In Japan, as in other chopstick-using countries, carving knives are used in the kitchen to cut up food to bite-size pieces before or after cooking, before being brought to the table.
Nobunaga’s Ambition Realized: Dawn of a New Rising Sun
- Thread starter Ambassador Huntsman
- Start date
In Japan, as in other chopstick-using countries, carving knives are used in the kitchen to cut up food to bite-size pieces before or after cooking, before being brought to the table.
I was thinking of houchoushiki ceremonies and the theatre around it (maybe as a westernised school) would be an interesting thing to see happen.
Those in the colder regions as well as those outside the Shinto-Buddhist sphere would be more open to wearing fur garments, yes.
Gradually, meats like pork could be destigmatized in the home islands and many western influences (and just outside influences would come in) would continue, although the meaning of westernization would be different as it wouldn't be as associated with concepts like civility and modernity.
For me tho, it's a tossup between castella and sweet crepes on a personal level.
Actually yeah you're right, I don't know why I never thought about it like that as a person of Japanese background.
I wish the chili pepper would be more used in Japanese cuisine TTL
Chapter 133: Yongwu and his Neighbors
Chapter 133: Yongwu and his Neighbors
Emperor Yongwu’s defeat of the Northern Yuan and the Dzungar Khanate in 1671 and the swift deaths of the respective rulers of those realms destabilized the region. Upon Abunai Khan’s death in 1675, his son Borni became the new khagan of the Northern Yuan only to see his authority eroded in favor of the regional tumens until it hardly extended outside of the capital of Karakorum and the Chahar tumens. As a result, Borni increasingly turned to alcoholism and hedonism as he grew older. The physically and spiritually debased ruler died at the age of just 39 in 1694 and was succeeded by his 11 year old Mengu Temur. The child khagan’s regency would be contested by his mother Altantseteg and his uncle Lubuzung. This power struggle would become moot by 1700, however, with the arrival of unsuccessful Amur khanate claimant Yebusu and his entourage. The Jurchen exile quickly began to accumulate political influence and military power, squeezing out Altantseteg and Lubuzung and becoming Mengu Temur’s key advisor while also beginning to bring back some of the autonomous tumens back under control.
Meanwhile, the Dzungars would be wiped off the political map by the Yarkand Khanate, an eastern relic of the medieval Chagatai Khanate situated in the Tarim Basin. Galdan Boshugtu Khan of the Dzungars organized an invasion of Yarkand in 1678 after allying with Khoja Hidayatullah, a Naqshbandi Sufi imam who had been exiled by Yarkent ruler Baba Khan. However, this invasion proved disastrous for the already weakened Dzungars and soon the tables completely turned when Ismail Khan encroached upon their enemy’s own land. In 1680, Galdan Boshugtu was killed in battle and his capital of Gholja fell to Yarkand, ending a period of Dzungar independence [1]. Tsewang Rabatan would be installed as a vassal prince to Yarkent [2] while other Dzungar princes continued their resistance. Some of them would participate in a retaliatory but ultimately unsuccessful invasion by the Altan khan of the Khalka federation, Erinchin Lobsang Tayiji.
In the aftermath of Yarkand’s subjugation of the Dzungars, the khanate would experience something of a golden age. With the disappearance of the nomadic Dzungars from the political stage, Baba Khan and his son and successor Abd-ar Rashid II strengthened economic ties and diplomatic relations with the Kazakh Khanate, a realm historically a target of Dzungar raids. The overland trade routes of the old Silk Road, disconnected and moribund since the 15th century, began to flourish once again across central Asia. From the capital of Yarkent, goods also flowed in and out through Ladakh and Tibet, even reaching the populous cities of the Mughal realm. Being a fellow ruler of notable Turko-Mongol lineage (Timurid in his case), Aurangzeb even exchanged embassies and gifts between Delhi and Yarkent.
Meanwhile, the Dzungars would be wiped off the political map by the Yarkand Khanate, an eastern relic of the medieval Chagatai Khanate situated in the Tarim Basin. Galdan Boshugtu Khan of the Dzungars organized an invasion of Yarkand in 1678 after allying with Khoja Hidayatullah, a Naqshbandi Sufi imam who had been exiled by Yarkent ruler Baba Khan. However, this invasion proved disastrous for the already weakened Dzungars and soon the tables completely turned when Ismail Khan encroached upon their enemy’s own land. In 1680, Galdan Boshugtu was killed in battle and his capital of Gholja fell to Yarkand, ending a period of Dzungar independence [1]. Tsewang Rabatan would be installed as a vassal prince to Yarkent [2] while other Dzungar princes continued their resistance. Some of them would participate in a retaliatory but ultimately unsuccessful invasion by the Altan khan of the Khalka federation, Erinchin Lobsang Tayiji.
In the aftermath of Yarkand’s subjugation of the Dzungars, the khanate would experience something of a golden age. With the disappearance of the nomadic Dzungars from the political stage, Baba Khan and his son and successor Abd-ar Rashid II strengthened economic ties and diplomatic relations with the Kazakh Khanate, a realm historically a target of Dzungar raids. The overland trade routes of the old Silk Road, disconnected and moribund since the 15th century, began to flourish once again across central Asia. From the capital of Yarkent, goods also flowed in and out through Ladakh and Tibet, even reaching the populous cities of the Mughal realm. Being a fellow ruler of notable Turko-Mongol lineage (Timurid in his case), Aurangzeb even exchanged embassies and gifts between Delhi and Yarkent.
Ming depiction of Baba Khan and his courtiers
This brief golden age, however, soon attracted the attention of Ming emperor Yongwu, particularly as the former had begun to lapse in its tribute to Beijing ever since it had conquered the Dzungars and begun strengthening ties with its Turkic neighbors. Yongwu was also enticed by the opportunity to revive Chinese sway over not just the Tarim Basin but also across central Asia like how it was during the golden age of the Tang dynasty. In 1692, he sent an ultimatum to Abd-ar Rashid II, demanding more tribute as well as a right to send military and civilian officials to Turpan and Kashgar to help coordinate and regulate the overland trade going to and from the Ming realm. This in effect would’ve made the khanate a Chinese protectorate, something Yarkent would not allow. However, Yongwu had expected such a response and promptly sent an army into the Tarim Basin, which was able to unseat the Yarkent khan after a year. Beijing would subsequently establish military garrisons in Gholja, Yarkent, Kashgar, and Turpan and demarcate the Tarim Basin as the Western Protectorate. Dzungaria was made independent again while Abd-ar Rashid II was deposed in favor of his younger brother Muhammad Imin Khan.
For all of his geopolitical tact, however, there remained a sense of vulnerability at home in Yongwu’s mind. The emperor’s policies had enhanced the power and prestige of the military and mercantile classes to the dismay and disappointment of the scholars within the administration, eunuchs and non-eunuchs alike, who generally disapproved of Yongwu’s overseas schemes. Yongwu himself had always mistrusted these Confucian bureaucrats from the time he had ascended to the throne as a teenager, finding ways to subvert and circumnavigate their oversight and institutional power. The more their criticism and disapproval increased, the greater the emperor’s paranoia became. An early sign of this was the imprisonment and execution of eunuch Wang Cixuan, a top-ranking bureaucrat in Yongwu’s court, in 1687 after an imperial agent got a hold of a private letter scathingly criticizing the emperor’s “disregard for tradition”. However, this would pale in comparison to Yongwu’s response to the Confucian critique of his military campaign against Yarkand and the establishment of a military protectorate, the emperor accused of disrupting social order through empowerment of the military aristocracy and prioritization of “unworldly interests rooted in greed” like control of the Tarim Basin’s trade in numerous writings. Yongwu proceeded to conduct a mass purge of not only his critics but also their families and close associates. This purge went on between 1693 and 1695 and upon its conclusion, the emperor had completely consolidated absolute power in China. However, it cost Beijing many experienced government officials and frightened those remaining into silence and these outcomes would negatively impact the realm down the line.
Compared to the events that unfolded among the Chinese, Mongol, and Turkic peoples in and around the Ming realm, Joseon’s situation stabilized through the end of the 17th century. After the 1680 coup that overthrew state councilor Song Si-yeol, king Sukjong came to have a freer rein in Joseon’s governance. The young king gathered a mix of moderate Confucian scholars and reform-minded military officers to help guide his rule, adopting many Sirhak principles. Under Sukjong’s purview, the mun currency would be standardized and more widely circulated, promoting and easing domestic and international trade. Entry into the civil service would also be liberalized towards the middle classes, injecting new blood into the government ranks. A new foreign policy would be implemented as well that saw relations with the Japanese recover and commercial ties with the Dutch and English resume, with the French also able to establish an office in Busan in the 1690s. Meanwhile, Sukjong’s military advisors pushed advancements in naval technology and a defensive policy on the northern border, empowering descendants of Jurchen defectors in the task of keeping an eye on Hetu Ala and Baichali’s ambitions.
Portrait of King Sukjong of Joseon
Despite the political turnaround of the reformers in the peninsular kingdom, the conservative neo-Confucians retained a degree of influence at court through the favor of Queen Inhyeon. Because of this, they were able to slow down or even halt many progressive Silhak-inspired reforms. The queen’s own standing, however, became jeopardized when Sukjong’s consort Hui gave birth to Yi Yun, the king’s first son, in 1688. Hui was regarded as one of the beautiful and charming women in the kingdom and known to be more amicable to the reformers at court. Fearing that she would be replaced as queen, Inhyeon schemed with the conservative faction to topple the reformers, now led by Yun Jeung and naval admiral Yi San-seon, from power. In 1689, numerous conservative scholars began appealing to the king to depose his consort and disinherit his son on the scandalous claim that consort Hui had cuddled with Ham Ji-Tae, a notable court eunuch and reformer, for comfort. This backfired, however, as Sukjong saw straight through their lies, rounding up all of them and summarily ordering their execution. One of them was Kim Chun-taek [3], one of Inhyeon’s favorites, and his involvement made it clear where the conspiracy had originated from. In the aftermath of this failed conspiracy, Inhyeon was deposed as queen in favor of consort Hui, eliminating any relevant power the conservative faction had remaining. These events proved to be the most disruptive of what was otherwise a peaceful period for Joseon and only further cemented the power of moderates and reformers in the court of king Sukjong.
[1]: IOTL, the Dzungars subjugate the Yarkand Khanate.
[2]: He is Galdan Boshugtu Khan’s successor IOTL.
[3]: Involved in Inhyeon’s OTL comeback in 1694 that doesn’t happen ITTL.
Rather more like this: It's time for a good old war between nations that will shake the foundations of the continent.
The question is - why the change?
Moreover, it is curious that it was the Manchu conquest of the Dzungars that contributed to the final Islamization of the region.
Thank you!!
Yeah pretty much.
Lmaooooooooooooo.
The Dzungars were weakened by their defeat against Beijing when they assisted the Northern Yuan during the latter's war upon them.
Y'know this is a bit of a pipe dream, but since you mention the Tang... imagine if Emperor Yongwu revives the title of "Khan of Heaven." Probably not going to happen, but it's a cool pipe dream.
I wouldn’t say neo-Confucianism has fallen in China and Korea, particularly in China. In Korea (aka Joseon), the Silhak school is guiding Sukjong’s government and in his overall domestic -administration, emperor Yongwu hasn’t really diverged from Confucian principles. He’s just super tyrannical and unusually focused on his strength in geopolitics.
Yeah it makes sense for China, but with a few rounds of militarists already been in power, and with the current king endorsing them, I'm surprised that the militarists aren't their own bloc. The need for competent people taking control due to the present threat of the Jurchens makes them a lot more likely to stay in power bc of loss having major consequences in the country.
The fact that its only Yongwu that is showing any interest in the military, and with him growing older I could see China shifting back to being isolationist, and with the Mongols, Joseon and Japan not pushing the delicate house of cards that is the late Ming I can see them surviving for some period of time.
Between Joseon and China I think Joseon is more likely to be able to get rid of their hyper-conservative Confucianists and make a much more military-accepting strain of confucianism that would allow them to compete with Japan in Manchuria. Or the fact that I think that is very possible for the Joseonites to actually adopt westernisation policies seriously and attempt to compete.
PS how influential is neo-confucanism in Japan? It shouldn't have that much power right?
The Four Books and Five Classics are taught and the four occupations still loosely apply but outside of that neo-Confucianism is not influential at all.
The Ming are overdue for some troubles lel. And in the vacuum of the chaos, Japan shall rise. Time to conquer the Ryuku.