Hokan

Hokan, (: 花港 [˥˧ho̝˧˦kɑ̃] Hokaan), formally known as the People's Union of Hokan (花港人民盟會國 [˥˧ho̝˧˦kɑ̃ ˨˧z̻ə̆ŋ˨˧mɪ̆ɲ ˨˧mə̆ŋ˨˧ku̯e̞˥ʔkŏʔ] Hokaan Zenmin Menkuekoh), is a  located in Jungju (North Sinju). It is bordered by the Jeongmian Sea to the west, Zangkai to the north, Longzhou to the east, Mincang to the south, and Fukoet to the south and southwest. As a led by the Communalist Party of Hokan (CPH), the country officially divides itself into 45 autonomous leagues, six direct-controlled municipalities (Kuezy, Uaonhoe, Zatson, Iekua, Hhunoe, and Kehzy), and the special administrative regions of Sontshin and Tetsy.

Accumulation of wealth during the allowed the already   societies of western Hokan to transition into eight , which expanded to the east and south in the following centuries. The Tseu Kingdom, formed roughly around 1,120 BCE from various settlements near modern-day Sontshin, was decisive in the warring period that led to the unification of Hokan in 180 CE. By 370 CE, the Kingdom had succumbed to Cheonje as a and remained a vassal state until the latter's collapse. In 1107, the Saan dynasty reclaimed the throne from the Tianlong, and proclaimed the Empire of Hokan, from which the modern country bears its name. The Empire was founded upon tenets characteristic of and particularly. Over the following centuries, Hokan developed an imposing, which infamously hired to carry out imperial biddings. Reaping many benefits from this network, Hokan entered a golden age ( c. 1600-1800) of great achievements in mathematics, science, architecture, culture and philosophy, despite undertaking no colonization. Once the Empire had industrialized, it led a relentless campaign against Jeongmi in the Hokanese-Jeongmian War of 1868, where it suffered grandiose losses. Public dissatisfaction with imperial decisions led to the 1873 secessionist movement in Iekua, which was suppressed again at a great financial loss. The emergence of shortly after these disasters helped shape the Scarlet Revolution, bring about the end of the Empire. Councilist Hokan remained neutral during the Great Eulhae War, until it was invaded by Mincang in 1935. After Eulhae's resolution, Hokan took a proactive stance in and the international reconstruction effort, becoming a founding member of the Congress of Nations, OSDMA, and the International Communalist Forum.

Since Eulhae, Hokan has experienced an economic revival and rapid developments in and the military, for the most part due to a shift in policy towards a market-oriented. in the autonomous leagues was dismantled and farmlands privatized, while foreign trade became a major new focus, leading to the creation of dependent municipalities. Nowadays, Hokan is recognized as a in global affairs, an  and a. While the performs well in  of, , ,  and , it suffers most from , , censorship and poor.

Name
The official name of the modern state is the "People's Union of Hokan" (: 花港人民盟會國), a term which was adopted with the 1941 Constitution. More literaly, it is a (國 koh) defined by the congregation (會 kue) of leagues (盟 men). Prior to that, the was known as the "Free State of Hokan" (花港自由國; Hokaan Zyhhieukoh) and the antecedent empire was known as the "Prosperous Hokanese Empire" (花港繁榮帝國; Hokaan Vaeyontikoh). Therefore, the shorter form for the country is "Hokan" Hokaan (花港) from ho ("blossom") and kaan ("tributary"), from the significance of Tonhhu River, being a left to the Scarlet River, to the conquests of the Saan dynasty (920–1173 CE). Referred in the country's name are homogenous flowers blossoming near Tonhhu, which have also grown to bear the founding dynasty's name:  (桑花屬). The of Hokan, named ' (吉邊麗花) after Jih Pili of the Iron Six, is also of the '. When necessary, in colloquial and formal context alike, the country's name is further abbreviated as "flower country" (花國; Hokoh) or as "flower" (花 Ho).

Prehistory
The first wave of from prehistoric Miju to Jungju began over a million years ago. has allowed scientists to trace the first settlement of ' in modern-day Hokan back to about 800,000 BCE, whereas the earliest evidence of human settlement by ' is dated to roughly 41,000 BCE. Humans settled down by the western shoreline and also alongside the of Scarlet River, which flows a great distance deeper into the mainland. The early-Hokanese formed civilizations that cultivated rice with  technology and that had already begun domesticating,  and. Fishing (along the shore) and hunting (along the river) played a secondary role, as indicated by remains of, , and and.

The (5,000–3,350 BCE) gathered near modern-day Uaonhoe, the  (5,500–3,300 BCE) near modern-day Hhunoe, the  (3,400–2,250 BCE) near modern-day Kehzy, and the  (3,800–3,300 BCE) near modern-day Tetsy were  cultures spanning the modern west to west-central Hokan territories. Occasionally, they would travel back and forth to the mainland like their predecessors, without however settling down on it until resources were starting to get scarce at the start of the circa 2,000 BCE. , the of advanced farming tools, and the surplus of harvest led to the rise of nine  (玖都國度; jieutu koetthu) starting from 1,800 BCE: Hhoxi (華西), Kaulon (高隆), Xiaunyih (小日), Jjiauteu (橋兜), Pohzo (博社), Zaanpo (上壩), Lukhoe (羅坎), Hhuaanthae (王灘) and Tshoeti (川底).

The foundation of these city-states also coincided with a standardization of, whereby Hokanese deities prevailed from the , which reinforced a primitive sense of nationalism known as Hhiahhion (夏容; lit. "grandiose countenance"). Precedence was taken by deities whose fortunes resonated with the of Hokan: Nyyhti (玉帝; ""), Tshaonti (蒼帝; "Bluegreen Deity"), Zennon (神農; "") and Hheuthu (后土; "") were among the most venerated.

Ancient Hokan
When they first emerged, the Hokanese city-states were by a heir king (王; hhuaan) and his, with moderately wealthy nobles (卿; chin) taking up the responsibility of commanding peasant armies and generally caring for the state's defenses. In other cases, a war general (將; jian) could usurp the king's throne and establish a despotate (霸國; pokoh). Neither a kingdom nor a despotate necessarily had a negative connotation for the populace, since the royal courts generally tended to the people's needs.

For instance, the city-states of Zaanpo and Tshoeti were prosperous despotates for the majority of their lifespan. Kaulon was a strong (yet never a despotate) under the House of Se (帥部落), and was notorious for clashing with the Xi Buluo (西部落) in the Kaulon-Xi War of 738 BCE and with Daeje (大齊) in the Kaulon-Je War of 691 BCE. Jjiauteu was a primitive and the birthplace of Hhynzan (雲長) (544–496 BCE), who authored the  (兵法論著; Pinfah-lentsah) and decreed a general in the decisive Sunrise Conquest (507–505 BCE), upon which Jjiauteu subjugated Hhoxi. Zaanpo and Kaulon joined arms in the defensive Kaulon-Bei War of 478 BCE, out of which the Hhia League was formed. From c. 450-250 BCE, Kaulon began admitting other Hokanese city-states to the League through enticement,, and fearmongering. The Hhia League operated under unfair that encumbered member-states in favor of Kaulon.

In 180 CE, the Tseu Kingdom was proclaimed by Kuhhu Tsenpo (古吳正霸), the Hhia League ambassador of that time and elder of the House of Hhu. Posthumously, he was named Hhuthapo (吳太霸; "Great Hhu Despot") for being the propagator of the surname. The kingdom spanned all of Hokan and operated under Hhuthapo's notion of "the realm belongs to the public" (公天下; kon thihho). Thereby the Hokanese throne was (unlike tribal houses and other Sinjuan kingdoms) not hereditary, but appointed by the Hhia League's six most prominent families, from select candidates that had passed the civil service examination and served a royal ministry for at least 10 years. The transformation to was well-received even by peasants' records, as it brought safety to all Hokanese settlements. The consolidation of power also enabled substantial population growth.

Classical Hokan
The period of Classical Hokan (絕代花港; Xxiqde Hokaan) conventionally begins in 370 CE, when the Tseu Kingdom entered under Cheonje. In 934 CE, the Tianlong dynasty (Longzhou) annexed Hokan.

Imperial Hokan
The Empire most notably hired private and  conjointly known as 結構者 Jiqkeutse ( lit. "Conspirators"), and trained them in imperial academies.

Revolutionary Hokan
A series of grandiose military defeats in the Hokanese-Jeongmian War of 1868 and the Hokanese War of Secession in 1873 had put the Hokanese Empire into an economic and political downturn. A rapidly declining standard of living and political dissatisfaction among the working class and the sizeable middle-class led the country to become a hotbed of revolutionary political thought deemed subversive by the other governing bodies of Sinju.

From a theoretical standpoint the body of political and economic writings on Communamlism and other trends of Socialism grew significantly in Hokan from the 1870s and well into the 1880s. The Red Salon and the Black Sash Society are two notable organizations which became leftist think-tanks and later publishing houses. Growing spaces for leftist discourse would produce renowned theorists and authors such as; Cui Bohai, Luó Chuntao, and Yan Yongliang. In a series of treatises in the 1880s, sponsored by the Commuanlist party, a firm theoretical connection was established between the modern lefist trends and the Cheonjean philosophical beliefs of.

The 1890s saw a more drastic and pronounced economic downturn in Hokan. Intervention by the imperial government made little difference in the situation and plunged the government further into debt. The Famine of 1896 significantly impacted the south-eastern rural regions of the country, resulting in close to 500,000 deaths. Localized uprisings occurred in the south-east, mostly led by radicalized members of the Imperial Guard and Milita. The Maodan Uprising in 1898 is considered a flashpoint in the revolution as the city reorganized as the Maodan Commune in direct opposition to the deteriorating Imperial government.

Defection was common in the early half of the Scarlet Revolution, defectors of the Imperial Army and Navy would reorganize as the Revolutionary Citizen's Militia. Maodan became a magnet for international revolutionaries from 1899 onward, hosting a number of leftist think-tanks. Less organized uprisings occurred concurrently to the formations of the local Communes, placing great stress of the Imperial government.

Emperor Qin Ai would formally abdicate in the March of 1902, resulting in the end of the Imperial government. A brief coalition government was formed post-haste, consisting of socialist, liberal, conservative and nationalist factions. Though varying in tendency the overarching socialist coalition, the Communalists, formed the majority and thus set the groundwork for the Hokanese Free State. The Free State was formally declared April 30th, 1902 - organizing the nation under a decentralized, socialist direct-democracy.

Eulhae Hokan
The period after the revolution saw drastic social and political reorganization in Hokan, beginning with the organization of the Communes and as the main political bodies of the new state. A series of radical political reforms known as the Hyunsan Doctrine saw the reformation and redistribution of land rights, factory and workshop ownership, and empowerment of the. The All Workers' Council became the centralized organ for cross-sector and cross-commune legislation. Mass industrial reformation took place under the Xiauji Plan, later expanded upon in the August Expansion Plan which over saw widespread infrastructural expansion. The proposal and development of the Pan-Union Railway in the 1910s lead to a significant increase in industrial productivity and trade between the communes. was one of the major goals of the August Expansion Plan as well.

The New Legal Code, a document defining the organizational aspects of the All-Worker's Union, the Central Secretariat, and the Communist Party, was synthesized from the nation's earlier constitution in 1911. The New Legal Code was formulated over the ongoing debate over the status of and the ideas of. The New Legal Code also the saw the reduction of the centralized power of the Communist Party, leading to power being vested back into localized workers councils over the central government. Regardless of the focus on collective leadership significant figures emerged from within the Communist Party during this formulative era known as the Iron Six, named so for their rigidness in upholding the principles of.

The 1920s oversaw a period marked by an expansion of the ideals listed under the Xiauji Plan, known as the Hianxi Doctrine (向前教義, lit. Forward Doctrine) which saw the reemergence as Hokan as an in Sinju. Rising tensions in Sinju coinciding with the rise of various resulted in a period of military build up in Hokan, and the popularization of the World Emancipation Doctrine which favored the spread of  abroad.

Modern Hokan
Following the end of the Eulhae War Hokan took a proactive stance in the and the international reconstruction effort, cooperating with the other powers of Sinju. Hokan would become one of the founding members of the Congress of Nations and the Sinju Union, though the nation would maintain a special status in the Sinju Union that excluded it from certain elements of centralized regional legislation. Domestically the post-war era saw a temporary shift in the tendency of factional politics, seeing the rise of the Vanguardist Faction, towards increasing and empowering the Communist Party and the office of the Chancellor. These shifts would be synonymous with the administration of Son Sri, who is known to be the most heavy-handed of Hokanese chancellors. The Vandguardist administration believed their heavy handed rule was justified by what they cited as an immediate need for rapid reformation and reconstruction.

The 1940s saw rapid efforts to reestablish the industrial capacity of the nation as well as a general period of. Chancellor Son Sri drafted The Way Forward, a four-year plan which placed energy self-sufficiency, increasing industrial capacity, and spreading socialism through and international organization. The Pan-Union Mass Transit System would also become a project underneath the Vandguardist focus of infrastructure expansion. The 1950s saw the rise of the Red Cap Movement and the New Revolutionary Movement, which opposed the Vandguardist reform citing them as a subversion of the New Legal Code. By 1954 the Vandguardists had fallen out of favor in party politics, and the majority of their organizational and electoral reforms were reversed by 1957. The industrial and economic aspects of The Way Forward were revised and adopted by the majority Councilist faction. The 1970s and 80s in Hokan would see socio-political change, seeing collective leadership trending amongst the communes and workers councils once again after the Vandguardist influence had faded from popularity.

Politics
The Hokanese constitution states that the People's Union of Hokan is a " under the led by the  and based on the alliance of workers and peasants in their respective ", and the state organs "apply former Chancellor Di Tsonxin's principle of ." Democratic apparata in the, the autonomous leagues and the communes are entrusted with , so long as they respect the dignity of neighboring administrative divisions. and are routinely adduced, and the common populace is actively engaged in the local. The Hokanese state's authority over local affairs extends only to between leagues, communes, or (in rare cases) union sub-branches. Instead, the State's primary responsibilities are maintaining a uniform and stance to foreign affairs, consulting the populace on, and reallocating capital to localities according to the Seo Yang-cheolist principle of "." It may also temporarily assume leadership of workplaces and entire localities, exclusively on the occasion that the local majority asserts. As a result, Hokan is one of few countries in the world where the general voting population is directly involved in the process of legislation, as opposed to more widespread systems of in Sinju.

Communalist Party
 The Communalist Party of Hokan (CPH) was first declared as the "" under the 1898 Provisional Constitution. To account for inter-partisan disagreements and, the Iron Six, a group of influential party figures, pushed for the amendment of the provisional constitution in 1911 to permit other political formations within the parliament , incorporating however that the CPH firmly remains the "directorial party" and that the position of Chancellor firmly remains a CPH-partisan position. More amendments followed in 1923, 1935 and 1941, granting more to factionalist parties, such as offering  to citizens, advertising their own  and hosting their own, but none of which significantly altered the status of the CPH. Thus, as of the latest amendments in 2018, the CPH still continues to be the constitutionally, despite bearing no majority in the parliament. Additionally, as of 2020, there exist four main political cliques outside of the CPH: the Syndicalists, the Centralists, the Totalists, and the Reformists. According to a 2011 survey, 80–95% Hokanese citizens expressed their satisfaction with the central government and 65–80% were satisfied with the CPH's general, but outside observers believe the actual values are lower.

Government
The electoral system is pyramidal and voting is. Rural villages and exurban townships are endowed with utmost autonomy and report their concerns and decisions directly to the All-Citizens' Council (ACC) as a singular entities. In more populous settlements, neighborhoods constitute the smallest. They vote for  in the Whole-Municipal Congress (WMC) elections, where they are allocated seats. In turn, each national WMC votes (amongst itself) for a municipal chairman, which will advocate for the municipality's (sub-divisions') demands in the ACC. Rural and exurban, in addition to WMCs and dependent municipalities, are. The ACC is the formal, the highest-level entity, and consequently the. Seats to the ACC are allocated to political cliques according to their proportional performance in the. The ACC is constitutionally obliged to audit and finance (from the national bank) the proposals of subdivisions and their representatives, and has therefore been described as a "consultative branch" of the larger, decentralized legislature. The National Secretariat, which is the of the government, is comprised by the Chancellor (a  -title attributed to the incumbent General Secretary of the Communalist Party of Hokan), the country's incumbent ministers, and the incumbent chairmen of the ACC, the All-Farmers' Council and the All-Workers' Council. The latter two councils are -specific entities that follow an equivalent hierarchy (from local unions up until central). The incumbent chairman of the ACC, currently Pah Kakoh, is thereby the and the  (see: Central Military Commission). The Chancellor and the three Chairmen are oftentimes collectively referred to as the "Four Helmsmen" (四舵手; Syduseu).

Foreign Relations
Hokan is classified as as well as a regional power in Sinju, as such it maintains official relations with the majority of the rest of the world. Hokan is a founding member of the Congress of Nations as well as the International Communalist Forum, typically referred to as the International Forum. Cordial relations are maintained with the rest of the Sinju powers, though contention has occurred over the projection of power and political influence abroad. Despite tensions Hokan maintains a special membership position in the Sinju Union, enjoying benefits such as relaxed border controls and open dialogue with the rest of the region but withholding from contributing in greater Union legislation.

Historically Hokan operated under a doctrine of Global Emancipation, a term coined by the Council of the Commune of Huaxi and implemented under the administration of Chancellor Yan Huan, which focused on an interventionist approach to the spreading of leftist thought and socialism. Criticism of this school of thought arose following the horrific losses encountered in the Eulhae War leading it to fall out of favor. Critics of the Global Emancipation doctrine likened it to a "new" Imperialism. The post-war era saw the formulation of a new approach, seeking to support efforts of reconstruction abroad as well as in Sinju in an attempt to foster new relations and strengthen old alliances. The International Communalist Forum was organized in the 1940s and saw a more diplomatic approach to the idea of Global Emancipation.

Performing Arts
Hokan has a diverse historical tradition of performing arts, dating back to the Classical Era. The most notable forms of traditional Hokanese performing arts are considered to be, a form of traditional musical theater found throughout Central Sinju, and a form of musical and oral performance that has roots in the Classical Era of Hokan. Pingtan is considered to be more specific to Hokanese culture and is thus a highly valued art form, with state-sponsored cultural institutions that operate to preserve and educate Pingtan as a nationally significant art form. The Xiqu theatrical tradition is also highly coveted by state cultural institutions. The Lantu World Theater is a well-renowned cultural institution and venue which showcases theatrical and musical performances of high prestige, as well as performances from other cultures. Specific to the country, Hokan is also significant for the development of the genre of Xiqu.

Hokanese folk music has its origins in Ancient Hokan, believed originally to have ritualistic significance and later evolving into general entertainment. Hokanese traditional folk music generally employed mouth organs, flutes, and percussion instruments. The creation of the, a mouth-blown free reed instrument, was a significant development in Hokanese folk music. During the Classical Era musical traditions from across Cheonje merged with the existing traditions of folk music. Traditional music of Hokan is generally split into two major traditions, the Temple tradition which includes both temple music and court music, and the Common or Folk tradition which is forms of musical expression which were popular among the general populace.