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If a person wants to rule a country, he must first start with culture and concepts, and mastering the people's thoughts and culture is the key to maintaining imperial power. Every dynasty in the history of our country has experience fighting foreigners. Why is there such a confrontation?
The most important reason is their culture and philosophy. The Ming Dynasty was a highly developed Han people country, and the Han culture was undoubtedly the most advanced. It can be seen from history that the invasion of ethnic minorities in each dynasty is closely related to Chinese culture.
Thinking and behavior will tend to be Chinese culture, and China's agricultural civilization was the most developed in that era. It is China's cultural advantages that make the surrounding ethnic groups look covetously at the Central Plains.
In order to maintain the stability of the country, the Ming Dynasty adopted a series of foreign policies and carried out some reforms on the basis of inheriting the sages. The Han nationality in the Ming Dynasty had profound cultural traditions and profound historical and cultural accumulation.
Therefore, the Central Plains culture has certain advantages in foreign exchanges. This kind of foreign policy can only maintain stability in the short term, but cannot resolve the contradictions between various ideologies, and culture. At the same time, it has strong external control.
1. The Ming Dynasty had strong control over foreign policy
1. The foreign policy of using foreigners to control foreigners
The foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty was influenced by the previous dynasty and partly inherited the foreign policy of the previous dynasty. However, with the development of history and the passage of time, the shortcomings of its foreign policy have become increasingly prominent.
Therefore, the foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty exerted certain restrictions on the cultural exchanges between Han people and other ethnic groups. At this time, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty adopted a diplomatic strategy of using foreigners to control foreigners, using foreigners to control foreigners in order to maintain peace and stability in the Central Plains.
However, this method is not a once and for all solution. Foreign races cannot contain each other forever. Once they unite, they will be a great threat to the Han Dynasty . Therefore, such a diplomatic strategy cannot truly alleviate the conflict between the Central Plains and the foreign races.
2. The governance model of various ethnic groups during the Ming Dynasty
In the Ming Dynasty, in addition to foreign ethnic minorities, there were also some ethnic minority forces. Although they live in the Central Plains, they are not culturally and ideologically harmonious with the Han people, so they do not have a strong cultural affiliation with them.
The Miao rebellion in the Ming Dynasty posed a great threat to the rule of the Han people. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty established local officials to deal with the affairs of ethnic minorities, but this did not guarantee the stability of the country.
Due to the cultural differences between the Central Plains and various ethnic groups, it was difficult for ethnic minorities to govern in the Ming Dynasty, and they even organized rebellions, causing social unrest.
2. The foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty showed the "heavenly" attitude
1. The face-saving project of deterring foreigners with authority
Ming Dynasty Zheng He's voyages to the West fully demonstrated the strong advantages of the Ming Dynasty, so its foreign policy was mostly based on its power and financial resources to improve its external image and act as a deterrent.
It was difficult for foreign forces in the Ming Dynasty to resist the temptation of money. Therefore, Zheng He's voyages to the West, which consumed a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, were a great event in ancient Chinese history that promoted cultural exchanges and displayed the country's image. However, Zheng He and 's voyages did not really affect the Ming Dynasty's rule over foreign countries.
2. The diplomatic strategy of using money to win over foreigners
Zheng He's voyages to the West were a "face project" in the Ming Dynasty's foreign relations. Its purpose was to show its image as a great power, and "tribute" was its "practical basis" " Diplomatic Thoughts. The handicrafts of the Ming Dynasty were very good.
When many foreign ethnic groups paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty, they would trade the rare treasures they brought with the Han people to increase their wealth. Initially, the Ming government refused to allow foreign merchants to trade during the tribute period, which had a huge impact on Ming commerce.
However, the Ming Dynasty later relaxed its control on this area, so many foreign races took the initiative to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. While the trade relations between the Central Plains and foreign races were stable, they were also eased. However, the most fundamental purpose of such a diplomatic strategy is to use money to attract foreigners.
3. Use commercial ideas to restrain foreign nations
Due to the prevalence of tribute trade, the economic exchanges between the Central Plains and foreign nations have become increasingly close, which can not only solve material problems, but also alleviate the conflicts between the Central Plains and foreign nations.
However, this economic exchange was not completely liberated and was still affected by the Ming Dynasty's influence on foreigners. The horse market was a feature of trade with foreign ethnic groups in the Central Plains during the Ming Dynasty. Its ultimate goal was to improve the Ming Dynasty's military equipment and earn a large amount of money. However, these economic activities were strictly controlled by the Ming Dynasty.
Although the foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty carried out a series of reforms and developments based on the predecessors, it was unable to effectively resolve the conflicts between the Central Plains and other ethnic groups. In terms of foreign policy, the Ming Dynasty always showed a kind of dominance. The purpose of desire and superiority is to contain the alien races and make them submit to the Central Plains.
However, due to differences in cultural concepts, the Central Plains people's desire to rule foreigners has not been eradicated. The friendly economic and trade relations between the Central Plains and foreign ethnic groups have eased the relationship between the Central Plains and foreign ethnic groups to a certain extent. However, the Ming people's desire for control brought their diplomatic activities to a standstill.
Reference: "History of Ming Dynasty"
