List of tributaries of Imperial China

This list of tributaries of imperial China encompasses suzerain kingdoms from China in East Asia.[1]

The Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang. 6th-century painting in National Museum of China. Ambassadors from right to left: Uar (Hephthalites); Persia; Baekje (Korea); Qiuci; Wo (Japan); Langkasuka (in present day Malaysia); Dengzhi (邓至) (Qiang) Ngawa; Zhouguke (周古柯), Hebatan (呵跋檀), Humidan (胡密丹), Baiti (白題, of similar Hephthalite people), who dwell close to Hephthalite; Mo (Qiemo).

List of tributaries

A status hierarchy was an explicit element of the tributary system in which Korea and Vietnam were ranked higher than others, including Japan, the Ryukyus, Siam, the Burmese kingdoms and others.[2] All diplomatic and trade missions were construed in the context of a tributary relationship with Imperial China,[3] including:

This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

By dynasty

Western Han

Xin

During Wang Mang's reign, relations with many of the empire's allies and tributories deteriorated, due in large part to Wang Mang's arrogance and inept diplomacy.

Eastern Han

Southern and Northern, Tang

The Chinese retaliated against Cham (see Champa), which was raiding the Rinan coast around 430s-440s by seizing Qusu, and then plundering the capital of the Cham around Huế. Around 100,000 jin in gold was the amount of plunder. Linyi then paid 10,000 gold jin, 100,000 silver jin, 300,000 copper Jin in 445 as tribute to China. The final tribute paid to China from Linyi was 749, among the items where 100 pearl strings, 30 gharuwood jin, baidi, and 20 elephants. (Jin is a unit of measurement).[48]

Enslaved people from tributary countries were sent to Tang China by various groups, the Cambodians sent albinos, the Uyghurs sent Turkic Karluks, the Japanese sent Ainu, and Turkish and Tibetan girls were also sent to China.[49]

Song

The Song dynasty received 302 tribute missions from other countries. Vietnamese missions consisted of 45 of them, another 56 were from Champa. More tribute was sent by Champa in order to curry favor from China against Vietnam.[50] Champa brought as tribute Champa rice, a fast-growing rice strain, to China, which massively increased Chinese yields of rice.[51]

Ming

Under the Ming dynasty, countries that wanted to have any form of relationship with China, political, economic or otherwise, had to enter the tribute system. As a result, tribute was often paid for opportunistic reasons rather than as a serious gesture of allegiance to the Chinese emperor, and the mere fact that tribute was paid may not be understood in a way that China had political leverage over its tributary.[52] Also some tribute missions may just have been up by ingenious traders. A number of countries only paid tribute once, as a result of Zheng He's expeditions. As of 1587, in Chinese sources the following countries are listed to have paid tribute to the Ming emperors:[53] The Hongwu Emperor started tributary relations in 1368, emissaries being sent to countries like Korea, Vietnam, Champa, Japan, of which Korea, Vietnam, and Champa sent back tribute in 1369. During Hongwu's rule, Liuch'iu sent 20, Korean sent 20, Champa sent 19, Siam sent 18, and Vietnam sent 14 tribute missions.[54]

The 1471 Vietnamese invasion of Champa and Ming Turpan Border Wars were either started by or marked by disruptions in the tribute system.

Much tribute paid consisted of native products, e.g. elephants from Siam, or eunuchs and virgin girls from Korea, Annam, or the Ryukyu Islands.[56] Young Korean virgin girls, and eunuchs were occasionally demanded as tribute by the Ming Emperor for the imperial harem. Total of 98 virgins and 198 eunuchs were sent.[57] Korean girls age 13 to 25 were recruited to be sent to China.[58][59][60][61][62]

Qing

"Moghul embassy", seen by the Dutch visitors in Beijing in 1656. According to Lach & Kley (1993), modern historians (namely, Luciano Petech) think that the emissaries portrayed had actually come from Turfan, and not all the way from the Moghul India.

This list covers states that sent tribute between 1662 and 1875, and were not covered under the Lifanyuan. Therefore, Tibet or the Khalkha are not included, although they did send tribute in the period given:[63]

The tribute system did not dissolve in 1875, but tribute embassies got less frequent and regular: twelve more Korean embassies until 1894, one more (abortive one) from Liuqiu in 1877, three more from Annam, and four from Nepal, the last one in 1908.[63]

In 1886 after Britain took over Burma, they maintained the sending of tribute to China, putting themselves in a lower status than in their previous relations.[68] It was agreed in the Burmah convention in 1886, that China would recognize Britain's occupation of Upper Burmah while Britain continued the Burmese payment of tribute every ten years to Beijing.[69]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Gundry, R. S. "China and her Tributaries," National Review (United Kingdom), No. 17, July 1884, pp. 605-619., p. 605, at Google Books
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Kang, David C. (2010). East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute, p. 59., p. 59, at Google Books
  3. ↑ Wang, Zhenping. (2005). Ambassadors from the islands of immortals: China-Japan relations in the Han-Tang period, pp. 4-5, p. 4, at Google Books; excerpt, criticizing "the western tributary theory, which sees the world only from the viewpoint of the Chinese and overly simplifies the intricate domestic and international situations ...."
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Tribute and Trade", KoreanHistoryProject.org. Retrieved on 30-01-2007.
  5. ↑ Gundry, "Annam," pp. 613-615., p. 613, at Google Books
  6. ↑ Gundry, "Burma," pp. 611-613., p. 611, at Google Books
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Kerr, George. (2000). Okinawa: The History of an Island People, p. 65., p. 65, at Google Books
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Shambaugh, David L. et al. (2008). International Relations of Asia, p. 54 n15., p. 54, at Google Books citing the 1818 Collected Statutes of the Qing Dynasty (DaQing hui-tien)
  9. ↑ "Funan". About.com. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  10. ↑ "The Kingdom of Funan and Chenla (First to Eighth Century AD)". Archived from the original on 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  11. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh. (1911). The Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. 15, p. 224, p. 224, at Google Books
  12. ↑ Yoda, Yoshiie et al. (1996) The Foundations of Japan's Modernization: a Comparison with China's Path, p. 40., p. 40, at Google Books; excerpt, "While other countries in East Asia were almost consistently emeshed within the Chinese tribute system, Japan found itself sometimes inside sometimes outside of the system ...."
  13. ↑ According to the Book of Later Han vol. 85, Records of Three Kingdoms vol. 30 and Book of Jin, vol. 97, 2 tribute missions in 1st century, 4 tribute missions in 3rd century, 10 tribute missions in 5th century was sent to Imperial China.
  14. ↑ Yoda, p. 40., p. 40, at Google Books; excerpt, "... King Na was awarded the seal of the Monarch of the Kingdom of Wa during the Chinese Han dynasty, and Queen Himiko, who had sent a tribute mission to the Wei Dynasty (third century) was followed by the five kings of Wa who also offered tribute to the Wei. This evidence points to the fact that at this period Japan was inside the Chinese tribute system ...."
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Book of Sui, vol. 81
  16. ↑ The Early Relations between China and Japan
  17. ↑ Delmer M. Brown, John Whitney Hall. The Cambridge History of Japan: Ancient Japan, pp. 280-283., p. 280, at Google Books
  18. ↑ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Kentoshi" in Japan encyclopedia, p. 511, p. 511, at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File.
  19. ↑ Yoda, p. 40., p. 40, at Google Books; excerpt, "... Japanese missions to the Sui [Dynasty] (581-604) ... were recognized by the Chinese as bearers of imperial tribute ...."
  20. ↑ Imperial envoys made perilous passages on kentoshi-sen ships to Tang China "The cross-cultural exchanges began with 5 missions between 600 and 614, initially to Sui China (on kenzuishi-sen), and at least 18 or 19 missions were sent to T’ang China from 630 to 894 although not all of them were designated kentoshi."
  21. ↑ Fogel, Joshua A. (2009). Articulating the Sinosphere: Sino-Japanese Relations in Space and Time, pp. 102-107., p. 102, at Google Books
  22. ↑ Yoda, p. 40., p. 40, at Google Books; excerpt, "Japanese missions to the ... Tang Dynasties were recognized by the Chinese as bearers of imperial tribute; however, in the middle of the ninth century -- the early Heian Period -- Japan rescinded he sending of missions to the Tang Empire. Subsequently Japan conducted a flourishing trade with China and for the next five hundred years also imported much of Chinese culture, while nevertheless remaining outside the tribute system."
  23. ↑ Edwin O. Reischauer (1955). Ennin's travels in T'ang China: Chapter Ⅲ - Kentoshi. ISBN 978-89-460-3814-1
  24. ↑ Old book of Tang, vol. 199
  25. ↑ Fogel, p. 27., p. 27, at Google Books; Goodrich, Luther Carrington et al. (1976). Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644, p. 1316., p. 1316, at Google Books; note: the economic benefit of the Sinocentric tribute system was profitable trade. The tally trade (kangō bōeki or kanhe maoyi in Chinese) was a system devised and monitored by the Chinese -- see Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia, p. 471.
  26. ↑ Frederick W. Mote, Denis Twitchett, John King Fairbank. The Cambridge history of China: The Ming dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1, pp. 491-492., p. 491, at Google Books
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 27.6 Pratt, Keith L. (1999). Korea: a historical and cultural dictionary. p. 482.
  28. ↑ Kwak, Tae-Hwan et al. (2003). The Korean peace process and the four powers, p. 100., p. 100, at Google Books; excerpt, "The tributary relations between China and Korea came to an end when China was defeated in the Sino-Japanese war of 1894-1895."
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 Korea Herald. (2004) Korea now, p. 31; excerpt, "The Chinese also insist that even though Goguryeo was part of Chinese domain, Silla and Baekje were states subjected to China's tributary system."
  30. ↑ Seth, Michael J. (2006). A concise history of Korea, p. 64, p. 64, at Google Books; excerpt, "China found instead that its policy of using trade and cultural exchanges and offering legitimacy and prestige to the Silla monarchy was effective in keeping Silla safely in the tributary system. Indeed, the relationship that was worked out in the late seventh and early eighth centuries can be considered the beginning of the mature tributary relationship that would characterize Sino-Korean interchange most of the time until the late nineteenth century;"
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Korean History Project, Unified Silla.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Kwak, p. 99., p. 99, at Google Books; excerpt, "Korea's tributary relations with China began as early as the fifth century, were regularized during the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), and became fully institutionalized during the Yi dynasty (1392-1910)."
  33. ↑ Clark, Donald N. (1998). "The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 Part 2". The Cambridge history of China 8: 280. ISBN 0-521-24333-5. Between 1392 and 1450, the Choson court dispatched 391 envoys to China: on average, seven each year.
  34. ↑ Kang, David C. (2010). East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute. Columbia University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-231-15318-8. thus, between 1637 and 1881, Korea sent 435 special embassies to the Qing court, or an average of almost 1.5 embassies per year.
  35. ↑ Gundry, "Nepal," pp. 609-610., p. 609, at Google Books
  36. ↑ Chinese Sui Dynasty annals
  37. ↑ Kadaram and Kataha
  38. ↑ Kelantan
  39. ↑ First Ruler of Melaka : Parameswara 1394-1414
  40. ↑ The Political Economy of Philippines- China Relations
  41. ↑ "The Ancient Ryukyus Period/The Sanzan Period"
  42. ↑ Gundry, "Ryūkyū," pp. 615-616., p. 615, at Google Books
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Kerr, George. (2000). Okinawa: The History of an Island People, p. 74., p. 74, at Google Books
  44. ↑ Kerr, p. 66., p. 66, at Google Books
  45. ↑ Gundry, "Siam," pp. 616-619., p. 616, at Google Books
  46. ↑ Gundry, "Tibet," pp. 610-611., p. 610, at Google Books
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 page 63 of the book, "MAPPING HISTORY WORLD HISTORY, by Dr. Ian Barnes. ISBN 978-1-84573-323-0
  48. ↑ Robert S. Wicks (1992). Money, markets, and trade in early Southeast Asia: the development of indigenous monetary systems to AD 1400. SEAP Publications. p. 210. ISBN 0-87727-710-9. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  49. ↑ Edward H. Schafer (1963). The golden peaches of Samarkand: a study of Tʻang exotics. University of California Press. p. 50. ISBN 0-520-05462-8. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
  50. ↑ Brantly Womack (2006). China and Vietnam: the politics of asymmetry. Cambridge University Press. p. 121. ISBN 0-521-61834-7. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  51. ↑ Richard Bulliet, Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel Headrick, Steven Hirsch, Lyman Johnson (2008). The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History: to 1550. Cengage Learning. p. 279. ISBN 0-618-99238-3. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  52. ↑ John K. Fairbank and Têng Ssu-yü: On the Ch'ing Tributary System, in: Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 6, no. 2 (1941), p. 137-150
  53. ↑ John K. Fairbank and Têng Ssu-yü: On the Ch'ing Tributary System, in: Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 6, no. 2 (1941), p. 150ff
  54. ↑ Edward L. Dreyer (1982). Early Ming China: a political history, 1355-1435. Stanford University Press. p. 116. ISBN 0-8047-1105-4. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  55. ↑ E. Bretschneider (1888). Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources: Fragments Toward the Knowledge of the Geography and History of Central and Western Asia from the 13th to the 17th Century, Volume 2. LONDON: Trübner & Co. p. 291. Retrieved 2011-06-09.(Original from the New York Public Library)
  56. ↑ Shih-shan Henry Tsai (1996). The eunuchs in the Ming dynasty. SUNY Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-7914-2687-4. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  57. ↑ 김한규 (1999). 한중관계사 II. 아르케. pp. 581~585. ISBN 89-88791-02-9.
  58. ↑ Iain Robertson (2005). Understanding international art markets and management. Routledge. p. 182. ISBN 0-415-33956-1. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  59. ↑ Frederick W. Mote, Denis Twitchett, John King Fairbank (1988). The Cambridge history of China: The Ming dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1. Cambridge University Press. p. 301. ISBN 0-521-24332-7. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  60. ↑ Association for Asian Studies. Ming Biographical History Project Committee, Luther Carrington Goodrich, Chao-ying Fang (1976). Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644. Columbia University Press. p. 1597. ISBN 0-231-03833-X. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  61. ↑ Association Denis Crispin Twitchett, John King Fairbank (1978). The Cambridge history of China, Volume 2; Volume 8. Cambridge University Press. p. 284. ISBN 0-521-24333-5. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  62. ↑ O. Harrassowitz (1991). Journal of Asian history, Volume 25. p. 130. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 John K. Fairbank and Têng Ssu-yü: On the Ch'ing Tributary System, in: Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 6, no. 2 (1941), p. 193ff
  64. ↑ Kang, Jae-un (2006). The land of scholars: two thousand years of Korean Confucianism. Homa & Sekey Books. ISBN 1-931907-30-7. Joseon requested to send a tribute "thrice each year" or "four times per year" instead and achieved it.
  65. ↑ Robinson, Martin; Bender, Andrew (2004). Korea. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74059-449-5. The tribute taken to Beijing three or four times a year during most of the Joseon period provides an interesting insight into Korean products at this time. |first3= missing |last3= in Authors list (help)
  66. ↑ van Braam Houckgeest, Andreas Everardus. (1797). Voyage de l'ambassade de la Compagnie des Indes Orientales hollandaises vers l'empereur de la Chine, dans les années 1794 et 1794; see also 1798 English translation: An authentic account of the embassy of the Dutch East-India company, to the court of the emperor of China, in the years 1974 and 1795, Vol. I.
  67. ↑ de Guignes, Chrétien-Louis-Joseph (1808). Voyage a Pékin, Manille et l'Ile de France.
  68. ↑ Alfred Stead (1901). China and her mysteries. LONDON: Hood, Douglas, & Howard. p. 100. Retrieved February 19, 2011.(Original from the University of California)
  69. ↑ William Woodville Rockhill (1905). China's intercourse with Korea from the XVth century to 1895. LONDON: Luzac & Co. p. 5. Retrieved February 19, 2011.(Colonial period Korea ; WWC-5)(Original from the University of California)

References

External links