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In this ATL the kingdom of Qin has never been able to submit the other Chinese Fighting Kingdoms. The latter have continued to develop their own cultures, languages and military tactics. They have vied for power and dominance for several centuries, forging various alliances, yet none of them has succeded in uniting China under one single banner. There is no Chinese language as we understand it. Confucianism has split into several denominations. Various Buddhist sects have also spread throughout China, and have come to be associated with several particular states. This has led to religious wars.
The proto-communist teachings of Mozi have been revived in the kingdom of Qi and Jin, and Confucianism has lost ground in those areas. Moziism is now a strong cultural force in North-eastern China and has led to a cultural revolution. The old monarchies have been replaced in those areas by Moziist states. A great conqueror from Jin has come close to bringing Confucianist states to their knees, but has finally been exiled to Taiwan, committing suicide. The ideals of the Moziist revolution are still inspiring for a lot of people in China, though. The Confucianist puppet government of Qi has already been overthrown, and Jin is soon to follow. The political situation is tense, even the more so with machine guns and advanced pieces of artillery already existing in the 1200s.
The New World has recently been discovered by the Japanese.
In the West, the Tocharians have survived-they have become a regional power. Though of European origin, the Tocharians have been thoroughly acculturated, and Tocharian culture is one of the most original in Asia. The Tocharians provide a commercial link with Western Europe and India. They have grown rich and powerful, and have conquered some parts of Northern India. In Tocharia, a new religion, centered exclusively on the individual, has been born. It has spread in India and Slavic lands. Philosophy has flourished; dialogues have been established with Greek thinkers.
In Europe, the Roman Empire has crushed the barbarian invaders and expanded into Germany. The Roman Empire, though highly civilized, is a decaying state, whose stubborn pride and arrogance has become proverbial. Stasis, superstition, and self-satisfaction are slowly, but surely, condemning it to lag behind China.
This is a much more advanced world: Chinese thinkers, competing with one another for the sake of their princes, have spread scientific knowledge far and wide. However, what has been achieved in science has not been achieved in philosophy and literature, and the West has still much to offer. The Chinese world is devoid of theater, tragedy, or romance. There is no notion of courteous love. Romanticism, impressionism, expressionism are yet to be discovered. The genre of the novel, however, has been invented in Japan by the princess Murasaki Shikibu, but has been shunned by the Chinese.
There is no such thing as Islam, and the Roman Empire has never adopted Christianity. Roman Polytheism is still the official state religion. The Romans, although technologically stagnant, have reached a greater understanding of human emotions and destiny through art and literature. Countless masterpieces have been created. Italy is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Psychoanalysis was invented in the 1100s, and a kind of structuralism in the 1200s.
In Northern Africa and the Middle East, Christianity has replaced the old religions. Later in the history of the Roman Empire, this has led to the independence of those regions. Several Christian states have been founded in those areas. Meanwhile, the Roman Empire has expanded eastward into Scythian lands.
The western Slavs now speak Latin, along with the Scandinavians.

What kind of technology could have been discovered in China earlier than in Europe? Could you imagine cultural differences between the various Chinese states? What about the New World?
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