Ancient Chinese feudal dynasties had many "vassal states", and the countries around China were willing to be China's "little brothers." "Fan" means shielding and defending, and "belonging to" means affiliation. Other countries are our country's vassal states, and our country is their "suzerain state", which forms a kind of suzerainty system. This kind of foreign policy can be traced back to the Warring States Period, and the most typical symbol of the vassal state is the tributary (tribute).
All nations come to Korea
What is a tribute? In fact, the monarch of a small country sends messengers to another country to show obedience or alliance. The messenger arrived in this country and presented a gift to the emperor, indicating the establishment of diplomatic relations. China is the upper kingdom of the heavenly dynasty. By virtue of the opportunity of exchanging gifts with the tributary envoys, it shows the respect and humble relationship with the vassal countries. When the tributary delegation comes to pay tribute, it must bow down to the Chinese emperor, even if there is a king in the tribute envoy. No exception. What benefits can foreign missions bring them so humbly to please the suzerain country? Z2z
pays tribute every year, and we all know that when the Han Dynasty was established, the Huns in the north were the most powerful opponents of the Han Dynasty. However, after Emperor Wu of Han came to the throne, the Han Dynasty became strong and prosperous. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty launched a war against the Xiongnu, and at the same time conquered Wei's Korea, Fujian and South Vietnam, and sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions. After Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions, the Han Dynasty formed alliances with the Western Regions. It is said that more than 50 countries in the Western Regions at that time were subordinated to the Han Dynasty, and there is absolutely no one in the history of our country.
After the Han Dynasty, China began to enter the era of great schism, and it was not until the Tang Dynasty that a huge vassal relationship and tributary system were established. According to the "Old Tang Book • Benji Second • Taizongshang": "Silla, Qiuci, Turks, Goryeo, Baekje, Dangxiang sent tribute to the party!" You know, these countries were big countries at the time, including later Japan also took the initiative to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty and established a suzerain-vassal relationship.
Tribute
As the saying goes: "A long time must be divided and a long time must be combined." After the brief prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, China fell into an era of great schism. When the Northern Song Dynasty was established, he took the initiative to pay tribute to the Liao State. Therefore, starting from the Northern Song Dynasty, China has lost its status as the suzerain state of neighboring countries. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, in Asia, especially in East Asia, a suzerain system was formed with China as the sovereign and neighboring countries as vassals. Of course, "pay tribute every year and come to the court every year." is impossible.
Because the Chinese celestial dynasty goes to the country, it is gentle and benevolent, and the vassal country comes all the way to pay tribute. Naturally, they can’t treat others badly. The gifts often exceed the value of the tribute. Is China poor?
The territories of the Eastern Han Dynasty
For example, the Wonu country in southern Japan sent envoys to the Eastern Han Dynasty in 57 AD (the second year of the founding of the Yuan Dynasty) to pay tribute to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu gave a "Golden Seal of the King of Venezu" to the Japanese envoy. It is said that the gold content of this gold seal is 95.1%. At that time, the Japanese envoys did not bring decent tributes, but they got a gold seal, which shows that Japan is really making money. Therefore, foreign envoys are happy to come to China to pay tribute.
Of course, the frequent tribute of the vassal states also makes China feel difficult. Therefore, the imperial court has clear regulations on the time of tribute to the vassal states. In the Ming Dynasty, the Ryukyu State paid the most tribute. In the area of Okinawa, Japan today, the Ryukyu State paid tribute three times a year at most. In the Qing Dynasty, the most diligent tribute was from North Korea, and it came twice a year at most. Most vassal states have paid far more tributes than the prescribed times. Could they really respect this big brother so much?
Because China is rich in products, there is no shortage of tributes, so these countries can make a lot of money by taking advantage of the opportunity of tribute. As the saying goes: "All Xixi in the world is for profit!" The vassal states vie for paying tribute to China because they are profitable. These vassal states formed a huge tributary mission to China to pay tribute. These ambassadors came to China to do business rather than to pay tribute. The things they brought would be purchased by the court at high prices. A Japanese folding fan may only be sold in China for 50 wen copper coins, the court will buy it at a high price of 400 wen, an ordinary Japanese samurai sword is worth 200-300 wen copper coins, and the court will spend at least a thousand wen copper coins to buy . The vassal country of
is called Shanggong, which is actually a business
. Therefore, the envoys are vying to bring their native products to China, and they bring far more than the prescribed number, which is no different from smuggling. If a Chinese official stopped, the envoy said, "This is for the emperorGift, this is our courtier's little heart for His Majesty the Emperor. "You can stop all the officials. The envoys bring special products to the palace. Naturally, the emperor cannot let them go back empty-handed. In addition to paying the price, there are rewards. The rewards are generally Chinese specialties. For things like silk and porcelain. They even reward Chinese copper coins and banknotes. When these rewards go to the king of the vassal country, the king can also reward others and put gold on his face. It is equivalent to telling the people of the country: I have a celestial boss, this time the big brother gave me red envelopes again, and then I sent you, you all give me honestly.
all countries come to
, but paper money and silver bills are bought in their home country. No, why are they so happy? Actually, it's not completely useless. The only use is to show off. Things are rare and expensive, and the locals have never seen this thing. Some people even mount and paste Daming treasures. On the wall of the living room for guests to visit, bragging by the way, it is really dumbfounding. The Ming Dynasty's civil engineering fortress changed, Ming Yingzong Zhuqi town was captured, from then on the vassal state was not willing to come to pay tribute until the establishment of the Qing Dynasty The tributary system was slowly restored. The tribute of the
tributary mission was even more strange. The Kingdom of Siam (Thailand) once paid tribute to rice. At that time, the crops were in short supply. The emperor was very happy to learn that he praised the King of Siam for doing things. The supermarket does not sell Thai fragrant rice. The tribute in some small countries may be a few fish, or even hawksbill (turtle shell), flying from the sky to swimming in the water, the emperor has seen what kind of tribute.
Therefore, everyone should know the benefits of tributary vassal states to China. In addition to making money, tribute to China actually has another advantage, that is, the vassal state is invaded and protected by the suzerain.
The boss protects
Since Zhang Qian’s envoy to the Western Regions, China has had many vassal states in the Western Regions. When these countries were threatened by the Huns, they would take the initiative to ask for help from the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the Western Han Dynasty set up the "Western Regions Protectorate "In order to supervise the countries of the Western Regions from being attacked by other countries. For example, in 72 BC, the Huns aggressively attacked Wusun, a vassal state of the Han Dynasty. At that time, the Han Dynasty’s economy had reached its peak and its national strength was strong. 160,000 troops were dispatched each year, and the troops were divided into five groups to rescue Wusun. The Xiongnu heard that the Han Dynasty sent troops, and was intimidated by this kind of battle. Z2z
Han Dynasty
In the history of our country, there is also a dynasty comparable to the Han Dynasty. There is only the Tang Dynasty. In 663 AD (the third year of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty), China and Japan fought a large-scale naval battle at the Baijiangkou of North Korea. This is how the war broke out. At that time, there was Goguryeo on the Korean Peninsula. , Silla, and Baekje. In fact, these three countries all paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty, and logically they belonged to the “little brothers” of the Tang Dynasty.
We all know that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had conquered Goguryeo three times to no avail, but the Tang Dynasty Taizong was also at the expense of Goguryeo. Although, Goguryeo was forced by Tang Chaoqiang The great national power succumbed to the Tang Dynasty, but the country refused to submit to the Tang Dynasty's jurisdiction. Therefore, when Baekje and Goguryeo, an ally of Baekje, invaded Silla in 600 AD, King Silla asked for help from the Tang Dynasty. As a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty would not ignore Silla. The Tang Dynasty quickly sent troops to help Silla destroy Baekje. After the demise of Baekje in the War of Tomorrow
, Goguryeo lost an ally and has since been isolated. The Tang Dynasty sent generals such as Su Dingfang, Liu Boying, and Cheng Mingzhen to attack Goguryeo. In addition, at that time, there were some veterans of Baekje who organized some remnants and defeated generals to resist the Tang army continuously. However, many resistances were unsuccessful, so this group of people turned to Japan for help. However, Japan considered itself very strong after undergoing the "reform and reform", and did not consider the Tang Dynasty at all. At that time, Japan also wanted to take the opportunity to rejuvenate their former colony of Baekje, "Renna," so they took the opportunity to send troops to North Korea to aid Goguryeo.
Japan (the country of Japan) sent troops to Korea, and the first war in history broke out between China and Japan-the "Battle of Baijiangkou". According to the "Xin Tang Book": "Ren Gui (Liu Ren Gui) met Japanese soldiers at Baijiangkou. He won four battles and burned four hundred boats. The sky was scorched by smoke and the sea was red. Baekje Wangfeng escaped and went to Gaoli, Prince Zhongsheng, Zhongzhi and other handsome people descended, and Baekje was at peace.” Japan was defeated in all four battles in front of the Tang Dynasty army, and almost the entire army was wiped out. Therefore, the Japanese maritime fleet was completely destroyed. In 668 AD, that is, ShiraekouchiIn the fifth year of the war, Silla united the Tang Dynasty to destroy Goguryeo and unified the Korean Peninsula.
All nations come to Korea
Actually, there are many examples in the history of our country of sending troops to help the vassal states fight foreign enemies. For example, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, war broke out again between China and Japan. In 1593 AD (21st year of the Wanli Ming Dynasty), the Japanese Prime Minister Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded North Korea and was defeated by the Ming Dynasty army. So it was not until the end of the Qing Dynasty that Japan Did not dare to send troops to China easily. During the Qianlong period, China helped Siam (Thailand) fight against Burma. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Korea was invaded by Japan. As the overlord of Korea, the Qing Dynasty still sent troops to support Korea even though it was unable to protect itself. Eventually, the Sino-Japanese War broke out with Japan. Although China has paid a painful price and lost its status as the sovereign state of North Korea, China still owes no one. Now, instead, certain countries are ungrateful and unite to contain China.
It can be said that the vassal state pays tribute to China and it does not suffer at all. On the contrary, it is not easy to be a suzerain state, even if it is a tributary from a vassal state. When the messenger returned to the country, the emperor did not forget to return gifts. When the vassal kingdom is invaded, the overlord will send troops to assist. Therefore, the tributary of the vassal state to the suzerain state is not earned.
