Manchuriana

## Manchurianaᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ (mc)满洲里 (ch)Maнʒѡgцѡ (rmc)

Coat of Arms of the Third Manchu Republic.

**Manchuriana** (Manchu: *ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ*; Russo-Mongolian: *Манжуур*; Russo-Manchurian: *Maнʒѡgцѡ*; Mandarin Chinese: *满洲里*; Korean: *만주*; Japanese: *満州国*), officially known as the **Manchu Republic**, is a fictional country located in East Asia, bordering Mongolia to the East, Russia to the North, Korea and Surea to the South-West, and China to the South-East, with a tiny sliver of a coast in the Yellow Sea in around the South. Manchuriana is a federal republic, meaning it has several administrative Subdivisions in its political anamoly, or rather more broadly divided into 5 *provinces* and 20 *prefectures*, for the first level, along with an autonomous Jewish community in Zhanliang. Spanning between the Mongolian-Manchurian grasslands and the Yellow Sea coast, the country occupies a total area of 984,195 km2. Its capital city is Harbin, with other popular cities being Mukden and Changchun.

Manchuriana has historically been part of various Chinese and Korean dynasties, but was for most of its history inhabited by Tungusic peoples, most notably the Jurchen (later referred to as the Manchu). Manchuriana served as the seat of the influential Jin dynasty between 1115 to 1234 before in was conquered by the Mongolian Empire. Later Manchuriana came under the sway of the Mongol ruled Yuan dynasty although the growing influence of the Ming dynasty saw the southern regions of Manchuriana put under Ming rule. In the early 1580's Jurchen chieftain Nurhaci united the Jurchen tribes and was able to conquer the entirety of Manchuriana, and establish the foundations for the Qing dynasty.

In 1644 the Qing were able to take control of Beijing defeating the Ming dynasty and thus gaining the mantle of leadership over their lands. Under the Qing the modern state of China was formed with the Qing naming it as such following their victory over the Ming, with the concept of Han superiority being replaced with that of the idea of a multiracial state. Manchuria soon adopted similar agricultural practices to the rest of China, although the Qing rulers discouraged mass Han migration to Manchurian regions. The Russian conquest of Siberia saw large tacts of Manchurian land ceded to Tsardom of Russia, with the 1800's seeing Outer Manchuriana being completely annexed by the Russian Empire. The decline of the Qing empire saw Inner Manchuriana come under the influence of both Russia and Imperial Japan with Japan exerting much more influence over Manchurian regions following the Chinese and Russian revolutions which undermined Chinese and Russian interests in Manchuria.

Despite maintaining the 16th largest economy as measured by nominal GDP wealth inequality remains prevalent especially in the wake of the Great Recession, as well as concerns over a corrupt legislature and alleged marginalisation of the minority Korean community. Manchuriana maintains amicable relations with the majority of its neighbours and is an active member of various international organisations such as the UN, G-20, WTO, SCO, IMF, WBG, and the ADB. Manchuria formally possessed nuclear weapons but dismantled them when they signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2000. Since 1947 the Manchu script has been used to write both the Chinese and Manchu languages which are the two official languages.

## Etymology

The term "Manchuriana" is officially recognised as an exonym by the Manchu government, which normally uses the term of "Manchu Republic" (*ᠮ᠊᠊ᠠ᠊᠊ᠨ᠋᠊᠊ᡯ᠊᠊ᡡ ᡤ᠊᠊ᠣ᠊᠊ᠨ᠋᠊᠊ᡤ᠊᠊ᡥ᠊᠊ᡝ᠊᠊ᡤ᠊᠊ᡠ᠊᠊ᠣ*, *Mǎnzú Gònghéguó*; *ᡤᡠᠨᡥᡝᡬᠣ ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ*, *Gungheg'o Manju*) although it is colloquially known as *Guanwai* (*ᡤ᠊ ᠊ᡠ᠊᠊ᠠ᠊᠊ᠨ᠋᠊᠊ᠸ᠊᠊ᡳ*; *Guānwài*) within Manchuriana. "Manchuriana" meanwhile comes from the English translation of the Japanese word *Manshū*, and has traditionally been associated with Western and Japanese imperialism of China.

The term "Manchu" comes from the name *Manju*, which was applied to the Jurchen people (who mainly resided in the northeastern parts of China) by the Qing emperor Hong Taiji who became subsequently known as the Manchu people, although the Manchu people never referred to their homeland as "Manchuriana". Rather, originally the Qing named these Northern regions as the "three eastern provinces" (*三東省*; *Dōng Sānshěng*), but provincial changes in 1907 saw the territory renamed as the "Three North-East Provinces" (*東北三省*; *Dōngběi Sānshěng*), and was often referred to as simply the North-East (*東北*; *Dōngběi*) which remains one of the modern colloquial names for the country. Other names used to describe the region include *Guandong* (*關東*; *Guāndōng*) which translate to "east of the pass" or the previously mentioned Guanwai which translates to "outside of the pass" both of which are used to describe the regions proximity with the Shanhai Pass.

When Zhao Guangping declared an independence in 1916 he named the state as the "Manchu Republic" (滿族共和國, Mǎnzú Gònghéguó; *ᡤᡠᠨᡥᡝᡬᠣ ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ*, *Gungheg'o Manju*) although its people colloquially referred to it as Dongbei or Guanwai. Internationally however it was known as Manchuria. The Japanese puppet state in Manchuria saw the region named as "Manzhouguo" (滿洲國; Mǎnzhōuguó) which meant "Manchu State". In Japanese it was called "Manshū-koku" (*満州国*). In 1934 Manzhouguo was renamed as the Great Empire of Manzhouguo (Chinese: *大滿洲帝國*, Dà Mǎnzhōu Dìguó; Japanese: *大満州帝国*, Dai Manshū Teikoku). The Manchu Uprising of 1944 saw the turbulent liberal government that opposed the Japanese referred to itself as the "Manchu Republic" emulating the name of the former government of Zhao, with some commentators nicknaming it as "Liberated Manchuria" or "Republican Manchuria".

Communist Manchuriana was officially known as the Manchu People's Republic (*ᠮ᠊᠊ᠠ᠊᠊ᠨ᠋᠊᠊ᡯ᠊᠊ᡡ ᡵ᠊᠊ᡝ᠊᠊ᠨ᠋᠊᠊ᠮ᠊᠊ᡳ᠌᠊᠊ᠨ ᡤ᠊᠊ᠣ᠊᠊ᠨ᠋᠊᠊ᡤ᠊᠊ᡥ᠊᠊ᡝ᠊᠊ᡤ᠊᠊ᡠ᠊᠊ᠣ*, *Mǎnzú Rénmín Gònghéguó*; *ᠨᡳᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠᡳᡵᡤᡝᠨ ᡤᡠᠨᡥᡝᡬᠣ ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ*, Niyalmairgen Gungheg'o Manju). Communist leader Xu Xiaobao requested to the countries of the Eastern Bloc to refer to the country as Guanwai. However this suggestion was never realised with the majority of countries continuing to use Manchuriana, resulting in Jin's successor Qian Yiu-tong to declare Manchuria as a recognised exonym. Since the Orchid Revolution there has occasionally been calls to have other countries formally agree to call Manchuria Guanwai instead over the concern that the name Manchuriana is a relic of imperialism—however this has not been agreed on by any of the political parties.

## History

### a. Proto-History

Archaeological evidence shows that Manchuria has housed human life from the neolithic period onwards. Notable neolithic cultures found in modern day Manchuria include the Hongshan, Xinle and Xinglongwa cultures.

Manchuriana has been ruled by the native ethnic groups of the region such as the Xianbei, Donghu, Khitan Sushen, Mohe, and Wuhuan kingdoms which was mainly ruled by Tungusic peoples (such as the Jurchens, Ulch and Nanai ethnic groups). The region also came under the control of various Chinese dynasties such as the Han, Cao Wei, Tang, and Western Jin. Korean kingdoms such as the Gojoseon, Buyeo, Goguryeo, and Balhae. In the latter two Korean kingdoms Tungusic aristocrats ruled rather then the previous Korean warlords. The kingdom of Balhae saw the region develop into a medieval feudal society with the inhabitants starting to create their own culture unique from those of the southern regions and that of the Korean peninsula. The continued dominance of the Song dynasty saw the Mongolic Khitan people of modern day Inner Mongolia conquer surrounding regions including Manchuriana in the creation of the Liao dynasty (officially known as the "Great Liao"). The Liao empire was the first to incorporate the entirety of modern Manchuria within its boarders. Under the Liao empire the Jurchen people (who preceded the modern day Manchu people) were tributaries to the Liao mostly living in the forests in the North-Eastern parts of the empire.

### b. Medieval History

#### Liao & Jin Dynasties

With the Song dynasty to the south, the Khitan people of Western Manchuriana, who probably spoke a language related to the Mongolic languages, created the Liao dynasty in Inner and Outer Mongolia and conquered the region of Manchuria, and went on to control the adjacent part of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in Northern China as well.

In the early 12th CE the Tungusic Jurchen people (the ancestors of the later Manchu people) originally lived in the forests in the eastern borderlands of the Liao Empire, and were Liao's tributaries, overthrew the Liao and formed the Jin dynasty. They went on to control parts of Northern China and Mongolia after a series of successful military campaigns. Most of the surviving Khitan either assimilated into the bulk of the Han and Jurchen populations, or moved to Central Asia. However, according to DNA tests conducted by Liu Fengzhu of the Nationalities Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Daur people, still living in Northern Manchuriana, are also descendants of the Khitans.

Around 1115 the Wanyan clan of the Jurchen people enacted the Alliance Conducted at Sea which saw the alliance between the Wanyan and the Song dynasty, who invaded the Liao dynasty with the Wanyan creating the Jin dynasty ("Great Jin"). The Jin soon fought both the Liao and the Song in a series of military campaigns. A migration of Han Chinese occurred in the Great Jin with the former ruling Khitan people either being assimilated or exiled to Central Asia. The Jin became significant for spreading Buddihism from the Song dynasty throughout the region.

In 1149 Hailing Wang, grandson of Jin dynasty founder Wanyan Aguda, overthrew the incumbent emperor taking over the position himself. Hailing had ambitions to rule the entirety of China, and begun the sinicisation of the Jurchen people as well as move the capital from Huining Fu to Yangjing (modern day Beijing). Despite his adoption of Han traditions and encouragement of Han migration, Jurchen aristocracy remained dominant within the empire. Hailing however was brutal to what he perceived as dissident lords, having 155 Jurchen princes executed. This caused division in the Jin's ruling class, with Hailing's invasion of southern Song in 1161 prompting two rebellions in northern Jing, one by Khitan tribes, the other by Jurchen lords. Hailing was forced to call off his invasion of the Song to put down the rebellions, which severely depleted his military forces. Later defeats at Battle of Caishi and Tangdao saw Hailing and his son assassinated by his generals in December 1961. Hailing's successor Shizong spent his first years quelling the Khitran uprising. Realising the Great Jin had no military means to fight the Song dynasty, Shizong had a peace agreement negotiated with the Song, named the Treaty of Lóngxīng.

#### Mongol Rule

***Main Article:** Manchuriana under Yuan Rule*
The onset of the 13th CE saw frequent attacks upon the Jin by Mongol forces under the control of Khagan Genghis Khan which further weakened the military and political standing of the Jin. In 1211 following the Mongol invasion of Western Xia Mongol forces started to invade Jin causing the Mongol-Jin wars. The onset of these wars caused Khitan tribesmen led by Yelü Liuge to ally with Genghis Khan, creating an ostensibly autonomous state in the upper Manchurian region despite facing attacks from the Jin that were repelled by Mongol forces. Meanwhile the Jin continued to decline thanks to internal strife such as the rebellion led by Puxian Wannu who established the state of Eastern Xia in 1215 with support from the Mongolians. Puxian however rebelled against the Mongols before being exiled to an island giving the Mongolians a chance to annexe Khwarezm, Liaoxi, and Liaodong. A further rebellion among the Khitans saw Yelü ousted with the Khitan trying to also rebel against the Mongolians before they too were crushed by combined Mongolian and Korean forces from the Goryeo kingdom.

Meanwhile Mongolian forces continued to attack key Jin cities such as Datong on the Badger's Mount Campaign and the Jin's capital of Zhongdu. In 1214 Emperor Xuanzong abandoned the capital, where he was persuaded to attack the weakening Song so he could compensate for territory lost from the Mongols. A defeat at the Yangtze River and the ousting of Xuanzong by his brother Aizong saw a peace treated enacted with the Tangut people who were allied with the Mongols. Following the death of Genghis Khan his son Ögedei proceeded to along with the Song dynasty to mount an attack onto Jin, with Emperor Aizong fleeing to the city of Caizhou following the Siege of Kaifeng. Aizongs suicide during the Siege of Caizhou in 1234 and the Mongols victory saw the end of the Jin dynasty, with their lands divided between the Mongols and the Song. Soon however disagreements between the Mongols and the Song saw the Mongols annexe the Song dynasty as well as northern regions of Manchuria inhabited by Jurchen peoples, with the whole northeast Chinese region falling completely under Mongolian control. The Mongols successfully gained suppressed further rebellions under Ögedei such as that of the Water Tatars in 1237.

Manchuriana was put under the control of the Yuan dynasty following its creation in 1271 by Kublai Khan. Continued Mongol rule in Manchuriana saw technological innovation made with some of the first cannons ever made being manufactured in Mongolian Manchuriana. The subsequent expulsion of Mongolians from China following the collapse of the Mongol kharnates saw the Tungusic aristocrats and lords still ally with the final Yuan emperor Toghon Temür. The Ming Dynasty was able to take many southern regions of Manchuria by 1371 three years after the expulsion of the Mongols from Beijing. However, resistance still remained with the Mongolian Uriankhai tribe which resided in Manchuria invading Liaodong in 1375 prompting a war between Manchuria and the Ming, with the latter eventually defeating the Uriankhai.

#### Ming Dynasty

***Main Article:** Manchuriana under Ming Rule*

The Ming under Yongle Emperor tried to pacify Jurchen resistance as well as finally defeat the remnants of the Yuan primarily by establishing the Nurgan Regional Military Commission which coordinated military action in Manchuria. Most notably the eunuch Yishiha led several vogues down the Songhua and Amur rivers managing to coerce Jurchen chieftains to swear their loyalty with the Ming.

The death of the Yongle emperor and the ascension of the Hongxi Emperor saw Ming policy in Manchuria change with expansionist ideals replaced with those that instead advocated for the strengthening of southern Manchurian territories that were controlled by the Ming. Wary of the prospect of a possible Jurchen-Mongol invasion of the Ming a smaller, simpler version of the Great Wall (known as the "Liaodong Wall") was built on the boarder primarily to defend the Ming from Jianzhou Jurchens. Despite this Chinese culture in both southern and northern regions thrived with Chinese cuisine, traditional stories and symbols, New Year, and Chinese products such as cotton spread among the Jurchen people especially those along the Amur river.

### c. Qing Dynasty

*Main Article: Manchuriana under Qing Rule*
#### Rise of Nurhaci & the Great Qing

Starting in the 1580s, a Jianzhou Jurchen chieftain, Nurhaci (1558–1626), started to unify and conquer several Jurchen tribes north of the Ming boarder such as the Khorchin, Nara, and Hulun. Nurchaci proclaimed himself as the Khan of the Jing dynasty, as well as outlining a list of Seven Grievances against the Ming dynasty. Nurhaci followed this by waging war against not only the Ming but the Mongols, Koreans, and other Jurchen tribes, greatly expanding his sphere of influence. Soon Jurchen forces started to conduct more direct attacks against the Ming, with Nurhaci committing to the aim of conquering the whole of the Ming. The Jurchen were able to speed this invasion with Han Chinese officials defecting to Jurchen forces for the promise of being given a women from the House of Aisin Gioro, the royal family which Nurhaci was the patriarch. Nuhaci saw the formal adoption of the Manchu language in Mongolian script.

In 1616, Nurhaci declared himself a *khan* and founded the Later Jin Dynasty. Nurhaci's son, Hong Taiji or Emperor Taizong, followed his late father's step by energetically expanded Jin rule into Outer Manchuria. Under Hong Taiji, the name "Manchu" was invented and given to the Jurchen people in 1635 as a new name for their ethnic group. A year later, Hong Taiji renamed his dynasty as the Qing Dynasty.

In 1644, the Manchus took Beijing, overthrowing the Ming Dynasty and soon established the Qing Dynasty rule (1644–1912) over all of China. The Manchus ruled all of China, but they treated their homeland of Manchuria to a special status and ruled it separately. The Han civilians were prevented to immigrate to Manchuria. Only Bannermen, including Chinese bannermen, were allowed to settle in Jilin and Heilongjiang. This effort, however, failed and the southern parts developed agricultural and social patterns similar to those of north China by the Han Chinese farmers.

#### Great Qing after Nurhaci's Death

Nurhaci also created the Eight Banners (commonly called the Bannermen) which saw military success in Sarhu and Liaoning. However in 1626 Nurhaci was killed in his first major military defeat at Ningyuan by Ming forces led by Yuan Chonghuan. His successor Hong Taiji however continued Nurhaci's expansion into both the Ming territories and Outer Manchuria. Hong Taiji renamed the Jurchen people the Manchu as a possible indicator of his interest in expanding Manchu interests beyond Manchuria as well as utilise Han Chinese defectors to serve in his bureaucracy, in which the Khan played a highly centralised role. In 1643 Hong died leaving no clear successor, with a compromise being reached that his five year old son would be the nominal Shunzhi Emperor whilst his half brother Dorgon served as regent. Meanwhile the Ming started to enter an endless period of infighting amongst their senior officials as well as failing to deal with peasant rebellions. This enabled the a rebel warlord named Li Zicheng to in April 1644 to take the capital of Beijing where the final Ming ruler the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide, ending the Ming dynasty, establishing the Shun dynasty in its place. Li marched his rebel forces on the Shanhai Pass, which was controlled by Ming loyalists led by Wu Sangui. Wu decided that he would rather ally with the Manchu's then let the pass fall to the rebel forces, resulting in a joint effort by Wu's forces and the Manchu's to destroy the rebel forces in the Battle of Shanhai Pass. The battle also enabled the Manchu's to take Beijing in June 1644 with the Manchu's established the Qing dynasty, with the emperor being named the Son of Heavan in October. It took a further 17 years however for the Qing to take the whole of Ming territory as they battled rebels and loyalists.

During this time many Han Chinese joined the Manchu bannermen, where they enjoyed various political, legal and social privileges, with the Manchu's soon becoming a minority. Despite this Manchu leaders quickly began to test their new conquests loyalty with most notably in 1645 regent Dorgon ordered a decree that forced all men to cut their hair into a queue or face death. The queue was seen as humiliating and a contradiction of traditional Confucian values among the Han, prompting widespread resistance especially in Jiangnan, which in itself prompted ethnic killings to be enacted against Han Chinese. During this time the Qing treated the region of Manchuria in a separate fashion acting akin to a highly autonomous region. The conquest of Ming territories saw the Qing name their state China (*中國*, *Zhōngguó*) which translates to "Middle Kingdom", with the Qing stressing the ethnic homogamy between Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Uyghur and Tibetan people.

#### Uprising of Mongol & Russian Tensions

Regent Dorgon died in December 1650, prompting the Emperor once again to amass the majority of power although at 12 years his mother the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang mainly directed policy. The Shunzhi Emperor however died in 1661, seeing the ascent of the longest serving Chinese emperor the Kangxi Emperor. At only 8 years of age the Kangxi Emperor was at first guided by four senior officials appointed by the Shunzhi Emperor, Sonin, Ebilun, Suksaha and Oboi, each chosen for their loyalty, lack of assertions for the imperial throne and to halt each other from amassing power in the same way Dorgon had done. However soon Oboi started to dominate the Qing state, having Suksaha killed whilst having Ebilun act as his loyal companion. Eventually at a mere 14 years the emperor had Oboi imprisoned, thus beginning his own personal rule. The Kangxi Emperor's long rule was marked with remarkable stability, thanks partly to the bureaucracy that the Manchu's had adopted that saw the creation of the Kangxi Dictionary. Respect for Confucianism saw it possible for Han Chinese to ascend the political hierarchy.

Meanwhile the Manchu ruling elite were able to appeal to their Central Asian roots to gather the support from the conquered Mongols, Uyghurs, and Tibetans, meaning that Manchu rule remained unquestioned. Ruling such large territory however saw increased autonomy given to feudal lords such as Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong. In 1673, Shang petitioned for his retirement and for his son to take control over the land ceded to him by the Emperor. After the Kangxi Emperor refused to let his son succeed him Shang along with Wu and Geng initiated the Revolt of the Three Feudatories in August. The insurrection lasted for 8 years with Wu trying to establish himself as the Emperor of a new dynasty, and was able to gin support mainly from people in territories south from the Yangtze river. Eventually a coalition of Manchu warlords led by the Emperor saw the rebel forces crushed in 1681, although southern China was ruined in the process. Following this victory the Kangxi was able to lead campaigns against the Dzungars to strengthen his grip in Outer Mongolia, known as the Dzungar–Qing War as well as annexe Taiwan in 1683.

The Manchurian boarder with the Russia had always been vague with sporadic fighting taking place between the Qing and the Russians since the Russian conquest of Siberia, with the Sino-Russian border conflicts raging for just under 30 years with Russian brutality being widely feared in Manchuria. Fighting over the town of Albazino saw the Qing sign the Treaty of Nerchinsk, marking the Qing's first contact with a major European power. The close of the century and the end of the Kangxi Emperor's reign in 1722 saw the Qing reach the zenith of its existence with the largest economy in the world as well as being one of the largest empires by that point. During this time the Qing were able to halt mass Han emigration to Manchuria thanks to the construction of the Willow Palisade that separated Manchuriana from *China proper*.

#### The Trial of Isolationism

In 1722 the Kangxi emperor died leading to the appointment of the Yongzheng Emperor, who implemented measures that saw greater suppression of anti-Confucian and anti-Manchu ideals as well as banning Christianity and expelling all Christian missionaries. He also created a Grand Council that served as the executive power behind the emperor, as well as enforce land tax from all local lords. This enabled the Yongzheng emperor to build infrastructure around his empire especially in the northern Manchurian regions, although a financial crisis still persisted. The Yongzheng emperor's death in 1735 saw his son become the Qianlong Emperor who subsequently conquered larger swathes of Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, putting down insurgencies and uprisings. Although important cultural advancements (such as the Siku Quanshu) were made under the Qianlong Emperor his rule soon became infamous for establishing the Literary Inquisition which hunted down and persecuted intellectuals and their families if they opposed imperial rule. The empire under the Qianlong Emperor soon began to prosper, with ample food imports coming in from America and a population boom. This however soon became a detriment as overcrowding became common, with only Manchuria having large tacts of uninhabited land. The Qing in an effort to protect their homeland eventually decreed that no Han Chinese could settle in Manchuria on pain of death. The Qing court was also becoming increasingly corrupt, with the Jiaqing Emperor failing to put an end to the corruption despite having the most infamously corrupt man in court, Heshen, commit suicide. In 1796 the White Lotus Society engaged in open rebellion with the Qing. Despite the movement being crushed in 1804 the Qing's authority was starting to become increasingly non-existent.

The weakening of the Qing saw a mass migration of Han Chinese into Manchuriana with many of them farming the rich, uncultivated land in Manchuriana. The Qing allowed Han to migrate due to famine, floods and drought becoming increasingly common in the southern regions of China. The Daoguang Emperor even had Manchu-only lands sold to Han Chinese to increase agricultural output. However, this policy was soon quickly reversed as a massive backlash from the ethnic Manchu's saw many Han Chinese expelled from Manchuria.

#### Colonial Era and Tensions

During this time the Qing dynasty was facing many internal and external conflicts. European colonies in India and Indonesia forced the Qing to establish the Canton System which saw all trade filtered through the port of Canton in southern China, thereby restricting European influence. The Britannians performed several unsuccessful attempts to open free trade with the Qing, but they refused almost every offer. Demand for Chinese goods such as silk, ceramics, and tea among others was high among European nations such as Britannia and France, but the Chinese refused all but silver to be imported into China. Frustrated with the drain on silver placed on their economies, Britannia started to import opium into China where its demand quickly sky-rocketed. Concerned with the overflow of silver and the effects of opium the Daoguang Emperor had his aide Lin Zexu confiscate all opium imports into China without compensation and subsequently banned the smoking of it. In 1839 Britain declared war on China initiating the First Opium War. The Chinese soon proved to be ineffective against the British with their wooden junk ships being easily outmatched by British galleons and artillery. The Qing surrendered in 1842 where they were forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Nanking which saw the Chinese open the ports of Amoy, Foochow, Nigpo and Shanghai as well as allow the British to annexe the port of Hong Kong.

The Taiping Rebellion was launched in opposition of the weakening Qing regime, being led by Hong Xiuquan. Hong was able to establish the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom which outlawed slavery, arranged marriage, opium smoking and foot binding among other things, with Hong stating that he was the brother of Jesus Christ. However internal conflict tore the kingdom apart, as well as French and British military who assisted the Qing's Imperial Army. Zeng Guofan helped secure military victory for the Qing in 1864 but not before over 20 million people died with the revolt being named the bloodiest civil war in history. During this time China was forced to sign several more humiliating treaties such as the Treaty of Nerchinsk which saw large chunk of Manchuria ceded to Russia. In 1868 Russia attempted to expel Chinese citizens from Outer Manchuria, with intense fighting breaking out in Vladivostok after Russian authorities shut down gold mines and forced Chinese people to leave Russia. Low intensity fighting lasted until 1892 when the Chinese were eventually driven out of Russia.

#### The Leading Collapse of Great Qing

The ascension of the Tongzhi Emperor saw the Tongzhi Restoration, an attempt to preserve the Qing dynasty through the Self-Strengthening Movement. This saw some tepid modernisation with Qing officials such as Li Hongzhang attempting to balance out conservative Confucian values and Western armaments. Armies were reformed with modern organisation and weapons, formed the Zongli Yamen which served as the first proper foreign ministry, and established the Imperial Maritime Customs Service. The Tianjin Massacre which saw the slaughter of French missionaries and nuns, prompted the French to begin the *Cochinchina Campaign*. The Sino-French War saw France conquer the Qing vassal state of Tonkin with the Qing giving up the state in 1885, furthering weakening its geopolitical status. Relations between China and Japan further deteriorated after the Qing intervened in the failed Gapsin Coup in Korea, which in turn led to the 1885 Sino-Japanese War which was a humiliating military defeat for the Qing. The Japanese aimed to take territory in Manchuriana, but pressure from Britannia and Russia who had their own territorial ambitions forced Japan to abandon these claims. Nevertheless the prestige of the Qing dynasty in the international scene was rapidly receding as they became unable to govern China. Manchuriana was coming under the increasing influence of Russia which helped build the Chinese Eastern Railway.

During this time the Empress Dowager Cixi was taking on an active role in government acting in steed of the Tongzhi Emperor alongside the Empress Dowager Ci'an. The death of the Tongzhi Emperor saw the Guangxu Emperor ascend the throne, a break from the thousand year tradition of the son being the heir apparent of the throne. The Juye Incident which led to German missionaries being murdered saw Germany lease territory in the Jiaozhou Bay which in turn saw Russia gain territory in Liaodong and Britain in Hong Kong. In response to this the Guangxu Emperor led the Hundred Days' Reform which would modernise the ruling bureaucracy and education system. Conservative opposition saw a *de facto* coup performed by the Empress Dowager Cixi against the emperor, although some reforms were implemented. Drought, political instability and European imperialism led many in Northern China to support the Boxer Rebellion led by the Righteous and Harmonious Fists (or Boxers), a group opposed to all foreign influence in China who killed several foreigners mostly Christian missionaries. The Empress Dowager supported the rebellion causing several powers (Austria-Hungary, Britain, Japan, Italy, Germany, Russia, France, and the United States) to form the Eight-Nation Alliance that besieged Beijing from the 14th August 1900. Chinese defence was hard fought, but ultimately fruitless as the Empress Dowager escaped to the city of Xi'an as the powers formulated a score of demands for the Qing to adhere to.

The Boxer Rebellion saw Russia invade Manchuriana and kill a large amount of Manchus and Han Chinese citizens. In response to this the Chinese launched guerilla warfare against Russia, supporting the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War which saw the Japanese take control over parts of Manchuriana, creating the South Manchuriana Railway. In 1908 both the Guangxu Emperor and the Empress Dowager Cixi died, with the Guangxu Emperor's nephew Puyi becoming the Xuantong Emperor. The Qing however were rapidly losing power especially after Puyi's father and regent Zaifeng appointed a cabinet that consisted primarily of members of the royal family.

From 1899 to 1911 Manchuriana was hit by the third plague pandemic after it spread following the Panthay Rebellion. Local Manchu authorities sought to contain the disease by segregating the Han and Manchu populations, with the Han facing the brunt of the diseases spread resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 Han Chinese. The worst outbreak of the disease was between 1910-11.
Lack of reform, the decreasing decline of the Qing, poor living standards and liberal ideas from the west saw disgruntled military officers, students, and other revolutionaries demand for the end of Qing rule and the creation of a new modernised state. The Wuchang Uprising in 1911 proved to be the catalyst for the Xinhai Revolution that saw republicans led by Sun Yat-sen declare the creation of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China. Yat-sen was declared president, but gave power to Yuan Shikai who led the New Army who had crushed revolutionaries at the Battle of Yangxia. Yuan was then the prime minister of the Qing, having removed Zaifeng from the regency and appointed the Empress Dowager Longyu in his place. Yuan oversaw the abdication of Puyi which took place in 1912, ending two thousand years of imperial rule in China.

### d. Republic of China

Following the abdication of Puyi China was officially under the rule of Yuan's republican government, with nationwide elections being held in 1912-13, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (more commonly known as the Kuomintang) winning the election. The leader and founder of the Kuomintang, Song Jiaoren was assassinated however in March 1913, possibly under the orders Yuan Shikai, after Song had campaigned for a weaker executive presidency. Yuan subsequently became more dictatorial, marginalising the Kuomintang in the national legislature whilst making executive decisions alone. These decisions included taking loans from Britannia whilst giving Outer Mongolia and Manchuriana special political rights after facing pressure from Russia and Japan. Sun Yat-Sen urged members of the Kuomintang to launch a revolution against Yuan, but this was crushed resulting in Yuan centralising his power further. In 1914 the parliament was dissolved by Yuan, who restructured the provincial governments so they were ruled by loyal military governors.

In 1915 Yuan started to enforce Confucian ideals in the Chinese government, restoring the Chinese Empire with Yuan as the Hongxian Emperor. This move was widely unpopular as was Yuan's increasing dependence on foreign loans especially to the Japanese. Yuan in the face of international isolation abolished the monarchy in March 1916 - however many provinces had already began a rebellion against Yuan who died in May. Following Yuan's death the central government became increasingly unstable as the region was thrown into a period known as the Warlord Era.

### e. Warlord & Communist Era

In June 1916, following the death of Yuan Shikai, a group of Manchu military officers led by Zhao Guangping took control of Manchuriana, and set up of Provincial Government centred around the city of Harbin. At first the provincial administration swore loyalty to the Beiyang government—however following the failed Manchu Restoration in 1917 Zhao issued the *Manchu Declaration of Independence* which asserted that the "Manchu Republic" was a contemporary sovereign state separate from China, but more closer to newly formed, communist Soviet Union. Zhao subsequently established the Manchu National Army, which began to receive supplies and equipment from Soviet Russia following the year 1918, as well as forming the Manchu National Association (more commonly known as the Manzuxiehui), a political party that served as the ideological pillar to his regime. Zhao allowed for a lot more Russian influence to permeate the region following 1918, with Russian ports being established along the Manchurian coast. Eventually, in 1919, after Zhao's request for the submission of Manchuriana into the Soviet Union was accepted, the Communist Era in Manchuriana hence began; thus starting the Manchu Soviet Socialist Republic, with Zhao as the head of the government headed towards Manchuriana.

As the leader of the Manchu SSR Zhao also allowed members of the Russian Bolshevik party to base their far eastern operations in Manchuria, which marked Zhao out as an opponent of the anti-communist White movement. Zhao himself relied on local feudal landlords to help prop up his military junta, setting up a secret police to root out dissent which mainly came from peasants and those aligned with the Kuomintang. Zhao also began a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Han population, being an early proponent of Manchurian nationalism. Han people were forced to adopt Manchu cultural practices, with many being summarily executed most likely on ethnic grounds. Zhao's anti-Han campaign was supported by the Russians as it helped separate Manchuriana further from China proper and thus create a reliable ally in the region. Zhao's policies helped foster the idea of a proper Manchu state, with the Manchu people starting to see themselves as separate from the Chinese.

Zhao also sought to advance the economy of Manchuria, buying industrial goods from Japan taking advice from a small group of Russian economists. Zhao's industrialisation polices angered some feudal landlords who formed part of Zhao's support base, causing the government to redistribute land to loyal landlords. Railroads were also built mainly to more easily facilitate trade between Manchuriana and Russia. However, the economy remained largely agricultural with industrialisation efforts overall being tepid. The mining industry was nationalised with Manchuria exporting coal and steel.

## Geography

Manchuriana consists mainly of the northern side of the funnel-shaped North China Craton, a large area of tilled and overlaid Precambrian rocks spanning 100 million hectares (250 million acres). The North China Craton was an independent continent before the Triassic period and is known to have been the northernmost piece of land in the world during the Carboniferous. The Khingan Mountains in the west are a Jurassic mountain range formed by the collision of the North China Craton with the Siberian Craton, which marked the final stage of the formation of the supercontinent Pangaea.

No part of Manchuria was glaciated during the Quaternary, but the surface geology of most of the lower-lying and more fertile parts of Manchuria consists of very deep layers of loess, which have been formed by the wind-borne movement of dust and till particles formed in glaciated parts of the Himalayas, Kunlun Shan and Tien Shan, as well as the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts. Soils are mostly fertile mollisols and fluvents except in the more mountainous parts where they have poorly developed orthents, as well as in the extreme north where permafrost occurs and orthels dominate.

### a. Climate

The climate of Manchuriana has extreme seasonal contrasts, ranging from humid, almost tropical heat in the summer to windy, dry, Arctic cold in the winter. This pattern occurs because the position of Manchuria on the boundary between the great Eurasian continental landmass and the huge Pacific Ocean causes complete monsoonal wind reversal.

In the summer, when the land heats faster than the ocean, low pressure forms over Asia and warm, moist South to South-Easterly winds bring heavy, thundery rain, yielding annual rainfall ranging from 400 mm (16 in.), or less in the west, to over 1150 mm (45 in.) in the Changbai Mountains. Temperatures in the summer are very warm to hot, with July average maxima ranging from 31°C (88°F) in the south to 24°C (75°F) in the extreme north. Except in the far North near the Amur River, high humidity causes major discomfort at this time of year.

In the winter, however, the vast Siberian High causes very cold, north to northwesterly winds that bring temperatures as low as −5°C (23°F) in the extreme south and −30°C (−22°F) in the north where the zone of discontinuous permafrost reaches northern Heilongjiang. However, because the winds from Siberia are exceedingly dry, snow falls only on a few days every winter, and it is never heavy. This explains why corresponding latitudes of North America were fully glaciated during glacial periods of the Quaternary while Manchuriana, though even colder, always remained too dry to form glaciers – a state of affairs enhanced by stronger westerly winds from the surface of the ice sheet in Europe.

## Politics

### a. Internal Politics

#### Military

The armed forces of Manchuriana is known as the Manchu National Defence Force, which is split into an army, navy, airforce, coast guard and republican guards. The MNDF currently has around 1,228,300 troops overall (416,800 active and 871,500 in reserve), making it overall the 12th largest military force in terms of manpower (ahead of the Indonesian National Armed Forces but behind the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces). There are some paramilitary forces in Manchuria that cooperate with the MNDF.

The Premier of Manchuriana is the commander-in-chief of the MNDF, which answers to the Ministry of Defence. Military affairs are primarily handled by the Joint Command, a council of military commanders who are subordinate to the Orgburo of defence. The military in Manchuria have traditionally played almost no role in politics, as under communist rule the top ranks in the military were occupied by party officials. Since democratization the military have been kept subordinate to the civilian government.

The predecessor to the MDF, the Manchu People's Revolutionary Army (MPRF), primarily received military equipment from the Soviet Union. The MPRF largely uses ex-Soviet weaponry such as Kalashnikov rifles, BMP-1, 2K22 Tunguska, MT-LB, T-80 and PT-76 tanks. Recently Manchuria has started purchasing weaponry and equipment from China, Britain, and Israel.

Manchuriana has a history of possessing weapons of mass destruction. During the 1960's it was known that Manchuria had produced several nuclear warheads, ostensibly on the grounds that they were a deterrent against Chinese and Korean aggression. It was thought that Manchuriana's nuclear weapons program was largely sponsored by the USSR, and at it's height had around 25 warheads. In 1993 Premier Du Changhao dismantled Manchuria's nuclear weapons program after facing sanctions from the international community, and had Manchuria sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty the same year. Manchuriana has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention and has been accused of possessing chemical weapons such as sarin and mustard gas—however this has not been proven as of 2015. Manchuriana has admitted that it possess facilities that produce chemical weapons, but asserts that they are inactive. Manchuriana has been placed under sanctions by the United States and Japan due to Manchuria's refusal to sign the CWC.

Conscription (known as "Patriotic Civic Service") is currently enforced for all citizens between the ages of 18-21. It was introduced in 1946 for all male citizens, with conscientious objection not being recognised by the government, with only those deemed "unfit for service" being exempted. The government mandated that women also be included in conscription in 1950. In 1996 the government pursued an unsuccessful venture to abolish conscription, but instead comprised by allowing conscripts to opt to enter another form of civil service and recognising conscientious objection. Conscription lasts for 18 months in Manchuria, with university students able to postpone conscription until they graduate. "Draft evasion" is punished harshly in Manchuria. Polls show that public support for the conscription programme continues.

The Manchurian Intelligence Services are overseen by the Orgburo of Interior. The intelligence forces are under one body, the National Security Secretariat (GAS) which handles domestic, foreign and military intelligence. Previously the intelligence services were administrated under the People's Security Secretariat which functioned as a de facto secret police - compared to its predecessor, the GAS possess far less powers. The intelligence services mainly serve to gather intelligence on behalf on the Manchu state, and are notable in that all three bodies closely collaborate with each other. The Manchurian intelligence services have been accused of detaining people for political reasons, exercising torture, and running widespread surveillance programs. An anti-corruption campaign aimed at the intelligence services was launched in July 2015.

#### Elections

Legislative and premierial elections are held every five years in Manchuria. The Premier is elected using First-past-the-post voting with the candidate with the highest number of votes (whether that be a majority or a plurality) being inaugurated as Premier. If a Premier resigns or dies in office then a premierial election for their replacement must be held within 60 days, who will serve a new five year term.

Elections for the *Zuigaohuiyi* must be held every 5 years. The Zuigaohuiyi is elected in a system of parallel voting of the alternative vote and party-list proportional representation. 195 seats within the Zuigaohuiyi represent districts which send a single representative to the Zuigaohuiyi. Candidates within these districts are elected via the alternative vote. The other 490 seats are proportionally elected with citizens voting for parties and individuals on a closed list with seats allocation being calculated using the D'Hondt method. There is a 3% threshold for parties to enter the Zuigaohuiyi, although independent candidates only need to gain a single seat.

Ever five years co-current with legislative elections local provincial and municipal elections are carried out. Such elections use the same process as the legislative elections with provincial and municipal governments being elected on a proportional basis.

### b. External Politics

#### Diplomacy

Manchurian foreign policy is conducted by the Orgburo of Foreign Affairs, currently headed by He Chaoxing. Manchuria pursues a largely neutral foreign policy being a member of several organisations such as the United Nations, G-20, WTO, APEC, IMF, WBG, ADB, East Asia Summit, ACD, PEMSEA, Non-Aligned Movement, Group of 15, and the Group of 24.

Manchuriana has a history of intervening in conflicts and international crisis's. During the Cold War Manchuria helped initiate the Korean War as well as support the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War, FRELIMO in the Mozambican Civil War, the People's Republic of Southern Lan Na in the Lannese Communist Insurgence and the Derg in the Ethiopian Civil War. Since the fall of communism Manchuria has engaged in more humanitarian missions abroad, serving in peacekeeping missions in the Golan Heights, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon and the Congo. Manchuriana also participated in the Afghanistan and Iraq War.

* Soviet Union & Russia
* The Western World
* Arabia
* Neighboring Countries

Manchuriana was for a long time a satellite state of the Soviet Union, and thus has built up good relations with former communist countries. A large diaspora of Manchurians (148,270) lives in Zapadoslavia, with immigration taking place in the early 1970's during the so-called "Golden Age" of socialist Zapadoslavia. Relations with Zapadoslavia remain overwhelmingly positive—notably in 2003 both countries signed the Mukden Pact, the biggest free-trade deal Manchuriana had signed with a single nation. However the election of the national conservative Law and Justice government has raised concerns over this relationship. Manchuriana also has positive economic and political relations with other ex-communist states such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Magyarograd, Uzbekistan, and Zapadoslavia. During the Cold War, Manchuriana unique for a COMECON nation had good relations with Yugoslavia, and continues to maintain positive relations with Serbia and Bosnoserpska and Herzegovina.

Manchuriana has sought to maintain positive relations with Russia. During Soviet rule Russia played a huge part in Manchu politics, encouraging the state to attack Korea as well as providing substantial economic, political and military assistance. Russia also helped create Manchuriana's nuclear weapons program. As such Manchurian-Russian relations have remained cordial, with Manchuria taking a neutral position regarding the War in the Donbass.
Since 1990 Manchuriana has aimed to create good relations with the Western World. Following the Korean War a large number of Manchurian refugees fled the country eventually settling in the United States and Solomorssian Isles who currently house the 4th and 5th largest overseas population of Manchurians respectively. Manchuriana also maintains cordial relations with the Canada and the European Union, although in recent years Manchuriana has voiced some reservations over American foreign policy. Of European countries, Manchuria has especially good relations with Britain, Italy and Germanica.

Following the end of the Cold War Manchuriana has cultivated good relations with Israel, being one of the main purchasers of Israeli military equipment. Previously Manchuriana refused to recognise Israel and supported the PLO. Manchuria's hardline pro-Arab stance saw it cut off ties with Egypt following the Camp David Accords as well as support the Qatifi government on the Qatifi Civil War. During the 1990's Premier Du Changhao created especially good relations with Israel which caused Manchuriana to fall out with its traditional Arab allies such as Qatif and Syria, although in response Manchuriana moved closer to Israel and Egypt. Notably following the Gulf War Manchuriana remained one of the few nations to retain strong diplomatic links with Ba'athist Iraq. During the 2000's Manchuriana entered a period of rapprochement with Syria and Iran, although the Manchurian government remained committed to supporting Israel. The Syrian Civil War has seen Manchuria tentatively support the government of Bashar Al-Assad.

Manchuriana's relations with its neighbours have often been contentious. During the late 1940's and early 1950's there were noticeable tensions between Manchuriana and China with its being a well known fact that Manchurian leader Xu Xiaobao held a low opinion of his Chinese counterpart Mao Zedong. China claimed sovereignty over Manchurian lands and during the First Manchu-Korean War occupied and annexed a third of the country. Relations worsened during the Cultural Revolution which was seen by Manchu leaders as being ideologically excessive and a sign that China unlike Manchuria had not progressed into a form of "mature socialism". Following the removal of the "gang of four" by Deng Xiaoping and subsequent market liberalisation of China relations between the two countries slowly improved. After the Orchid Revolution Manchuria established an embassy in Beijing and subsequently signed many free trade deals. During the 1990's China and Manchuria developed an exceptionally close relationship with both countries sharing military hardware and intelligence. Following the election of Jin Pai Nai as Premier relations intensified as a result of Jin's ardent nationalist views regarding the Tianjin Agreement although the subsequent election of Li Zhou has somewhat seen a revival in Chinese-Manchu relations. China remains the country with the most amount of Manchurians bar Manchuriana with over 5 million and retains extremely close economic, political, cultural, and historic ties.

Manchu-Korean and Manchu-Japanese relations have often been poor. The Empire of Great Manchukuo was essentially a protectorate of Imperial Japan, and the Manzhouguo regime a colony of Japan. Within Manzhouguo, Japanese soldiers conducted mass rape, child molestation, sexual humiliation, sadism, assault and mass murder as a way of controlling the population creating rife Japanophobia within the region which eventually led to the Manchu Uprising in 1944, only for the Soviet Union to then just invade Manchukuo in its own occupation, as a part of World War II. Manchuriana has since called for Japan to apologize for its war crimes and to compensate "comfort women" (women who forced into sexual slavery by the Kwantung Army)—as of 2016 Japan maintains that it has made sufficient apologies. Relations significantly improved following the end of the Cold War with Manchuria and Japan maintaining extremely close economic relations—however the issue of Japanese war crimes continues to be a source of contention between Japanese-Manchu lawmakers.

Korean-Manchu relations were first established in 1946 following the independence of Manchuria. In 1950, Manchuria supported South Korea in the Korean War after the anti-communist regime took control of Korea with Manchurian support. Relations remained extremely tense following the end of the war in 1953 with Manchuriana become a key supporter of the Seoul based government. Manchuriana purposefully developed nuclear and chemical weapons partly to ward off potential North Korean attacks, with both nations using spies against each other. After the fall of the North Korean communist government in the Korean War, due to South Korean victory helped with subsequent efforts from the United States, Solomorssian Isles, Zhusanjiao, Indonesia, and obviously Manchuriana, the anti-communist regime became the sole ruler of peninsula, with the communist regime leaders to be put in exile. Eventually, Manchuriana shared great economic and cultural as well as sociopolitical ties Korea, causing an actual boom in Manchu-Korean relations. Today, within the Manchu diaspora, 3 million Manchu citizens living in South Korea
## Economy

Manchuria currently maintains the 16th largest economy in the world if measured by nominal GDP at $935.5 billion a year. The Manchurian economy has been one of the strongest in East Asia although it has not reached the economic growth of the Four Asian Tigers (Indonesia, Korea, Zhusanjiao, and Taiwan) with the service sector still being relatively small compared to post industrial economies in Europe. The national currency of Manchuria is the New Manchu Yuan. Manchuria mainly exports goods to China, Korea, South Vietnam, and Russia whilst receives imports from China and the European Union.

Manchuriana was the first industrialised region in the Qing dynasty, and has since become highly urbanised thanks to its large coal deposits. However Manchuriana did not achieve a smooth transition from a socialist planned economy to a free market capitalist one, with neoliberal shock therapy economics being implemented following the fall of the communist regime. Privatisation was undertaken in three stages—the first in 1990, the second in 1991 and the third in 1998. This rapid wave of deregulation resulted in widespread poverty and poverty to occur in Manchuria as well as a rise in corruption. In response to this successive governments sought to reintroduce regulation and protectionist policies into the economy overseeing the transition into a balanced mixed economy, which has resulted in less unemployment. Between 1998 to 2008 Manchuria had a huge economic boom with the GDP rising from $201.74 billion in 1997 to $837.25 billion which earned it the nickname of the Liaoshen Dragon.

Manchuriana is a free market economy in which many businesses are able to practice business practices freely unless they are under prohibition by the Government for a logical reason such as working with enemy countries. The most notable companies that contribute to the economy of Manchuriana are the Alibaba Company which specializes with online delivery and the Changchun Film Studio which is also one of the remaining film studios of the era which has made many actors and actresses famous.

### a. Agriculture

Manchuriana's agricultural production is centered upon rice, wheat, maize, and sorghum. Rice is mostly cultivated in the eastern parts, such as Yanbian Prefecture. The Changbai Mountains are an important source of lumber. Sheep herding is an important activity in the western parts, such as Baicheng.

Among its natural resources, Manchuriana has the largest reserves of shale oil and one of the top 5 largest mineral reserves in China. Compared to other certain provinces of China, Manchuriana has extensive deposits of Kieselguhr, wollastonite, floatstone, and molybdenum. Industry in Manchuriana is concentrated on automobiles, train carriages, and iron alloy. Manchukuo is one of the most important commodity grain bases in China. It is ranked 6th in timber production. Traditionally, Manchuriana has been known as a major pharmaceutical center, with yields of ginseng and deer antlers among the largest in China, being used extensively in the field of Chinese medicine. Other agricultural products of Manchuriana include maize, sorghum, and soybeans. Manchuriana's fruits include apples from Dalian and Yingkou, golden peaches from Dalian, pears from Beizhen of Jinzhou, white pears from Huludao and Suizhong, and apricots and plums from Gushan of Dandong.

### b. Industry

Manchuriana also has the largest and wealthiest provincial economy of Asia. Its nominal GDP for 2017 was 2.39 trillion yuan (ca. US$354 billion), making it the 14th largest in the EAPTA organization. Its per capita GDP was 54,745 yuan (US$8,108). Manchukuo also is an important production base of equipment and machinery manufacturing, with Shenyang and Dalian being the industrial centers. Enterprises such as Shenyang Jinbei Co. Ltd., Daxian Group Co. Ltd., and Shenyang Machine Tool Co. Ltd., are leaders in their sectors. Manchuriana's light industry mainly focuses on textiles and clothing industries which include cotton and wool spinning, chemical fiber production, knitting, silk production, and the manufacturing of both garments and textile machinery. Manchuriana also has the most iron, magnesite, diamond, and boron deposits among all province-level subdivisions of China. Liaoning is also an important source of petroleum and natural gas. Salt is produced along the coast. Other than Manchuriana's rich mineral reserves, the nation also has abundant deposits of crude oil, especially in the Liaohe Oilfield.

Manchuriana is one of Asia's most important industrial bases, covering a wide range of industries, such as machinery, electronics, metal refining, petroleum, chemical industries, construction materials, coal, and so on. The sea off Dalian abounds with quality seafood, such as abalones, sea cucumbers, scallops, prawns, crabs, and sea urchins. The big fish of Dandong, the jellyfish of Yingkou, and the clams of Panjin are known worldwide for their good tastes right from the sea and in products made in Liaoning for export domestically and internationally.

## Demographics

### a. Religion

The major religion of Manchuriana is Manchu Shamanism which usually distinguishes two types of ritual, "domestic" and "primitive", which can be performed in 2 cultic settings, "imperial" and "common". The domestic ritual primarily involves the sacrifices for the progenitors of lineages and is the most important, while the primitive ritual involves the sacrifices for zoomorphic gods. The ritual manual of Qianlong was an attempt to adapt all kins' ritual traditions to the style of the imperial kin's ritual tradition. This was only partially effective as common cults were preserved and revitalised over time.

The ancestral ritual is the same in the common and imperial cults. It is composed of three main moments: the dawn sacrifice (Chinese: *chaoji*), the sunset sacrifice (*xiji*) and the "light-extinguishing" sacrifice (*beidingji*) held at midnight. Both common and imperial rituals make use of the gods' pole (Chinese: *神杆 shéngān* or *神柱 shénzhù*, Manchu: *šomo*) as a means of establishing connection with Heaven.

While the domestic ritual is bright and harmonious, the primitive or "wild" ritual is associated with darkness and mystery. Deities involved are not those of the sky, the earth or the ancestors, but are zoomorphic chthonic deities. With its reliance on techniques of ecstasy, the primitive ritual had long been discouraged by the court (Hong Taiji proscribed it as early as 1636).

Other religions include, Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Russian Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholic Christianity which are minority religions in the nation.

## Culture

Manchurian culture is based upon a mix of traditional Manchu culture, Confucian Chinese Culture and the legacy of socialist rule in Manchuriana. A common question posed by Manchurian scholars is whether Manchuria has retained its pure Manchu traditions or has mixed in too far with Chinese culture to create a hybrid of the two. Recently Manchuria has become more culturally Westernised. Traditionally, Manchuriana has adhered to conservative principles with adherence to hierarchy, authority, and consensus decision making. Manchuria, having been for a long time governed as an isolated socialist dictatorship, retains influence that emphasise collectivism, conformity and traditional ethics.

During socialist rule Manchuriana developed a unique identity based upon a strong sense of nationalism and anti-imperialism, class consciousness, class struggle, and socialist realism whilst traditional family values being emphasised. Industrialisation, collectivisation and urbanisation saw the end of certain societal structures such as the feudal system and multi-generational families as people moved from small villages into modern sprawling urban centres and collective farms. Sexism towards women was also curbed as women were praised for their role in the family. Further societal change was fuelled by the two-child policy. Controls on cultural expression were imposed by the government, with varying degrees of liberalisation taking place over the years.

Democratisation saw Manchuriana enter a period of major cultural change as cultural controls were removed and the new government encouraged freedom of thought and expression. Manchuriana also became more westernised as well as take influence from the growing spiritualist movements, most notably the Falun Gong. However cultural norms such as respect for authority, emphasis on family life, societal harmony and consensus and respect for traditional culture remain.

Manchurians are known for being superstitious—unlike considering China—Manchuria was never as heavily influenced by Confucianism, instead retaining shamanistic beliefs. As such many Manchurians are members of folk religious sects or believe in Manchu, Mongolian and Korean Shamanism as well as Dongbei folk religion. Manchurian culture is also informed by Buddhism and Taoism.

Manchuriana has recently begun to distinguish themselves with a growing modern film, music and television industries heavily influenced by Japanese and Korean sources as well as mix with traditional Manchu and Chinese theatre, art, literature and opera. Manchuriana also is famed for its proud history of sports such as ice skating, wrestling, falconry, archery and riding. The government is active in promoting both archery and riding which is seen as a key part of Manchu identity. Manchuriana also has a unique cuisine based on millet, soybeans, peas and wild meats with strong flavours. Manchuriana also celebrates several traditional holidays and celebrations such as *Banjin Inenggi* (*ᠪᠠᠨᠵᡳᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ*) and the Spring Festival as well as newer holidays such as "Revolution Day".

### a. Animation

Since the 1980s Manchuriana has endeavoured to expand its animation industry. Previously animation was a neglected industry in Manchuria, lagging behind the dominant producer in the region Japan. However since the 1980's Manchuria has developed a growing animation industry mainly consisting of traditional 2D cartoons or modern 3D CG animated films, often produced with low costs. Manchurian animation takes inspiration from traditional Manchu and Chinese art, manhua and more recently anime, and uses techniques ranging from watercolour to computer CG. Despite substantial efforts to promote domestic anime in Manchuriana, a study in 2013 found over 61% of respondents prefer Japanese anime to native Manchurian animation. Major animation studies in Manchuriana include Liaoyuan Animation Studios, Qi Ying Animation and New century Studios who collectively produce around 62% of the Manchu animation market.

### b. Literature

The Tale of the Nisan Shaman (Manchu: *ᠨᡳᡧᠠᠨ ᠰᠠᠮᠠᠨ ‍ᡳ ᠪᡳᡨᡥᡝ*,*Möllendorff*: *nišan saman i bithe*,*Abkai: nixan saman-i bithe*; *尼山萨满传*) is the most important piece of Manchu literature.  It primarily recounts how Nisan Shaman helps revive a young hunter. Preface  The story also spread to Xibe, Nanai, Daur, Oroqen, Evenk and other Tungusic peoples. It has 4 versions: the handwriting version from Qiqihar; two different handwriting versions from Aigun; and the one by the Manchu writer Dekdengge in Vladivostok (Manchu: *ᡥᠠᡳᡧᡝᠨᠸᡝᡳ*, Möllendorff: *haišenwei*, Abkai: *haixenwei*). The 4 versions are similar, but Haišenwei's is the most complete. It has been translated into Russian, Chinese, English and other languages.

There is also literature written in Chinese by Manchu writers, such as *The Tale of Heroic Sons and Daughters* (*儿女英雄传*), Song of Drinking Water (*饮水词*) and *The Collection of Tianyouge* (*天游阁集*).