. The ritual humilliation of foreign dignataries and the extraction of tribute from neighboring polities was initiated by the succesors of Yang, the Chen dynasty who defeated a reformed Degei confederation but instead of simply allowing them to lick their wounds in the northern plains, forced them into a tributary relation. The amount of tribute demanded was so exacting that invariably all attempts at lifting their vassalage status by force was crushed by Imperial forces.

The concept of Zhangwo was further refined in the late 1800's by Marquis Gong, who served in various ministerial posts of the Qian dynasty and was a leading supporter of reforms. Framing them as intended to defend Daxia's Zhangwo ambitions, he strongly advocated the drastic strenghtening of Daxian economic and military capabilities to repel further Levantine encroachment in Alshar and a turning away from the policy of focusing inwards towards the Alshari mainland. As Chief Minister of the Qian government he pushed for a rapid, State-led industrialization, the introduction of mass conscription and a program of naval expansion aimed at challenging Burgundie's control of the Audonian and east Alshar sea lanes. The unsatisfactory end of Daxia's participation in the Second Great War did nothing to check the power and ambition of militarist officials, but instead emboldened and radicalized them against the monarchy, who they saw as abdicating on achieving Daxian war goals and betraying the principles of Zhangwo. The following coup inaugurated a period of control of all political and economic levers of power by the army.

Major Themes

WIP everything below is brain farts and half baked concepts

Nationalism and Expansionism

Daxian might secretly or not so secretly want everyone in the world to look, speak and think like them, because they think they are the best people. Find the path of least resistance and expand that way, find an obstacle? go around it, can't go around it? maybe others can help you chip at it or be bribed into aiding you. Like a crocodile waiting for a meal, exercise patience, the patiences of decades or centuries while not losing sight of the grand prize.

Militarism

Status of the army as the vanguard of the corummese manifest destiny. Increases in the power of the military before and during the great wars, radicalization through secret societies/lodges and favoring a state run 100% by the army, discarding the monarchy and 'shedding the fat' leads to Dai Hanjian's coup and the installation of an army government.

Racialism

Daxian are just made different. Yellowish, sallow skin glows like the everlasting Sun. Like snakes in the grass we allowed lesser races to get close to take a bite, then sprung the trap and ate the choicest most useful bits, the rest is discarded as offal. How might non corummese minorities exist in such a hellscape of racism and xenophobia, by adopting aspects of corummesedom becoming Lesser Daxian but Daxian in the end, accepted albeit grudginly into the fold for their use as labor and whatnot.

Political Control

Marquis Gong, further developed the concept of Zhangwo during the late Qian period

The corummese have a destiny, the biggest and bestest destiny ever, and it can only be reached by everyone rowing the same way. Disagreeing means you hate Daxia and its glory, why should you be allowed life? The guardians of this precious, world shattering destiny were the emperors and now the Party. Traditional oriental despotism was never supplanted, only upgraded to work with modern methodologies and be more effective. Daxian political culture is a fellow traveler to rl world fascism. Linge Chen underwent apotheosis and his successors share in some of his charismatic leadership or perhaps each new leader undergoes his own metamorphosis into a man of near mythical vision and sagacity, by tearing down his predecessors cult and building his own.

Economics

Mix of crony state capitalism and true free market capitalism with long term goals for self reliance and efforts towards autarkism in specific sectors of the economy, Daxian economic practice overseas likened to a fat leech, latching onto targets to suck them dry(without killing them), stealing and cannibalizing of the efforts and achievements of other nations for self benefit, cheating foreigners through legaloid means(read the fine print, stupid). Government mentality to this might be 'Dont want to know, proud of you if you pull it off'

Cultural Effects

Daxian do not like you, they will stare at you and then tell you that you are ugly. You will hear snickering as you walk by(yes they are laughing at you). Foreign brands and pop culture have a hard time being accepted, Anti-Catholic League only one permit from being reactivated, glorification of aspic as national treasure

Modern Adaptation

write here how the Party has instrumentalized the concepts of Zhangwo to reinforce itself, recognition of the limits of Daxian hard and soft power, the existence of ideological fissures inside the Party? Dominant Pragmatists who realize Daxia must be careful and sly, Brutish Fanatics who would throw caution to the winds, invade Ayermer, invade New Harren, re-nuke varshan into the stone age. Zhangwo taken to its logical conclusion might start war of world proportions, expectations of a fanatical public must be carefully managed and manipulated. Licentious use of government terror if all else fails

Notions for a national political/moral/cultural guiding ideology

Names: The Golden Path, Eternal Mandates, Zhangwo, tablets of the brilliant mandates, mastery of the material