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I've concluded that there is substantial interest but no timelines which actually revolve around the premise of Song industrialization. Therefore I have taken it upon myself to propose a collaborative TL where the Song Dynasty brings a full Industrial Revolution to China and becomes the behemoth that everyone thinks it could have been. But I want to bring as many people on board as possible. So I'll be the chief editor, so I'll bring everybody into the project and all of the writers would clear their entries with me first, but I'll only be one writer amongst many, and the overall direction of the timeline will be by consensus.

I had the starting idea that the timeline would be about exactly 1000 years of divergence, stemming from 1001 CE. My proposal is that the divergence is that year when both Tangut and Khitan forces invading the Song Dynasty are defeated over the course of several years. Historically the Song had some success against the Tangut but lost control over a critical area, while the Khitan were deterred by weather without the Song inflicting a major defeat. Eventually, the Song bring the Khitan and Tangut to heel. Without the worry and cost of foreign invasion, the Song are able to focus even more of their energy inward, creating an industrial society down the line. This timeline name would be "The Years of Universal Peace" based on the Xianping era of the POD, which means Universal Peace. But the starting point is flexible, as long as the timeline focuses on Song industrialization, whether Northern or Southern.

Who would be interested in the idea and would like to contribute? Contributors don't only need to be China specialists, because I want this to be a global timeline.
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