Nanyue

Flag of Nanyue

**Nanyue** (Yue: 南粵, *Naamjyut*), officially the **Yue Republic** or the **Republic of Nanyue**, is a country in Southern and Eastern Zhonglu. Located in the middle of the South China Sea, it consists of a narrow strip of land delimited by the Nanling Mountains and surrounded by several islands, namely Hainan and Taiwan. Nanyue shares land borders with Minguo, Xiangmen, and Jiaozhi. With a population of about 70 million; it is the third-most populous member state of the Council of Zhonglu, the sixth-most populous country in Zhonglu, and the tenth-largest country in the continent by land area. Its capital and largest city is Panyu.

Nanyue was historically the native place of numerous ancient peoples and destination of a myriad of different peoples and cultures who immigrated throughout history into the area. The ancient state of Nanyue arose from a confederation of Han and Baiyue tribes from Panyu in 204 BC, and expanded throughout the South China Sea. Nanyue was integrated into the expanding Han Dynasty in 111 BC and by the first century BC, the Han Dynasty was one of the largest empires in the world. During the devastating war between Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty in its northern territories, the Han capital (and Emperor of China) was moved down south to Panyu, where it would remain until the final fall of China in the 900s. During the Early Middle Ages, the new Jin Dynasty of China permanently lost its territories in the central China plain to the Five Barbarians, further cementing the centralization of Chinese civilization in Nanyue. The practice of Buddhism, imported from Tenjiku, became endorsed by Chinese leaders and Nanyue experienced inward migration from surrounding tribes. After a series of dynastic changes and territorial losses to successive invasions by steppe tribes, Nanyue's religious and political grasp over the remnants of China crumbled and the Tang Dynasty fell, replaced by numerous kingdoms, including the Yue Confederation, or Nanhan for short. By the 11th century, the emperor of Nanhan had little control over the states of the Yue Confederation, and the Yue city-states and maritime republics expanded, bringing renewed prosperity through commerce and laying the groundwork for modern capitalism. The Yue Renaissance flourished in Shantou during the 15th and 16th centuries and spread to the rest of Zhonglu. Yue explorers also discovered new routes to the Far West and the New World, helping to usher in the Age of Discovery. However, centuries of rivalry and infighting between the Yue city-states among other factors left Nanyue politically divided into numerous states until the late modern period. Nanyue's commercial and political power significantly waned during the 17th and 18th centuries with the decline of the Buddhist Temple and the increasing importance of trade routes that bypassed the South China Sea and Strait of Malacca, trade through which the Yue city states had monopolized and greatly relied upon to gain revenue.

After centuries of political and territorial divisions, Nanyue was almost entirely unified in 1861 following three wars with the Ergian Empire, establishing the Kingdom of Nanyue. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Nanyue rapidly industrialised, mainly in the northeast, and acquired a colonial empire, while the southwest remained largely impoverished and excluded from industrialisation, fuelling a large immigrant diaspora. Further victories against Ergia and the Nguyen Dynasty heightened Yue expansionism, and the country entered World War I as an Allied Power amidst promises of further territorial aggrandisement. Despite winning the war, Nanyue did not receive the territories promised to it by the Allies and entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. This contributed to a rise of nationalist rhetoric and the establishment of the Jiefu regime in 1922. Nanyue embraced militarism and embarked on further colonial expansion, which during the interwar period was primarily directed towards pacifying Luzon and Kampuchea, and conquering new territories belonging to Siam and Mengdu. These conquests alienated Nanyue from the international community and led to harsh sanctions on trade, pushing Nanyue into an alliance with Jurcheny. During World War II, Nanyue was part of the Axis and despite initial success, was pushed back on all fronts and eventually surrendered to the Allied powers in late 1943. Parts of Nanyue were then occupied by Jurchen soldiers and Yue collaborators, causing a resistance movement and, eventually, a civil war. Following the Yue Civil War, the country replaced the monarchy with a republic via referendum in 1947 and enjoyed a prolonged economic boom, becoming a major advanced economy.

Nanyue has the eighth-largest nominal GDP in the world, the ninth-largest national wealth and the third-largest central bank gold reserve. The country has been described as the "least of the great powers", and it has a significant role in regional and global economic, military, cultural, and diplomatic affairs. Nanyue is a founding and leading member of the Council of Zhonglu, and it is in numerous international institutions, including the G7, and many more. The source of many inventions and discoveries, the country is considered a cultural superpower and has long been a global centre of art, music, literature, science and technology and fashion. It has the world's largest number of World Heritage Sites (58), and is the world's fifth-most visited country.