List of recipients of tribute from China
Encyclopedia
Chinese state entities have paid tribute to a number states and confederations throughout history. Due to Sinocentrism
, China had not paid them willingly, as it regarded itself as the most advanced, important, and the Middle Kingdom, so these were forced upon China with threats of attacks and raids, which many of the peoples who received tribute continued to do anyway after receiving tribute. China also had a strong Confucian tradition, which believed that showing virtue and giving things/gifts/tribute would civilize "Barbarians". Many of them involved silk and tea, and during the Ming Dynasty, China's input of silver increased due to trade with Spanish merchants in Manila, so they could pay them off with silver.
Sinocentrism
Sinocentrism is an ethnocentric perspective that regards China to be the center of civilization and superior to all other nations. The related but distinct concept of the superiority of the Han Chinese ethnicity both within and without China is known as Han chauvinism.- Overview and context...
, China had not paid them willingly, as it regarded itself as the most advanced, important, and the Middle Kingdom, so these were forced upon China with threats of attacks and raids, which many of the peoples who received tribute continued to do anyway after receiving tribute. China also had a strong Confucian tradition, which believed that showing virtue and giving things/gifts/tribute would civilize "Barbarians". Many of them involved silk and tea, and during the Ming Dynasty, China's input of silver increased due to trade with Spanish merchants in Manila, so they could pay them off with silver.
- XiongnuXiongnuThe Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
in 200 BCE-138 BCE: the Xiongnu repulsed the invading army of the Han Dynasty, advanced into the territory of China, and besieged its capital. The Chinese Emperor recognised the Great Wall as the border of the two states and was obliged to pay annual tribute (silk, liquor, rice) to the Xiongnu. - Turkic Kaganate: The Qi and Zhou Dynasties of China surrendered to the Turks in 570 and began paying tribute. Note that the Qi and Zhou dynasties were only small parts of China as china had fragmented into several states. The Qi and Zhou dynasties had a hybrid Sino-Turkic leadership.
- Uigur Kaganate: Successful campaigns of the Uigur Kaganate led to a peace with the Tang Dynasty which paid tribute in silk and grain for 12 years from 766 .
- TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
: 7th century,Tibetan King Songtsän Gampo conquered western China which was not under Tang control and exacted tributes from the Chinese emperor, including the marriage with Princess WenchengPrincess WenchengPrincess Wencheng was a niece of the powerful Emperor Taizong of China's Tang Dynasty, who left China in 640, according to records, arriving the next year in Tibet to marry the thirty-seven year old Songtsän Gampo the thirty-third king of the Yarlung Dynasty of Tibet, in a marriage of...
. - TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
: in 763 Tibetan troops briefly captured Chang'anChang'anChang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
, the Chinese capital, during the reign of Emperor Daizong for 15 days, and received tribute. The agreement specified the tribute item—50 thousand rolls of silk. Another source says they originally approached Chang'an, and received the tribute, but when the Chinese failed to pay it due to a new emperor coming to the throne, they captured Chang'an, during the An Lushan rebellion. - KhitanKhitan peoplethumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
1005-1118 after Khitan's victory over the Song DynastySong DynastyThe Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
invasion
- Jurchen: In 1142, after a disastrous defeat, the Song dynasty agreed to be a vassal state of Jurchen and pay annual tribute.
- Altan KhanAltan KhanAltan Khan , whose given name was Anda , was the ruler of the Tümet Mongols and de facto ruler of the Right Wing, or western tribes, of the Mongols...
of MongoliaMongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
in 1550s after Altan Khan besieged Beijing. - Ligden Khan of MongoliaMongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
early 17th century: after a series of raids on China, the Ming court paid silver to Ligden Khan.
Further reading
- Shar Tuuji. 16th century.
- Luvsandanzan. Altan TobchiAltan TobchiThe Altan Tobchi, or Golden Summary , is a 17th century Mongolian chronicle written by Guush Luvsandanzan. Its full title is "Herein is contained the Golden Summary of the Principles of Statecraft as established by the Ancient Khans". Mongolian scholars typically call the work the "Lu Altan Tovch"...
. 17th century. - Sagan Secen. Erdeniin TobchiErdeni TobchiThe Erdeniin Tobchi is a national chronicle and set of Mongolian judicial laws over historical content in the 17th century. It was written in 1662....
. 17th century. - ?. Ming Shi-luMing Shi-luThe Ming Shilu , or the Veritable Records of the Ming, contains the imperial annals of Ming dynasty emperors and is the single largest historical source for the dynasty and "plays an extremely important role in the historical reconstruction of Ming society and politics." After the fall of the Ming...
. 17th century. - Council Secretary of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. Copyright @ 2003 Singapore Press Holdings.