Official Factbook of the Empire of Mephras
The Empire of Mephras is a semi-constitutional monarchy situated in the central area of the region of Nova. While the most recent Empire was established only 7 years ago, in 2002, after a 50 year period of communist rule, Mephras has an over 1000 year long history of monarchical rule, a tradition being tapped into by the current Empress. A developed country with trade and diplomatic ties throughout the region, Mephras is perhaps best known as a cultural powerhouse, whose visual art, music, and literary minds, cultivated at the glittering Imperial Court are renowned throughout the region. A nation culturally linked RL East Asia, particularly China, one could correctly characterize Mephras as a nation firmly stuck between modernity and tradition. Another way to summarize the nation would be to take the social situation of mid to late 18th century ancien regime France, make the people and some of the culture that of Tang China, and move it into the modern age. Of course, this is a gross oversimplification and open to change.
Basic Information
Official Name: The Empire of Mephras (大美孚国)
Short Form: Mephras
Demonym(s): Mephran, Mephrasian
Government Type: Semi-Constitutional Monarchy
Head of State: Mei Mian, (Courtesy Name: Eternal Dawn)
Capital City: Shengxing (formerly Euphova)
Largest City: Dagang (formerly Avedon)
Official Language: Mandarin
Important Minority Languages: Atrean, English
National Bird: Peafowl
National Flower: Orchid
National Tree: Juniper
Area (total): 21,070,000 km²
Area (excluding colonies): 9,976,000 km²
Population (December 2009 est.): 6,640,000,000
Etymology
The name Mephras is actually a name that resulted from the corruption of an earlier Chinese name for the people. Upon arrival in the Nova region and the Atrean sphere of influence, the Mephran people referred to themselves, now without a homeland, as Meifuren (美孚人). The was understood by the Atreans as "Mephran," and so the name Mephras was given to the lands they were to inhabit. This name is found on Atrean maps of the region beginning about 1300, and appears on several official documents of this period.
History
Mephrasians trace their history back to at least 3000 BC, when tribes began to inhabit the coastal and island areas of modern day southeast China and Taiwan. A system of clans was developed in this period, with the leader of the most powerful tribe effectively serving as the head or king of the entire group. While independence was nearly continually maintained until the 13th century, the Mephrasians continually felt the influence of their massive Chinese neighbor, with which they often entered into tributary relations.
By the Han Dynasty, the Mephrasian clans had reorganized their state into a Chinese style kingdom, a testament to the widespread absorption of that country’s cultural impact. However, the clan system and nobility remained a powerful force against the Chinese style bureaucracy. A stable farming and fishing economy with a thriving trade community developed in the country, prospering under wise leaders and declining under weak ones. A continual dynasty ruled the nation during this period, however it was not unheard of for the King to adopt an heir he found particularly suited to the throne. It was during this Asian period that Daoism and to a lesser extent, Buddhism reached the peak of their influence on Mephrasian culture.
The Asian period continued till the 13th century, when the Mongol Invasions forced the collapse of the Southern Song, viewed in that era as the protector of the Mephrasian people. It was this series of events that led the sitting King, Benevolent Wind, to set sail with a fleet containing nearly 4,000 citizens, hoping to find refuge from the Mongol barbarians. It is now regarded as fate by Mephrasian history that in 3 months time, after nearly 1,000 deaths, the ships would land in the region of Nova, at the site of the current homeland. Even more fortunate for the fleet was the fact that the ancient Atrean Empire was in the process of attempting to populate and civilize the lands upon which they landed. This lead to the establishment of a new Mephrasian state, an autonomous principality over which the Atrean Empire was suzerain. Benevolent Wind and his ancestors would from then on be officially Princes of the Atrean Empire, although the new state largely maintained the culture it cultivated in the Asian period.
The Principality Era, lasting over 600 years, was characterized by relative peace and stability under the Atrean Empire. A general tendency towards non-intervention and isolation bred cultural refinement and booming internal system of trade. In this era, trade centers began to grow into large cities where a new urban society and ideal rose to compliment the traditional agrarian aristocratic culture. However, by the early 19th century, this internal strength had turned into stagnation. As other nations began to seek new technologies and new lands through colonization, Mephras lagged, a fact that became even more apparent as regional neighbors moved ahead with technological and military developments.
While links with the Atreans had provided a degree of protection from external influence, by the early 20th century, the situation was becoming dire. A general failure to keep pace with global change that was affecting the lives of everyday people by the general aloof upper classes led to increased corruption and anarchy throughout the country, with foreign influence entering many of the nation's coastal areas. This culminated in the national tragedy of Nova War I, in which foreign conflicts were fought on Mephran soil, leading to death, disease, and starvation throughout the country.
At the same time, the Principality government tottered, nearing complete collapse. No longer being able to effectively rule the nation, a new group rose to fill the power vacuum. Influenced by Western ideas, Communists seized power throughout the nation, deposing the last Prince in early 1943, and gaining complete control of the nation by mid-1944. The People's Republic of Mephras was proclaimed in August, and the government immediately set out to modernize and centralize the now massive nation. Huge state run enterprises were established throughout the country while agriculture was finally mechanized. While social reform was continually part of the new state agenda, there was never a phase where traditional ways were destroyed. Rather, secularism and modernity were strongly encouraged, allowing traditional ways to continue, if in a diminished state. As often occurs with such regimes, stagnation eventually began to set in, along with a general increase in repression. Tipped off by an economic crisis at the beginning of the third millennium AD, the nation was again facing revolution.
This time, revolution would come in the form of an extremely popular 24 year old pop idol, Mei Mian. Mixing entertainment and politics, the current Empress began to curry favor with unsatisfied factions within the armed forces while seeding discontent through song within the greater populace. In early 2002, the coup was finally orchestrated, which aside from the execution of the former Command Council, was relatively bloodless. NOT FINISHED
Government
Mephras is a semi-constitutional empire, with Empress Mei Mian, (Courtesy Name: Eternal Dawn) as the head of State, as well as officially the head of government. Rising to power in a revolution only three years ago, Mei seeks to restore the grandeur of her nation last seen under the Principality government. At times when the Empress is away from the country or otherwise detained, the position of head of state is filled by a representative of the Empress. In daily affairs, the Empress is aided by the Privy Council and the Imperial Household Ministry, each wielding significant power at the national executive level. Early into the foundation of the Empire, the Empress granted a constitution providing a fairly broad range of social and political freedoms, however the constitution has recently been amended to grant a greater share of power to religious and noble groups within the nation.
The main legislative body of the nation is the Imperial Council, a body that consists of 206 members who collectively cast 210 votes, with the Empress casting five votes. Besides the Empress or her appointed representative, the council grants 55 seats to the Great Clans, one for each of the highest noble houses of the Empire. 10 Seats will be reserved for representatives of the ten major religious temples, with five additional seats allotted on a rotating basis to representatives of the minor temples. Five further seats will be kept for representatives of key minority religions in the Empire. To represent academic interests in the Empire, five seats each are given to both the Imperial Academy of Sciences and the Imperial Academy of Arts. To ensure the voices of important economic sectors are heard, five seats each are also given to the representatives of the Merchant and Agricultural Unions. The remaining 110 seats shall be directly elected by universal suffrage above the age of 20 in districts of roughly 50,000,000 people each. Legislation can be proposed by both the Council and the Empress, but all laws must be approved by the Council. However, all Council proposed legislation can be vetoed by the Empress, an act only possible to overturn by a 3/4ths vote of approval by the assembly.
Plans are currently in the works to create a lower house assembly, elected by universal suffrage and given limited legislative powers. Exactly how such an assembly would be constructed largely depends on the popularity of the monarchy at the time of implementation, but it would likely include the elected seats from the Imperial Council.
At the provincial level the Empire is organized into 100 provinces, which have a degree of autonomy. In governmental structure they partially mirror the national government, with the head of each great clan as hereditary governor. He or she is supplemented by a twenty person advisory council directly elected by the populace that can by 3/4ths support override provincial decisions.
At the municipal level, administration is divided between urban and rural districts, with mayors presiding over towns and cities and magistrates ruling county districts. Imperially appointed heads shall are met by a ten member elected council, who with a 2/3rds majority can override the mayor. All levels of government bureaucracy are staffed by people of skill without regard to background, selected through a blind examination procedure followed by Imperial Household interview.