The phrase “tributary system” originated in the 1940s and was originally intended to describe a set of varied practices, not a simple, hierarchical system. You and your students will find it helpful to remember that Ming China had a toolbox of diverse foreign policy options. These included investiture of specific leaders, engaging in different kinds of diplomatic communication, sending and accepting diplomatic embassies (including tribute missions), strategic marriages, allowing/disallowing entry into Chinese territory, trading/refusing to trade, payments to troublesome foreign...
Even though Ming China was the largest and most powerful polity in this region, its power was not absolute. The Ming had to constantly negotiate (and sometimes fight) with neighbors to exercise their power in various places and over different people. Meanwhile, at home, the dynasty wanted all interactions with foreigners to show Ming subjects that their Emperor was universally powerful.
The leaders in Joseon, Dai Viet, and Japan were also negotiating both internal and external audiences. They had to interact with foreign powers in ways that...
Many world history textbooks compare Zheng He’s early 15th century voyages to the slightly later voyages of European explorers. At the time of these early voyages of exploration, Europe was still peripheral to trade in Afroeurasia, not a major player in the commercial world. These early voyages were primarily state-supported commercial ventures.
Textbook descriptions of Zheng He’s voyages sometimes present them as China’s one great movement out into the wider world, followed by a closing and a turning away from all foreign engagement. This...
Before the modern era of sovereign nation-states, polities around the world did not have strictly defined borders. So how did empires think about the boundaries of their power and influence? Where was the political and cultural line between “us” and “them”?
In the case of China, there was a longstanding conceptual division of people into two categories: Hua (civilized, Chinese) and Yi (barbarian, foreign). Hua referred to people who were firmly within the Chinese...
When US politicians want to argue in favor of a policy, they might assert that the policy will preserve American “freedoms.” In fact, two people might support diametrically opposite policies, while both claiming that their policy will do a better job of preserving American “freedoms.” Just as “freedom” is considered a virtue in US discourse, “tradition” was considered a good thing in the Confucian-influenced world of 14th to 17th century East Asia.
People in that time and place did not simply reject all new practices or ideas. Rather, when...
In the United States, we identify a lot with classical Greek and Roman culture and history. You can see this in building styles in Washington, D.C., in classical images on our currency, and in a lot of our discourse about government. Many 18th and early 19th century US political figures used the names of famous Roman authors and politicians as pen names when they published pamphlets and newspaper pieces. Our past and present use of Greek and Roman cultural references signals that we see ourselves as the inheritors of a set of political values and traditions. But we don’t...
In the current Westphalian world system, each nation-state is supposed to be the ultimate authority within its own clearly-defined territory, and all nation-states are officially equal to one another regardless of size. The Westphalian system began to emerge in Europe during the 17th century and only really came to define the world order after World War II with the end of Europe’s colonial empires.
National sovereignty is the modern ideal and is supported by international law, but in practice more powerful states can...
