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Mainly and directly due to the combined efforts of the Qin and Han Dynasties of China (221 BC–220 AD).The Qin acted as the unifier of Chinese civilization, the Han on the other hand meanwhile; as the preserver of the notion of a unified Chinese society. Out of the two dynasties, it would of course be the Han which would end up being more responsible, regarding the popularization and propagation of the notion of national unity, rather than one of disunity.Although the Han were not the first Chinese political entity to have actually promoted the concept of a “One China” policy, it was meanwhile indeed the first one to actually rule in such a way, and for long enough such that all future Chinese dynasties from then on, would likewise seek to reign over a vast singular and prosperous yet unified Chinese Empire, in the exact same fashion: based on the “Han Model”.A statue of Liu Bang, First Emperor of the Han Empire under the title “Gaozu”:It was a phenomenon which was of course greatly intensified by the failures of a divided China under the Warring States Period (476–221 BC), which was popularly regarded at the time to have lacked both prosperity and progress in the areas which mattered most, and was essentially a land filled with death, suffering, poverty and the indiscriminate murder of innocents.Under such dire circumstances, a Chinese “Game of Thrones” essentially took place, with all the various feuding Kingdoms of China desiring unlimited power above all else; a power which could only be obtained directly at the common people’s expense of course.Needless to say thus, nobody under the new regime of the Han Dynasty wanted a return to the old ways, that is to say, the ways of backwardness and misery. And so of course, the Han (clever as they were), used this very fear to their advantage, and responded by ruling in such a way, that is to say, the way of benevolence of course (though initially extreme malevolence), as to directly cement their power over the newly unified nation.Their legitimacy thus, directly owed its stable status to a promise (their promise), that they would never again return to the much feared old ways as long, and only as long as the Imperial Liu Family was in charge. This was a fact which saw the Han Empire last 426 years (exceptionally lengthy for a Chinese dynasty), with only a brief “interruption” of 14 years from 9–23 AD, when the Imperial Throne was stolen by the infamous usurper; Wang Mang.Otherwise, to the power of the Imperial Family, submitted the people of China.And thus also, begun a set of events which would go on to glorify, and turn the nation of China from backwater of the world, into a regional superpower, capable of actually affecting world events even as far as the western end of the Eurasian continent, thus in time leading the future generations and dynasties to believe that only unity, rather than disunity, was the only self-evidently logical choice for Chinese civilization to henceforth take.Warning: Slightly long answer up ahead, though nowhere near as lengthy as my usual answers, it’s only 7,800 words so relax, you should actually read this one.To understand how and why the concept of “One China” would forever be so historically appealing to the Chinese people, we have to examine three consecutive periods of Chinese History.First, we will examine the desolation of China before the Han Dynasty, then we will look at the changes made and advances gained under the rule of the Qin-Han Era, and then at last we shall examine the resultant chaos which occurred once more, after the Fall of the Empire.Chapter I: The Sufferings of a Divided China Under the Warring States PeriodChapter II: The Blessings of a Unified China Under the Han DynastyChapter III: The Horrors of a Re-Divided China Under the Age of Disunity, and the Parallels of HistoryConclusion (and Summary)SourcesFootnotesChapter I: The Sufferings of a Divided China Under the Warring States PeriodThe Warring States was essentially a 254 year long civil war between several different, yet culturally similar Chinese Kingdoms. Though the land throughout which the kingdoms inhabited, was now filled with death and desolation directly as a result of the ongoing civil war, it had actually not always been like this.Formerly, China had once been under the full nominal and de facto control of the Kingdom of Zhou (1046–771 BC), which though had once held complete dominion over the entirety of its kingdom, had now deteriorated to such an extent, that it now held very little true power.The territories of the Zhou Kingdom in the 1st millennium BC:Instead, the King’s powers were taken away from him such, that he now found himself relegated to the lowly status as that of a mere nominal ruler, whose only real duties were to act as a mediator between Heaven and Earth, during religious ceremonies.Real power instead, went to the King’s former subjects; the Dukes and Marquesses of the Kingdom, all formerly powerful individuals who had once promised to defend the King, now instead saw their to chance to seize power, and thus acted on their impulses, especially upon realizing that the last de facto Zhou King was weak, and could thus be easily deposed.King You, the last of the de facto rulers of the Zhou was murdered, and the Nobility instead replaced him with a puppet ruler, which would in their eyes “forever” secure their dominion over all China. And thus, de facto rule henceforth in this way, was to beong only to the Nobility, and not with the King.The Social Hierarchy of the Zhou Kingdom seen below (At this point in time, China was ruled (like Europe and Japan would be all those years later) under the “Feudal System”, where Kings would grant titles to Lords, who would then protect them, and in turn protect the Peasantry also, who were then to reciprocate this obligation by swearing allegiance to the Aristocracy in turn):This treasonous act should have been foreseeable of course, China was already too big even at this stage early in its life. Such a turn of events throughout the centuries of Zhou rule, had forced the King to maintain his authority by greatly decentralizing power from his hands, and redistributing them to the Nobility itself.Thus, it was perhaps inevitable that the Nobility would eventually acquire the means to of course challenge the King’s Royal Authority, as they practically did everything for him already, such a rebellion was of course made possible under both the Feudal System, and the decentralized administrative system, which served to overly empower the Aristocracy to such an extent, as to allow them to dominate the Zhou King.Despite holding real power over the nation however, initially in the beginning it was decided that the wisest course of action was to at least pretend that the King was still in charge; a show for the common people of course, who still believed that true power belonged only with the King. And so thus, the King’s autonomy and power was for the meanwhile, temporarily permitted to be exercised seemingly with free reign.But of course as the centuries went on, further and further, and as the Nobility got bolder and bolder (as each time the King faced an existential crisis, he would have to of course enlist their help as asserted so under the Feudal System) it eventually came to be that such “generous” limits to royal authority could no longer be permitted.And thus, confident in their power, and arrogant beyond belief, in time the Nobility even stopped pretending to rule behind the scenes, and instead openly asserted their treasonous declarations from their respective manors and domains, regarding their supposed “rightful” claims to the Zhou throne.As there could of course only ever be one true king however, thus begun the 254 year long Chinese Civil War known today as the “Warring States of China”, a period of history which eventually saw the territories of the Zhou Kingdom split into 7 major, and often times mutually hostile kingdoms by the late-Warring States Period, pictured here down below :And this, is where the first major divisive period of death and destruction begins, and is thus why no “sane” Chinese person from the times of the Han Empire onwards, would then nor now ever again actively encourage and hope for China to be divided from then on, lest he loses both life and limb himself.Indeed, the Warring States was simply not the best time for China, to put it sharp and shortly. Though it did see extreme rises in the rates of technological adoption, which extended to the invention of the Crossbow, and adoption of the Chariot, this was the final extent to all the good that was done under such a period of disunity.In reality, for the vast majority of China, the effects which became resultant of the seemingly unceasing civil war, were deeply obstructive to the Peasantry especially, in their efforts to create and maintain a harmonious and prosperous life. As the vast majority of the self proclaimed Chinese “Kings” cared not for anyone but themselves (and the acquisition of unlimited power through violence and wars), this would only serve to further exacerbate the poor living standards of the common people.As for the wars themselves, they were of course fought endlessly, however there were exceptions to this norm of course, as sometimes there were several periods here and there where there would be pauses in the fighting, but only so that all the concerned parties could further conscript greater numbers of peasants to use as cannon fodder in their highly destructive campaigns.An artist’s impression of the rounding up of Chinese civilians by the Army of the Qin Kingdom:During the especially violent 150 year long period from 450–300 BC, Historian and former US Marine Samuel B. Griffith has even remarked that, “it would have been extremely unlikely for any Generals to have died in their beds”.To make matters worse, the varied geography of China (which consisted of hills, lakes, swamps and marshes) greatly allowed for the many upon many various bands of brigands and cutthroats to not only raid villages and ransom merchants, but also to kidnap unfortunates who travelled to and fro from other kingdoms in addition.And most notably, these marauders did not just come from nowhere either, but mostly originated directly from the Peasantry itself, with many having had to resort to such illegal activities merely to survive. Deserters, and even Royal Officials could likewise be found in such desperate situations for similar reasons. Such criminal forces became so powerful and numerous in fact, that they often marketed themselves to the various kingdoms as Mercenaries, and were more often than not, hired, no questions asked.The Peasantry meanwhile, which composed of 90% of the population of each Warring Kingdom, could be found to have suffered in the same fashion alike, regardless of which kingdom they belonged to.All were forced to labour endlessly out in the fields, whilst obediently obeying every order from their masters and superiors without question, mouths shut even when the harshest of circumstances came about. Conscription, and by extension imminent death was the fate of most male peasants during this highly chaotic, and dark period of China’s history.An artist’s impression of the inflicted misery of the common people suffered under the despotic regimes of the Warring States:In stark contrast to the Peasantry meanwhile, the various kings lavished luxuriously in their Royal Courts, at any given time always entertained by well-equipped harems, teams of dancing girls, musicians, acrobats, and expert chefs, who all acted in unison to further expand the social gap between ruler and ruled.The Peasantry which was conscripted into the Military, was often used to construct en masse hundreds upon hundreds of private palaces, terraces, parks and towers, all for the sake of the Warring Kings.Even the Legal System of the Chinese Kingdoms at this point in time, was equally as torturous and malevolent as the states over which it was made to “protect”. Several thousand crimes were punishable by death or mutilation. Castration, branding, slicing off the nose, chopping off the toes and feet, cutting leg tendons, or breaking knee caps were just some of the possible, and commonly inflicted punishments.There was no Rule of Law even despite the fact that the punishments were equal for all classes, for the Kings were deemed as above the law, and therefore untouchable. And whensoever for whatever reason one law was particularly distasteful to a Ruler, he would either change it or be rid of it either temporarily or permanently.Regardless, the arbitrary power to change the law, and therefore escape from punishments, was a privilege of the King, deeply highlighting the great inequality of China under the Feudal System, of a highly divisive period.Even the most prestigious occupations were either directly or indirectly connected with martial matters. The “wandering strategist” was one of these said occupations, and was often regarded highly by all the rivalling kingdoms, as “useful intellectuals” especially to rivalling monarchs, who often paid them well for their advice, which usually gave one’s kingdom the edge in battles and or wars.Even their prosperity was limited however, for whenever their advice did not work out as planned, all who failed the patron kings who hired them were condemned to either: death by being sawn in half, death by being boiled, death by being minced or death by being torn into four separate parts by Chariot.A statue of Sun Tzu, one of these many so called “wandering scholars” (we do not really know if he truly existed though) who travelled around from kingdom to kingdom to impart his wisdom onto the various rulers of the Warring States Period:The fact also that there was a perpetual state of war in China at this time, deeply coloured all other aspects of all the Warring States. Now, unlike before, each and every minor socio-political decision and move had to be made with utmost care by all, likened to that of carefully moving a Chess piece, lest they be interpreted wrongly, and the individual with whom it originated, swiftly executed.The state of affairs, was also altered beyond recognition. Diplomacy for example, formerly based on negotiation and compromise, were now defined exclusively instead by bribery, fraud and deceit.During this highly violent period, where might determined who was right, public order became so undesirably traumatic that if officials or generals fled from one kingdom to another, or even led a revolt against his lord in an attempt to claim the throne for himself, nothing would have seemed out of place. Such matters were wholly considered normal during the Warring States Era.An artist’s impression of a Chinese Feudal Era Chariot being used in combat (Chariots were highly utilized by the 7 Kingdoms of China during the Civil War Period):As such, the horrors of life under the Warring States Period, that horrendous era of national disunity, should be self-evident by this point in time. To say that this was not a very good time for the average person to live in, would be a gross misunderstatement indeed. There was little to envy, regarding life for anyone other than the ruler, during the Warring States Period. This should be a fact which speaks for itself.Such a state of affairs however, one which was so destructive to the common man, and obstructive to civilization progress, could not last forever and was perhaps destined to end sooner if not later. This was a fact which eventually saw one kingdom in particular rise above all others.Formerly the weakest of the 7 kingdoms early in the Warring States Period, the Qin State led by King Ying Zheng, fully implemented the brutal ideology of “Legalism” and used it to ensure the imminent rise of his state, at the parallel expense of all other rivalling kingdoms.Legalism was a philosophy which believed that the only way to progress, was to recognise that all human beings were more inclined to do wrong than right because they were motivated entirely by self interest. Rule by law, rather than rule of law (which didn’t exist anyway) was thus to be adopted, and a strong and unwavering autocratic regime was to be sanctioned, as a way to ensure that right would be done, wheresoever it was due and needed.The Legalist reforms were such, that it allowed the Qin State to successfully ensure its transition from a weak, neglected, feudalistic and highly corrupt kingdom, into a powerful and centralized superstate, led by a competent bureaucracy, a state in which the King’s power could never again be challenged by a rebellious Nobility, as the former Zhou King’s authority was, mainly because of the fact that much of the former power once possessed by the Aristocracy, had now been forcibly removed from them, and transferred instead to the King.A brief summary in three dot points, of the key beliefs of Legalism:Legalism, which favoured rules and brute strength over traditions and “honour”, was used to reform the army. Now, even being late would get one executed, and yet you could also be greatly rewarded beyond your wildest dreams, proportional to your prowess on the battlefield for any random acts of heroism, which thus acted to ensure that a sense of meritocracy was practiced by the Qin Royal Army, increasing the military efficiency of the Army.The Warring States Period code of conduct, which dictated how armies and kingdoms were to behave in what was popularly regarded by all the kingdoms as a “gentleman’s game”, were thus also ignored by the Qin Kingdom. For example, one was not supposed to, “…crush the feeble, nor give the order for attack until the enemy have formed their ranks,” per consensus on how war was to be fought. The Qin however, attacked whenever, and wherever they pleased, allowing them to emerge victorious over their eternal rivals.An artist’s impression of the much feared, highly meritocratic Qin Army:Thus it was that under the banner of Legalism, the Qin Kingdom marched from West to East over a period of 9 years, subjugating their rivals once and for all. First fell the Han Kingdom (unrelated to the Han Dynasty), then subsequently fell the Kingdoms of Zhao, Yan, and Wei. Afterwards collapsed directly resultant of the Qin conquests; the mighty Zhu Kingdom which had long rivalled the Qin State, and then at last fell the Kingdom of Qi near modern day Shandong province, to the Qin.At last, all of China was properly unified for the first time under a singular and centralized Chinese political entity, unified under the control of the Qin Empire (221–206 BC):It would of course remain to this day, one of China’s greatest and earliest civilizational successes thus: the unification of China under a singular political entity.This the Qin were of course able to do, and was certainly by far the right thing to have done. Where they failed immensely however, was that they did not make it immediately obvious to the common people, because of the way they ruled: the differences between a life for a commoner under the Warring States Period, compared with their lives now under a unified, and supposedly “peaceful” and thus “better” society.For the Qin to maintained their rule, they would have had to have immediately made clear, the benefits of living under a unified, rather than disunified China. To this extent, they only saw limited successes at doing so, but for the most part failed miserably.The New Regime was extremely totalitarian and bureaucratic, all who spoke out against the Legalist system were subsequently executed or at least severely punished. The philosophers of Confucianism-an ideology which believed that Human Beings were inherently good-especially criticised the New Regime, and were thus subsequently buried alive, or enslaved.The Qin under the First Emperor Shi Huangdi (formerly King Ying Zheng of Qin, unifier of China), resorted to the burning of books en masse, as it was the Emperor’s belief that knowledge and education were useless, instead only considering manuscripts focused on topics such as Medicine and Agriculture to be useful.The Warring States Era Legal System was not only kept meanwhile, but was further intensified, all crimes against the state henceforth were now punished via forced labour in service to the State. Executions only by the most gruelling ends, via death by boiling, chariots, mutilation and or castration, were further used to punish even the most minor of crimes.The only good, the only good and therefore improvement which came under the rule of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, were his efforts to promote the idea of National Unity and moved quickly to promote the concept of there only being one China, and one people all united under the banner of cultural singularity.To this extent, he moved to create and standardize the national language, in order to make it easier for his people to communicate with each other. In addition to the standardization of language, the Qin also built roads and canals through the unified states en masse, supported with the application also of a single currency, to further stress the idea of unity and solidarity.The famous Great Wall of China was also fully constructed during his rule for the first time in China’s History, not only in order to defend the newly unified state against the presence of the aggressive neighboring nomadic Xiongnu Empire, but it also symbolically acknowledged that China was now one country, thus implying that the one wall existed to protect them all, and not just the individual areas of the former kingdoms.An artist’s impression of the brutal, forced labour construction of the Qin Great Wall:However, even all these great efforts to improve the lives of the people were in vain, as they were constructed using slave labour, labour which was made up of political prisoners, who had in some way, shape or form supposedly committed crimes against the state. To this extent, 400,000 people were said to have perished in the forced construction of the Qin Great Wall, and were subsequently buried within the Wall itself.Thus it was, that before long, a National Revolution was in full bloom throughout the entire country once more, directly due to the tyranny of the Qin, who the people claimed had not actually improved the lives of the people, despite unifying the country but was merely a continuation of what had once been before; the chaos and tyranny under the Old Regimes of the Warring States Period.And thus it was also, that from the chaos of the Revolution arose a very particular peasant by the name of Liu Bang, the future First Emperor of the Han Dynasty.As a smart and intelligent individual, Liu quickly rose to prominence as one of the many prominent figures in the Revolt against the Qin Empire. Over a period of a couple months, Liu not only overthrew the Qin Regime, but also moved to defeat the many rivals (formerly allies) he had come to accrue, who he foresaw would sooner rather than later, especially in light of the end of the Qin Empire, become an imminent threat to him.And thus it was, that the Qin Empire fell, and the newly proclaimed Han Empire replaced it, under the rule of Liu Bang, or better know yet as Emperor Gaozu of Han, who would in time move to correct the mistakes of the tyrannical Legalist Regime, and instead promote legitimacy by benevolence, and ensure the state precedent thus, of ruling in such a way, and for long enough, that there would always be this idea, and need from then on, to reunify the nation based on the Han Model.Chapter II: The Blessings of a Unified China Under the Han DynastyBy this point in time, China was ruined. Ruined firstly by the Warring States Period, then further torn apart by the tyranny of the Qin Empire, then at last broken by the Revolution, all of China was now worse off than it had ever been before. Dissatisfaction was at an all time high, a dissatisfaction that was so painfully obvious that it looked as though there was already going to be another imminent incoming revolution.Because of his early origins as a Peasant, the new Han Emperor mirrored the First Qin Emperor in that he hated education and knowledge, and therefore looked down upon it. Because of this, he neglected the study of history, refusing to learn from the past, and therefore thought that if he just treated the Chinese people horribly enough, and to such an extent like was so under the Qin Empire, he could break their spirit and force them to submit to him.But such, was not to be the case for long. A couple of years into the Emperor’s reign, he was intercepted by a Han Government Official by the name of Lu Gu, who disagreed with the way in which the Emperor was ruling. As a keen student of Confucianism, he despised the one sided totalitarianism which Liu was using to rule over China.Using logic and reason, Lu presented his dissatisfaction to the Emperor Gaozu.The Emperor famously responded in return:“I do all my conquering from the back of my horse, what use have I for books and poetry?”To which Lu replied:“Once my lord is done with the conquering, does he also intend to do all his ruling from the back of his horse?”A statue of Confucius (the founder of Confucianism) in Modern China today:The Emperor was shocked, admitting that his humble subject had finally defeated him, he subsequently requested that Lu compose for him a book, of historical examples outlining why the Qin had lost the support of China, and how the Emperor himself could not only gain but also retain the support of the people forever.As a result, Lu personally wrote a 12-volume book titled “Words of Renewal” (新语) for the Emperor just as he had requested, reading them all aloud to him when each one was completed.Lu insisted that the reason the Qin had fallen, was because they were too totalitarian, and lacked legitimacy. They showed no mercy to their enemies, mistreated and betrayed their own allies and adopted Legalism, a system which believed that all Humans were inherently evil, and motivated only by self-interest.Instead, he insisted that the Emperor should reject the Qin Philosophy of Legalism, and instead replace it with a new Imperial ideology by the name of Confucianism.Confucianism was the polar opposite of Legalism. Instead of stressing rule by law, and the inherent evilness of mankind, it taught that all Humans were inherently good and could be improved with a little effort, and that rule by law was not effective, and instead made clear the benefits that could arise from ruling by “moral virtue” instead.The Emperor was impressed, and did all that the government official Lu had suggested to him. He implemented and personally supported and sponsored the Philosophy of Confucianism at an academic level, and was determined to rule China with benevolence from then on, thus increasing the legitimacy of the Han Government, and winning the people over who would then submit to the Liu Family out of love rather than fear.To this extent, he moved to dismantle much of the last remnants of the Old Regimes of the Warring States Period, and the Qin Empire, and instead reform it in such a way as to make the newly unified nation of China prosperous. And yet, this historically, was no small feat either.For if he had not done this, exactly what was to stop the Chinese nation from splitting up again as had been the case for hundreds of years prior? No, it was directly because of the efforts of Emperor Gaozu, that the newly unified Chinese nation managed to against all odds, keep itself in one piece, rather than fracturing yet again. In this way, eventually over time, the concept of there only being one, and not one hundred Chinese entities, was finally cemented in Chinese culture forever. China was to remain unified now, and unified forever.The territories of the Han Dynasty at its greatest extent in 100 AD:In contrast to the armies of the Qin and Warring States, which had forced people against their will to serve in the army, the first step of the Emperor Gaozu, saw him move to disband the veteran armies which had helped him seize power, and allowed them to return home, exempting them from taxes for 6 years, going so far as provide food for each individual and his family in addition for an entire year.The Legal System meanwhile, inherited from the Warring States and Qin Era, were reformed in such a way, as to reduce both the scope and severity of punishable crimes, and consequential punishments to be meted out respectively.As for the majority of the Han people, who were part of the Peasantry meanwhile, which was always consistently placed at the bottom of Social Hierarchy under Feudal China, now enjoyed a higher status under the New Regime, as Gaozu promoted the Agriculture Industry, as China’s most important source for the acquisition of the State’s Tax Revenue.Gaozu’s reforms regarding the Peasantry were particularly beneficial to the majority, which saw taxes regarding their livelihoods, reduced to 1/15 portions on Agricultural Production per family unit. Land was meanwhile directly taken from the rich, and redistributed instead to the Peasantry, giving the vast majority of the Han citizenry, a fighting chance to prosper; a chance they were once actively denied under the tyranny of Feudal China.It was hoped that because they saw that all their efforts were now directly benefiting them, rather than the the Nobility who had once exploited them as during was the case during the Feudal Era, the Peasants would farm harder to such an extent, as to finally allow China to recover regarding its Economy.To this extent, Gaozu was ultimately successful, the state’s prioritization on Agriculture over time saw the social status of the Peasant, be promoted to 2nd place out of the “Four Occupations”.Under the new system of the Four Occupations, the Peasant enjoyed a status unprecedented before in the History of China:Peasants in China, unlike anywhere else in the world at the time, or since those times in Human History, were no longer at the bottom of the Social Hierarchy (as they once were during the Warring States), but were now second only to the Han “Mandarin” Government Official, even higher than the Skilled Artisan, or the Merchant Class.This was a fact which put the Peasantry at ease, as they now knew that their arduous toils were no longer in vain, but would directly benefit the State itself, and by extension all of China. The Nationalizations of the Salt and Iron Industries further served to benefit the Peasantry, as it allowed them to work for the Government in order to pay off their debt, whilst also being socially and economically productive.Science and Technology henceforth were especially used to further benefit and improve the lives of the Peasantry, the invention by China of Cast Iron Tools, the Multi-Tube Seed Drill and the Daitianfa (代田法) “Replacement Field” Method of Farming (inventions that were all made possible under such a long period of peace and prosperity), eventually saw Agricultural Production peak at 16 billion kilograms of grain annually, or 280 kg per person, unprecedented in world history up until then, both by absolute national grain yields, and per capita also.An artist’s impression of the Multi-Tube Seed Drill in action during the Han Dynasty:For reference, in the equally mighty and prosperous Roman Empire at the Western end of the Eurasian Continent, intensive farming had not yet fully emerged.Such a feat in agriculture eventually allowed in time for the growth of the Han Empire regarding population, to 57,671,400 individuals or 1/3 of the world’s population as recorded by the Han Imperial Census in 2 AD, which allowed the vast Chinese Economy to account for 25.4% of the world’s wealth.In fact, China eventually got so unbelievably rich and wealthy, that untold millions of coins had to be casted each and every year as a consequence, reaching a peak of 220 million coins per year from 118 BC to 5 AD, in order to fully accommodate for the population of the Han Empire.The Han Capital of Chang’an meanwhile became the second largest city in the world at 400,000 people , only eclipsed by Rome which had 1 million people at its peak under the Nervan-Antonine Dynasty (96–192 AD).The vast Economy of the Han was of course aided also in addition by State sponsored expeditions to the Western deserts, which allowed the Early Han people to realize that other non-Chinese civilizations indeed did exist, allowing them to expand trade overseas, greatly benefitting the Celestial Empire.This in time led to the creation of the Silk Road, an early physical intercontinental trading network which not only allowed the flow of goods from East to West and vice-versa, but also ideas and inventions also.In this way, not only did Chinese Silk reach the Roman Empire, and Roman Glassware find itself reaching the Han Empire, but Buddhism also from the Indian sub-continent, likewise found its way into the Han Dynasty.A map of the Silk Road during the reign of the Han Dynasty:Most notably, the Silk Road allowed the Han Dynasty to maintain an extremely large positive trading balance, directly resultant of the fact that China had in its possession, a great abundance of goods produced by their Economy, goods which were not available anywhere else in the world, allowing them to prosper greatly as a result.This one sided Han advantage was most evident in the case of the Han-Roman trade. The defining characteristic of this economic relationship saw not only the flow of Chinese goods to the West, but also the flow of Roman raw materials to the East.The consequences of this one sided relationship led to a growing scarcity of precious metals in the Roman Empire (27 BC-476 AD), which in turn lead to the repeated debasement of Roman currency in the 3rd Century AD, ensuring the effective cessation of trade with China, in order to maintain the external stability of the Roman Economy.The early adoption meanwhile of Buddhism, which had originated from the Silk Road, allowed many important Buddhist canons to be translated into Old Chinese during the 2nd century AD, including the Sutra of 42 Chapters, Perfection of Wisdom, Shurangama Sutra, and Pratyutpanna Sutra. China’s first Buddhist Temple, the “White Horse Temple” was even constructed outside the walls of the city of Luoyang meanwhile.Last but not least meanwhile, were the Han inventions of Paper, the Loom, the Seismoscope, the Stirrup, the Wheelbarrow, the Repeating Crossbow, and the Water Powered Armillary Sphere, all made possible under such a great period of peace and prosperity.The Han Invention of the Repeating Crossbow:A similar case applied for Han independent innovations and discoveries in the fields of Astronomy and Mathematics, which saw the discovering of the existence of square roots, cube roots, the Pythagorean Theorem, the Gaussian Elimination and the close (yet slightly clumsy) approximation of Pi as 10^1/2 (3.14159), apart from also the Han invention and introduction to the world of the concept of negative numerals.Scientifically, Han Astronomers meanwhile updated the old Chinese Calendar and re-calculated the tropical year approximating it to 365. 385/1539 days, whilst asserting that the duration of the lunar month was 29. 43/81 days.As should be clearly evident, the Han Dynasty was a very prosperous time in general for Chinese civilization.As such, as time went on further and further under the benevolent rule of the Liu Family; the New Regime, it became self-evidently clear to the people of the Han Empire that, being part of a singular Chinese political entity was infinitely more beneficial than slowly rotting away in a land divided, and torn apart by eternal, and constant infighting, chaos and the plagued also by the omnipresence of death and suffering.It was thus imprinted in Chinese culture from then on, that to be united under one banner was in every way, a lot more desirable than the greatly undesirable alternative.Chapter III: The Horrors of a Re-Divided China Under the Age of Disunity, and the Parallels of HistoryWhat really cemented the Chinese people’s ideal of National Unity however, were the consequences arising from China’s misfortunes in the post-Han world. The prolonged period of division which occurred once more, acted only to make unanimously clear to the Chinese peoples once and for all, that history was cyclical, and what had once happened in the past, could still occur yet again in the future.It was a fact which proved only to be too true, and upon China’s imminent reunification once more under the Sui Dynasty (581–618 AD), served only to make it clear that there was no plausible alternative for Chinese civilization to take, other than under the command of a powerful, highly centralized and unified state.Disunity was simply just not a very beneficial option for China to take, and this was made clear all throughout the infamous Age of Disunity (220–581 AD), which begun with the fall of the mighty Han Dynasty.The reason for this was simple, the fall of the Empire saw the beginnings of a 60 year long civil war known as the Three Kingdoms Period (220–280 AD), which was so deadly and so destructive in the way in which it was fought, that 40 million people, or 2/3 of China’s population were subsequently decimated in the years following the beginning of the civil war.A map of the eponymous Three Kingdoms in question, which included the Kingdom of Cao Wei in north in blue; the strongest of the three, the Kingdom of Eastern Wu lorded over the vast fertile southern lands ruled by the Sun family, and lastly was the Kingdom of Shu Han, commandeered by Liu Bei, a distant relative of the Imperial Liu Family:This was such that the National Census in 280 AD, even recorded the population of China to be merely 16,164,000 people far removed from the peak attained under the Han, of 57.6 million individuals. It must be remembered also, that not all of these individuals perished directly as a result of war, but in addition from mass famine and diseases indirectly resultant of these large scale conflicts also.Under this highly regressive period of division, China became so poor in fact that the Kingdom of Wei had to resort to using grain and silk cloth as the main currency throughout the kingdom, to be used as the medium to exchange goods and services, rather than coins as was formerly the case under the Empire.Decentralization meanwhile, as was the case like with the Warring States Period earlier, was replicated wholly once again during the Three Kingdoms Era, as the popular notion of “every man for himself” was once again upheld. To this extent, a state of quasi-Feudalism returned once more, as great self-sustaining castles and strongholds were built by the aristocracy to protect themselves, at the simultaneous expense of both the nation, and the people.And even when China was briefly re-unified once more under the weak Jin Dynasty (265–420 AD), this was hardly a true unification as the Jin were too powerless to establish a true centralized state, and as a result had to resort to the Warring States tactic of decentralization instead, which acted only to severely weaken their power, and promote infighting. China during this time received no respite, and continued to suffer to an even greater degree than previously.The territories of the Jin Empire at its peak in 280 AD:And soon, despite being nominally unified under one banner, the nation was yet once again in a state of civil infighting, under the turbulent “War of the Eight Princes” (291–306 AD), which saw eight self-proclaimed Emperors fighting for control of the Imperial Throne. As each Prince entered the civil war, the conflict grew larger and larger until at last by the time the war had ended, China was left arguably even weaker than it had once been under the Warring States Period.It was this national weakness resulting from the War of the Eight Princes which in turn eventually led to the highly destructive “Uprising of the Five Barbarians”, which saw the the nomadic northern Steppe tribes of the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei, Di and Qiang invade the Middle Kingdom itself, where they wrested control of the northern half of the China from the “Han Chinese” peoples, who were instead relegated to merely the Southern half of China instead.And upon the Jin Dynasty’s imminent collapse, to make matters worst than it had ever been before, not only was the nation engulfed in a state of civil war (yet again), but China was now also racially segregated this time around, with the North belonging to the Steppe invaders, and only the vast fertile South belonging to the Han peoples, beginning the highly divisive period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589 AD).The trials and tribulations of the Chinese Nation, only ended most fortunately when the Sui Empire, led by Prince Yang Jian of Sui, conquered both the southern and northern halves of China, and once more unified the nation under the Sui Empire, thus returning China to prosperity once more; under the rule of a powerful centralized state.A portrait of Prince Yang Jian, soon to be Emperor Wen of Sui, the great re-unifier of Chinese civilization:The Sui of course, ended up being like the Qin Dynasty; utterly tyrannical and was therefore thus overthrown by the succeeding Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), which then subsequently begun both the “Golden Age of China” and the “Chinese Millennium” (600s–1500s).By the times of the Tang Dynasty (the single greatest period of time in Imperial China’s History) it became extremely apparent to the people of China by this point in time, that History was just merely repeating. The tyrannical Sui Dynasty which had come before to reunify China, was just merely a repeat of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty which had once also unified China.The Sui was in fact, for all intents and purposes, essentially a second Qin Dynasty. Both had after all risen through similar circumstances, and appeared after hundreds of years of disunity and suffering had gone by, to finally then seemingly put an end to this suffering, and unify the nation.The Han Dynasty meanwhile, which had acted and ruled in such a way, as to allow Chinese civilization to stay together as one, without breaking up into tiny pieces, was compared to the Tang Dynasty, which had likewise acted in the same way as to prevent the fall of Chinese civilization in wake of the fall of the tyrannical Sui Empire, much like how the Han did with the malevolent Qin Empire. The Tang Dynasty thus, was essentially therefore a second Han Dynasty.And in making these obvious comparisons and parallels between 4 otherwise unrelated dynasties separated by hundreds of years of history, the Chinese begun to believe that perhaps, history did repeat itself. And if history repeated, then it was possible to learn from the past, and use it to shape and plan for the future.And if the past showed ever so clearly, that disunity was highly tragical for Chinese civilization, and unity meanwhile gave rises to great periods of peace and prosperity, then by the Heavens and Earth, there could only henceforth be one possible path for Chinese civilization to forever take: the path of National Unity.And thus, even to this day, and as recently as far back as 1949, the Chinese Nation, and the Chinese peoples have always desired to reunite, no matter what the cost, no matter how long it took and no matter how impossible it seemed, as unity was, is and shall always be, for the 5,000 year old civilization of China, clearly the best option with no suitable alternatives in sight.Conclusion (and Summary)By the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD), this idea that China was to forever remain as a singular, unified state, was by then so imprinted and readily adopted by Chinese culture and civilization, that even popular works of fiction recognized it as such.One clear example of this recognition was asserted by Ming Era author Luo Guanzhong, in his highly world renowned novel (or at least should be); “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, (published 1522 AD), itself based on the Three Kingdoms Period, that 60 year long civil war after the End of the Han Empire:“The world under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide. This has been so since antiquity.”The first and foremost reason behind why Chinese civilization has always in the last 2,000 years inclined towards unity, rather than disunity, is simply because of the actions of the Qin and Han Dynasty, which invented and preserved respectively, the concept of a unified China, as being the best option for Sino civilization to forever pursue; a belief which has lasted in China even to this day.The reason is of course simple, China has never really benefitted much from being a disunified nation, instead, the norm for those rare occasions saw the Chinese Nation entirely ruined instead.For any given scenario in which China was disunified, whether it be during the Warring States Period (476–221 BC), the Age of Disunity (220–581 AD), the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907–960 AD) or even as recently as the Warlord Era (1916–1928), one thing remained and has continued to remain absolutely clear still to this day: that a unified and united China, was and will always be better than a divided China, no exceptions.And thus, this is why China remains both impressively large, yet somehow still unified even to this day, and will always remain as such. It would be impossible to imagine a reality which asserted otherwise. That is just the reality of Chinese civilization, regardless of any individual’s personal attitudes for or against it.SourcesGriffith, S.B. (2011). The Art of War: The New Illustrated Edition. London: Watkin’s Publishing.

A stereotype of everyday urban life that, alas, is fading away.With modern, depersonalized “neutrality” nevertheless a menacing encroaching replacement:In a country with an unmarried President who enables gays to marry but wouldn’t ever marry himself, major political parties headed by people born outside of France (Sweden and Vietnam) and where the age of consent is 15.My view is from a privileged perspective and not typical. I’ll describe my landing a job in France, the Entry and the Residency administration and Daily/Work environments.I. My Previous French Residency - It helps if you had studied in France and/or speak some French.I had studied for a year in France as a teenager and then went to an English university for my first degree. Years later, I obtained an MBA in the USA and, after a first experience in the US in a multinational, I kept looking for work in France (or even the UK). My French was, at that time, competent (about B1 on the CERF) but not fluent.II. My Hiring Path as a non-EU citizen. Get a French company to want you enough to arrange a “Visa de long séjour” (valid 4 months-1 year) prior to entering France.There are several categories of “immigrants” and pathways to “legal” French immigration. I only mention my specific case of decades ago.However, I wasn’t an “expatriate” in the sense of being a foreigner (to France) from a multinational who was posted to its French affiliate or subsidiary. It was more of an “immigrant” although the route was via the US firm, not directly to the European subsidiary. I was a direct hire by the French/European subsidiary of a multinational. So, I had to qualify for the equivalent of “skills based” visas afforded to executives (with no French familial or cultural connections) who had been offered jobs in France with no comparable or suitable French candidates.There weren’t many Anglophone executives in the sector who also had relevant skills at the time who were in, or able to move to, France and work in a multinational in French (with local colleagues) and English (with US managers and other top managers in European affiliates). This was before Schengen and so the pool of “local” candidates were only French (then under 60 million) and not EU-wide (that then didn’t have the Eastern European members). That is no longer the case today when there are 70 million native Anglophones (until Brexit) and virtually all Scandinavians and Beneluxians who spoke English well, all of whom would come first before a non-EU candidate.It took about 3–4 months for the authorization to come, lawyers (paid by the hiring firm) and facilitated by my previous French residence and lack of moving costs (no family, no mortgage, no significant household possessions). Administratively, the initial process was handled by the Office de Migrations Internationales and only several dozen such visas were issued that year.III. Overview of My Path to French “permanent” residency status - Keep uninterrupted employment for at least 3 consecutive years, each time renewing the annual “Carte de Séjour”, then apply for 10-year “Carte de Résident de Longue Durée.The process begins in your country of origin with a Visa de Long Sejour (VLS) with a long application form requiring job offer, CV, background verification (FBI record for Americans), foreign diplomas and birth/marriage/family/divorce documents (translated into French by a court-accredited translator or traducteur agréé auprès de la Cour de Cassation), photos to specific requirements. This can take months to compile.I entered France on this type of visa and had to obtain the first of three annual work/residency permits that was specific to that employer. I had to register at the local Préfecture de Police (Ile de la Cité in Paris in my case) at the Foreigners’ Office or Service des Etrangers.The process may be different today but my experience meant that there was the annual process of renewing my Carte de Sejour and then getting my first Carte de Resident. This may be nor more difficult than any other country’s process - so, I can’t compare.After three years (i.e. with 1 initial and 2 annual renewals of the Carte de Séjour), I applied for the Carte de Résident equivalent to an American “Green Card” or “Permanent Resident” card. That card was valid for 10 years, renewable - much as the US Green Card is today (It used to be indefinite).With the Carte de Resident, I was no longer bound to remain at the company and soon left it. The Carte de Resident allows you to take any profession or start a company without restriction in France i.e. you can take up a non-salaried job or even a part-time job.III. Navigating the Halls of the local Foreigners’ Office. Annual, then decennial, administration with the office of the Services des Etrangers, housed at the local Prefecture de PoliceThe real challenge is that you have to navigate the process in French and in person. The hours of operation, the location within the Prefecture (link: Préfectures) and the relevant forms and documents were not posted in one spot. Today it’s now available online at Accueil - demarches.interieur.gouv.frY1. First Residency Card. The first exposure to the in-country civil administration was facilitated by the company’s HR specialist. That’s when one has to register witha) the French Social Security Administration (securite-sociale.fr) with the SSN indicated on your residency card ,b) the French public health insurer (www.ameli.fr) that issues a Carte Vitale (like a Medicare card but with a chip and photo) andc) the local central government offices, housed within the Prefecture de Police of the geographic zone of residence.d) Pensions and Job Insurance. The company handles the registration with the relevant non-profit but state-mandated pension fund(s) and “workers’ compensation” systems (AGIRC-ARRCO for salaried executives). Your type of job category determines which quango insurers are suitable.e) Complémentaires. As do 87% of French residents, you also get to choose for complementary private health insurance. They pay for allied medical costs (optical, dental), coverage of provider fees above the national tarif of reimbursement (in private hospitals and clinics) and hospitality costs (e.g. private room, thermal balth rehab…) You can choose a company-sponsored, a non-profit vocational group plan or a for profit private insurance plan.Y2-Y3 Annual Residency Card Renewal. A year later, the local Prefecture should send you a notice to renew a few months before expiry of your annual residency card.So, my first renewal, I was naive enough to do this alone, I finally got to the Service des Etrangers on the 3rd floor and I had to get in line with other foreigners, mostly of North African origin. The agent was efficient but not particularly accommodating; I was given a form and a list of documents to bring or provide to the department; then I would receive a convocation a call to appear for an interview with an immigration agent who would grant the renewal. There is a brief conversation to determine your level of French language and general knowledge. The new Carte de Séjour was sent by mail but one may have or can return to retrieve it in person.All applicants are treated with impersonal fairness but since many don’t master French well, it can be very trying for all concerned. In addition, French bureaucracy has no room for error or leeway: you need the exact document requested in the format stipulated. If there is any deviation, you are told to return with all the required elements. This is no different from the US’ handling at Immigration and Naturalization centers but you may be taken aback at the unsmiling directness in France (but, is this not the case in your home country as well?)After that, I paid a process facilitator for subsequent renewals. It was usually a paralegal at an attorney’s office who had a relationship with members of the Bureau des Etrangers “foreigner/alien office” at the local Prefecture. They would help to compile all the documents and then set up an appointment with an officer. They verify that all is in order before you go and you don’t have to line up in the general waiting room.If you master French or go with an interpreter, having familiarized yourself with the process, there is no necessity in hiring an attorney as the process is explicit and fairly applied. An attorney does not guarantee that your case is treated any better but you are at least not bewildered or unprepared, nor do you have to spend days in the process missing work.Y4 Finally, 10 year Residency Card. At the end of 3 years, I applied (with the paid help of an attorney) for my Carte de Resident. That meant 10 years of validity before renewal or naturalization. You may also continue to request an annual Carte de Séjour.IV. Daily LifeDaily Life. Despite the homogenization of lifestyles through media, there still remains in parts of France a distinctly neighborhood lifestyle in the urban areas. Cities are compact and have dense, reliable public transport and cars are an expensive necessity for those elsewhere. So, most city dwellers commute via public transit and shop locally. The average day is filled with contacts with nearby merchants (bakery, butchers, pastry shops, cafes, cheesemongers, produce sellers, cured meats delicatessens, confectioners, news kiosks, bus drivers…) However, that atmosphere is fading with the advent of chain mini-markets from Auchan, Carrefour, Intermarche as well as regional chains, pushing traditional merchants out of business. Suburban dwellers now have large megastores (like Walmart) where they shop only once a week for non-produce items, although, this being France, the fresh foods section is astonishingly varied and extensive, sometimes taking up half the floor space! When you have one aisle of various daily products that stretch beyond what the eye can see, you know you must be in France.Ultra Privacy. Although the older French generation may appear unsmiling, the French are usually quite open in attitude but put privacy on a pedestal - far more than the English do. So, the accident of proximity to a neighbor does not lead to an expectation or assumption of a personal relationship. They aren’t indifferent, just aware that one has to live with neighbors and prefer to keep their home life private and they don’t intrude on yours. Nonetheless, you should learn that frequent, personal greetings are essential in France. Not saying, “Bonjour, M…”, and “Au revoir, M..” would be seen as rude or off-putting.Professional life - has no place in the home. Quite a lot has changed since my youth; many more young French now study English and can often write and read it (although not speak or understand English speech as easily), so there is always, in a pinch, someone who should at least be able to communicate in writing. E-mail is often done in short, informal English, avoiding the long, formal French writing style (akin to 19th Century literary English in style), and English words are included in speech, although not always meaning exactly as the source word; a “self” is a “self service restaurant”, a “savoir faire” is mostly “know-how”, logiciel is often simply “software”. With work colleagues, treat them as your neighbors, with civility and openness but don’t expect anyone to invite you into their homes, families and inner circles. The French work to live, and they can work very hard and diligently, but they do live to work unless they are entrepreneurs. The have 5 paid weeks of holiday per year, well used to be with family and restore their energy; after all, with so much automation and new technologies reducing the need for huge labor forces, it seems a natural consequence to spend less time doing mindless tasks. There may be a more hierarchical management style compared to “flat” organizations so subordinates may not have the leeway to negotiate final details or be at variance to superiors. It can lead to a bottleneck of decision-making at the top and slow organizational action.Political life and Civil Service. Unlike most countries, access to the top echelons of politics and the civil service has traditionally been only for the most academically competitive minds. This means a “Mandarin” attitude of some leaders with their intelligence, breath and depth of knowledge unparalleled by counterparts in some/most other countries. It’s one reason why France’s infrastructure is so modern, reliable and public spaces largely well-maintained as a national norm; something that other countries only manage to achieve in “showcase” cities or “privileged neighborhoods”.Food and meals. Meals are above all social occasions for the French (unless they are on a clock); they eat paced, in moderate quantities at specific times of day. The vision of an American wolfing down food, not making table talk and then sipping a soda all day as if it were as important as an IV drip to a patient is a stereotype. If you are ever granted an invitation to a Sunday afternoon meal with a family, expect to be around well into the evening with conversation, interspersed with rounds of food and drink. When the children head to bed, they usually give a cheek touch (“air kiss”) and sometimes a hug to the adults, regardless of gender.Sports - not all men, all the time. Frenchmen may or may not be sports enthusiasts but the concept of a couch potato who is obsessed with the exploits of his home team is rare among the educated and executives. In any case, speaking of spectator sports is only one of a multitude of topics that educated French may discuss: food, politics, local events, distant vacations to exotic lands (possible when there are 5 weeks of vacation annually), novels, philosophy…La séduction, le charme. There is no rigid or confined assumption of what is “normal” for a French male, other than to be prone to be charming to females and female to act coquette (playfully flirty). Just look at the advertising style - highly esthetic, often involving an attractive female (and, increasingly, male) even if the object for sale has little to do with human intimacy or relationships.I’m sure the first thing you notice in this Audi car ad is the generous leg room in the back seat (below).You may even see American men in French ads aimed at women - something they wouldn’t get to do much in the US.V. Investigate All Residency Options - Mine was specific to my circumstance.I became a French “permanent” resident purely on my own, on the basis of my individual merits. However, there are other pathways that take into account:Familial connection in France (through marriage, civil union or ascendancy or descendancy)Professional category (artists, actors, high level sportsmen, scientists, senior executives…)Extraordinary talents from a list (Nobel Prize level awardees)Inward investment or starting and maintaing a business of minimal requirementsHistorical linguistic or political relationship (notably Algeria, a former département of France)Educational degree in FranceExtraordinary service or benefit to France (needs Ministerial approval such as given to the African who scaled a building to save a toddler, or the African working in a kosher grocery who hid clients from a shooter.PensionerRefugee granted asylumAdviceIf there is one strong piece of advice that I may offer, it is to fully immerse yourself as much as possible, not remain in a linguistic or cultural bubble. Invest in a few weeks of immersion French before working or studying in France. Keep an open, observant mind before jumping to any conclusions or engaging in passionate debates on politics, religion etc.You can find a place in France, a land of immigration for centuries before the existence of countries supposedly “diverse”, as witnessed by the fact that this country of some 65 million has more surnames than any nation on earth including much more populous India. China or the USA. Unlike in the USA, one cannot easily legally change a surname, so French surnames retain ancestral trace among males; even married women retain their birth name for legal documents.My experience is decades old and the regulations and process have probably changed, so check for current conditions and processes. It may also vary by region.Now there is the Internet that not only affords a lot of online information but also may lead to online appointments and means of obtaining supporting documents that had previously necessitated days of to-ing and fro-ing on foot.At that time, other EU citizens also had to go through the process so the advent of Schengen has removed the involvement of much of the Service des Etrangers with them. That would probably change when Britons become non-EU citizens.Some regions have disproportionately more applicants than others. Paris is notably one of the biggest and busiest Prefectures - but it also has the most agents. In regions with a very high percentage of immigrant population (e.g. Marseille), there will also be a higher number of applicants. An insider or a plugged-in attorney could tell you if a process would be faster in another region or not, but you are generally stuck to the Prefecture where you live.Despite its housing at the Prefecture de Police, this is not a local police matter. The Prefet is the central government’s executive assigned to a region and so the Prefecture houses other functions than that of police.

I guess as the Homorary Counsel of Ethiopia for Karnataka and as a long time investor in Ethiopia, I am reasonably equipped to answer your query.Preamble: Ethiopia invites FDI in a large number of sectors. Ethiopia has 110 mi people, with the median age in the 25 years range. Experiencing sustained growth of 10% plus for over 10 years already, the demographic dividend due to the young population will propel it soon into MIG country. A large Indian investment already exists and the India Business Forum chaired by the Indian Ambassador spear heads collaboration with policy makers. It’s a largely corruption free and crime free country. $ shortages can be a serious bottle neck for businesses dependent on imported raw materials. While VISA is on arrival for tourist, for business one ought to take a business visa from the Embassy in Delhi. In case you need an invitation for business visa, feel free to ask me and I shall provide you with one. Donot vist on a tourist visa because, post your decision to invest, all processes require your entry on Business visa. Also make note, Yellow Fever Vaccine is mandatory and needs to be taken 10 days before travel and is valid for 10 years. Direct flights from Mumbai and Delhi by Ethiopian Airlines is the bquixkwst and best way to reaching Addis Ababa. Be prepared with warm wollens, Addis at 2400 MSL can get very cold and chilly! Being the also the HQ if the African Union, there is no dearth of quality accommodation.1. Investment in EthiopiaThe highlights of investment proclamation and guideline bellows are compiled from investment proclamation no. 769/2012 and amended proclamation No. 849/2014 A reader should refer the document for a comprehensive understanding of the investment regime of Ethiopia.Before planning to invest in Ethiopia and begin the investment procedure, it is advisable to consider the following:• familiarize with the investment laws and regulation• decide on the areas of investment interest;• calculate the investment capital required;• have an idea of labor requirement;have an idea of investment incentives and customs procedures;have an idea of environmental situation;have an idea of markets to focus on.2. Investment areas exclusively reserved for the governmentTransmission and distribution of electrical energy through the integrated national grid system;Postal services with the exception of courier services;Air transport services using aircraft with a seating capacity of more than fifty passengers.3. Investment areas reserved to invest jointly with the governmentManufacturing of weapons and ammunition;Telecommunication service;Any private investor intending to invest jointly with the government shall submit its proposals to Privatization and Public Enterprise Supervising Agency and Ministry of Industry for approval.4. Investment areas reserved for domestic investorsbanking, insurance and micro credit and saving services;packing, forwarding and shipping agency services;broadcasting services;mass media services;attorney and legal consultancy services;preparation of indigenous traditional medicines;advertisement, promotion and translation works;air transport services using aircraft with a seating capacity of up to 50 passengers.5. Investment areas allowed for foreign investorsA foreign investor shall be allowed to invest in areas of investment specified in the Schedule attached hereto, except those areas provided for in number 1.3.3, 1.4.2, 1.7, 1.11.3, 1.11.4, 5.3, 6.2, 8.2, 9.2, 9.3 and 12 of the Schedule;6. Forms of InvestmentsThe investment may be carried out the following formsSole proprietorship;Business organization incorporated in Ethiopia or abroad;Public enterprise established in accordance with the relevant law;Cooperative society established in accordance with the relevant law;Any investment made in the forms of above shall be registered in accordance with commercial code or any relevant law;Any investment made in the above forms should be register in accordance with the Commercial Code of the other applicable law.7. Minimum Capital Requirement for Foreign InvestorsAny foreign investor to be allowed to invest according to the proclamation, is required to allocate a minimum of US Dollar 200,000 for a single investment project;The minimum capital requirement for a foreign investor investing jointly with domestic investors shall be US Dollar 150,000;The minimum capital required of a foreign investor investing in architecture or engineering works or related technical consultancy services, technical testing and analysis or in publishing shall beUSD 100,000 if the investment is made on his ownUSD 50,000 if the investment is made jointly with a domestic investorA foreign investor re- investing his profit or dividends generated from his existing enterprise may not be required to allocate a minimum capital;A foreign investor having brought investment capital into country should registered the capital & obtain a capital registration certificate;The certificate shall be send to National Bank of Ethiopia by the Investment Agency8. Remittance of fundsAny foreign investor shall have the right, in respect of his approved investment, to make the following remittances out of Ethiopia in convertible foreign currency at the prevailing rate of exchange on the date of remittance;Profits and dividends accruing from the investment;Principal and interest payments on external loans;Payment related to technology transfer agreement;Payment related to a collaboration agreement related to export oriented non-equity based foreign enterprise collaboration agreement;Proceeds from the transfer of shares of parties ownership of the enterprise to domestic investor;Proceeds from the sale or liquidation of the enterprise; andCompensation payment9. Investment Permit Application ProcedureA foreign investor, domestic investor or a partnership of foreign and domestic investor plans to invest in Ethiopia are expected to follow the investment procedures to obtain investment permit in EthiopiaThe following investors are required to obtain investment permitdomestic investorsforeign investors;domestic and foreign investors investing in partnership;foreign nationals not Ethiopian treated as domestic investors;domestic investors investing in areas eligible for incentives and who are seeking to be beneficiaries of such incentives.10. Application for Investment Permit by a Domestic InvestorAn application for investement permit by a domestic investor shall be made in a form designed for such purpose and submitted to the appropriate investment organ together with the following document in one copy.Every investor has a tax obligation and is required to obtain a tax payer identification number(TIN) from Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority;Where the application is signed by an agent a photocopy of his power of attorney;Where the investement is to be made by an individual person, a photocopy of his identity card or identifying his domestic investor status and his recent two passport size photographs;Where the investement is to be made by a business organization, a photocopy of its memeorandoum of articles of association;Where the business organization is to be newly established, it shall submit a photocopy of the sharholders identity cards or a photocopy of identity cards evidencing their domestic investor status;Where the investement is to be made by a public enterprise, a photocopy of the regulation underWhich it is established or a photocopy of its memeorandoum and articles of association;Where the investement is to be made by a cooperative socitety, a photocopy of its articles of association and11. Application for Investment Permit by a Foreign InvestorApplication for investement permit by a foreign investor shall be made in a form designed for such purpose and submitted to the Agency together with the following document in one copyEvery investor has a tax obligation and is required to obtain a tax payer identification number(TIN) from Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority;Where the application is signed by an agent, a photocopy of his power of attorney;Where the investement is to be made by an individual person, a photocopy of the relevant pages of a valid passport showing his identity and his recent two passport size photographs;An Ethiopian permanently residing abroad, prefering tretement as a foreign investor, a photocopy of a document evidencing that he is residing abroad;Where the investement is to be made by a business organization incorporated in Ethiopia;A photocopy of its memorandum and articles of association or where it is to be made established;It shall submit a photocopy of the relevant pages of a valid passport of each sharholders showing his identity and recent two passport size photographs of the general managers;Where there is a foreign national treated as a domestic investor in the business organization, a photocopy of the identity card evidencing the domestic investor status;Where there is a juridical person or a branch of a foreign juridical person in the business organization, a photocopy of its memorandum of association and articles of association or similar documents of the parent company.Where the investment is to be made by an Ethiopian branch of a foreign business organization incorporated abroad;a photocopy of its memorandum and articles of associations or a similar document of the parent company ;a photocopy of a document attesting the appointment of the branch manager, a photocopy of his valid passport, his two recent passport size photographs and commercial registration certificate of the business organization;a photocopy of the minutes of resolution of the authorizing organ of the parent company authorizing the establishment of a branch company in Ethiopia;Where it is a joint investment by domestic and foreign investors, in addition to the documents provided under bullet there above, photocopies of identity cards or photocopies evidencing the domestic investor’s statues, as the case may be;A document evidencing the financial position or, identity or profile of the investor, as deemed appropriate by the Agency.If all documents source are outside Ethiopia, it shall be authenticated by a foreign and domestic notary;Where the permit is required by a person whose permit was cancelled sue to deliance of project, the Agency shall ascertain that the causes of the deliance and cancellation are rectified.The Ethiopian Investment Agency (EIA) approves the submitted documents and issues an investment permit in 2-3 hours’ time if the above documents are received in full.12. Application for Investment Permit for Expansion or UpgradingAn application for investement permit to expand on upgrade an existing enterprise shall be made in a form designed for such purpose and submitted to the Agency together with the following documents in one copy;Where the applicationis signed by an agent a photocopy of his power of attorney;Where the investement is made by a sole propriete, a photocopy of the relevant identity or pass port copy, his domestic status and two passport size photograph;Where the investement is made by a business organization, a photocopy of the company’s articles of association and two passport size photocopy of the general manager;A photocopy of a valid business licence of the existing enterprise;A photocopy of project feasibility study.13. Issuance of Investment PermitThe appropriate investment organ shall after examining the investment activity issue investment permit upon receipt of the appropriate fee, where the application if found acceptable; orNotify the investor of its decision and the reason thereof in writing, where the application if found unacceptable;Notify the investor of its decision and the reason thereof in writing, where the application is found unacceptable;An investor may not be required to obtain a business license until the commencement of production or rendering of service upon completion of his project;No investor may, at any time, be allowed to invest by holding both a domestic and a foreign permit.14. Renewal of Investment PermitAn investment permit shall be renewed every year until the investor commences the marketing of his products or services;An application shall be submitted and renewed with in one monthThe appropriate investment organ shall renew the investment permit, where satisfied, as to the existence of sufficient cause for the delay in the commencement of completion of his project implementation;Any investor, who has not commenced implementing his project within two years since the issuance of the investment permit, shall have his permit cancelled without any precondition.15. Transfer of an investment project under implementation phaseAny investor wishing to transfer his project, which is under implementation phase and for which a business license is not yet issued, to another investor shall submit his request, by filling an application form together with the following documentsA photocopy of renewed investment permit;A photocopy of the sales agreement authenticated by a notary;A photocopy of land lease agreement transferred to the buyer as the case may be16. Suspension of investment permitIf the investor violates the provisions of proclamation and regulation or directives issued to implement the proclamation, appropriate investment organ may suspend the investment permit until the investor takes due corrective measure17. Revocation of the investment permitThe appropriate investment organ may revoke an investment permit where it ascertains that;if the permit obtain with fraudulently or by submitting false information or statement;misuse or illegal transfer of investment inventive;failed to renew the investment permit without good cause;failed to submit progress report of his project for two consecutive periods;if the project cannot commence operation with in the period and the Agency believes the project will not be operational.Upon revocation of an investment permit, the investor shall immediately lose entitlement to all benefits and required to return his incentives to concerned government organs.18. Duty to report and cooperateAny investor with investment permit shall submit progress reports on implementation of his project to the appropriate investment organ at the end of every three months and provide information about his investment activities whenever it required by appropriate investment organ.19. Residence PermitHead quarter of Department for Immigration and Nationality Affairs in Addis Ababa issues a residence permit to a foreign investor based on submission of;investment permit,passport;a foreign investor, a shareholder of a company or a branch company and an expatriate staff who has a work permit, are also entitled to a residence permit.20. Land AcquisitionIn Ethiopia, land is public property. Individuals, companies and other organizations have only use right of land.There are two broad classifications of land for rent or lease purposes for rural land and urban lands.Application for land acquisition can be made during a field visit of an investor and after taking out an investment license.The Ethiopian Investment Agency (EIA) has the mandate to facilitate the allocation of land for FDI projects throughout the country.Urban land for other activities is available on an auction basis. The auction prices vary, depending on demand.The lease and rental prices of urban and rural land vary according to location, type of investment and class of land. The land cannot be mortgaged or sold,The lease or rental value of land and the fixed assets thereon may be mortgaged or transferred to a third party.21. Urban land AcquisitionThe regional administrative units are in charge of allocating urban land for investors;Urban land is divided into land for industrial use and land for other activities.22. Rural land AcquisitionRural land is rented mainly for agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development allocates farm land to foreign investors;The ministry provides supports ranges from providing information, technical support, and facilitation of other public services to private investors investing in agriculture andThe rental price of rural land is generally low. There is strong commitment from the government to avail the country’s fertile land for investment.23. Industrial land AcquisitionA number of industrial zones with the necessary infrastructural facilities (roads, electricity, water, telephone) are established in the major cities and towns in order to support the country’s drive for rapid industrialization.Industrial land in industrial zones is allocated to investors at fixed prices. Land for export-oriented industries is generally available at concessionary rate.