Just because a route is known to some people doesn't mean it's known to all people. And plus, people like the familiar risks over the unfamiliar ones.
Also, the 47 Samurai killing themselves out of boredom? Classic.
Empire of the Dawn: Chinese Colony in America, 17th Century
- Thread starter subversivepancakes
- Start date
Just because a route is known to some people doesn't mean it's known to all people. And plus, people like the familiar risks over the unfamiliar ones.
Also, the 47 Samurai killing themselves out of boredom? Classic.
*The most recent update is on the previous page at post #54.
No self-respecting Chinese person is going to name their capital "Foggy Hill." Think of the bad feng shui!
Absolutely. This will contribute to raising tensions between the central government and the daimyo. Japan won't have a major role to play in this story, but there will be some changes, and we'll drop in every so often and take a look.
Certainly there aren't any shortages. I just didn't think they'd have large stockpiles of stored food on hand to trade. Remember the Chinese are trying to re-supply their ships for a months-long journey. But yeah, I don't think Ningjing will have any trouble finding food.
I originally planned for the return voyage to take the equatorial current before ultimately changing my mind. One reason was purely narrative - I wanted to send the ships on the harsher northern route for added drama. I also figured they'd probably try to return in the same general direction they came rather than head out into the complete unknown again. The equatorial passage is definitely a more straightforward trip, though. I'll have to think about this one some more . . .
Gah. I don't even know why I bother proofreading, given that there always seem to be mistakes that creep in anyway. Thanks for the catch.
Thanks! I'm glad people are enjoying the story so far.
The next update will cover the first year of the Bay Area colony's development.
No self-respecting Chinese person is going to name their capital "Foggy Hill." Think of the bad feng shui!
Absolutely. This will contribute to raising tensions between the central government and the daimyo. Japan won't have a major role to play in this story, but there will be some changes, and we'll drop in every so often and take a look.
Certainly there aren't any shortages. I just didn't think they'd have large stockpiles of stored food on hand to trade. Remember the Chinese are trying to re-supply their ships for a months-long journey. But yeah, I don't think Ningjing will have any trouble finding food.
I originally planned for the return voyage to take the equatorial current before ultimately changing my mind. One reason was purely narrative - I wanted to send the ships on the harsher northern route for added drama. I also figured they'd probably try to return in the same general direction they came rather than head out into the complete unknown again. The equatorial passage is definitely a more straightforward trip, though. I'll have to think about this one some more . . .
Gah. I don't even know why I bother proofreading, given that there always seem to be mistakes that creep in anyway. Thanks for the catch.
Thanks! I'm glad people are enjoying the story so far.
The next update will cover the first year of the Bay Area colony's development.
子曰夷狄之有君，不如諸夏之亡也。
The Master said: “The barbarians of the east have their princes, and are not like our great land.”
On the shores of Fuming Bay, the colonists of Ningjing quickly turned to the task of making their settlement worthy of the name. The first crude buildings in town were clustered near the coast where the expedition had made landfall (1). Due to time constraints and a shortage of skilled labor, they were made exclusively of wood. At first, the colonists attempted to use redwood trees before coming to the realization that this was perhaps not the most efficient way they could be spending their time. After that, slightly smaller specimens were used to make the settlers' first homes. The other major issue confronting the colonists was food production. Though the vast majority of the first wave were soldiers by trade, they were also experienced farmers, for the Zheng regime had demobilized most of its men after the conquest of Taiwan and put them to work in the fields, forming self-sustaining military farming colonies. However, they were unprepared for the challenges of farming in the New World. Hailing as many of the men – and in the first wave, more than ninety percent of the settlers were indeed men – did from the South China coast, they found the Bay Area climate to be both unpleasantly cold and damp, as well as bizarrely foggy. Though the colonists had brought some sample crops, transporting them via the method of shipboard gardens (2), it was clear that they would need to adapt to the crops of the New World rather than the other way around. In order to do this, they would need some local assistance.
The inhabitants of the Fuming Bay Area prior to the arrival of the Chinese colonists were the Yelamu subtribe of the Ohlone people, who were spread across north and central California. The Yelamu, meanwhile, resided in several villages on what in our history would have been called the San Francisco peninsula. They were pastoral hunter-gatherers by nature, and were themselves part of a larger linguistic subgroup of the Ohlone, that being the Ramaytush. They would not have used any of these terms to describe themselves, however. When first contact was made with the Chinese colonists, the natives referred to themselves simply as tush, “the people.” Whatever each side called themselves, the early exchanges between Chinese and Native Americans were friendly in nature. The Chinese badly needed the natives' local expertise; for their part, the natives were wildly intrigued by these strangers from beyond the sea and their ingenious tools. Early in 1681, after the colony had survived its first winter, the tentative alliance between the Chinese and the local natives was upgraded to a formal one via marriage when Zheng Kezang was wed to Tociom, the eldest daughter of Culpecse, chief of the Yelamu village closest to Ningjing. It is unknown exactly why Zheng agreed to the wedding, which was a rash decision on several levels. Perhaps he was beguiled by Tociom's not-inconsiderable charms; perhaps he was fixated on the chance to make an alliance with the natives; perhaps, with his father still in Taiwan, he simply decided to do whatever would annoy his parents the most. Whatever the reasons, the marriage was agreed to, celebrated and consummated. It was thus highly unfortunate that Zheng Kezang was, in fact, already married. It was even more unfortunate when his original wife stepped off the first ship of the second expedition to make landfall and asked where her husband was.
Though the arrival of the unfortunate first wife – Chen Ji (3), daughter of Zheng Jing's former Chief Minister Chen Yonghua, who had been married to Zheng Kezang only a short while before he left with the first expedition for the New World – was undeniably an awkward moment, in the main the arrival of the second expedition was a godsend for the colonists. Whereas the first expedition consisted almost entirely of soldier-farmers, the second wave of colonists contained a large number of skilled workers. In fact, it contained all of the skilled workers that could be found in Taiwan, many of whom had been dragged onto the ships at the point of a sword. With the arrival of these new colonists Ningjing expanded to the southeast (4). Exploration parties were sent out to scout the surrounding areas and the construction of more sturdy and permanent buildings was undertaken. Additionally, land was parceled out to the new arrivals. As in Taiwan, the Zheng soldiers were demobilized and formed farming colonies; each colony was jointly granted title to a portion of land by the state and directed to grow produce on it. This would prove to be a sticking point in Chinese-Native American relations, as the concept of private land ownership was unknown among the Ohlone. For the moment, though, it went unnoticed and unremarked upon.
Meanwhile, the commotion regarding Zheng Kezang's plural wives was resolved rather neatly when the Yelamu failed to see what all the fuss was about. Their conception of matrimony was fluid and informal. In the first of many instances of cultural fusion between Chinese and Native American, in the end it was decided that Zheng would have two wives, each of equal rank. The rivalry that developed between Chen and Tociom would grow to become legendary, as the two battled over preeminence as well as inheritance. Though the practice of plural marriage by high-status individuals did not become common in the California colony until at least a generation later, the precedent had been set (5). Other cultural changes came about in a less organic manner. For example, to the Chinese the local native custom of wearing clothes only during cold weather was distasteful at best and outrageous at worst. Most Chinese simply refused to deal with any native who was not wearing clothes, which sharply reduced the appeal of this custom to anyone who wished to trade with the new arrivals. The Chinese also attempted to push natives into taking Chinese names, though this proved to be a long-term project.
With the colony on firm footing and secure in the knowledge that he was now the king after the death of his father at sea, Zheng Kezang announced the beginning of a new dynasty early in 1682 during the lunar New Year festivities. Previously, the Zheng kings had used Ming restorationism as their rallying point; however, there were now no more Ming princes around whom to rally. For a new start in a new world, the younger Zheng decided that the establishment of a new imperial dynasty would be appropriate. As for the name of the new dynasty, Zheng returned to the idea that the colonists had sailed east, toward the dawn, to rebuild the nation. He thus proclaimed the Shu Dynasty (曙, with the meanings daybreak, dawn, light of rising sun) to reinforce this idea, which would become so central to the nation's mythos. As for himself, Zheng Kezang chose Guangde 光德 (Bright Virtue) as his new regnal name; henceforth, he shall be referred to in our tale as the Guangde Emperor (6). With a new leader, a new ally, and a new name, the fledgling Shu Dynasty was off to a flying start. But many challenges lay ahead . . .
NOTES
1 – This is in the area where the IRL Presidio was located.
2- Not sure if these crops would actually survive the trans-Pacific journey.
3- Note that everyone involved in this love triangle is a teenager or close enough, so there is drama with a capital D.
4- Though we are still very much within the OTL San Francisco city limits. I will try to work up a map when the settlement is a bit more advanced.
5- The maintenance of plural spouses by wealthy and powerful individuals will come to be seen as a sign of status. There is nothing specifically prohibiting important women from maintaining multiple husbands, but given that we are still knee-deep in the age of patriarchy the vast majority of people with multiple spouses will be men.
6- Historiographically speaking, Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) is recognized as the first emperor of the dynasty and Zheng Jing is seen as the second emperor. I will give them posthumous fictional regnal and temple names should I ever get really really bored.
NEXT – back to Asia, where we'll look at the ill-fated third expedition, the slightly more lucky fourth expedition, the Manchu invasion of Taiwan, and a fateful non-decision. Bonus points to anyone who can guess what the non-decision is! The next update should be ready in a few days. As always, thanks for reading.
The Master said: “The barbarians of the east have their princes, and are not like our great land.”
On the shores of Fuming Bay, the colonists of Ningjing quickly turned to the task of making their settlement worthy of the name. The first crude buildings in town were clustered near the coast where the expedition had made landfall (1). Due to time constraints and a shortage of skilled labor, they were made exclusively of wood. At first, the colonists attempted to use redwood trees before coming to the realization that this was perhaps not the most efficient way they could be spending their time. After that, slightly smaller specimens were used to make the settlers' first homes. The other major issue confronting the colonists was food production. Though the vast majority of the first wave were soldiers by trade, they were also experienced farmers, for the Zheng regime had demobilized most of its men after the conquest of Taiwan and put them to work in the fields, forming self-sustaining military farming colonies. However, they were unprepared for the challenges of farming in the New World. Hailing as many of the men – and in the first wave, more than ninety percent of the settlers were indeed men – did from the South China coast, they found the Bay Area climate to be both unpleasantly cold and damp, as well as bizarrely foggy. Though the colonists had brought some sample crops, transporting them via the method of shipboard gardens (2), it was clear that they would need to adapt to the crops of the New World rather than the other way around. In order to do this, they would need some local assistance.
The inhabitants of the Fuming Bay Area prior to the arrival of the Chinese colonists were the Yelamu subtribe of the Ohlone people, who were spread across north and central California. The Yelamu, meanwhile, resided in several villages on what in our history would have been called the San Francisco peninsula. They were pastoral hunter-gatherers by nature, and were themselves part of a larger linguistic subgroup of the Ohlone, that being the Ramaytush. They would not have used any of these terms to describe themselves, however. When first contact was made with the Chinese colonists, the natives referred to themselves simply as tush, “the people.” Whatever each side called themselves, the early exchanges between Chinese and Native Americans were friendly in nature. The Chinese badly needed the natives' local expertise; for their part, the natives were wildly intrigued by these strangers from beyond the sea and their ingenious tools. Early in 1681, after the colony had survived its first winter, the tentative alliance between the Chinese and the local natives was upgraded to a formal one via marriage when Zheng Kezang was wed to Tociom, the eldest daughter of Culpecse, chief of the Yelamu village closest to Ningjing. It is unknown exactly why Zheng agreed to the wedding, which was a rash decision on several levels. Perhaps he was beguiled by Tociom's not-inconsiderable charms; perhaps he was fixated on the chance to make an alliance with the natives; perhaps, with his father still in Taiwan, he simply decided to do whatever would annoy his parents the most. Whatever the reasons, the marriage was agreed to, celebrated and consummated. It was thus highly unfortunate that Zheng Kezang was, in fact, already married. It was even more unfortunate when his original wife stepped off the first ship of the second expedition to make landfall and asked where her husband was.
Though the arrival of the unfortunate first wife – Chen Ji (3), daughter of Zheng Jing's former Chief Minister Chen Yonghua, who had been married to Zheng Kezang only a short while before he left with the first expedition for the New World – was undeniably an awkward moment, in the main the arrival of the second expedition was a godsend for the colonists. Whereas the first expedition consisted almost entirely of soldier-farmers, the second wave of colonists contained a large number of skilled workers. In fact, it contained all of the skilled workers that could be found in Taiwan, many of whom had been dragged onto the ships at the point of a sword. With the arrival of these new colonists Ningjing expanded to the southeast (4). Exploration parties were sent out to scout the surrounding areas and the construction of more sturdy and permanent buildings was undertaken. Additionally, land was parceled out to the new arrivals. As in Taiwan, the Zheng soldiers were demobilized and formed farming colonies; each colony was jointly granted title to a portion of land by the state and directed to grow produce on it. This would prove to be a sticking point in Chinese-Native American relations, as the concept of private land ownership was unknown among the Ohlone. For the moment, though, it went unnoticed and unremarked upon.
Meanwhile, the commotion regarding Zheng Kezang's plural wives was resolved rather neatly when the Yelamu failed to see what all the fuss was about. Their conception of matrimony was fluid and informal. In the first of many instances of cultural fusion between Chinese and Native American, in the end it was decided that Zheng would have two wives, each of equal rank. The rivalry that developed between Chen and Tociom would grow to become legendary, as the two battled over preeminence as well as inheritance. Though the practice of plural marriage by high-status individuals did not become common in the California colony until at least a generation later, the precedent had been set (5). Other cultural changes came about in a less organic manner. For example, to the Chinese the local native custom of wearing clothes only during cold weather was distasteful at best and outrageous at worst. Most Chinese simply refused to deal with any native who was not wearing clothes, which sharply reduced the appeal of this custom to anyone who wished to trade with the new arrivals. The Chinese also attempted to push natives into taking Chinese names, though this proved to be a long-term project.
With the colony on firm footing and secure in the knowledge that he was now the king after the death of his father at sea, Zheng Kezang announced the beginning of a new dynasty early in 1682 during the lunar New Year festivities. Previously, the Zheng kings had used Ming restorationism as their rallying point; however, there were now no more Ming princes around whom to rally. For a new start in a new world, the younger Zheng decided that the establishment of a new imperial dynasty would be appropriate. As for the name of the new dynasty, Zheng returned to the idea that the colonists had sailed east, toward the dawn, to rebuild the nation. He thus proclaimed the Shu Dynasty (曙, with the meanings daybreak, dawn, light of rising sun) to reinforce this idea, which would become so central to the nation's mythos. As for himself, Zheng Kezang chose Guangde 光德 (Bright Virtue) as his new regnal name; henceforth, he shall be referred to in our tale as the Guangde Emperor (6). With a new leader, a new ally, and a new name, the fledgling Shu Dynasty was off to a flying start. But many challenges lay ahead . . .
NOTES
1 – This is in the area where the IRL Presidio was located.
2- Not sure if these crops would actually survive the trans-Pacific journey.
3- Note that everyone involved in this love triangle is a teenager or close enough, so there is drama with a capital D.
4- Though we are still very much within the OTL San Francisco city limits. I will try to work up a map when the settlement is a bit more advanced.
5- The maintenance of plural spouses by wealthy and powerful individuals will come to be seen as a sign of status. There is nothing specifically prohibiting important women from maintaining multiple husbands, but given that we are still knee-deep in the age of patriarchy the vast majority of people with multiple spouses will be men.
6- Historiographically speaking, Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) is recognized as the first emperor of the dynasty and Zheng Jing is seen as the second emperor. I will give them posthumous fictional regnal and temple names should I ever get really really bored.
NEXT – back to Asia, where we'll look at the ill-fated third expedition, the slightly more lucky fourth expedition, the Manchu invasion of Taiwan, and a fateful non-decision. Bonus points to anyone who can guess what the non-decision is! The next update should be ready in a few days. As always, thanks for reading.
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So, would this motivate the Spanish to settle more people in New Spain? And maybe convince the Pope that a Far Eastern Rite may be useful?
And would this affect how the Shu look at Christianity? After all, this is a land mapped and technically claimed by the Spaniards, though left unsettled for decades.
*is excited about this TL*
And would this affect how the Shu look at Christianity? After all, this is a land mapped and technically claimed by the Spaniards, though left unsettled for decades.
*is excited about this TL*
I'm confused. What's the big deal about plural wives? Didn't Chinese Emperors normally have a whole harem full of wives and concubines of various statuses?
I thought even rich merchants had multiple wives.
I thought even rich merchants had multiple wives.
Wives =/= Concubines. Generally, emperors have one wife and many concubines like European kings who have one wife and many mistresses.
Only item I could see changing would be adding a few merchant or exploration ships previously probing the eastern lands. The Spanish are not likely to contract cargos out, but if Taiwan is the base for a thriving sea trade then some daring or desperate merchant or investor may be looking for a cargo in the east.
But given that e.g. Cixi was a concubine, and became Dowager Empress and Regent, that's clearly not a huge difference in ultimate terms.
You could then argue that the distinction between Queen and Mistress weren't very important, since Anne Boleyn became Queen of England. I'm not well read on the Qing case to speak in depth about Cixi in particular, but from a strictly Confucian viewpoint the distinction is huge. And I mean absolutely huge.
Remember, it's going to take a while for the Spanish to notice anything. Even if they see a settlement from the sea that wasn't previously there, they'll assume it's Native Americans. I'd also imagine that the Shu attitude toward Christianity would be broadly negative. They also won't recognize any Spanish claim to the land - their stance will be that possession is 9/10ths of the law - so there could be some fireworks.
Slightly less than four thousand as of now. There will be a few more late arrivals, but not that many.
I think it's generally one wife and then concubines, who were of lower social status. The status bit was fluid though. An especially favored concubine could, in practice if not in theory, be of higher status than the wife. The rules for emperors were a bit different and changed depending on what dynasty you're talking about.
Cixi gave birth to the Xianfeng Emperor's only son before he conveniently dropped dead, which gave her something of a leg up.
it should be: 子曰：「道不行, 乘桴浮于海。」As "子曰" means "The Master said", and the Chinese equivalent of "" are 「」.
Gonna go way out on a limb here and say that Confucius did not, in fact, use the colon.
Seriously, what you're prescribing is very anachronistic. Punctuation is a pretty recent addition to written Chinese. I don't think Confucius or whoever put together the Analects would have used a single one of the marks you mentioned, and certainly not quotation brackets or a colon. 子曰 so clearly indicates that someone's about to begin talking that quotation marks and a colon are superfluous anyway.
tl;dr - no, it shouldn't.
Considering that Confucius did not use periods, nor commas, nor quotation marks, which you did when quoting him, I fail to see your point.
OK, I'll try again. Prescriptivism regarding punctuation rules in Classical Chinese is silly beyond words because there were no punctuation rules in Classical Chinese. So,
no. It shouldn't be. You don't need to use a colon or quotation brackets. I guess if you want to, go ahead though?
I would be happy to belabor this point further if you still have trouble seeing it but please PM me or whatever because this has absolutely nothing to do with the timeline.
Indeed there will be.
Hm. An exile state loyal to a deposed dynasty on the frontiers of the New Spain, and a distant empire ruled by the dynasty which deposed it. And both show a certain indifference for the Faith, and hatred for each other. One wonders...
Emperor RyRy
Banned
Mexico had 5,000 people in California during the Mexican-American War, so they'll be fine.