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Zhengism and Yangism
Zhengism and Yangism: New Chinese Ideologies of the 20th Century
While the Progressive Union Party, which was a big-tent centrist party, was the dominant force in Chinese politics for much of the 20th century, two new ideologies, re-interpretating western ideologies to suit the conditions of countries like the Empire of the Great Shun, would arise in the Middle Kingdom. These two ideologies would be popular amongst non-European countries seeking alternatives to the main European ideologies of Protectionism, Republicanism, and Unitarianism. Zhengism and Yangism would be developed by Chinese figures in the mid-20th century in response to China’s democratization and both would be prominent in the future.
Zheng Luxian, conciever of Zhengism
Zhengism would be concieved by Zheng Liuxian, a journalist and politician, in the late 1940s as a form of radical Protectionism inspired by Dutch Protectionism, which Zheng Liuxian was impressed by when he visited the Netherlands in 1944. Zheng Liuxian, when he returned to Chongqing, where he lived and was a journalist for the Chongqing Daily, a red-wing newspaper which strongly supported the Constitutional Protection League, started penning the manifesto of the ideology which would in the future bear his name. In this time, he drew influences from the philosophies of the Middle Kingdom, especially Confucianism and Legalism, in his take on Protectionism, which would be published in “Thoughts on Protectionism Outside Europe:”, which was published in 1951.
In his book, Zheng Liuxian, inspired by Dutch Protectionism, condemned Republicanism as an ideology which promoted degeneracy and demagougery. He also condemned Unitarianism as an ideology which ignored basic human nature as society, to him, had natural inequalities while the Unitarians called for full inequality. While the Protectionists of Europe, especially the Dutch Nieuwe Staat, had gotten it right in some aspects, they did not take account of non-European cultures, which had their own philosophical concepts which should be adopted to provide the basis for their own unique takes on Protectionism. In his book, he advocated for a revival of Confucian values and traditional Chinese social attitudes as well as the basis of “Protectionism with Chinese Characteristics” and called for other non-European countries with strong Protectionist movements to adapt Protectionism to local circumstances instead of adopting European-style Protectionism. Zheng was also a radical Protectionist in his political views in that he argued for some sort of “Imperial Restoration” to strengthen the power of the Empire as he argued that the Empire would be more stable with the Emperor instead of “squabbling politicians” as the main source of political authority. He also called for a strong nationalism as well in addition to this as well. This variant on Protectionism would be called Zhengism and would be prominent in the years to come.
Even though Zheng Liuxian mainly wrote about how to adapt Protectionism to China, Zhengism would prove to have lots of impact outside the Middle Kingdom as many protectionists in the Vespuccias and Asia, seeking a non-European variant of Protectionism, saw Zhengism as a source of inspiration. One of the most prominent examples of this was the Inca Empire, internally known as Tawantinsuyu, as Emperor Mamaruntu, who had succeeded Titu Amaru when he died from a heart attack in 1944, was a strong Protectionist who sought to maintain the absolute monarchy that the Inca Empire had and still strengthen the Incan Empire via a system of top-down modernization and industrialization modelled on the models the Mughals, Britannians, Lithuanians, and Chinese had adopted in the 19th century and the early 20th, which combined absolutist monarchism with a desire to strengthen and modernize said country but while Britannia and China transitioned to “semi-constitutional monarchies” and Lithuania and the Mughal Empire saw revolutions, Emperor Mamaruntu also sought to provide a new mandate for said absolutism and so adopted a meritocratic form of governance. This meritocratic, “neo-absolutist” regime would inspire other “Zhengist” regimes as well.
On the blue-wing side of the political spectrum, Yangism would also arise during this time as Yang Xiaolong, the daughter of Chancellor Yang Long, would come up with her own political ideology during this time. Yang Xiaolong concieved the ideology which would bear her name in the early 1950s while she was a junior member of the Chinese civil service after graduating from a University in Germania in 1951, where she met Siglinde “Schnee” Weiss, who would be one of her closest friends for the rest of her life. Said ideology, Yangism, would prove to be one of the main ideologies of the late 20th century, especially in Shun China. Said ideology’s main tenets would be formalized in An Introduction to Progressive Republicanism, which was published in 1956, while in the midst of the Great Asian War.
In An Introduction to Progressive Republicanism, Yang Xiaolong would formalize her new political philosophy, which she called “Progressive Republicanism”, which combined elements of both Democratic Unitarianism and Republicanism. In addition, she envisioned said ideology to be a credible alternative to Unitarianism as well. Major features of Yangism would be it’s call for a mixed-marketeconomy, which Yang Xiao Long argued should contain regulations against monopolies and oligopolies to increase competition, it’s call for a universal welfare state, which it argued would be the main safeguard against extremist movements on either the blue or red wings of the political spectrum, and it’s call, based on the ancient Chinese philosophy of Mohism, for a strongly meritocratic form of government as well. In addition, Progressive Republicanism would argue for a strengthening of civilliberties and political freedoms as well. Yang Xiao Long’s manifesto also contained Pan-Asianist undertones as one chapter in her book called for the East Asian Security Association to become the core of an “Asian Union” integrating the economies and societies of it’s constituent nations in a brotherhood of Asian nations. After said book was published, the Progressive Union Party would quickly adopt said ideological views in it’s manifesto as well, which would help solidify it’s control over Chinese politics. What few would know is that Yang Xiaolong, in addition to authoring this book, would also be a future Chinese politician as well, prominent in the politics of the Empire of the Great Shun in the late 20th century.
While the Progressive Union Party, which was a big-tent centrist party, was the dominant force in Chinese politics for much of the 20th century, two new ideologies, re-interpretating western ideologies to suit the conditions of countries like the Empire of the Great Shun, would arise in the Middle Kingdom. These two ideologies would be popular amongst non-European countries seeking alternatives to the main European ideologies of Protectionism, Republicanism, and Unitarianism. Zhengism and Yangism would be developed by Chinese figures in the mid-20th century in response to China’s democratization and both would be prominent in the future.
Zheng Luxian, conciever of Zhengism
Zhengism would be concieved by Zheng Liuxian, a journalist and politician, in the late 1940s as a form of radical Protectionism inspired by Dutch Protectionism, which Zheng Liuxian was impressed by when he visited the Netherlands in 1944. Zheng Liuxian, when he returned to Chongqing, where he lived and was a journalist for the Chongqing Daily, a red-wing newspaper which strongly supported the Constitutional Protection League, started penning the manifesto of the ideology which would in the future bear his name. In this time, he drew influences from the philosophies of the Middle Kingdom, especially Confucianism and Legalism, in his take on Protectionism, which would be published in “Thoughts on Protectionism Outside Europe:”, which was published in 1951.
In his book, Zheng Liuxian, inspired by Dutch Protectionism, condemned Republicanism as an ideology which promoted degeneracy and demagougery. He also condemned Unitarianism as an ideology which ignored basic human nature as society, to him, had natural inequalities while the Unitarians called for full inequality. While the Protectionists of Europe, especially the Dutch Nieuwe Staat, had gotten it right in some aspects, they did not take account of non-European cultures, which had their own philosophical concepts which should be adopted to provide the basis for their own unique takes on Protectionism. In his book, he advocated for a revival of Confucian values and traditional Chinese social attitudes as well as the basis of “Protectionism with Chinese Characteristics” and called for other non-European countries with strong Protectionist movements to adapt Protectionism to local circumstances instead of adopting European-style Protectionism. Zheng was also a radical Protectionist in his political views in that he argued for some sort of “Imperial Restoration” to strengthen the power of the Empire as he argued that the Empire would be more stable with the Emperor instead of “squabbling politicians” as the main source of political authority. He also called for a strong nationalism as well in addition to this as well. This variant on Protectionism would be called Zhengism and would be prominent in the years to come.
Even though Zheng Liuxian mainly wrote about how to adapt Protectionism to China, Zhengism would prove to have lots of impact outside the Middle Kingdom as many protectionists in the Vespuccias and Asia, seeking a non-European variant of Protectionism, saw Zhengism as a source of inspiration. One of the most prominent examples of this was the Inca Empire, internally known as Tawantinsuyu, as Emperor Mamaruntu, who had succeeded Titu Amaru when he died from a heart attack in 1944, was a strong Protectionist who sought to maintain the absolute monarchy that the Inca Empire had and still strengthen the Incan Empire via a system of top-down modernization and industrialization modelled on the models the Mughals, Britannians, Lithuanians, and Chinese had adopted in the 19th century and the early 20th, which combined absolutist monarchism with a desire to strengthen and modernize said country but while Britannia and China transitioned to “semi-constitutional monarchies” and Lithuania and the Mughal Empire saw revolutions, Emperor Mamaruntu also sought to provide a new mandate for said absolutism and so adopted a meritocratic form of governance. This meritocratic, “neo-absolutist” regime would inspire other “Zhengist” regimes as well.
On the blue-wing side of the political spectrum, Yangism would also arise during this time as Yang Xiaolong, the daughter of Chancellor Yang Long, would come up with her own political ideology during this time. Yang Xiaolong concieved the ideology which would bear her name in the early 1950s while she was a junior member of the Chinese civil service after graduating from a University in Germania in 1951, where she met Siglinde “Schnee” Weiss, who would be one of her closest friends for the rest of her life. Said ideology, Yangism, would prove to be one of the main ideologies of the late 20th century, especially in Shun China. Said ideology’s main tenets would be formalized in An Introduction to Progressive Republicanism, which was published in 1956, while in the midst of the Great Asian War.
In An Introduction to Progressive Republicanism, Yang Xiaolong would formalize her new political philosophy, which she called “Progressive Republicanism”, which combined elements of both Democratic Unitarianism and Republicanism. In addition, she envisioned said ideology to be a credible alternative to Unitarianism as well. Major features of Yangism would be it’s call for a mixed-marketeconomy, which Yang Xiao Long argued should contain regulations against monopolies and oligopolies to increase competition, it’s call for a universal welfare state, which it argued would be the main safeguard against extremist movements on either the blue or red wings of the political spectrum, and it’s call, based on the ancient Chinese philosophy of Mohism, for a strongly meritocratic form of government as well. In addition, Progressive Republicanism would argue for a strengthening of civilliberties and political freedoms as well. Yang Xiao Long’s manifesto also contained Pan-Asianist undertones as one chapter in her book called for the East Asian Security Association to become the core of an “Asian Union” integrating the economies and societies of it’s constituent nations in a brotherhood of Asian nations. After said book was published, the Progressive Union Party would quickly adopt said ideological views in it’s manifesto as well, which would help solidify it’s control over Chinese politics. What few would know is that Yang Xiaolong, in addition to authoring this book, would also be a future Chinese politician as well, prominent in the politics of the Empire of the Great Shun in the late 20th century.
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