Alternative History
Imperial State of Kupanam
庫帕南帝國
Kù Pà Nán Dìguó (Chinese)
ᜈᜄᜍ ᜐᜍjᜀᜌᜏᜒ ᜃᜓᜉᜈᜋ᜔
Nagara Sarajayawi Kupanam (Biazōng)

OTE: Philippines
EastNanyangFlag
Motto
"為上帝, 人民, 自然和國家"
"Wéi Shàngdì, Rénmín, Zì Rán hé Guó Jiā" (Chinese)
"ᜀᜈ᜔ᜆᜃ᜔ ᜆᜓᜑᜈ᜔, ᜋᜈᜓᜐᜒᜀ, ᜀᜎᜋ᜔ ᜐᜋᜓᜎ jᜀᜇᜒ, ᜇᜈ᜔ ᜈᜄᜍ"
"Antak Tuhan, Manusia, Alam Samola Jadi, dan Nagara" (Biazōng)
("For God, People, Nature, and Country")
TungningWOIOCGworldnew
TungningWOIOCGworldnewcropped
CapitalSelurong
(OTE: Manila)
Largest city Kông Yún City
(OTE: Quezon City)
Official languages Chinese, Biazōng
Also recognized English
Demonym Kupanamese, Kopanamese
Government Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
 -  Emperor Baojian
 -  Prime Minister Mèng Bái Qín
 -  Upper House Senate
 -  Lower House Assembly
Population
 -   estimate 95,000,420 
Currency Salapi
Under contruction icon-red The following WOIOCG Maharlika is under construction.

Please do not edit or alter this article in any way while this template is active. All unauthorized edits may be reverted on the admin's discretion. Propose any changes to the talk page.

The Imperial State of Kupanam (Chinese: 庫帕南帝國, Kù Pà Nán Dìguó; Biazōng: ᜈᜄᜍ ᜐᜍjᜀᜌᜏᜒ ᜃᜓᜉᜈᜋ᜔, Nagara Sarajayawi Kupanam) also just Kupanam, Kopanam or Gopanam is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. In the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands which are broadly categorized in three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas and North Mindanao. Kupanam is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Kupanam Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the south. It shares maritime borders with China (via Taiwan) to the north, Palau to the east and southeast, Malaysia and Indonesia to the south, Nanyang to the west, and China to the northwest. It is the world's twelfth-most-populous country, with diverse ethnicities and cultures. Selurong is the country's capital, and its most populated city is Kông Yún City; both are within Metro Selurong.

Negritos, the archipelago's earliest inhabitants, were followed by waves of Austronesian peoples. The adoption of Animism, Islam and Hinduism established island-kingdoms ruled by datus and rajahs. In 1297, the Song dynasty rump, which had been expelled from the Chinese mainland by the Yuan dynasty, found their refuge in Luzon, setting the seeds for the formation of the modern-day country's borders. Although originally intent on using the islands to launch an invasion of the mainland, the Southern Song stayed, and domiciled themselves, annexing the native kingdoms and politics to establish the Southern Song empire, or the New Song (or Xinsong) empire. After the fall of the Yuan, the Xinsong Empire re-established ties with the mainland, via the Ming dynasty, and after the Ming was defeated by the Qing, the Ming's troops and politicians all retreated into the Xinsong Empire. During the Age of Exploration, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer leading a fleet for Spain, and his entire fleet is wiped out by a typhoon, and all Spanish expeditions into Southeast Asia too, are wiped out by typhoons. However, the Dutch, Portuguese and British still establish concessions in the Xinsong Empire, introducing European influence and Christianity, though it never becomes the predominant religion.

In the 1800s, during the time-frame encompassed by the Philippine Revolution or our OTL, the New Reform Movement, or the Xīnlùjìnghui, was formed. This is where the name Kupanam was concocted, and heralded the birth of the modern-day state. During the Second World War, Kupanam was invaded and annexed by Japan up until it was liberated in 1945. It doesn't suffer the same devastation as OTE Philippines.

Kupanam is an emerging market and a newly industrialized country, whose economy is transitioning from being agricultural to service- and manufacturing-centered. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the East Asia Summit; it is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and a major non-SCO ally of China. Its location as an island country on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes it prone to earthquakes and typhoons. Kupanam has a variety of natural resources and a globally-significant level of biodiversity.

Etymology[]

The word Kupanam is the native spelling in many Austronesian languages of the Sanskrit word Gopanam (गोपनम्) meaning "conceal". This is from the Song dynasty, who successfully concealed themselves in the archipelago from the Yuan dynasty for centuries after they were defeated by the Yuan dynasty.

Centuries later, the rulers of the Kingdom of Tungning fled to Luzon, and successfully established themselves under the care of the Southern Song after the Tungning was defeated by the Qing dynasty and in 1864, Kupanam again, received a heavy influx of Hakka and Chinese Christian migrants after the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. They would later attend Christian schools at the various European concessions, and continue to hold the legacy of Chinese Christian community.

History[]

Chinese Colonial era (major PoD)[]

Southern Song dynasty ???? to ????[]

In our original timeline, the various Chinese dynasties already had trading communities in Luzon. However, in this alternate timeline, the as the Song dynasty is defeated by the Yuan dynasty, the Southern Song retreats into Luzon miraculously.

It is here that the Southern Song dynasty introduces the legacies of Chinese culture and science, including the usage of gunpowder, writing system, movable printing type, and etc.

Mongol attempts to capture the Song remnants failed, as they never successfully find Luzon. Eventually, Luzon becomes a haven for anti-Yuan rebels, many of them never returned to the Chinese mainland, and set up their new lives in Luzon.

These Chinese migrants became very lucrative in the gold trade, because gold was abundant in the rivers of the Pasig River. The Pasig River literally came to be referred to as the He Jin, literally "gold river". The Chinese newcomers were treated fondly by most of the Luzonian natives, due to the clean and sophisticated nature of the Chinese.

Eventually, it become almost commonplace for many Chinese immigrants to migrate to Luzon to escape the Yuan dynasty, with many of them bringing skilled labor. Buddhism eventually would come to absorb the native religions of Luzon.

Emperor ???? eventually solidified his rule in Luzon, bringing together both the Chinese and natives, and establishing what is known in history as the Kingdom of Luzon, though in official Chinese regnal records, it is continually referred to as the Southern Song. The city of Liyingtung (OTL: Lingayen) was established as the Royal Capital, where pagodas, monasteries and the Liyingtung Grand Palace was built.

Contact with the Ming dynasty and Muslim world[]

After the overthrow of the Yuan dynasty, trade was finally re-established with Ming dynasty in the Chinese mainland in 1381, when a Ming dynasty trader arrived in Luzon. As the memories of the Song dynasty's fall against the Yuan, and hatred against the Yuan had become almost part of the Southern Song's folklore, this moment was celebrated.

Not only did the King of Luzon visit the ??? Emperor, but so did Prince Kamayin, Prince Taymey and Price Liyli, all native Pangasinan princes, pay a state visit to the Chinese mainland.

However, the Chinese culture in the archipelago met with another culture: the rise of Islam, from the Malay World and the Bruneian Empire. The local princes and datus of the city of Manila, another major city within the Kingdom of Luzon, adopted Islam, and Manila also became a very focal trading network between the Malay World. Luzonese nobles referred to the Muslim converts as Gensui Hui Tu ("those who follow the way of the Hui"). Another common term for the Muslims was "Xianghui" ("like Huis").

The three Chinese warlords encountered the "Three Kings" of Maynila, Rajah Matanda, Rajah Sulayman and Lakan Dula. Lakan Dula eventually adopted Buddhism, and gave the Chinese warlords gunpowder, while Rajah Matanda and Rajah Sulayman also accepted trade with the Chinese.

The Treaty of Maynila signed between the 3 Pasig kings and 3 Chinese warlords divided the domains, where southern Luzon would fall under the rule of Rajah Sulayman and the north and central were to become Limahong's domain.

The victory of Limahong brought more Chinese to Luzon, and in spite of being pirates and outlaws of the Ming dynasty, they brought with them Chinese culture and tradition. Meanwhile, the Sultanate of Brunei continued to expand its religious influence into the Tagalog regions, converting more Tagalogs to Islam, while others favored Chinese influence, and strengthened their Buddhist beliefs, already having come from Buddhist-influenced backgrounds.

In 1662, Koxinga arrived in Luzon. He met with the Southern Song emperor, attempting to gain the latter's help in overthrowing and fighting the Qing dynasty, however, the Lianjie Emperor told Koxinga that he could not help Koxinga with what he desires, but did state that he could form an alliance with the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan. Additionally, the Lianjie Emperor stated that Koxinga and the anti-Qing rebels were welcome to stay in Luzon.

Much like the earlier migration of the Southern Sing centuries ago, the Kupanamese Archipelago would find itself the home of the Southern Ming. The House of Zheng would thus, become one of the most powerful families in the Southern Song empire.

Annexation of the Sultanates of Mindanao and Sulu[]

Much like the the Spaniards referred to the Muslims of OTL Philippines as Moros, Kupanam troops referred to Muslims in the archipelago as Xiang Hui (meaning "like Huis", to distinguish between Chinese Huis and native Autronesian "Huis") due to the similarity of practicing Islam. Although the Muslims of the Pasig were more tolerant of being under a Pagan emperor, the Sultans of Mindanao and Sulu were not. Therefore, the Southern Song emperors sent Tagalog Muslims to try to form an alliance with the Sultans of Mindanao and Sulu.

The Shēngzhǎng Emperor, unlike the Spanish Empire, was a lot more lenient with the Sultans. In the post-war negotiations, the Shēngzhǎng Emperor agreed to get Hui Muslims to rule over the Xiang Hui as the emperor had no intentions of converting the Muslims - and continued to address their Sultans by such titles. Therefore, in a document written in Arabic, Jawi and Chinese, the Sultans of Sulu, Maguindanao and Lanao signed their domains to protectorates of the Southern Song dynasty. Additionally, the Sultans and royals were also educated in Chinese schools, as the Shēngzhǎng Emperor allowed for the building of joint Chinese-Malay schools.

The annexation of the Sultanates thus, extended the borders of the Southern Song.

Trade and contact with the British, Dutch and Portuguese Empires[]

In spite of the failure of Magellan's expedition, the Southern Song empire found itself involved with other major European powers, namely the Portuguese, Dutch and later British Empires. The involvement of these three empires was mostly owning foreign concessions, and they still had to pay taxes to the Southern Song emperors. At this stage, European influences started to find their way into Kupanamese society, with the introduction of European-style schools, as well as Christianity.

Unlike the concessions in other our OTL, these colonial concessions not only involved paying taxes to the Emperor, but the majority of their inhabitants were natives, both Chinese and Austronesian alike.

The New Reform Movement & Indigenization[]

Wu-peifu-2bf2c9dd-41c6-47ca-87cf-336c561d5a6-resize-750-4238956817

Qin Yŭxuān, 1st Generalissimo of Kupanam

In the late 1800s, a large wave of reformers, liberals and progressives started to transform Kupanamese society, having absorbed elements of the Western culture introduced by the British, Portuguese and Dutch Empires. This occurred in two waves, the first was the Yī Jìyuán, which a non-uniform era. The second, began with the formation of the Xīnlùjìnghui (新路徑同, "Society to a New Path"), a secret society reminiscent of the Tongmenhui, Self-Strengthening Movement and the Katipunan of our OTL (though the Katipunan, or the "indigenous faction" is part of this broader Xīnlùjìnghui).

The Xīnlùjìnghui was established in Yanjin by Suen Hânjiàn, Sòng Cáo Shoi-Ming, Andrew Xióng Lee and Fernando Yùng Hiû. Of these, José Zheng Mao compiled and expanded the works and ideology of the Xīnlùjìnghui, while Qin Yŭxuān, Sun Lô Ge̍h, Jiǎng Jūn Zhào and Manuel Kông Yún led their respective military factions. The Sūzhèng Emperor did not persecute the Xīnlùjìnghui, and actually supported the Xīnlùjìnghui - promoting many of their members, like Sòng Cáo Shoi-Ming, Sun Lô Ge̍h, José Zheng Mao and Jamil al-Nasir to his Court of Literary Greats.

Suen Hânjiàn, who was educated in both a traditional Chinese, as well as the British Concession in Selurong, thus successfully convinced the Sūzhèng Emperor to officially adopt the name Kupanam, where the Kupanamese identity evolved. He adopted this from the Sanskrit word Gopanam (गोपनम्) meaning to "conceal", and the transliteration still appears as Gopanam in certain documents.

Founding of the modern-day "Empire of Kupanam"[]

Emilio Aguinaldo

Jiǎng Jūn Zhào, 2nd Generalissimo of Kupanam

The activities of the Xīnlùjìnghui did not bring about positive reactions from the conservatives in the Southern Song Imperial Court. Eventually, Sūzhèng Emperor's brother, High Prince Luhan, attempted to lead a nationwide coup against the Sūzhèng Emperor and the Xīnlùjìnghui, proclaiming himself as the Daozǔxiān Emperor. Led mainly by Qin Yŭxuān, Sun Lô Ge̍h and Jiǎng Jūn Zhào, the Xīnlùjìnghui emerged victorious thanks to having modern weaponry and a disciplined style of leadership. Jiǎng Jūn Zhào, Li Zixin, Sun Lô Ge̍h and Jacinto Lín Féng, known as the "Brutal 4 Generals" enforced the Xīnlùjìnghui government, and forced other military factions to adopt the new system, or be regarded as militaries - meaning the Emperor would no longer pay them. In 1898, the Sūzhèng Emperor officially adopted the name Kupanam, and being crowned as the Emperor of Kupanam.

After the Boxer Rebellion in the Chinese mainland, Kupanam received another large wave of Chinese Christian immigrants, to which North Mindanao has received the highest amount of immigrants. Many of these Chinese Christians would go on to join the politics and military of Kupanam, and become influential within the Xīnlùjìnghui, such as Michael Chông Liù and Juan Liòng Ko and Edward Zung Sou. In a "somewhat reminisciant" of OTL Philippines, ATL Kupanam becomes a haven for Chinese Christians.

In 1922, Jiǎng Jūn Zhào would be the first non-Han Chinese commander of the military of Kupanam, and introduced significant modernization reforms. The Sūzhèng Emperor granted Jiǎng Jūn Zhào second-in-command control of all the armed forces, which also earned the indigenous Kupanamese a huge victory, and encouraged more native Kupanamese to serve in the imperial forces.

Taiwanesegeneral

Manuel Kông Yún - 3rd Generalissimo of Kupanam

During the Interwar Period, Jiǎng grew very fond of the Empire of Japan, and began to foment heavy relations between the local Kupanam military and the Japanese forces. As war with Japan loomed closer, Jiǎng, as well other generals such as Li Zixin and Sun Lô Ge̍h pressured the Dōngyáng Emperor to finally use this to gain independence from the influence of European concessions. The Dōngyáng Emperor was on the verge followed an invitation by the Shōwa Emperor to join the Empire of Japan and the puppet Empire of Manchukuo, however, General Manuel Kông Yún led a coup against General Jiǎng Jūn Zhào and his circles, infiltrating the military elite with pro-Allied generals.

World War II and Temporary Japanese Occupation 1942-1945[]

During the Second World War, Kupanam was invaded by the Empire of Japan - as the Japanese forces specifically targeted British and Dutch concessions in Kupanam. Therefore, the Kupanam entered the Second World War on the side of the Allies, and like OTL Philippines, the Kupanam found itself at the butt of brutal Japanese victories, as the Royal Kupanaman Army were unable to stop the ruthless Japanese invasion. In 1942, the disastrous Battle of Bataan resulted in the capture of 72,000 Kupanamese troops - with 12,000 being Han Chinese, and 60,000 being native troops.

Much like General Macarthur of our timeline, the Dōngyáng Emperor, Generalissimo Manuel Kông Yún, Prime Minister Thomas Lín Féng and the Southern Ming dynasty elite flee further south, and further into Australia. Meanwhile, the Japanese troops free Jiǎng Jūn Zhào and once-again, via Jiǎng Jūn Zhào, invites the Dōngyáng Emperor to join. However, under Allied pressure, the Dōngyáng Emperor rejected this, and thus, Jiǎng Jūn Zhào proclaimed the Shōwa Emperor as the new Kupanam Emperor, as Zhāoshídài Emperor (昭時代).

In 1945, the Allies, along with General Manuel Kông Yún, Prime Minister Thomas Lín Féng and the Dōngyáng Emperor, returned, with the Dōngyáng Emperor being a mere courtesy title at this point. Manuel Kông Yún arrived with both British reinforcements, returning the Zheng dynasty as the ruling dynasty of Kupanam.

Cold War[]

During the Cold War, Manuel Kông Yún became the Generalissimo of the post-World War II Kupanam, with Thomas Lín Féng as his Prime Minister. In 1948, both of them freed Jiǎng Jūn Zhào from house arrest, pardoning him for having served the Empire of Japan on the biggest irony. However, the two prohibited the latter from having military or political influence.

In the early parts of the Cold War, the Empire of Kupanam was a Western ally, deeply rooted in Western influence. Generalissimo Manuel Kông Yún helped fortify the country's defenses against a possible Chinese or Russian invasion. Prime Minister Thomas Lín Féng, as well as his succeeding Prime Minister, Francisco Kāng Shào were credited for leading Kupanam to economic prosperity, especially after the war.

Yuǎnběishan dynasty 1972-1986[]

Marcos inauguration

Huanjuéduì Emperor

In 1965, Mèng Bái Féng became the Prime Minster of Kupanam, under a very controversial decision, narrowly defeated the next-runner up, Benigno Sàng-Hô. However in 1972, he proclaimed himself as the new Emperor of Kupanam, as the Congtian Emperor (meaning "from Heaven" but after his overthrow, he would posthumously be renamed as the Huanjuéduì Emperor). Additionally, although having "some" Chinese ancestry, the Congtian Emperor unlike the previous emperors, was mostly of native descent, particularly Samtoy (OTE: Ilocano). The OTE is Ferdinand Marcos. The Huanjuéduì Emperor, in spite of proclaiming to promote "guided democracy" - brought about constitutional authoritarianism. One of the Huanjuéduì Emperor's largest moves, was veering Kupanam into the political orbit of China, India and Russia. The Huanjuéduì Emperor claimed to be the reincarnation of a Buddhist war deity, and brought a semblance of an absolute monarchy, additionally painting himself as god of Heaven, and establishing his own form of Heaven Worship, ultimately with him as the deity.

Taiwanesegeneral3

Qian Jiang-li, last "Generalissimo", first Defence Minister who overthrow the Huanjuéduì Emperor

He ended the pro-American and pro-Western attitudes of previous generalissimos and prime ministers, but wasn't necessarily pro-Chinese or pro-Indian either, favoring neutrality, but nonetheless managed to achieve some feats, namely in promoting better infrastructure projects across Kupanam, as well as the development of indigenous missile program for the military.

The Congtian Emperor proclaimed in the Zhěngjiù dynasty, literally the "dynasty of salvation" (which after his overthrow, was renamed the Yuǎnběishan dynasty). He was later ousted in the Southern Red Turban Rebellion (OTL: People Power Revolution) that returned the Southern Song as the ruling dynasty of Kupanam, bringing back the constitutional monarchy and democratic rule of law. He was airlifted to China, where he would pass away.

In spite of the return of democratic law, Kupanam continued to solidify its ties to China. Additionally, almost all Prime Ministers after him continued to be Buddhist, Taoist, or folk religion followers, ending the "Christian era" of Kupanamese history.

Present-day[]

In 1986, the Nan Song dynasty was restored as the ruling dynasty, though in a constitutional form, and the Xuānjin Emperor was crowned as the new Emperor. Qian Jiāng-li became the following Generalissimo of the Armed Forces, and Tang Kiang-lek became the Prime Minister. Qian Jiāng-li ended the Generalissimo position, and was replaced with the Defense Minister position as he continued the full democratization of the military. At this point, royalty and nobility no longer held any military powers, unless they have military experience.

Demographics[]

Currently, Han Chinese consist of 60% of Kupanam's population, and 30% are indigenous Austronesian peoples. Additionally, the other 10% consists of 6% Hùnhé (mixed) and 4% consist of Malays Indonesians (who are also Austronesians, closely related to the indigenous peoples), as well as Japanese, Indians and Koreans.

Although the "officially-recorded" population of Hùnhé people is around 3,800,000, however paleontologists and historians suspect the estimate to be much higher, since interracial marriage between the Chinese and native Austronesians was and is very common. Most people judge their own ethnicity by the language and culture they grew up with.

Additionally, due to the significance and history of Malays in Kupanamian history, there is on-going debate in the government as to whether to consider Malays part of the native population. Additionally, in Visayas, there is a group known as the Anak Seri Lumay, who are self-proclaimed Malays, adamantly opposed to the Malaysian and Indonesian definition of "Ethnic Malay". Members of the Anak Seri Lumay with Islamophobic roots, consider themselves "Malay Buddhists" and "Malay Hindus", arguing that Hinduism and Buddhism made Malay great. These people number around 105,300 - in addition to some 950,004 Muslim Malays. Members of the Anak Seri Lumay are not considered Malay by their Muslim counterparts. In the year 20??, the Tunginian government stated that they will honor the Anak Seri Lumay as Ethnic Malays if they want to, causing huge controversy in Malaysia. Therefore, they are counted as Malays by the Kupanamian government, making the total Malay-Kupanamian population 1,055,304.

Language[]

Kupanam has two official languages: Standard Chinese (a Mandarin variant) and Biazōng. Standard Chinese is considered the national lingua franca, and most citizens are expected to be fluent in Standard Chinese. Public schools teach Standard Chinese as a required curriculum. As for Min Nan, or Southern Min Chinese, the standard is Kupanamese Min Chinese, and bears similarity with Taiwanese Hokkien. Additionally, the country has over 100 indigenous languages, and every locality co-officiates the local language alongside Standard Chinese. The majority of the Han Chinese in Kupanam are native Cantonese and Hokkien speakers, as well as Hakka, Teochew and other Southern Chinese languages, and only 35% are native Mandarin-speakers.

The second-most spoken lingua franca is a Malayic language, and Old Malay variant known as the Biazōng language (from Biasa and Zōngse), or Bahasa Biazōng, sometimes known as Kupanamese Malay.

Unlike our original timeline, Old Malay continued to be used alongside Chinese, especially for the non-Han population when the Southern Song solidified their rule in the archipelago. Malay was the primary literary language of the Zōngse Movement, there were proposals to rename it Kupanamese, but these plans were abandoned. The Biazōng language is very unique in that is preserves Old Malay, and contains large differences from the standards spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia and Borneo, namely in the fact that Biazōng is still written in the Kawi script, or Baybayin alphabet. The Standard Malay language however, enjoys the status as a separate local language, and is the same as the Malaysian standard, and is written in the Jawi script in Muslim Mindanao where it is still referred to as Malay or Melayu. However even amongst Kupanamese Muslims, the vernacular is closer to Brunei Malay and Sabah Malay. The Biazōng language is also taught in public schools, and has been reaching major rise, approximately 37.4 million people are fluent in Biazōng.

As for the indigenous languages, the most-spoken are Tagalog, Samtoy (Ilocano), Suwuan (Cebuano) and Maguindanaoan and are all Austronesian languages. While the majority of the native languages are written in the Baybayin script, those spoken in Muslim Mindanao are written in the Arabic-based Jawi script.

Other languages spoken in Kupanam are English, Portuguese and Arabic. English was introduced as a result of the British Empire's colonial concessions, and same can be said with Portuguese. In the city of Cagayan-Jin, Portuguese is co-official to Chinese, Cantonese and Binukid. The English fluency is increasing among the people. Arabic is confined mostly to the elite and upper echelons in Muslim Mindanao, but in Marawi City, the "Islamic Capital of Kupanam", Arabic is spoken by the locals regardless of class. Arabic is co-official in the Muslim sultanates.

Religion[]

Kupanam is religiously diverse, however Buddhism makes up the majority of the country, at 60%. Although Kupanamese Buddhism is considered an off-shoot of the Mahayana religion, it has, like Taiwanese Buddhism, incorporated native deities. Islam is the next largest religion, at 25% of the total population. Christianity forms the next 10%, while Others - namely Taoism, Chinese Folk Religion, Heaven Worship, Confucianism, Hinduism, Irreligious, make up the remaining 5%.

Of the Christians, the largest three sections are Protestant, Methodist, Roman Catholic, as well as Independent Churches, as the Independent Church of Kupanam and the Kupanam Church of Christ.

Interreligious relations[]

Kupanam, like China and other Asian countries, is known for the synchronizing of beliefs between different religions. For example, most Kupanamian Christians still follow traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, Pagan and Chinese origin. During major festivals like the Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival, most people claim that barely a difference exists in the attitude and observations between a Buddhist and a Christian community.

Military[]

Currently, the Royal Armed Forces of Kupanam is considered a major regional power. Although the Emperor of Kupanam is the titular Commander-in-Chief, power is vested in the Prime Minister, who is the Head of Government.

Royal and noble houses[]

  • House of Xīn Nán Sòng - literally "New Southern Song" dynasty, the current ruling house
  • House of Yuǎnběishan - the line of the Huanjuéduì Emperor, renamed from the Zhěngjiù into the Yuǎnběishan dynasty, of predominantly Samtoy ethnicity
  • House of Zheng - princely family, descended from Koxinga
  • House of Tondo - based in the Manila area, one of the two largest royal families in Luzon, descended from Lakan Dula, further divided into the House of Macapagal headed by Princess Mèng Xīn Yuxi (OTL: Gloria Macapagal-Arroya) and the House of Salonga headed by Princess Maria (Lea Salonga) and the House of Puyat
  • House of Salalila - descendants of Rajah Sulayman, of Bruneian and Tagalog ethnicity, one of the two largest royal families in Luzon, of Muslim faith
  • House of Kho - a princely family of mixed Chinese-Pampangan
  • House of Bulacalao - based in southern Mindoro
  • House of Beishan - House of princely-rank, descended from Datu Fūng Chhông-Chāo
  • House of Jiǎng - House of kedatuan rank, Tagalog ethnicity

Territorial administrations[]

The kingdom (OTE: region) is the largest territorial administration in the country. It is followed by the province, or in the case of kingdoms, principalities.