Collab:Bai Empire

This is the collaboration page for the Bai Empire. This page exists to coordinate the project and coordinate collaborations within it. Notes for the Empire, its colonisation projects, history, and more are also detailed on this page. The Empire is currently being expanded and hence most of the information here might be outdated. While I welcome anyone to use the information in this article in developing histories, especially for main-space wiki articles, please be aware that information and details here may be subject to drastic changes over time. Please check this page regularly for updates. If you have any queries (whether asking questions on the project or indicating an interest in joining): Message me, Zhenkang, personally, or Ask on the Bai Empire forum. Discuss in the OGFC discord.

Bai Empire 百帝国 (Baiyu) Capital: Xiongjing Population: 210,000,000 (2022) Motto: 百省一心 Anthem: Glory to the Empire

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Located in Northern Archanta, the Bai Empire^∈⊾ (百帝国) is a Chinese-speaking country that was once a colonial power. While China is the main inspiration, with the country taking up the Chinese culture, heritage and language, the Empire is not intended to be a carbon copy of the China we know today. Think of the project to be an answer to what a functioning, modern Chinese Empire will be like, with relatively stronger influences from other Asian cultures.

The project has recently been expanded to encompass (at 812540.00 km²). The project is being led by zhenkang, and anyone interested in participating is welcome.

Contributors

Anyone with a background, interest, and/or understanding of Chinese culture and history (especially pre-PRC Chinese history) is welcome to join in the project. (It is not necessary to have proficiency in the Chinese language). Mappers may claim a province or sign up to be part of the three collaborative projects (detailed in the following sections).

To indicate your interest in joining the Bai Empire Project, please ask on the discussion page or message me personally.

Active

• zhenkang, coordinator and co-founder of the project. Responsible for lore and main contributor to Xiongjing municipality.
• kengoman, responsible for micro-scale mapping and mapper of Qiongzhu province.

Retired/Inactive

• Intergan, mapper of Shidizhuang and surroundings in Dong'an province.
• Hilsonbergman, main contributor of Dunghoigong municipality.
• The_Cute_Chick, co-founder of the project. Responsible for macro-scale mapping of the Empire and mapper of Neilu province.
• Tin Cing, mapper of Huicheng city in Tongbian province.
• poweikao, owner of neighbouring country Kaosha.
• coshatiuav, owner of neighbouring country Grinzez.
• Mtejku222, former/emeritus mapper of the territory.

Geography and influences

The Bai Empire is a large country in Northern Archanta with a subtropical climate. The geographic layout for the Empire (which has been mapped during the former Commonia period) will not drastically change. A mountain range cuts through the central region of the Empire in a general southwest-northeast diagonal, leading to the Muinon mountains in neighbouring Kauscha and Cinasia. Much of the major urban centres will be on the flatter and fertile regions along the north and east coasts, with a generally drier climate on the west region bordering Grinzez. Some of the existing major rivers will not be erased, but their course may be modified accordingly to be topographically consistent. There will also be some changes to the coastline to make them more detailed and natural.

The Bai Empire, however, is located significantly south, with the north coast of the Empire barely crossing the subtropical latitude (around Taiwan). In addition, the Empire is significantly smaller compared to the real-world China (about a quarter). The Bai Empire will take more influences from southern China, such as the Huadong, Huazhong, Huanan, Xinan areas. Of course, the main culture is still Chinese just like the language (Mandarin), but the western regions of Bai would take up other non-Bai languages such as Burmese or Thai.

General regional influences map. Note this does not indicate the actual political divisions of the Empire. The plans for west Bai remains tentative

• Huadong (华东): Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan
• Huazhong (华中): Hunan, Hubei, Henan
• Xibei (西北): Shaanxi, Gansu
• Huanan (华南): Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, Guizhou and Hainan
• Xinan (西南): Sichuan, Yunnan

Administrative divisions

The Bai Empire is said to be divided into hundred provinces (hence its name and motto: 百省一心), though a quick overpass check shows the Empire proper has 62 provinces (including the Kaolin Islands). These provinces (省) are then further divided into prefectures (县) and/or other subdivisions. The following documents the administrative areas, and not the "points" of cities and towns.

Province subdivisions (省)

admin_level=	place=	type	suffix	notes
3	region	公署	公署	Generally nominal regions, used by government officials for statistical and other purposes, led by viceroys (总督)
	autonomous regions	自治区	自治公署	An autonomous region has more legislative rights, such as the right to formulate self-government regulations and other separate regulations, used for non-Bai majority areas such as Baixi Gongshu∈⊾ and the Kyawal-kaw Autonomous Region∈⊾.
4	province	行中书省	行省	Used for province names within Baidi Gongshu∈⊾, historically "direct-controlled" provinces but legally identical to 省. The capital of the province must be a municipality.
		省	省	"Regional" provinces, to be named for provinces in the Baizhong Gongshu∈⊾, Bainan Gongshu∈⊾ and Baidong Gongshu∈⊾ regions. The capital of the province must be a municipality.
	territory/area	地区	地区	Used to define a territory that is sparsely populated (e.g. Xihan), though with similar legal status as provinces.
6	municipality	地级市	市	Population must be more than 1,000,000 people within the municipality itself (not the metro area).
	prefecture	县	县	More rural parts of the province. Population must be less than 1,000,000 people.
7	city	市	市	A population center of prefectures, population must be more than 100,000 people within the boundaries (not the metro area)
	town	镇	镇	A smaller population center, with a population of more than 10,000 but less than 100,000 people within the boundaries
	village	村	村	Rural areas of prefectures. Population must be less than 10,000 people within the boundaries
8	suburb	区	区	A district inside municipalities. Encompasses the most urban areas. Large non-municipality cities may also have districts.
		乡	乡	Rural areas of municipalities. Does not have to exist if the municipality is completely urban.
9	quarter	街道/社区/村庄	depending on region	Named residential divisions for tax, election, and other purposes. Around 2,500-5,000 pop. for urban areas, can be less for rural areas.
10	neighbourhood	no official names	N/A	Subdivisions of the previous level for postal purposes. Do not need to be named or even tagged.

Special Municipalities (院辖行政市)

admin_level=	place=	type	suffix	notes
4	direct-administered municipality	院辖市	府	Applies only to Xiongjing, the capital
			院	Other direct-administered municipalities (e.g. Port Dunghoi, Riqing, Jincheng)
6	planning district	市区	市区	Planning districts, usually covers urbanised area divisions of the city
	planning town	县	县	Counties, rural area divisions of the city
8	quarter	街道	depending on region	Community divisions of a District. Pop. around 50k
		乡	乡	Community divisions of a County. Pop. around 25k
9	neighbourhood	社区	社区	A smaller population center, with a population of more than 10,000 but less than 100,000 people within the boundaries

History

To see the lore of the Bai Empire, read this article.

The history of Bai is long and eventful. In the 12th century, the First Bai Dynasty was established after centuries of divisions and war. It was succeeded by the Suo, after a non-Bai conquest in the 13th to 14th centuries similar to the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. During the Suo, the Bai Empire set out its colonial exploits, establishing new colonies beyond Northern Archanta and Eastern Uletha. These colonisation projects wouldn't last, due to dwindling funds that drained the Empire's economy.

Bai came under Ulethan influence in the 16th century during the Lin Dynasty. Bai gave up many of its colonial possessions through pacts with the West Ulethan colonial powers, which were also given control over parts of the Empire proper. The Middle Bai came in the 17th century, which established the semi-constitutional monarchy. This dynasty was considered the "peak" of modern Bai but collapsed with the rise of radical ideologies such as Bai Fascism and communism.

The War of Fellow Brothers erupted after the fascists gained power and overthrew the monarchy. The fascists waged war with their regional neighbours. While they were eventually put down with a coalition of resistance forces, its collapse led to the Warlord Era, where many factions competed for influence. The New Bai Dynasty only came about in the 1960s, and the Empire rapidly recovered economically to regain its influence in the region.

Commerce and Industry

Main article: Collab:Bai Empire/Commercial Businesses

The Bai Empire has a strong economy with moderate levels of development. The capital, Xiongjing, was constructed on a high-altitude plateau with two large lakes during the Middle Bai Dynasty and is the political and cultural centre of the modern Empire. Other major cities include Port Dunghoi, a major industrial port on the east coast of the Empire; Riqing^∈⊾, a coastal city similar to Tianjin but Teochew speaking (i.e. Chaozhou in the style of Tianjin); and Jincheng, another master-planned city intended to be a modern economic hub like Shanghai. The interior central and western regions, particularly close to the mountain ranges, will see mining industries that boomed during the industrialisation of Bai.

The Bai Empire, while also having its own large corporations (see the page on its commercial businesses), is also open to foreign businesses. It will be preferable to contact the coordinator for information.

National transport infrastructure

Road network

Main article: Collab:Bai Empire/National Roads

The_Cute_Chick has kindly helped sketched the road and rail network in the Bai Empire. Meanwhile, kengoman has drawn up a detailed documentation for the national road mapping convention.

Please bear in mind a few things:

• The Empire is left-hand driving.
• Please do not make drastic changes to the road network without permission.
• If you want to build a cross-country road (whether motorway or normal trunk country road), please message me and I will check on your proposal
• Adhere to the documentation (relinked it here, in case you miss it).

Possible road suffixes:

Baiyu name	Ingerish name
高速公路	Expressway
高架路	Elevated Road
公路	Highway
环路	Ring Road
支路	Side Road / Branch Road
道/大道	Avenue
街/大街	Street
胡同	Hutong
弄	Alley
支弄	Branch Alley
巷	Lane
径	Path

Rail network

Main article: Collab:Bai Empire/Railways

The Bai Empire has an extensive network of railways and high speed rail under a hybrid private-public financing framework. Please read the above article for details.

Aviation

The cities and regional centres (those with 市 suffix) usually would have domestic terminals (or small international terminals), while much larger cities (Xiongjing) will have international airports for aviation. I recommend consulting with the coordinator (or kengoman) when it comes to airport mapping in the Empire.

The main national air carrier is BAir (BaiAir) with its subsidiary BAir Transit. Other airlines of Bai include: Fenghuang Airlines (5-star), Air Donghoi (and Air Donghoi Fast Jet), and budget carriers Qiongzhu Island Hopper and Pineapple Airlines.

To-do list

There are plenty of stuff that is needed to be done. Any help is welcomed.

To do list

Meta National-level mapping: Nationwide topo-mapping Number and name the roads of the nationwide road network (based on Kengo's proposed road numbering scheme) Further detail the roads, rail lines, rivers, forests and coastlines Xiongjing (capital): Complete the suburb division of the city Detail the National Palace. It's a blank slate for now Just more detailing overall (including rail depots, key commercial areas, industrial areas etc etc). Check the collab page for more precise projects of interest.

International collaboration

See also: Forum:Global and regional issues/History of Northern Archanta

Main article: Collab:Bai Empire/International collaboration

The Bai Empire is welcome to establish relations with countries around the world. For collaboration regarding lore and historical relationships and events with the Bai Empire, do contact zhenkang or elaborate in Bai's dedicated forum. Please consider the influence of the Bai Empire on your country and vice versa and map/establish relationships realistically and accordingly. If we have any concerns thereof, we will contact you to discuss amendments.

Feel free to also check the international collaboration for other aspects of collaboration with the Bai Empire. If you want to collaborate in a way not listed below or have any other questions about collaborating with Bai, please also elaborate in Bai's dedicated forum.

Building their embassy in your country	Building your embassy in their country
While the Bai Empire is welcome to establish relations, at this stage, Bai is rather new and it is not ready to do so. Send me a message and we can sort things out.	Xiongjing remains under construction and it is unadvisable to set up embassies in the capital. If you like to, however, feel free to send me a message.

Bai Quarter

You are welcome to establish overseas Bai neighbourhoods around the world. However, depending on our relations and history, the size may vary. Bai neighbourhoods could be named as Bai Quarter (百人街). For generic Oriental neighbourhoods, you can name them "Pan-Ardentic".

See also

• Official announcement of the project
• Project page on an offline wiki