Manchuria


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Manchuria (': 滿洲; ': ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ) officially known as the Manchu People's Republic (滿族人民共和國; ᠨᡳᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠᡳᡵᡤᡝᠨ ᡤᡠᠨᡥᡝᡬᠣ ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ) is a sovereign state in. It boarders to the north and to the east,  to the west,  to the southwest, Korea to the south east and the  to the south. Its capital and largest city is, and possesses a population of 119,042,926 people, the twelfth highest in the world, in between Mexico and the Lan Na. It is the ninth largest country in behind its neighbour Mongolia and the 26th in the world at 1,165,000km2, being larger then  but smaller then. It is governed as an   with a.

Manchuria has historically been part of various Chinese and Korean dynasties, but was for most of its history inhabited by, most notably the (later referred to as the ). Manchuria served as the seat of the influential between 1115 to 1234 before in was conquered by the. Later Manchuria came under the sway of the Mongol ruled although the growing influence of the  saw the southern regions of Manchuria put under Ming rule. In the early 1580's Jurchen chieftain united the Jurchen tribes and was able to conquer the entirety of Manchuria, and establish the foundations for the. In 1644 the Qing were able to take control of 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 state. Manchuria soon adopted similar agricultural practices to the rest of China, although the Qing rulers discouraged mass Han migration to Manchurian regions. The saw large tacts of Manchurian land ceded to, with the 1800's seeing  being completely annexed by the. The decline of the Qing empire saw come under the influence of both Russia and  with Japan exerting much more influence over Manchurian regions following the  and  revolutions which undermined Chinese and Russian interests in Manchuria. In 1916 warlord took control of Manchuria, which, whilst officially part of the  in actuality functioned more as an independent state. Zhang's tentative alliance with the Japanese and opposition to the government of  saw his assassination in 1928, Manchuria became increasingly unstable. The enabled the Japanese to  Manchuria.

The Japanese occupation of Manchuria saw the creation of the of  ostensibly created as the homeland to the  ethnic group. Despite being officially ruled by the last Chinese emperor of the Qing dynasty in reality Manchukuo was controlled almost entirely by Japan. In 1945 following the defeat of, a coalition of Manchu republicans, , and other  overthrew the government of Manchukuo, putting Puyi under arrest and establishing the first Manchu People's Republic. This republic, ostensibly a, was plagued by internal conflicts , which was promptly invaded by the. After a brief period of occupation by the Soviets Manchuria became a of the Soviet Union known as the Democratic People's Republic of Manchuria. A government was reformed which saw the country become a  which was ruled by the Manchu Communist Party, with Manchu independence negotiated by communist leader Xu Xiaobao, with the main Soviet aim being to establish a buffer state between it and the US aligned Korea. During communist rule Manchuria and the newly formed begun a controversial policy nicknamed as the "Great Exchange" which saw a mass forced relocation of thousands of Chinese Manchus into Manchuria with equally as many Han Chinese and Mongolians deported from Manchuria to China. In the Manchuria experienced nationwide protests against communist rule. These protests became known as the Orchid Revolution which saw the communist government oversee the transition of Manchuria into its current democratic republic..

Since 1989 Manchuria has reformed into a multi party democracy, with elections having been held continually since the communist government transferred power in 1990. After implementing some "" economic policies throughout the majority of the duration of the 1990's, Manchuria has since balanced into a,   with some of the more excessive practices of  being curbed, and have since maintained positive economic growth with steps being enacted to begin the transition Manchuria into a  economy. However the primary and secondary sectors remain large sources of income for Manchuria thanks to large resources of and other natural minerals, the continued prevalence of  as well as the large manufacturing sector that ranges from the processing of natural resources to the creation of consumer products. Despite maintaining the 16th biggest economy as measured by nominal GDP wealth inequality remains prevalent especially in the wake of the, as well as concerns over a legislature and alleged marginalisation of the minority  community. Manchuria maintains amicable relations with the majority of its neighbours and is an active member of various international organisations such as the, , , , , and the. Manchuria is sometimes labelled to be a.

Etymology
The term "Manchuria" is officially recognised as an by the Manchu government, which normally uses the term of "Manchu People's Republic" (滿族共和國; Mǎnzú Gònghéguó). "Manchuria" meanwhile comes from the translation of the  word Manshū, and has traditionally been associated with Western and   of.

The term "Manchu" comes from the name Manju, which was applied to the (who mainly resided in the northeastern parts of China) by the  emperor  who became subsequently known as the, although the Manchu people never referred to their homeland as "Manchuria". 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 Northeast Provinces" (東北三省; Dōngběi Sānshěng), and was often referred to as simply the Northeast (東北; Dōngběi). Other names used to describe the region include Guandong (關東; Guāndōng) which translate to "east of the pass" or Guanwai (關外; Guānwài) which means "outside of the pass", both of which are used to describe the regions proximity with the.

The Japanese puppet state in Manchuria saw the region named as "", although Manchuria was widely used. The Manchu Uprising of 1945 saw the turbulent liberal government that opposed the Japanese referred to as its official name of "Manchu People's Republic" with some commentators nicknaming it as "Liberated Manchuria" or "Republican Manchuria". The communist government with encouragement from China originally renamed the state as "Youhonglonghe" (由紅龍河; Yóuhónglónghé) which translates to the "By the Red Dragon River". However following the this was reversed controversially by communist leader Xu Xiaobao who formally renamed the state as Manchuria in an effort to reaffirm allegiance with the Soviet Union. Since the Orchid Revolution there has occasionally been calls to rename Manchuria over the concern that the name is a relic of imperialism - however no new name has been agreed on by any of the political parties.

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

Manchuria has been ruled by the native ethnic groups of the region such as the, , , , and  kingdoms which was mainly ruled by  (such as the ,  and  ethnic groups). The region also came under the control of various Chinese dynasties such as the, , , and. kingdoms such as the, , , and. 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  society with the inhabitants starting to create their own culture unique from those of the southern regions and that of the. The continued dominance of the saw the  Khitan people of modern day  conquer surrounding regions including Manchuria in the creation of the  (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 northeastern parts of the empire.

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

In 1149, grandson of Jin dynasty founder , overthrew the incumbent emperor taking over the position himself. Hailing had ambitions to rule the entirety of China, and begun the of the Jurchen people as well as move the capital from  to Yangjing (modern day ). 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 and  saw Hailing and his son assassinated by his generals in December 1961. Hailing's successor 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.

Mongolian rule
The onset of the 13th century saw frequent attacks upon the Jin by forces under the control of   which further weakened the military and political standing of the Jin. In 1211 following the Mongol invasion of Mongol forces started to invade Jin causing the. 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 Manchuria 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 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, , and. 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 kingdom.

Meanwhile Mongolian forces continued to attack key Jin cities such as on the  and the Jin's capital of. In 1214 Emperor 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 and the ousting of Xuanzong by his brother  saw a peace treated enacted with the  who were allied with the Mongols. Following the death of Genghis Khan his son proceeded to along with the Song dynasty to mount an attack onto Jin, with Emperor Aizong fleeing to the city of Caizhou following the. Aizongs suicide during the 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 in 1237.

Manchuria was put under the control of the following its creation in 1271 by. Continued Mongol rule in Manchuria saw technological innovation made with some of the first cannons ever made being manufactured in Mongolian Manchuria. 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. The 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 tribe which resided in Manchuria invading Liaodong in 1375 prompting a  between Manchuria and the Ming, with the latter eventually defeating the Uriankhai.

Ming dynasty
The Ming under tried to pacify Jurchen resistance as well as finally defeat the remnants of the Yuan primarily by establishing the  which coordinated military action in Manchuria. Most notably the  led several vogues down the  and  rivers managing to coerce Jurchen chieftains to swear their loyalty with the Ming.

The death of the Yongle emperor and the ascension of the 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 (known as the " Liaodong Wall") was built on the boarder primarily to defend the Ming from. 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.

Qing dynasty
The 1580's saw a Jurchen warlord known as unified and conquered several Jurchen tribes north of the Ming boarder such as the, , and. Nurchaci proclaimed himself as the Khan of the Jing dynasty, as well as outlining a list of against the Ming dynasty. Nurhaci followed this by waging war against not only the Ming but the Mongols,, 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. 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, the royal family which Nurhaci was the patriarch. Nuhaci saw the formal adoption of the in.

Nuhaci also created the (commonly called the Bannermen) which saw military success in  and Liaoning. However in 1626 Nuhaci was killed in his first major military defeat at by Ming forces led by. His successor however continued Nuhaci's expansion into both the Ming territories and. Hong Taiji renamed the Jurchen people the 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 whilst his half brother  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 to in April 1644 to take the capital of Beijing where the final Ming ruler the  committed suicide, ending the Ming dynasty, establishing the  in its place. Li marched his rebel forces on the, which was controlled by Ming loyalists led by. 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. The battle also enabled the Manchu's to take Beijing in June 1644 with the Manchu's established the, with the emperor being named the 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 or face death. The queue was seen as humiliating and a contradiction of traditional values among the Han, prompting widespread resistance especially in, 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, and  people.

Regent Dorgon died in December 1650, prompting the Emperor once again to amass the majority of power although at 12 years his mother the mainly directed policy. The Shunzhi Emperor however died in 1661, seeing the ascent of the longest serving Chinese emperor the. At only 8 years of age the Kangxi Emperor was at first guided by four senior officials appointed by the Shunzhi Emperor,, , and , 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. 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 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, and. 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 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. 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 to strengthen his grip in, known as the  as well as annexe  in 1683.

The Manchurian boarder with the had always been vague with sporadic fighting taking place between the Qing and the Russians since the, with the  raging for just under 30 years with Russian brutality being widely feared in Manchuria. Fighting over the town of saw the Qing sign the, marking the Qing's first contact with a major  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 that separated Manchuria from.

In 1722 the Kangxi emperor died leading to the appointment of the, who implemented measures that saw greater suppression of anti-Confucian and anti-Manchu ideals as well as banning and expelling all Christian missionaries. He also created a 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 who subsequently conquered larger swathes of Mongolia and  and Tibet, putting down insurgencies and uprisings. Although important cultural advancements (such as the ) were made under the Qianlong Emperor his rule soon became infamous for establishing the 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 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 failing to put an end to the corruption despite having the most infamously corrupt man in court,, commit suicide. In 1796 the engaged in open  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 Manchuria with many of them farming the rich, uncultivated land in Manchuria. The Qing allowed Han to migrate due to famine, floods and drought becoming increasingly common in the southern regions of China. The even had Manchu-only lands sold to Han Chinese to increase agricultural output.

During this time the Qing dynasty was facing many internal and external conflicts. European colonies in and  forced the Qing to establish the  which saw all trade filtered through the port of  in southern China, thereby restricting European influence. The British 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 Britain and France, but the Chinese refused all but silver to be imported into China. Frustrated with the drain on silver placed on their economies, Britain started to import 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 confiscate all opium imports into China without compensation and subsequently banned the smoking of it. In 1839 Britain declared war on China initiating the. 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 which saw the Chinese open the ports of, ,  and  as well as allow the British to annexe the port of.

The was launched in opposition of the weakening Qing regime, being led by. Hong was able to establish the which outlawed slavery, arranged marriage, opium smoking and foot binding among other things, with Hong stating that he was the brother of. However internal conflict tore the kingdom apart, as well as French and British military who assisted the Qing's Imperial Army. 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 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 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 ascension of the saw the, an attempt to preserve the Qing dynasty through the. This saw some tepid modernisation with Qing officials such as attempting to balance out  Confucian values and Western armaments. Armies were reformed with modern organisation and weapons, formed the which served as the first proper foreign ministry, and established the. The which saw the slaughter of French missionaries and nuns, prompted the French to begin. The saw France conquer the Qing vassal state of  with the Qing giving up the state in 1885, furthering weakening its geopolitical status.

Government and politics
The Constitution of Manchuria is officially a   with a  legislature. The Premier of Manchuria serves both as the and the  with the Vice-Premier being their deputy. From 1945 Manchuria was ruled as a  that ended in 1989 following peaceful street protests around Manchuria that became known as the Orchid Revolution. Since then Manchuria has held several elections with an upcoming election excepted to take place in Summer 2015.

Manchurian politics are split between various parties with the two largest being the  People's Labour Party (PLP) and the,  National Liberal Party (NLP). Currently the coalition known as the Coalition for a United Manchuria holds a majority government, and is led by the NLP along with the League of National Freedom and the Party of Agrarian Reform. The current premier and NLP leader Li Zhou is the first female head of state and government of Manchuria. The legislature of Manchuria is known as the Supreme People's Assembly and consists of 684 seats.

Elections
General and presidential elections are held concurrently every five years in Manchuria. Manchuria uses a voting system in which candidates stand in each electoral district in Manchuria with each district representing a seat in the Supreme People's Assembly. The party or coalition with the majority of seats in the Supreme People's Assembly forms a government. The same year local provincial and municipal elections are held as well as presidential elections which see political parties field candidates who are voted using a.

Political Parties
Main article: List of Political Parties in Manchuria

Economy
Manchuria currently maintains the 16th largest economy in the world if measured by at $926,781 million a year. The Manchurian economy has been one of the strongest in although it has not reached the economic growth of the  (, Korea,  and South Vietnam) with the  still being relatively small compared to  economies in Europe. The national currency of Manchuria is the Manchu Yuan. Manchuria mainly exports goods to, Korea, South Vietnam, and whilst receives imports from China and the.

Manchuria was the first industrialised region in the Qing dynasty, and has since become highly urbanised thanks to its large deposits. However Manchuria did not achieve a smooth transition from a  to a   one, with   being implemented following the fall of the communist regime. This rapid wave of resulted in widespread poverty and poverty to occur in Manchuria as well as a rise in corruption. In response to this a successive PLP government sought to reintroduce regulation and protectionist policies into the economy overseeing the transition into a balanced, which has resulted in less unemployment.

The saw inflation in Manchuria rise substantially, with  policies and  being enacted in order to curtail the worst effects of this inflation. Although this has seen a marked increase in the growth of the economy with the GDP rising by 2.8% in 2013 wealth inequality has skyrocketed with Manchuria having a higher inequality rating then its neighbours, and Korea. The government have since however tried to maintain a consistent path to growth adopting less radical economic policies and establishing a largely stable fiscal situation.

Manchuria still retains a largely with the main industries including, , , and  manufacture. Manchuria also has a large industry as well as maintaining several  refining facilities. Manchuria also has an active agricultural sector with its main exports being,  and. Southern Manchurian lands provide ample conditions to raise and, although farming has declined steadily ever since the mass industrialisation seen in the communist era.