east asia

It seems that most known Buddhist theocracies in history seem to be either Theravada (South Asian) or Vajrayana (Tibet and Mongolia). WI there is a Mahayana Buddhist theocracy established in China or Japan, with the state religion being their own unique mix of folk religion and Buddhism? Of...

In OTL, Southeast Asia is seen as much poorer and underdeveloped while East-Asia is seen as richer, developed, and its culture more widespread. With a POD before 1900, how would Southeast Asian countries become more industrialised and it’s culture more widespread, while East Asian countries are...

An independent Manchuria is not an uncommon idea in althistory, but (admittedly) to my frustration, whenever someone takes a stab at the idea, whatever country they create is in no possible way, shape, or form "Manchuria": Manchukuo, ignoring the fact that it never would've survived, was an...

(So, I'm trying to come up with an idea for a concept for a private project of mine, inspired by @Ambassador Huntsman's timeline amazing Nobunaga's Ambition Timeline (Go read it if you haven't), but not using the Gavin Menzies' 1421 idea; I want late East Asian colonization, where Japan...

The idea of a Hui "national homeland" sounds fascinating to me, especially after reading up on Tunganistan and the Panthay Rebellion. I would love to tackle the existence of such a state in a TL, but I'm not entirely sure how and why this state would form, nor in what time period. Hence why I...

Just a scenario I cooked in my head. I know this is improbable but for the sake of the scenario, let us discuss the ramifications. Let's just say for some reason after Japan's defeat in WWII, the instrument of surrender only says Japan needs to let Korea and the South Pacific Islands go...

It's a well known fact that during the russian civil war there was the rise of warlords such as Makhno and Ungern who temporarily carved their own fiefdoms for a variety of reasons after the collapse of the Russian Empire This state of affairs would ultimately not last however, as the soviets...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912_Chinese_National_Assembly_election Shortly after the Xinhai Revolution, mainland China had what was probably the most democratic election in its history, with multiple parties taking part in it, even if only a very small percentage of the population was...

序章 Prelude: The Fated Night It was the night of December 23th, 1673 when the Forbidden City burned. During the Qing conquest of China, many Ming generals defected to Great Qing due to various reasons. These defecting generals, called Xiangjiang(降將), were treated with high respect and...

Let us assume that for whatever reason, the East Asian nations be it Japan, a Chinese state, Korea, Vietnam, etc. end up reaching outward to spread their influence and defend mercentile interests. And let us assume this "East Asian Age of Discovery" begins sometime between 1200 and 1600. I'm not...

The first president of South Korea, Syngman Rhee was a ruthless and corrupt far-right dictator whose regime was responsible for the imprisonment and death of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of political dissidents. He was also a very old man, being 84 years old by the time he was finally...

Well guys I know this question has been asked a number of times so we assume the Pacific War broke out early between the United States and Japan we assume for example between or in 1933-1938 and as the title says what is the impact on East Asia specifically Japan China and the United States and...

Nobunaga performed seppuku after being surrounded by Mitsuhide's army. If Nobunaga survived the coup, he could unite Japan faster. He had an interest in foreigners so its unlikely Japan would go to isolation, pockets of Christian Japanese would exist, and Japan and China would be in an arms...

This may somehow border into current politics so please keep it to a minimum. In OTL September 1991, the Philippine Senate voted not to renew the lease of the U.S. military bases in the archipelago. This was following the Mount Pinatubo eruption in June of that year in which Clark and Subic...

Goguryeo lose their domains north of yalu river to China They focus on south and unite Korea Before Yamato begins Japan is conquered by them and Koreanized with mass settlement How would this effect East Asian and world history ?

From 1920 - 28, the governments of Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet went through a period of pan-Himalayan ideas, and in 1926 a small conference was even held in Shigatse about creating a Federal Kingdom of the Himalayas uniting Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal into one single country. However the KMT threatened...

[Revised 2022-04-17. Formerly titled "A Longer Night, a Brighter Sunrise"] Here are some ideas for a proposed timeline that addresses the most commonly criticized aspects of Japanese society, making it more reconciled with its neighbors and a more attractive place to live in (it doesn't have to...

As it says on the tin. Make the Korean People's Association in Manchuria, an anarcho-communist political formation in East Asia, survive longer than 1931. Bonus points if you are able to provide a scenario where it takes over Japanese Korea during or after WWII. A starting point could be having...

It seems that Ramon Magsaysay was one of the better presidents of the Philippines during the 20th century, but his administration was tragically cut short when he died in a plane crash in March 1957, months away from the end of his term. So WI the crash didn't happen? I assume he'd run for...

I just recently watched the film Murder at 1600 on TV. Part of the side-plot involves a USAF E-3 plane being shotdow over North Korea and the airmen being held prisoner. The hawkish U.S. military generals want to wage war with North Korea unless they handover the prisoners peacefully. However...