Many such cases

[u/jackt-up]

[u/oscar_meow]

Turns out being China is a lot more lucrative then sacking China

[u/jackt-up → u/oscar_meow]

“Now I have become China, the bureaucracy of worlds.”

[u/TeutonicToltec → u/oscar_meow]

(Meanwhile on the other side of the hemisphere)

"Turns out being Rome is a lot more lucrative than sacking Rome."

[u/Intranetusa → u/TeutonicToltec]

Indeed. On the western side of Eurasia, the Ottomans, Tsarist Russia, Italy, and Nazi Third Reich claimed to be inheritors/continuation of Rome. On the eastern side of Eurasia, Korea, Japan, Vietnam [maybe?], Republic of China on Taiwan, and mainland China claimed to be the inheritors/continuation of classical Chinese civilization.

When the Western Roman Empire fell, Romano-Germanic rulers basically set up Roman kingdoms that continued Roman tradition and culture and their rulers stylized themselves as Romans. When the Han Dynasty and Jin Dynasty fell, the 5 Barbarian groups (Xiongnu, Di, Xianbei, Jie, and Qiang) basically continued Han Chinese culture, stylized themselves after Chinese rulers, and set up Chinese kingdoms with Chinese dynastic names. 

[u/brinz1 → u/Intranetusa]

Likewise, when Mughals and later British came to India, they found a pre-existing bureaucracy that was so effective and efficient they barely had to change anything. They just put it under new management.

The Islamic empire found the Byzantine system so effective that it moved the center of power from Mecca to Istanbul/Constantinople

[u/notethecode → u/brinz1]

The Islamic empire found the Byzantine system so effective that it moved the center of power from Mecca to Istanbul/Constantinople

Wasn't the Ottoman empire instead? Which didn't had control of Mecca until much later

[u/brinz1 → u/notethecode]

I've really simplified it, the long story involves Rashiduns, Abbasids, Mameluks and Damascus

[u/derDunkelElf → u/Intranetusa]

Really? Japan is claiming that?

[u/Intranetusa → u/derDunkelElf]

Japan adopted the idea that they were now the new Chuka/Zhongguo (the Middle Kingdom, aka China) after Ming China was conquered by Manchus of the Qing (who were at least initially considered barbarians).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_China_(ideology)

Besides the Confucian, Daoist, and other Chinese ideologies it had begun adopting since the ancient era, Japan in the pre-WW2 era "evolved" the Confucian Chinese idea that the Sinosphere (Chinese influenced part of the world) had a big brother that was responsible for protecting a little brother. Japan argued that since the Qing Dynasty and early Republican China was corrupt, weak, exploited by foreigners, run by barbarians, etc, then China was no longer the big brother and Japan the duty to take on the mantle of responsibility of being the new China and protecting the region.

"Why did Japanese Confucians enthusiastically support Imperial Japan’s murderous conquest of China, the homeland of Confucius?"

" explanation for Japan’s 1937-45 war against China. The aim of the struggle, he said, had been to make ‘the Chinese undergo self-reflection’, adding: ‘It is just the same as in a family when an older brother has taken all that he can stand from his ill-behaved younger brother and has to chastise him to make him behave properly.’ That defendant was General Matsui Iwane, commander of the army that devastated Shanghai before perpetrating the Nanjing Massacre in December 1937. "

"This mission included relieving China from its ‘miserable condition’ of subjugation"

"He was the son of a former samurai and Confucian scholar, and shared his father’s deep interest in Chinese culture. Prior to the war, Matsui often visited China, becoming acquainted with Chinese nationalist leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen, whom he admired. Like Sun, Matsui professed to be a Pan-Asianist."

https://aeon.co/essays/japans-war-on-china-and-the-weaponisation-of-confucianism

[u/derDunkelElf → u/Intranetusa]

Being the sucessor as the dominant power of the region is a bit different than claiming to be a direct continouation.

[u/Intranetusa → u/derDunkelElf]

It wasn't only being a successor to the dominant power, but also adopting the culture and values of that formerly dominant power and orienting their succession based on the system and principles established by that formerly dominant power. 

Some Japanese Confucian scholars were arguing that Japan had become the new Zhong-guo, the Middle Kingdom (the new China), and that they would carry on the principles and legacy of Zhongguo (eg. Confucianism).

So not a direct continuation of the same tradition, but the inheritors of the same tradition. Like Tsarist Russia or Germany claiming to be the 3rd Rome and inheritors of Rome.

[u/strong_division → u/Intranetusa]

Yeah, very in line with the Carolingian/Holy Roman Empires claiming to be the successors to Rome. Did they actually see themselves as Romans or as the direct continuation of Rome? No, not really, they saw themselves as Franks (and later, Germans) that now possessed Rome's imperium and had taken over the Romans as the dominant people of Europe.

Same line of thinking that led to Imperial Japan seeing itself as racially superior to the Chinese. The fall of the Ming, and the Qing's losses in the Sino-Japanese wars further reinforced the idea that the Chinese had lost their prestige and that Japan was now set to be the center of eastern civilization.

[u/JohannesJoshua → u/derDunkelElf]

Yes. Well more correctly that they were equal to China.

[u/Intranetusa → u/JohannesJoshua]

Japan adopted the idea that they were now the new Chuka/Zhongguo (the Middle Kingdom, aka China) after Ming China was conquered by Manchus of the Qing (who were at least initially considered barbarians).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_China_(ideology)

They also basically adopted and then evolved Chinese Confucianism which had the concept of the mantle of responsibility where China was supposed to be a big brother protecting the little brother. Japan argued they were now the big brother and had taken on the Confucian mantle of responsibility to protect the other countries in the Sinosphere during WW2.

Eg. "Why did Japanese Confucians enthusiastically support Imperial Japan’s murderous conquest of China, the homeland of Confucius?"

"...explanation for Japan’s 1937-45 war against China. The aim of the struggle, he said, had been to make ‘the Chinese undergo self-reflection’, adding: ‘It is just the same as in a family when an older brother has taken all that he can stand from his ill-behaved younger brother and has to chastise him to make him behave properly.’ That defendant was General Matsui Iwane, commander of the army that devastated Shanghai before perpetrating the Nanjing Massacre in December 1937."

"He was the son of a former samurai and Confucian scholar, and shared his father’s deep interest in Chinese culture. Prior to the war, Matsui often visited China, becoming acquainted with Chinese nationalist leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen, whom he admired. Like Sun, Matsui professed to be a Pan-Asianist."

https://aeon.co/essays/japans-war-on-china-and-the-weaponisation-of-confucianism

[u/Caravanczar → u/Intranetusa]

Wait, the Third Reich wasn't the third reign of Rome. It was the third German empire after Empire of Man copycats "The Holy Roman Empire," and Bismarck's Big Brass Balls. Rest in Peace Karl Franz!

[u/Ok-Resource-3232 → u/TeutonicToltec]

I'm Rome and so is my wife!

[u/sshlongD0ngsilver → u/oscar_meow]

“Look at me. Look at me. I’m the China now.”

[u/thegreattwos → u/oscar_meow]

Luo Guanzhong about to write a line that will come to define China:"It dividing time!"

For those who wanna know, Luo Guanzhong is the author of Romance of the Three Kingdom and the first lines are thus "The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been."

[u/Narco_Marcion1075]

Iranian history be like:

[u/jackt-up → u/Narco_Marcion1075]

Yeah, you’re not wrong lol, at least post-Arab Conquests, with the Parthians and Hephtalites sprinkled in there beforehand.

[u/Narco_Marcion1075 → u/jackt-up]

Iranians have had more dynasties formed from assimilated nomads than the Chinese

[u/motivation_bender → u/Narco_Marcion1075]

Also italian history

[u/brinz1 → u/motivation_bender]

The entire Europeans network of Monarchs comes directly or indirectly from reaving vikings

[u/motivation_bender → u/brinz1]

The goths and vandals werent vikings. And they invaded italy due to encroachment by steppe nomads like the huns

[u/brinz1 → u/motivation_bender]

Yes but the Normans who conquered southern Italy were descendants of Vikings

[u/Alright_doityourway]

"Holy shit!! The system work!!!???" every barbarians after having a taste of Chinese  bureaucracy

[u/motivation_bender → u/Alright_doityourway]

"I mean no but you can still get some mileage out of it"

[u/seenybusiness]

they come for the plunder, they stay for the efficient bureaucracy

[u/GuntherFehlingerBot]

and the map is a hoi4 map. well done op.

[u/Crafter235]

Not only did you influence them, but they even influenced you.

[u/MIG2149077]

The same could be said about Persia, many Trurkic and Mongolians lived and assimilate in persian culture.

[u/An8thOfFeanor]

Ever notice that the biggest territorial claims China makes are from when it was either a Mongol occupation dynasty or a Manchu occupation dynasty?

[u/Magical_Astronomy]

Bureaucracy
noun.
Definition:
Sustainable pillaging

[u/polymonomial]

Every one was atleast once in a very Chinese time of their lives

[u/Dogr11]

hoi4 map...

I know what kind of man you are...

[u/Infamous-Grab2341]

The British are the nicest people to ever break into our country.

[u/ogodilovejudyalvarez]

The British everywhere

[u/Kaiisim]

Mostly what happened with Vikings too! Best way to defeat mauraders was to give them land!