Diplomatic History of Ancient China

In ancient times, China considered itself to be the center of the civilized world, and the Chinese emperor was the leader of the civilized world, and there was a saying that "the one who wins the Middle Kingdom wins the world". With the Middle Kingdom as the center of the world, China regarded its neighbors as the Eastern Barbarians, the Southern Barbarians, the Western Rongs, and the Northern Di, and regarded those outside of China as uncivilized, and those outside of China as the "land outside of China," words that were used with a sense of disdain. Because of its cultural influence, China has always had a "Chinese Cultural Circle" around it, which traditionally included the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia. In addition, neighboring countries have paid tribute to China over the ages, a system that reached its greatest maturity during the Qing Dynasty. Historically, Nepal, Korea, the Ryukyus, Annam (Vietnam), Sulu (the Philippines), Burma, Nanjang (Laos), and Siam (Thailand) were the eight vassal states and tributary states enshrined by the Chinese emperor. Korea, Vietnam (formerly known as Annam), and the Ryukyu Kingdom were typical of the tribute states.

China's geography was relatively closed, with the desert to the north, mountains to the west, and the sea to the southeast, limiting ancient China's interactions with other countries.

The nomads in the north have been a great threat throughout the history of ancient China. During the Warring States period China began building the Great Wall in the north to defend against the Xiongnu. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, defense was the mainstay against the Xiongnu, and the typical policy was to make peace. Under Emperor Wu, the Han Dynasty shifted from strategic defense to strategic offense and for a time drove the Xiongnu to the north of the desert. However, after the death of Emperor Wu, the Han government changed to a policy of peace and harmony to ensure political peace and economic prosperity and stability, the most famous of which was the Zhaojun out of the city incident, which is said to have surprised the Emperor of Han at the time he could not afford to marry her to the Xiong Nu monarch, Hu Hanxie.

Since the Western Han's Zhang Qian's mission to the West, China and Central Asia's exchanges have been very frequent, Central Asia's blood horses were favored by the Han emperors, while some of Central Asia's crops, such as alfalfa, were also introduced to the Middle Kingdom.

More than 2,000 years ago, China used the Silk Road and Central Asia and Europe to exchange goods with each other, exporting goods such as silk and tea. Since the Han Dynasty, the Korean Peninsula and Japan have had trade and exchanges with China. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhist culture from India began to spread to China and eventually took root in China, and through China to the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

During the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an became one of the most important cities in the world at the time, tolerant of cultures coming from all over the world. Silla unified the Korean Peninsula with the support of the Tang dynasty and had close contact with China. Japan had sent many envoys to the Tang Dynasty to learn and accept the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of the Tang Dynasty, and also copied Chinese characters for the Japanese script, and its capital city was also modeled after Chang'an; the most famous of the envoys were Chao Heng and Jibi Zhenbei, among whom Chao Heng was a close friend of Wang Wei and Li Bai, and Wang Wei wrote a "Sending the Secretary Chao back to Japan with a preface" to present to them as they were going home; Jianzhen was a good friend of Wang Wei, who wrote a poem "Sending Secretary Chao back to Japan with a preface" to present to them as well; and Jianzhen was a good friend of Wang Wei, who wrote a book "Sending secretary Chao back to Japan with a preface" to present to them. The monk Jianzhen also traveled east to Japan, preaching and spreading Buddhist teachings to this eastern island nation. In addition, Arab merchants were often seen in the streets of Chang'an, and some of them became officials in the Tang Dynasty through the imperial examinations. The Tang Dynasty and India, known as Tianzhu, also interacted frequently, and the Tang monk Venerable Xuanzang went through hardships and dangers, crossing deserts and mountains, and finally got the real scriptures in India, preaching Mahayana Buddhism and becoming the much-admired Sanzang Venerable Master, whose story was later adapted into the popular Journey to the West, which has been praised by the future generations.

During the Song Dynasty, although China was characterized by a multitude of countries, frequent wars, and inconvenient land transportation, shipbuilding and maritime trade were well-developed, and compass needles were already used in navigation, allowing foreign trade to exceed historical levels.

The Yuan Dynasty had a vast territory and strong national power, and there were extensive exchanges between China and European countries as well as many other countries such as the Ilkhanate and the Chincha Khanate. Marco Polo is one of the most famous representatives, he was received by the Yuan Shizu Kublai, in the Yuan capital city of the metropolis as an official, see the "burning black stone" (coal), and on the way back to his country, also did the Yuan dynasty to the Ier Khanate wedding envoy.

The Ming Dynasty Zheng He went to the West is a feat of maritime history, the treasure ship of the three treasures of the eunuch Zheng He than Columbus's ocean-going ship strong, huge, when China's national policy is to proclaim the national prestige, rather than predatory colonialism, so close to Southeast Asia, far away from Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula in East Africa, the people are all joyful to wait for. Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there have been many Catholic missionaries who came to China as missionaries, among them a large number of enlightened missionaries such as Matteo Ricci, Tang Ruowang, and Nan Huairen who brought Western scientific knowledge and technology to China, such as the Original Geometry.

During the Qing Dynasty, when British envoys brought gifts to China to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Qianlong, they were treated as "tribute" by China and called "British barbarians" because they came from the eastern sea, and they had to pay homage to the British envoys with the rite of "three times and nine kowtows," but they were not allowed to do so. After a compromise, the ambassadors to meet the King of England, kneeling on one knee and end.