Q&A from the Zhouran Cultural Enrichment Info Desk [NSverse]

by **Zhouran** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 6:11 am

Ministry of National Culture of the People's Republic of Zhouran

Because of Zhouran's unique culture and identity, many foreigners would be eager to know more about The Land of Whispers. Being a hermit-like semi-isolationist nation, Zhouran itself has remained unknown to many foreigners despite being quite active in the international stage. As a result, to avoid any misunderstandings or misinterpretations, the Ministry of National Culture has decided to create the online-based Zhouran Cultural Enrichment Info Desk that allows foreigners to have their questions asked and answered by our employees who are willing to spare some of their time to answer and provide an insight into the culture, traditions and society of our unique nation.

by **Infernia** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 9:35 am

"What dœs the Zhouranese government believe to be the biggest threat to international security?"
- Infernian Minister of Foreign Affairs Johannes Lima

by **Zhouran** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 10:59 am

Infernia wrote:"What dœs the Zhouranese government believe to be the biggest threat to international security?"
- Infernian Minister of Foreign Affairs Johannes Lima

If we're talking about actual biggest threat then I would have say terrorism. Looking at what's happening across the world, terrorism is a large threat. Zhouran has not been hit by any forms of terrorism, however the situations happening outside the country has made the leadership and the public very anxious to the point where isolationist sentiments from citizens has sky-rocketed recently. It's a tough world beyond the seas, and it's the reason why Zhouranese people strongly oppose interventionism and open-door policies. Thank you for your question.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

by **The Islands of Versilia** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 11:05 am

"What is the general census and view on Versilia? Is there any advise Zhouran could give to help make Versilia a better place, in your eyes?"
- Sino-Versilian

by **Vyzhva** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 11:13 am

"What is the averarge Zhouranese's view of Zayetism-Collectivism?"
- curious_vyzhvan02

by **Zhouran** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 11:18 am

The Islands of Versilia wrote:"What is the general census and view on Versilia? Is there any advise Zhouran could give to help make Versilia a better place, in your eyes?"
- Sino-Versilian

Despite cultural and political differences, Zhouranese people hold positive views regarding Versilia. While Zhouranese society is a meritocratic patriarchy in which a man is the authority figure but at the same time women have equal say in decision-making (in our culture, a woman's opinion is regarded as an equally-important but more-peaceful opinion than that of a man's), Zhouranese people including women are fascinated with how your nation's matriarchal society works. Also, Zhouranese people think vampires are cool while science experiments that may go beyond human ethics are seen positively here in Zhouran. As for any advise, I personally think that the people of Versilia have the power to make decisions on how to improve their nation since us Zhouranese believe that each nation follows its own ways of working and functioning. Thank you for the question.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

Vyzhva wrote:"What is the averarge Zhouranese's view of Zayetism-Collectivism?"
- curious_vyzhvan02

Since Zayetism-Collectivism is comparable to Kunbangism, many Zhouranese people hold positive views on your nation's ideology. In fact, many of our rural people like it since it's comparable to a rural-oriented agrarian variation of Kunbangism.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

by **Zhouran** » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:48 pm

OOC: Shameless bump 'cos I actually enjoy answering questions. I don't bite :3

by **Magna Carolina** » Thu Sep 14, 2017 3:02 pm

Judging by the available information on the state and it's ideology/ideologies, Zhouran is clearly a fascist state - yet it apparently doesn't outright identify as one. Why is this?

by **Zhouran** » Thu Sep 14, 2017 3:56 pm

Magna Carolina wrote:Judging by the available information on the state and it's ideology/ideologies, Zhouran is clearly a fascist state - yet it apparently doesn't outright identify as one. Why is this?

Zhouran maybe similar to a fascist state, and that's understandable, but technically the country isn't exactly a fascist state. Under fascism, a fascist state is ruled by a totalitarian dictatorship under an autocratic leadership. The People's Republic of Zhouran is ruled by an authoritarian military collective-leadership. Also, Zhouranese economics is more socialistic compared to fascist economics, which tends to be commonly corporatist in nature.

At best, the argument on whether or not Zhouran is a fascistic state is up for debate. Zhouranese Fascism does exist, in the form of Military-Oriented Nationalism, however the ideology is only followed by radical hardliners who also follow extreme hardline variations of Kunbangism. In comparison, moderates follow Kunbangism and Yirenweiben, both of which are distinct and not part of fascism (Kunbangism and fascism are similar but different).

Short Answer: Zhouran is NOT fascist but does feature similarities.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

by **Soyouso** » Thu Sep 14, 2017 4:31 pm

"What do the people of Zhouran generally think about our ways that we hold sacred?"
-Dictator-Warlord Skitty Turnabout

"What books are banned, if any, in Zhouran?"
-Mim Diula, a Soyousian actress for a sitcom, 'Heil Be Home After 2'

by **Zhouran** » Thu Sep 14, 2017 4:44 pm

Soyouso wrote:"What do the people of Zhouran generally think about our ways that we hold sacred?"
-Dictator-Warlord Skitty Turnabout

Despite massive cultural differences, Zhouranese people respect all traditions of other people. While they may not agree with the imperialistic ambition of the Soyo people, they do however strongly agree with hierarchy and gender equality while preserving traditional gender roles. Also, similar to your country, Zhouran is also LGBT friendly.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

Soyouso wrote:"What books are banned, if any, in Zhouran?"
-Mim Diula, a Soyousian actress for a sitcom, 'Heil Be Home After 2'

Surprisingly, almost none. In fact, you can go to your average book store in Zhouran and go to the political section where you can see both the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf on the same shelf, side-by-side. The only type of books banned in Zhouran are those containing child pornography (and deliberately possessing such items is punishable by death). Libraries sometimes avoid purchasing controversial books, and the personal opinions of librarians can at times impact book selection.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

by **Manju** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 11:37 am

"What are Zhouran's views on Manju?"

"How does Zhouran's political and economic system work?"

"What are the religions in Zhouran?"

by **Zhouran** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 12:35 pm

Manju wrote:"What are Zhouran's views on Manju?"

Politically and economically, Zhouranese people are aware that the economic and political system of your nation was tailored-made for your country, which is why us Zhouranese believe in respecting other nations since every nation is unique. Culturally, Zhouranese people are interested in the culture of your country, seeing that Manju is a Manchu country and also because Zhouranese Kangyuli people are genetically related to Manchus (both belong to the Tungusic group). However, due to numerous millennia of geographical separation between the Kangyuli people and the rest of the Tungusic people, us Zhouranese have formed our own unique history and identity. It's the reason why Zhouranese anthropologists and historians do extensive studies on Manchus and other Tungusic ethnic groups, and thanks to several decades of research, it is hypothesized that the Kangyuli people are direct descendants of a group of proto-Tungusic people that ended up diverging from other Tungusic groups, which is why Zhouran remains unique, as well as how Zhouranese culture differs completely from other Tungusic cultures due to thousands of years of separation.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

Manju wrote:"How does Zhouran's political and economic system work?"

Zhouran itself is one of the few stratocracies to currently exist in the world. However, compared to other stratocratic states, Zhouran follows its own traditional form called Yuhukekang. Our unique political system centers around an authoritarian military collective leadership, in which the military acts as a guidance for the people and nation. This is due to our passionate and intense warrior culture in which warriors are the most prized in society for their biggest sacrifices, followed by workers. As for economics, Zhouranese economics has always been collective in nature, even before the concept of socialism existed. However, the type of socialism us Zhouranese follow is more of a workers'-oriented decentralized type, since we prefer pragmatism and flexibility. Our economic and political has truly shaped the modern political landscape of Zhouran, a unique landscape not seen in any other nations. Plus, our philosophers and political thinkers of the intelligentsia, including the early thinkers from the 19th and 20th century, are socialistic themselves but at the same time they strongly rejected Western-constructed ideas.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

Manju wrote:"What are the religions in Zhouran?"

For a country that strongly follows secularism, Zhouran is actually quite religious. About 34% adhere to the Spiritual Mandate (indigenous religion of the Kangyuli people that is characterized by features of shamanism, animism, totemism, polytheism and ancestor worship), 31% to the Zhouranese Orthodox Church (an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church), 28% to Atheism, and 7% to other religions (including esoteric occultism).

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

by **The Islands of Versilia** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 1:43 pm

"How is the Han people and inland Chinese viewed by Zhouranese? Has there been any particular hatred or dislike for fellow Sinos in the past? In Versilia, it's a socially encouraged to interbreed with our fellow East Asians."
- Akel

by **Bienenhalde** » Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:12 pm

What is the view of the Zhouranese Orthodox Church on same-sex relationships? Do Orthodox Christian Zhouranese generally have more restrictive views on sexuality than other Zhouranese? Or is there a gap between the views of the Orthodox Christian clergy and laity?

by **Zhouran** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 12:05 am

Bienenhalde wrote:What is the view of the Zhouranese Orthodox Church on same-sex relationships? Do Orthodox Christian Zhouranese generally have more restrictive views on sexuality than other Zhouranese? Or is there a gap between the views of the Orthodox Christian clergy and laity?

Like with other Eastern Orthodox churches, the Zhouranese Orthodox Church remains adamantly opposed to same-sex marriage. Zhouranese Orthodox Christians, who make up 31% of the population, are considered to be quite more restrictive than other Zhouranese, however most of the laity are passive and respectful towards LGBT people despite not fully agreeing with their lifestyle. Not only that, there are individuals within the laity of the Zhouranese Orthodox Church who are bisexual. As for the clergy, they are a little more restrictive than the laity, but again while they do not approve the lifestyle of LGBT people, they do however respect them since they're still human beings.

The only Zhouranese Orthodox Christians who are not only against same-sex marriage but LGBT people as well would be the small isolated outcast groups of hardline fundamentalists.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

The Islands of Versilia wrote:"How is the Han people and inland Chinese viewed by Zhouranese? Has there been any particular hatred or dislike for fellow Sinos in the past? In Versilia, it's a socially encouraged to interbreed with our fellow East Asians."
- Akel

Good question. Us Zhouranese and Chinese, despite massive cultural and philosophical differences, have quite the history with each other. On December 12, 1408, a fleet of ships from China arrived in the Zhouranese archipelago. Trade and cultural interaction between China and Zhouran begins. By July 22, 1533, the Ancient Zhouranese language was replaced by the Chinese language (which would later be called Mandarin by 1587) as the official language.

When the Chinese and Zhouranese began interacting with each other, the Chinese were quite fascinated with Zhouranese culture. Not only that, the Chinese also introduced their language to us, and as a result, the Ancient Zhouranese language would later be replaced with Mandarin. However, this is when relations between the Chinese and Zhouranese began to sour a bit. To the Chinese, language to them is important. While us Zhouranese speak Mandarin, technically we speak the Zhouranese dialect of Mandarin (Mandarin Zhouranese). From the perspective of a Chinese person, Mandarin Zhouranese would basically be a corrupted form of Mandarin. Think of Mandarin Zhouranese as Texan English and Mandarin Chinese as Boston English. Like how Texan English and other southern American accents are seen negatively due to stereotypes regarding rural people, Mandarin Zhouranese would be mocked by some Mandarin Chinese speakers due to stereotypes of Zhouranese people being "un-sophisticated" while the Zhouranese dialect would be seen as a "butchered form" of Mandarin.

Mandarin Zhouranese doesn't have the strong tonal stress when speaking as found in other Mandarin dialects. In the Northern and Southwestern Chinese dialects of Mandarin, there is a thing they call Erhua. The Zhouranese dialect also contains Erhua, but because Mandarin Zhouranese is monotone, has little work stress and sentence stress, and has vocabulary and pronunciation differences, someone who speaks Mandarin Chinese would have difficulty understanding. A person speaking Mandarin Zhouranese towards a Beijinger would be the equivalent to someone from Alabama speaking in a strong southern accent towards a Londoner.

Zhouranese people in general are not sinophobic. We know that the Chinese brought us their language and we ended up creating our form called Mandarin Zhouranese. However, linguistics was the only thing the Chinese successfully brought to us. Everything else, including religion and philosophy, failed since Chinese philosophical thinking such as Confucianism is strongly incompatible with Zhouranese culture, and as a result, we strongly rejected their way of thinking. Not only that, considering how the Chinese have a long history of imperialistic ambitions, us Zhouranese do tend to see the Chinese as "aggressive expansionists" and "elitist cultural supremacists". However, other than that, Zhouranese people don't hold much negative views towards our Chinese brethrens, even if racially and culturally we're very different.

The only ones here in Zhouran that do hold very-strong negative views towards the Chinese would be the small groups of Kangyuli racial supremacists here. These people hold very racist views towards not only the Chinese, but basically anyone who isn't Kangyuli. Pretty much these racial supremacists hold strong hatred towards non-Zhouranese, but luckily they're only a small vocal minority here.

As for interbreeding with other East Asians, that's actually quite subtlety discouraged here in Zhouran, mainly because us Kangyuli people are quite genetically divergent from other Oriental people, to the point where even our physical appearance differs from other East Asians. However, Zhouran does have a long history with Zhouranese men marrying outside their race. Not only that, interracial marriage between Zhouranese men and foreign women is rising, and many Zhouranese women, especially the younger ones, are becoming quite angry to the point that some have become outright Kangyuli racial supremacists. A lot of these women fear that foreign women are stealing Zhouranese men, and because of this, many are calling for anti-miscegenation laws to ban interbreeding. Compared to other Oriental nations, Zhouranese women are the least likely to marry outside their race while Zhouranese men are most likely to marry outside their race. Interbreeding and miscegenation is a very controversial topic here in Zhouran, and the debate itself is so tense that it's normal to see moderates and hardliners fighting during a political talk show. It's even normal to see a massive rally where thousands of Zhouranese women call for laws banning miscegenation. It's the reason why we tell foreigners to not bring up the topic of race-mixing, especially if the foreigner is a woman.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

by **Cybus1** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 12:59 am

"How is Objectivism viewed in your nation?"
-Someone who recently read Atlas Shrugged

by **Kenmoria** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 3:04 am

"How is AI viewed in Zhouran?" - Kenmorian minister of technology

by **Zhouran** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 6:00 am

Kenmoria wrote:"How is AI viewed in Zhouran?" - Kenmorian minister of technology

While there is a big philosophical debate on Artificial Intelligence, us Zhouranese do believe that AI has its use, just as long as we don't let them become too intelligent. Right now, we do have artificial intelligence, but these ones could be considered "Dumb AIs", not because of technological limitations, but because these AIs are mainly used for managing and supervising complex algorithms and networking such as operating the traffic network of a city or managing the inner mechanism of a fighter jet.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

Cybus1 wrote:"How is Objectivism viewed in your nation?"
-Someone who recently read Atlas Shrugged

Us Zhouranese aren't particularly welcoming towards Objectivism, especially the Ayn Rand variation. Because Zhouranese culture is collectivist and quite socialistic in nature, we strongly reject Objectivism since we see it as something Western societies would use, not non-Western and Oriental societies. Within the Zhouranese intelligentsia class, academic philosophers strongly reject Objectivism, with some going as far as even outright disregarding and ignoring it. As for our fringe outcast groups of "superhardliners", they believe that Objectivism is essentially a formula for "subversive nation-destroying, authority-ignoring rebellion fueled by self-greed".

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

by **Vyzhva** » Wed Sep 27, 2017 11:39 am

"How does the Zhouranese Armed Forces officially view the offensive as well as defensive capabilities of the Vyzhvan military?"
- Field Commissar Lyubomyr Valerijovych Medvid

OOC: This can be viewed in my factbook covering Zayetism-Collectivism.

by **Zhouran** » Wed Sep 27, 2017 11:58 pm

Vyzhva wrote:"How does the Zhouranese Armed Forces officially view the offensive as well as defensive capabilities of the Vyzhvan military?"
- Field Commissar Lyubomyr Valerijovych Medvid

OOC: This can be viewed in my factbook covering Zayetism-Collectivism.

Looking at your nation's Oblonka Doctrine, I'd say that it's quite similar to Zhouran's Ideal National Military Model*. I'm not sure what's the official view of your nation's military capabilities from the Zhouranese People's Army since they strictly follow a policy on avoiding any judgement on foreign militaries, however a military analyst from the National Institute of Military Science did take a peek at the defensive capabilities of the Vyzhvan military based on publicly-available articles and declassified reconnaissance reports from the Zhouranese People's Army, and stated that even a high-tech military such as the Zhouranese People's Army or the United States Armed Forces would have difficulty in facing against a well-armed guerrilla force.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

by **Lonograd** » Thu Sep 28, 2017 12:16 am

"What does Zhouran think of Arab Unification?"
- Foreign Minister Walid Mohi Edine al Muallem

by **Zhouran** » Thu Sep 28, 2017 12:34 am

Lonograd wrote:"What does Zhouran think of Arab Unification?"
- Foreign Minister Walid Mohi Edine al Muallem

Very positive to the point where many here believe that Zhouran should provide support to a Pan-Arab superstate. Since its establishment in 1956, the People's Republic of Zhouran has always supported Pan-Arabism and has also provided support to both the former Federation of Arab Republics and United Arab Republic. Many Zhouranese believe that a Pan-Arabic superstate would be perfect in fighting against Israeli-Saudi-Western Aggression.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

by **The Islands of Versilia** » Sun Oct 15, 2017 7:23 am

“Are there any particular opinions on dogma and the fervent pursuit of the destruction of opposing ideologies, as evidenced by the Soviet Union and United States of America following WWII? Is this why Syncretic politics are much beloved?”
- Youth member of the Oyvalaist League

by **Zhouran** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:51 am

The Islands of Versilia wrote:“Are there any particular opinions on dogma and the fervent pursuit of the destruction of opposing ideologies, as evidenced by the Soviet Union and United States of America following WWII? Is this why Syncretic politics are much beloved?”
- Youth member of the Oyvalaist League

The opinions regarding dogma varies with each individuals, although in general, moderates don't particularly believe in destroying one ideologies due to the idea that "people can be killed but not the ideology", the same could be said with hardliners too. Plus, modern Zhouranese politics is syncretic due to the fact that Zhouranese are socially pragmatic-traditionalist while economically collectivist.

Also, the People's Republic of Zhouran strongly follows a policy of non-aligned neutrality, a policy which we benefited from during the Cold War and still do today. While we did have strong positive relations with the former USSR, we also had good neutral relations with the US and the West. Us Zhouranese are known for not taking any particular sides except if it benefits us strongly.

- Cultural Enrichment Info Desk representative

Q&A from the Zhouran Cultural Enrichment Info Desk [NSverse]

Q&A from the Zhouran Cultural Enrichment Info Desk [NSverse]

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