1942 Tributary Trade and China's Relations With the West

7/30/2019 1942 Tributary Trade and China's Relations With the West

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1942-tributary-trade-and-chinas-relations-with-the-west 1/22

Tributary Trade and China's Relations with the WestAuthor(s): J. K. FairbankSource: The Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Feb., 1942), pp. 129-149Published by: Association for Asian Studies

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2049617 .

Accessed: 17/04/2013 17:50

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Association for Asian Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Far

Eastern Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 137.222.163.238 on Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:50:55 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=afas

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2049617?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp





http://www.jstor.org/stable/2049617?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=afas



TRIBUTARY TRADE AND CHINA'S RELATIONSWITH THE WEST

J.K. FAIRBANK

HarvardUniversity

UNTIL a centurygo,China's oreignelations ere uzerain-vassalrelationsonductedhroughhe ncient ormsf the ributaryystem.

This traditionalhinesebasisfor iplomacy as finallyurned pside own

bythe"unequal"treaties ftheperiod1842-1858,but vestiges f theold

Chinesewayofdealingwith hebarbariansurvivedmuch ongerndtoday

stillform considerablehoughatentportion f the heritage f Chinese

diplomats.tis ofcourse truismhat ribute asnot xactlywhat tseemed,

andthatbothdiplomacynd nternationalradewereconducted ithin he

tributaryramework.he followingssayofferspreliminarynterpretation

of theorigin, unction,ndsignificancef thisgreatChinese nstitution.'

CHINESE CULTURAL DOMINANCE IN EAST ASIA

The tributaryystemwasa natural xpressionfChinese ulturalgo-

centricity.ver sincethe bronze ge, when thecivilization f theShang

dynastyc. 1500-1100B.C.) had first ppeared s a culture-islandn the

Yellow River basin,the inhabitantsf theChinesestatehad been sur-

rounded ybarbarianeoplesofinferiorulture.At no timewerethey n

direct ontactwithan equal civilization,or ll of EasternAsia-Korea,

Japan,Annam, iam-becameculturallyffiliatedo theMiddleKingdom,while ndiaandtheNear East remainedutoffby thearidlandmassof

CentralAsia. Separated rom heWest, the Chineseempire rewby theacculturationf tsborders.tsexpansion asthe xpansionf a wayof ife.

WheretheChinese grarianwayof ife ouldnotbe followed,s uponthe

aridpastureandoftheMongolianteppe,here he xpansionf the mpire

usually topped.2 ver the wet rice landtowardthe south t continued

through any enturies.From his ge-longontactwith hebarbariansoundabout,ncludingoth

thenomads fthenorthernteppendthe boriginesfthe outh,heChinese

1Thisarticleschieflyased pon hedatapresentednJ.K. Fairbanknd . Y. Teng, On theCh'ing ributaryystem," arvardjournalfAsiatictudies, (1941), 135-246.

2 Thistopic asbeen nalyzedt engthyOwenLattimore,nner sian rontiersfChinaNewYork,1940).Fora bibliographyn tributengeneralee FairbankndTeng,op. cit., p.238-43.

129

This content downloaded from 137.222.163.238 on Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:50:55 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions






130 THE FAR EASTERN QUARTERLY

were mpressed ithone fact: that heir uperiority as not one of merematerial owerbutof culture. uchthingss theChinesewrittenanguageand theConfucian ode of conductweresignsofthis ulture ndso great

was their irtue, o overwhelminghe chievementsf theMiddleKingdomin art and letters nd the art of living, hatno barbarian ould ongresistthem.Gradually ut nvariablyhebarbariann contactwithChina tendedto becomeChinese,by thismostflatteringctreinforcingheChinese on-viction f superiority.n their ide the nhabitantsf theMiddleKingdom,themselvesargely escendantsf barbarians,tood lwaysready o udgemanby cultural ather hanby racialor national tandards. fter enturiesof solitary randeur s the center f EasternAsia, the Chinesedeveloped

what may be called, by analogy o nationalism, spirit f "culturism."Those who did not follow he Chineseway were ipso actonferior,nddangerous hen trong,nd this iewwas supported y oremanatedrom)an entireosmology nd well-balancedystem fethics.Without enturingtoo far nto arlier istory e may ry o note ertain fthe deaswhich up-ported his culturism."

An interpretationf Chinesepolitical heorymay well beginwith thedictumhatman s part fnature, ot, s in themodern est, nconflict ith

nature. ossibly hisChinese iewofmankinds subordinatendfittingntotheunseen orces f theuniverse rose from eographicalnvironment.nthebroad urface f the NorthChina plain human nitiative as less im-portant han he weather, nd natural alamity,whether roughtr flood,couldnotbe avoided as easily as in ancientGreece or WesternEurope,where hesea and a woodedterrain sually fferedome reward o humaninitiativen a time f trouble. onceivably hismay ccount or hepassiveacceptance f natural alamity n thepart f theChinese armernd tmayalso have somethingo do withthe ack of anthropomorphismnChinesereligion. t all events he arly eligion f theChinese ppears o havebeenanimistic,oncerned ith he pirits f and,wind, nd water.The activityofnaturewas observed, nd t was but a short tep to the conclusion hattheactivity f manmustbe madeto harmonize ith t.

The harmonyf manwithnaturen thepresent ad ts obvious orollaryinthe ontinuityetween hepresent ndthepast.This senseofcontinuity,so evidentn thegreat raditionfChinesehistorical riting, ust robablybe associatedwiththe highdegreeof influencescribed o theancestors.Each generation,s it passedfrom he cene,was believed o have oined heunseen orces fnaturewhich ontinuedo nfluenceumanife. twas nthisbelief hat he racleboneswereused nthe hang eriod o ask the ncestors'








CHINA'S RELATIONS WITH THE WEST 131

guidance.The reverence nd respectpaid to one's forebears"ancestorworship") s oneofthebestknown eaturesfChinese ociety.With t wenta deep respect ortheexample f the ancestors,with which, s with the

forces fnature, ne's present onduct hould ccord.

THE ETHICAL BASIS OF THE EMPEROR S POWER

From his oint f view thefunctionf theruler learly merges. eing nhisperson nlyhuman ut nhis office omething ore, heSon ofHeavenmediated etween hepeople nd theunseen orces f whichwe have beenspeaking. his is nottheplacefor documentednalysis f theposition fthe Chineseemperor nd it mustnot be thought hat his position an be

easilydescribedn Western arlance. ut, s a rough nterpretation,t maybesaidthat he mperor'sosition as midway etween hemass fmankindandtheuniversal owerofHeaven. It was his functiono maintainhe all-important armony etween hem.This he did first f all in a ritualisticmanner, y conductingacrificesikethoseperformednnually ntil shorttime go attheAltar f Heaven nPeking, nd by a multitudefother ere-monial cts.This activity ftheruler s an unbrokenraditionrom he arli-esttime nd s most pectacularlyemonstratedn themodern eriodnthe

institutionf ritualresponsibility.ccording o this doctrine t was feltthatnatural alamity-inotherwords, isharmonyetweenman ndnature-was the result f theemperor'snattentiono the rites.Whencalamityoccurred,heemperorherefore as quick to issue a penitentialdict-acustomwhichhas seemed o uncomprehendinguropeans ertainlyuaintandperhaps illy.This ritual esponsibilityas a doctrinewhichheldtoaccount ottheperson ut heoffice.n otherwords he mperormust layhis ceremonial art n thecosmos and in playing hispart he representedall mankind; nd since theactivities f man and naturewere so closelyrelated, nyfailuren the mperor's eremonialbservances as soon ikelyto be manifestn an irregularityf natural rocesses.Ceremonial onductwas thereforell-important.ntention, eing ess tangible,matteredittle.This Chinese iewofresponsibilityervadedhe ntiredministrativeystemand made ts activities ften nintelligibleoforeigners.

To this ncientdeaoftheruler's itual unctionas added he deaofhisright onduct s a basis forhisauthority.his development,ssociatedwiththenameofConfucius b. 551 B.C.), inreality irst rose at thebeginningoftheChou dynastyc. 1122 B.C.) to justifyheestablishmentf tscontrolin succession to the alleged degenerate last king of the preceding Shangdynasty.A theoryof rightwas sought as a sanction for a new exercise of









might. onfucius,mong thers, ought osupply new rational ndethicalbasis for theruler.Unlike the impersonalegalist octrine ywhich heWarring tateswere finallyegimentedntoa unified mpiren 221B.C.,

Confucianismoughtomakeuse of thepower fmoral xample. ight on-ductfor llpersons onsistedntheperformanceftheproper ites ndcere-monies nd thepreservationftheproper ocial relationshipsccording ostatus. hus itwas theduty f theministerobe loyal, ndofthe on tobefilial, nd ofeach personnsociety o preservehe ocialorder y acting sdemanded y etiquette. t was thereforearticularlyhe dutyof the ruleras theone manwho representedis peoplebeforeHeaven to set themodelfor he restofmankind. herewas felt o be a certain irtue r power n

right onduct uchthat t could moveothers.The virtuous uler-that s,theone whodid the righthing-merely ybeingvirtuous ainedprestigeand nfluencever hepeople. nthiswayConfuciusndhisfollowersefinedan ethical asisfor heexercise fpolitical uthority.

THE EMPEROR S RELATIONS WITH THE BARBARIANS

By a logicalexpansion f this heory heemperor's irtuous ctionwasbelieved o attract rresistiblyhe barbarians ho were outside hepaleof

Chinese ivilization roper. The kings f formerimes ultivatedheirwnrefinementndvirtue n order o subduepersons t a distance,whereuponthebarbariansof theeast andnorth) ame toCourtto haveaudience." oreads n officialtatementftheMing period bout1530.3A centuryndahalf ater thefirstManchuedition f theCollectedStatutes ecords hat"When ourDynastyfirstrose, ts awe-inspiringirtue radually preadandbecame stablished.Wherevertsname nd nfluenceeached, herewasnonewho didnotcome toCourt."4

Thus therelationshipetween he emperornd thebarbarians ame tosymbolize heactualhistoricalelationshipetween hina as thecenter fculturend therudetribes oundabout.his relationshipas clearly ecog-nized andformed hetheoretical asis forthetributaryystem. he firsttenet f this heory-and his s an nterpretation-washat heuncultivatedalien, however rass and stupid, ould notbut appreciate he superiorityof Chinesecivilization ndwould naturallyeek to "come and be trans-

formed"lai-hua) nd so participaten tsbenefits.o do this t was chieflyessential hathe should ecognize heunique osition f theSon of Heaven,theOne Man who constitutedhe apex of the Chinese cheme f things.

I Fairbankand Teng, op. cit.,p. 141.4 Ibid., . 159.









This conformedith hefundamentalogma hat hinawasthe enterfthehumancene ndthat heemperor xercised hemandatef Heaventoruleallmankind,hinese nd barbarianlike.

Secondly,herelationshiphich hus nhered etween he uter arbarianandtheemperorwas by no meansunilateralnd ndeed ouldhardly xistexcept n a reciprocal asis. t was thefunctionf theemperor o be com-passionate ndgenerous. is "tender herishingf menfromfar" huai-jouyuan-jen) s one of thecliches n all documents n foreignelations. hehumble ubmissionf theforeignerame n direct esponse o the mperialbenevolence, hichwas itself signof thepotent mperial irtue.

TRIBUTE AS A FORM OF COURT RITUAL

Finally,t was unavoidablehat hese eciprocal elations fcompassionatebenevolence nd humble ubmissionhouldbe carried ut in ritualform,withoutwhich hey ouldhardly e said to exist.Tribute husbecame neoftherites f theCourt, part f the eremonialfgovernment.n fact hepresentationf tributewas not a ritemonopolized y barbarians. ribute(kung)was also received y theCourtfrom heprovinces fChinaproper.Itspresentationythebarbarians as a sign ftheir dmissionothe iviliza-

tionof the Middle Kingdom-a boon and a privilege, ot an ignominiousordeal.The formalitiesf thetributaryystem onstitutedmechanismywhich ormerlyarbarous egions utside he mpireweregiven heir laceinthe ll-embracinginocentricosmos.

Thiswill appearmost lainly rom n analysis f therules ndregulationsofthetributaryystem s publishedn thevarious ditions ftheCollectedStatutes.5irstof all the tributaryulerwho tendered is submission asincorporatedntothecharmed ircle f theChinese tatebyseveral orms.

An imperial atent f appointment as bestowed pon him-a documentwhich ecognized is status s a tributary. noblerankwas also conferreduponhim, ometimes,s with heMongolprinces, relativelyigh ank ncomparisonwith those of Chinese subjects.An imperial eal was alsogranted im, to be used in the signing f his tributary emorials. uchmemorials nd othercommunications ere to be dated by the Chinesedynastic eign-title-thats, the Chinese calendarwas extended verthetributarytate. A tributarynvoywho died within heMiddle Kingdom

received nusual onfucian onors: fimeralssay was recitedndburnedat his grave,where acrificial fferings eremade, nd later stonewasplaced above t with n imperial nscription.ven forthe burial fan at-

' Cf.regulationsranslatedn bid., p. 163-73.









tendantf themission,fhe diedat the apital, wooden offinndredsatinwere supplied.

REGULATIONS GOVERNING TRIBUTE MISSIONS

The tributemissions hemselves erecarefullyimitedn sizebut,withinthe imit, erewell providedor. he officersnd ervantsf mission erenot o exceed ne hundred en, fwhom nly wentymightoto the apitalwhile herestremained t theborder nder he are and ontheprovenanceof the ocal authorities. mission oming ysea should otconsist fmorethan hree hips, f one hundredmeneach. On theway to thecapital hemission eceivedtskeepandtransportation,he atter eing upplied y the

men, orses, oats, nd carts fthe mperial ostal ervice; hiswasreallyservice f transportnd communicationaintainedn eachprovince orm-perial seby a system fpostal allies.Atthe apital hemissionwaslodgedat theofficial esidence orTributary nvoys-a collectionfhostelries-where tatutoryailyamounts f silver, ice,orfodderwerepaidfromheimperial reasury or hemaintenancef men nd animals.When an envoyreturnedo the frontiere was escorted y a ceremonialsher.Bothgoingand coming e was accompanied y troopswho combined rotection ith

surveillance.In thecourt eremoniesherewas an exchange f courtesies.he tribute

missionwas entertainedt banquets, ot once but several imes, nd ban-queted lso in thepresence f theemperor, romwhom heymight eceivetea or evendelicacies f the table.On their artthe tributarynvoys er-formedhekotow.European articipantsere nclined o feel hat his ere-fnony more than made up for the imperial benevolence which filtered owntothem hroughhe ticky ands f their fficialupervisors.he kotow n

principles a knocking f theheadupontheground,n itself n act ofsur-render, utthe fullkotow s performedt courtwas a good deal more. tconsisted f three eparatekneelings,ach kneeling ccompanied y threeseparate rostrations,nd thewholeperformedt the tridentommand f alowly usher-"Kneel!", "Fall prostrate!",Rise to your knees!", Fallprostrate!",nd o on. An envoywent hroughhis alistheniceremony otonce butmany imes, ince t was thechiefmeansby whichhe repaid heimperial oard nd lodging nd his officialupervisors ere charged o seethat edid t before he mperor ith ccomplishedase. t was the ite boveallotherswhich eftno doubt, eastof all in themind f theperformer,s towhowas the uperiornd who the nferiorn status. et it should otbe for-gotten y egalitarian esternerswho nvariablyid forget) hat hekotow









was merely partof theuniversal rderof Confucian eremonywhichsymbolizedlltherelationshipsf ife.The emperorerformedhekotow oHeavenand tohisparents,hehighestfficialsfthe mpire erformedtto

theemperor,nd friends rdignitaries ight ven performtmutuallyoeach ther.From tributenvoyt was thereforeomore han oodmanners.

The tributetselfwas no gainto the mperialourt. t was supposed oconsist f native roduce, symbolic fferingfthe fruitsf thetributarycountry. Things that re not ocallyproducedre not to be presented.""Rareandstrangetemsmight e includedn it, iketheauspicious iraffeswhich were brought romAfrica n the earlyMing period as unicorns(ch'i-lin), mens f good fortune,7ut herewas little enefito the mperial

treasuryn anythinghat tributemissionmight ring.The value of thetributebjectswas certainly alanced,fnotout-weighed,ythe mperialgifts o thevariousmembers fthemission ndto thevassal ruler. he ex-pense f a missionwas not nconsiderable,ut he ourtwas repaidnkudos.Tributewas ordinarily resentedt thetimeof a great udience t NewYears, when hebureaucracyf all theempire aid reverenceo theSonofHeavenandwhen hedramaticubmissionf foreignands ouldmost ffec-tively einforcehe mperial restigewithin hinaproper.

WHAT MADE THE TRIBUTE SYSTEM WORK

Thisbrings s to the nterestinguestion, hatmade he ributaryystemwork?Whydid missions rom eighboringtates ometo theChinese ourtyearafteryear, entury fter entury? omethingmoretangiblehan heimperial irtuemust ie behind his mpressivend persistentnstitution.The questions essentially neof motive.Without constantncentivenboth ides, he ystem ouldneverhave functioneds it did.

The motivationf the court s not difficulto see. The ruler f Chinaclaimed hemandate f Heavento rule ll mankind.f the restof mankinddidnot acknowledge is rule,how long could he expectChinato do -so?Tributehadprestige alue n thegovernmentfChina,whereprestigewasanall-importantoolof government.

Morethan his, he ributaryystem as a diplomatic edium,hevehicleforChineseforeign elations.Whenever newruler scended hethronef

a tributarytate,he was required y the regulationso send an envoytoobtain n mperialmandate romheChinese ourt. y mperial ommand e

Ibid., p. 171.I J.J.L. Duyvendak,The true ates f theChinesemaritimexpeditionsn the arly ifteenth

century,"Tog pao, 4 (1939), 341-412.









was then ppointed uler f his country,nd the mperial atent fappoint-mentwas given o his envoy; after eceivinghisdocument,henewrulersent tributemission o ofer thanks or he mperialfavor.notherwords,

his regimewas recognized.n theFar Eastern cenethisrecognition,rperhapswe might ay "investiture,"y theMiddleKingdomwasprobablyattimes uite omparableo recognitionn Europebythe oncertfpowers.It might elp to establish claimant ponhis throne. recognizedassalmight ppeal n time fneed forChinesehelp, s did the king f Malaccaafter isousting ythePortuguesen 1511. Chinese nfluencebroadwasalso exerted hrough ersonal ontactwith ributaryulers, avhoometimescametocourt.n the ncient eriod hishad been chief orm fsubmission;

when thechieftain f theHsiung-nu isited heHan or whenthe king fthe Uigursor of Korea came to theMongol court, heyplacedthemselvesliterallynder he mperialontrol. n later eriods uch ctivityrewrare,althougheveral isits f kings f Malacca and suchplaces are recordedntheMingperiod, erhaps or he unket. ometimesheheir-apparentf atributarytatemight ppcar n a mission, n almost quallyuseful ustom.

THE FUNCTIONS OF CHINESE ENVOYS

Evenmore mportantas the raditionf sending hinese nvoys broad.ChangCh'ienv,howassent o the XWesternegions"n theyears138-126B.C. togainfor heHan an alliance gainst heHsiung-nuHuns), s only hemostfamous f theseenvoys.Even before hetimeof ChangCh'ien,thefirstmperorf the Han had sentLu Chia on an officialmission o NanYieh, theregion f Canton, ndnumerous nvoyswere ater entto dealwiththeHsiung-nufthenorthernteppe.Under heT'ang such n emissarywas called"an cnvoy o foreign ountries"ju-fan hih); under he Sung,"<Ian nvoywith statemessage" kuo-hsinhib).The Mongols n the ourseof their xpansion entofficersf this ort n all directions,o the UigursandJapan, ndtoAnnam. nd various ountries fsoutheasternsia. Thisdiplomaticctivitys ofcourse o be expected. t is unfortunatehat t hasnotbeen tudied ystematically.

One functionf these nvoyswas to confer he mperial eal and recogni-tionuponvassal rulers. lainly uch formalityouldbe two-facednd ofuse to Chinaas a merecover forpractical egotiations.nother unctionwas to make ondolingnquiries hen he ocal ruler ad sufferedbereave-ment r had himself ied. In 55 A.D. after he deathof the dangerousndtroublesomehieftain f the Hsiung-nu,he Han sent a lieutenant-general"cto o and offer ondolences,"nd t is furtherecordedhathe went"in









commandf an army."8 hus all types finternationalntercourse,ftheyoccurred tall in the xperiencef China,were fittednto he ributaryys-tem-spyingout the enemy, eeking llies, nd all mannerfnegotiations,

includinghethreatfforce.

TRIBUTE AS A DEFENSE MEASURE

At differentimes ributeerved ifferenturposes, nd the ystemouldbe usedbyChinafor efenseuite s much s for ggression.roadly peak-ing under he Sung t appears o have beenused mainly n thedefensive,while under he Mongols t servedforexpansionnd under he Ch'ing tpromotedtabilityn foreignffairs.n thefirst f theseperiods, ne of

weakness, t has been uggested hat he uzerain-vassalelationship as anisolationistevice, means f avoiding hedangers nherentn foreignela-tions nterms fequality.9n a sense his s the ecret fthewhole ystem,that utsidersould havecontactwithChinaonlyon China'sterms. hesetermswere neffecthat heoutsider hould cknowledgend nternto heChinese cheme fthings nd ust o that xtent ecome nnocuous.o Chinatried ogainpoliticalecurity rom er cceptedultural uperiority.ributewas a firsttep toward inicizing he barbariannd so absorbing imand

apparentlyhedogmaof superiority axedwhenChinagrew weak. Thisinterpretation,f supported y furtheresearch,may ndicate heperennialvalueofthe nstitutiono the on of Heaven.

Iftributead this bvious olitical aluefor heChinese ourt,whatwasits value tothebarbarian?id the ributariesubscribe otheChinese iewoftheir osition, r is thewhole great raditionartly n official hinesemyth, oistedwithgreat onsistencypontheemperor'subjects nd aterhistorians? hen we findhat ord Macartney,entbyGeorge II in 1793

todemand rade oncessions,s faithfullynshrinedn theChinese ecordssa tributarynvoy,what arewe to think f the precedingmillenniafso-called tributemissions?Why should an upstanding arbarian ome andkotow? he answer s partly,f ourse, hat e had ittle hoice n thematter,being obligedeither o acceptthe conditions f the gargantuanMiddleKingdom r stay away. Butthe unbrokenontinuityftributaryelationswithChinaargues or strongnd consistent otivationn theforeigner'spart s well as on that f the ourt, ndthismotivationeems learly o ie ntrade, o much o that hewhole nstitution,iewed from broad, ppearstohave beenan ingeniousehicle or ommerce.

S Cf. Ta Ming chi-li, h. 32, pp. 1-3, partially ranslated n Fairbank and Teng, op. cit.,p. 146.9 Cf. T. F. Tsiang, "China and European expansion,"Politica, (Mar., 1936), 3-4.









TRIBUTE AS A CLOAK FOR TRADE

That tribute as a cloak for rade as been xiomaticver incemerchantsfrom heRoman rient eached attigaran 166A.D. claimingo beenvoys f

MarcusAurelius. estimonyn the ubject bounds, articularlyegardingthesham mbassies f merchantsn theCentralAsiancaravan outes. heKansugovernor eportedn 1502 that herewere more han150self-styledrulers wang) tradingwithChinafrom he western egions ndtheJesuitBenedict e Goez who crossedCentralAsia a centuryater n 1604de-scribed ow the aravanmerchantsforge ublic ettersn thenames fthekingswhomtheyprofess o represent" nd "underpretensefbeing m-bassadors o andoffer ributeo theEmperor."10

So fundamentalas this ommercehat heregulationsor ributeevotea wholesection o it.1"Tributemissions rrivingt thefrontierormallyincludedmerchants,ither s privatendividualsr as agents f the ributaryruler, hooftenmonopolizedhe rade. hey brought ith hemommercialgoods whichtheywere allowed to sell to the Chinesemerchantst thefrontiermporium,r alternatively,heymight t their wnexpense ringthesegoodsdutyfree nthe train f theenvoy othecapital nd sellthemthere t a specialmarket etup at theResidence orTributary nvoys. hismarket astedfor hree r fivedays, according o theregulationsf 1690,and was carefullyuperintendedy officersf theBoardof Revenue. radeoutside ftheofficialmarket nd trade n certain ypes fgoodswerebothstrictly rohibited.he contrabandist ncludedworksofhistory,mple-mentsfwar, altpetre,nd opper nd ron-thingswhichmight eaken hedefense ftherealm.Meanwhile or ndependentoreign erchants hodidnot come n thetrain f an embassy herewereemporia n the frontier-

such s those orKorea on theManchurianrontier,ndfor hewestern reanearChengtu ndLanchowwhere herewere one or two markets year,each asting wentyays.These appear o havebeen imilar o themarket etup nthe ighteenthenturyt Maimaichen or he aravan radewithRussia.Forthemaritimeations hemarket as at Canton. oreignmerchantesselswere forbiddenocarry way contrabandoods,-rChinesepassengers,rrice ndgrain eyond heneeds f the hips. xportsn a tribute essel,how-ever,were exempt rom ustoms uty. n these erms hetributaryystem

was madeto coverforeignrade, s well as diplomacy.This sketch s ofcourse nly faint eflectionf theplethora f rules ndregulationsn the ubject ftributaryrade. onsideringheir xtent,nd he

10See FairbankndTeng,op.cit., . 139.11Ibid.,pp. 167-70.









extentfthe rade,tseems nomaloushat oreignrade ouldbeconsideredinChinese heoryo be subordinateotribute,ut o it was. It wasofficiallyregarded s a boongranted o thebarbarian,henecessarymeansto his

sharingn thebounty fChina, ndnothingmore.No doubt hisquixoticdoctrine eflectedhe nticommercialature f theChinese tate,where hemerchant as low in thesocialscaleandbeneath oth he farmerndthebureaucratho ived ff heproducefthe and. twasstrengthenederhapsbythe elf-sufficiencyftheempirewhichmade supplies nnecessaryromabroad.At allevents,t wasthe raditionhat oreignradewas anunworthyobjectforhighpolicy, nd thisdogma was steadily eiteratedn officialdocumentsown ntothenineteenthentury.Meanwhile oreignradede-

veloped nd grewever argerwithints ancient ributaryramework.

TRIBUTE VERSUS CHINESE MARITIME TRADE

This brings s to a paradoxnthehistory fmodern hina ndoneofthefundamentaleasons forthecollapse of the Confucian tate.Trade andtributen theConfucian iew werecognate spectsof a single ystem fforeignelations. he importanthing o therulers of hina was themoralvalueof tribute. he importanthing orthebarbarians as the material

valueoftrade. he rub amewhen heforeignrade xpanded ndfinallynsomecases eclipsedtribute ntirely, ithout hanging he officialmyth.Tribute ontinuedodominate hinese fficialhoughtfter rade adbegunto predominatenthe practice fChineseforeignelations.n themodemperiod heConfucian ureaucracyried o treat henew trading ations fthewest s mere ributaries.aturally hey ailed, eing ncapable fchang-ing their mmemorialheory o fit new situation. he paradox n thistragedyies nthefact hat henewsituation o which heChinesegovern-

ment ouldnotadjust tself ad beencreated argely y themaritimeradeofChinesemerchants.hira hadbeen fortoo longa continentalmpire,accustomed o relations cross a land frontier. er new maritimeelationscaughtherunprepared nd destroyed er ancientdefense, he tributarysystem.

Thisthesis s franklyninterpretation,n somerespects erhaps truism,andyet one which equires areful xamination.avingpresentedbove abriefnterpretationnd summary f the tributaryystem nd itsworkingwithoutny efforto explore hebewildering inutiaef theregulationstvariousperiods nd the nevitablenconsistenciesmong hem,et us nowturn o thetrend f foreign elations nder he Mingand Ch'ing dynasties(1368-1911).









THE CHENG HO EXPEDITIONS

The highpointof tributaryctivityn Chinacame early n theMingperiod.Between heyears1403 and 1433seven mperial xpeditions ere

dispatchednto hewaters f outheasternsia andthe ndianOcean.12 heywereunder hegeneral uperintendencefthe unuch hengHo and re saidtohave ncludeds many s 60 vessels nd 27,000men ta tixre.ome fortystateswere includedn theirpointsof call and most of them ent backenvoyswith theChinesefleets nd becameenrolled s tributaries.heseincluded ahang, elantan, nd Malacca on theMalay peninsula; alembang(ancient rivijaya), amudra, ambri modern chin), nd Aru nSumatra;Ceylon, Cochin,Chola, Calicut,and severalotherplaceson thesouthern

coastsof ndia;Barawa nd Mogadisho n the omali oastofAfrica;AdenandDjofar nArabia, nd the ancient ortof Hormuzon thePersianGulf.These distant laces of Africa ndArabiawerevisited ut few imes ndbyfewvessels,yet hefact emainshat epresentativesf theChinese ourttouched heren theearlyfifteenthentury, generationefore hePortu-guese ame nto he ndianOceanaround heCape.A party rom neChineseexpeditionven aw the ights fMecca.

To call theseChinesevoyages pectaculars an understatement,ut tis noteasy to comprehendheir bject r to understandhereason or heircomplete essationfter 43 . Professoruyvendak,'3he losest tudent ftheproblem,aspointedoutthattheyere hework fpalace unuchs, groupwhoseconsiderable ower depended pon the mperial avor,nd that heflow fvassalenvoys nd rareobjects, unicorns" giraffes)ndblackmenamong hem,waswell calculatedopleasethe mperial ancy. he cessationof thevoyageswas dictated, e suggests, artlyby their xpense,which

plainlymust avebeen onsiderable hen ne ncludes he argesse estoweduponprospectiveributaryulers o win them ver.No scholarhas as yetventured complete xplanation; heChinesehistorian'sraditionhat heywentto seek out a vanished laimant o the throne oes not giveus muchsatisfaction.he suggestion ow seems n order, hat hese fficial oyagescannot avebeen ntirely nconnected ith heprivate hinese radewhichwe knowhad beenexpanding or ome ime nto hewaters f southeasternAsia.This commercial ackgroundeserves ttention.

We know, irst f all, that ribute rom his rea did notbegin t the imeofChengHo. "Java" (perhaps hen umatra) enttribute s early s 132

12Thesehavebeen tudiedarticularlyyProfessorselliot ndDuyvendakn a series fmono-graphsnP'oung ao, spec.vols.30and34.

13See J.J. L. Duyvendak,The true ates .. ", op.cit., 95-99.









A.D.14 A regular nd extensivemaritimeradewithChina from he regionsofthe ndianOcean hadbegun t east s early s theT'ang period 618-906)under heaegis of theArabs, ndunder heSung t hadattained erycon-

siderable roportions. ongolfleets ad swept he eas of Java nd Malayain the timeof Kubilai'5 nd by theendof thefourteenthentury numberof states n Malaya had becomeregular ributariesf the Ming. They in-cludedJava,Bruneiin Borneo), ahang n theMalay peninsula,alembangandSamudranthe sland fSumatra, nd evenChola from heCoromandelcoast of ndia n 1372. t is patent hatChengHo after 403 was followingwell known ommercial aths.He was "exploring," orthe mostpart, heestablishedources f trade nd tribute ather han erra ncognita.

DECLINE OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN TRIBUTE

The striking act s, however, hat ribute rom outheast sia declinedafter he ime f ChengHo, although rade id not.This is most ignificant.In the arlyfifteenthenturyheofficial ing istof tributariesromwhichtributemissions erereceived ncluded apan, hePhilippinesLi-sung, .e.Manila), Cambodia,Java,Pahangon the Malay peninsula, nd Achin ndSamudra n the slandof Sumatra. ater, under he Ch'ing,none of these

placeswas listed s tributary."6ut n the 1818edition f theCh'ing tatutesthesevariousplaces,Japan, hePhilippines,nd the othersustmentioned,were isted n a special ection s "trading ountries" hu-shihhu-kuo),.e.countrieshat radedwithChina butdid not sendtribute. f course his sunderstandablen the cases of Japan, he Philippines,nd Java (Batavia),where heTokugawa h6gunate,pain, nd Holland respectivelyould noteasilybe consideredributaryalthough heDutchhad actually ent ributeas recently s 1794). But this classifications less logical n the case of

the small places of Malaya. The full ist of "trading ountries" n 1818was as follows:Chiang-k'ou i.e. Siam), Cambodia,Yin-tai-ma perhapsChantebun?),igor,Jaya Chiaya),Sungora, atani, rengganu, an-tan(?),Pahang, ohore, chin defineds the ame s Samudra, y error), u-sung(the Philippines),Mindanao, ndJava Batavia). Most of theseweresmall

"-C. S. Gardnern W. L. Langer, d., An encyclopediafworld istoryBoston, 940) p. 134.1iW. W. Rockhill,Notes nthe elationsnd rade fChina . . ", T'oungpao 5 1914),419-

47.

"IThe official h'ing istspublishedn thefive ditions f theCollected tatutes etween 690and 1899 ncluded nlyKorea, Turfan, iu-ch'iu,Holland,Annam, iam, the countriesf theWestern cean,Burma, aos, andSulu, ndnot ven ll of these t one time; hese ributariesftheManchuswerefewern number,lthought must e admittedhat heyweremore ubstantialpolitical ntitieshanwere ome f the mall slands ndout-of-the-wayrincipalitiesnduced yChengHo to become assals f theMing.









kingdoms nderpetty ultans, imilar o the statesof PahangandAchinwhichChengHo had enrolled s Ming tributaries.Whyeretheynotnowlisted s vassalsof theCh'ing?

GROWTH OF CHINESE TRADE

The answer lainly ies nthefact hat twas no longer heywhocametoChinabut heChinesewhowent o them. hinese radewith outheast siahaddeveloped ince hedaysofChengHo to thepointwhere hebarbarians,or the Arab traders f the region, o longer ame to Canton o obtain heproducts f theMiddleKingdom. nstead, hegreat unkfleets f Amoy ndCantonnowcarried hineseproduce nto ll parts f thearchipelago. he

listof "trading ountries"madeout n 1818really onstitutescatalogue ftheports fcall on the wo great oastal rading outes own heMalay pen-insula nd throughhePhilippines,espectively.ndeed t showsan almostone-to-oneorrespondenceith listof thetrading ountries ftheregionmadeby theBritish ounderfPenang bout 1788: Siam,Chantebon, hia,Sangora,Pattany, igore,Tringano, ahang,Jahore, nd others ncludingAcheen.'7

That Chinese unks had longbeen the local carriers f Malayantradehardly eems o require ocumentation,lthought is a much eglected ub-ject.ThePortugueset Malaccaafter 511 the panish t Manila fter 5 1,and theDutch at Batavia fter 619 had all found hinese radersmuch nevidence,nd t s not oomuch osay that he arly uropean radeneasternAsia was actually raftedntothe unk radewhich lready lourishedhereinChinese ands. he BritishndFrench ast ndia ompaniesppear ohavebeenwell aware of thedesirabilityf tapping his ocal commerce.Manila,indeed, ived upon t, the cargoesof the Acapulco galleons omingnotsomuchfrom he Philippines s from he vast storehouse f China, whithertheSpanish hemselves erenot llowed o go.'8 n short t seems ncontest-ablethat hemigrationf theChinese nto outheasternsia which as beenoneofthesignificanthenomenaf theninteenthnd twentiethenturiessmerely he aterphase of theChinesecommercial xpansionwhichbeganmuch arlier.

To thisearly maritime rade t would seem thatthe tributaryystem

had been on the wholesuccessfullypplied.The system ad developed ntheland foroperation crosseasily controllableand frontiers,nd every

17Letter fCapt.Francis ight n ournal fMalayan ranchf he .A.S.,16,part (July,938),123-26.

18 See W. L. Schurz, heManilagalleonNewYork,1939).









approach oChinafromhe ontinentalidehadofferedonvenientoints fcontroliketheJadeGate on thewestorShanhaikuann thenorth. ndertheCh'ingthemissions rom oreawererequired oenter ia Fenghuang-ch'eng ndShanhaikuan,hosefrom nnam ia P'ingyangrT'aip'ingfu nKwangsi, ndthosefrom urma ia Yungch'ang rT'engyueh nYunnan.19Overmaritimeributariessimilarontrol adbeen stablishedyrequiringmissions rom iu-ch'iu o enter nlyat Foochow, hosefrom uluonlyatAmoy, ndthosefrom iamonlyat Canton; the Dutch werereprimandedfor oming oFukiennsteadfKwangtung.he greaterolume fmaritimetrade ad edtothegrowth fforeignommunitiesnthe eaportsikethoseoftheArabsat Zayton ndCanton,butthese ommunitiesadbeenkeptunder ontrol hroughheir wnheadmen n their wn restricteduarter,andtradingperations ad beensupervisedyChineseofficials.o long astheforeignradersametothefrontierfChina,whether y andorbysea,tributaryormsouldbepreservedndtributemissionsouldbe sent othecapitaleither n the nitiative f acquisitivemerchantsr rulers r at theinstigationftheface-seekinghinesebureaucracy.

CHINESE TRADE AND THE DECLINE OF TRIBUTE

These observationsffer omesupport orthehypothesishat hefirstblow attheChinese ributaryystemwas struck otbytheEuropeanswhorefusedoaccept ributarytatusfter 500butbythe xpansionfChinesetrade venbeforehat ime.We know n a generalwaythat heArabswhohad once dominatedradebetweenChina and southeastAsia were sup-planted yChinesemerchants,hat raders rom hesoutheast ydegreesno longer ame to China,that heChinesewentto them.As thisforeign-carriedrade ried p,tributerobablyried pwith t.

Ifwelookat thegreat ifteenth-centuryoyages fChengHo inthis ight,perhapswe can regard hem s an efforto bring hesourcesofChinesemaritimeradeback nto heformaltructuref thetributaryystemo astomakethefacts fforeignrade quarewith hetheory hat ll places ncontactwithChinaweretributaryoher.Foreign lacescommunicatingyland, ike Samarkand,sfahan,Arabia,or theKingdom f Rum in AsiaMinor,wereenrolleds tributariesftheMingalthoughontactmusthavebeenextremelyenuous particularlyfter heKingdom fRum,forex-ample,hadceased toexist). Was itnot ogical oenroll imilarlyheplacescommunicatingy sea?Mixedmotives aturallymustbe assumed, utthisdesire opreserve hetraditionalystemmaywellhavebeenone ofthem.

19 See FairbankndTeng,op.cit., p. 174-76.

This content downloaded from 137.222.163.238 on Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:50:55 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions








Inany ase the ributaryystemraduallyeasedtooperate yseaalthoughit continuedodo so by land.Fromthe firstthad beena passive ystem,theMiddleKingdomwaiting or hebarbarianso approach,nd tcouldnot

bemaintained hen heChinesewere hemselvesctive.Bythebeginningfthenineteenthenturytsdemisewas officiallycknowledgednthe aseofthe "trading ountries" f southeastAsia whichtradedwithout endingtribute,ndwhichwere so recordedn theCollected tatutes f 1818.

THE TRIUMPH OF TRADE OVER TRIBUTE

The predominancef trade ver tributen theearlynineteenthenturymay lso beevidentn thefact hat henumberf recordedributemissions

showed a decided ncrease.20From 1662 to 1761 the totalof recordedembassieswas about 16. Inthefollowingentury rom 762to 1861 t wasabout255. This increasemustbe examined s a possible ndexofgreatercommercialctivity aking heform ftributemissions. he statutoryre-quencyof thesemissionswas as follows:fromKorea annually, iu-ch'iueverytwoyears,Annam very hree, ix,or fouryears the regulationschanged), iamevery hreeyears, ulu everyfiveyears,Laos andBurmaevery enyears,Holland very ight nd ater very ive ears, heWestern

Ocean (Portugal, tc.) indefinite.ow did this quarewithpractice?Withperhaps coupleof exceptions,orea sent ribute veryyear teadily ntil1874 nd omaybe left utofaccount. ribute rom iu-ch'iuwas recordedinsome 70 years ut of the 144 yearsfrom 662 through 805,that s,onthe verage lmost xactly s required ystatute. ut nthenext54yearsfrom 806 to 1859, ribute rom iu-ch'iunstead f beingbiennialwas re-corded 5 times, n the verage n five utofevery ix years!This isdoublysignificanthenwe rememberhat heLiu-ch'iuslands,nthemselvesn-

important,erved s an entrepotor rade etween apan ndKorea on theonehand ndChinaon the ther,nthis eriod efore ither apan r Koreawereopen toforeignrade.Tribute romAnnamwas recorded5 timesnthe 200yearsfrom 662 to 1861, omewhatess than n average f oneinfour ears,which grees airly ell with he hiftingegulationsorAnnam.Therewas nosignificantncrease. iamwas recordeds sendingributenly11times nthe115 yearsfrom 662 to 1776, n average faboutone yearinten nstead fone n three s required y statute. ut n thenext 7 yearsfrom 777through 853,Siamesemissionswere recorded 8 times, n theaverage veryotheryear,andhalf gain as frequentlys theregulationsprescribed!ere again ignificances addedbythefact hat iamese ribute

21See ibid., p. 193-98, able5.









camebysea along hemain oastalroute onnectingantonwith outheastAsia and theStraits. ributefrom urma ameonly 3 timesbefore 788;fromhen ntil1853 t came13 times, n average f oncein fiveyears n-

steadof once n tenyears s prescribed.ributefrom aos came 17 timesbetween1730 and 1853, averaging omewhat etter hanthe statutorydecade.Sulu s recordednly 7 times, etween 726and 1754andmaybeleft utofaccount.

Fromthesedata thefact tands ut that ributemissions oming ysea,from iu-ch'iu nd from iam, ncreased emarkablyn thehalfcenturybeginningbout 1800.Theybecamedecidedlymorefrequenthan equiredby statute ndpending urthernvestigatione mustsupposethattheir

motivation as commercial. amnotaware of political r other ircum-stancesikely o haveproduced herecordedncrease factivity.

As faras it goes,thisevidence endsstrongupport o thetheory hattributemissions unctionedhieflys a vehicle or rade.Whether he om-mercial rofits eregained y the ributaryulers ndtheirmerchantsrbyChinesemerchantsnd officialsemains o be investigated.t least n thecase ofSiamthemissionsameovera route ominated y theChinese unktrade.The arrival f thistributet theChinese ourtwas thereforen ill

omen, signof therising ideof maritimeradeconducted y Chinesemerchants, ith hehelpofwhich hemerchantsfthewestwereabouttoburst hedikeof the ributaryystem nd nvade heMiddleKingdom.t isa fascinatinguestionwhetherhe ourtwas not, nthe ontrary,ulledntoa false ense fsecurity ythis ncreased arbarianubmissiveness.ossiblythisprostitutionfthetributaryystem or ommercialnds erved o con-firmheChinese deaof uperiorityustwhen twasmost rgentlyecessarytogetrid of t.

EUROPEANS AND THE TRIBUTARY SYSTEM

The problem f theEuropeansn thetributaryystemmustbe viewedagainst his arger ackground.erhaps hemost mazing hing bouttheEuropeanmenace s thefact hat t was not at firstlearlyrecognized.nthe atter aysof theMing,MatteoRicciandhisJesuitolleagues ad nter-ested heConfucianiterati ithmaps ftheworld howingtrangeountriestothewest, ndmany fRicci'stransliterationsftheseplacenameshave

survived n modern hineseusage. But thisnew knowledge resentedoChinese cholarlyircles ntheperiod bout1600didnot urviveong, ratleast did notretaintssignificance,fter heestablishmentf theManchudynastynd twasgenerallyisregardeduringhe ighteenthentury.his









is one of thepuzzlesof Chinese ntellectualistory,nd without enturingupon n explanationt maybe strikinglyllustrated.

CHINESE IGNORANCE OF EUROPEAN GEOGRAPHY

The countriesftheWesternOceanwere rretrievablyonfused ith neanotherven ntheofficialublicationsfthe mperial overnment. rommedieval uropevia theArabshad come he erm o-lang-chi,translitera-tion orFranks,heEuropeansntheNear East atthe ime f theCrusades.WhenthePortugueseppeared ysea after 500 heywere hereforedenti-ficd s Fo-lang-chi,nd this ermwas also applied othe panish fter heirarrivalnthePhilippines;incePortugalwas under panish ulefrom 580

to 1640, his onfusion asnodoubt nescapable. he arrival f theFrenchcreated furthererminologicalnigmaby thesimilarityf France andFranks.Time and againFa-lan-hsi, o-lang-hsi,u-lang-hsi nd similartransliterationsorFrancewereperspicaciouslydentifiedy Chinese chol-arswith o-lang-chi,hePortuguese-Spanish.eanwhilehe erm an-ssu-laforCastilla, heSpanish, ad also been pplied o thePortuguese;ndtwotributemissions entby the kingof Portugal n 1670 and 1727hadbeenrecordedn official orks s fromhetwo separate ountries fPo-erh-tu-

chia-li-yandPo-erh-tu-ka-erh,espectively.ut nthemeantimeheJesuitmissionariesn China had identifiedhemselves s comingfrom taly,I-ta-li-ya,nd yet by their seofthePortugueseettlementt Macao as aportof entry heyhadbecome ssociatedwithPortugal. onsequentlyslate s 1844 hename -ta-li-ya asbeing pplied othePortugueset Macao,andwhen genuinetalian urnedp n1848hiscountryhado beidentifiedas I-ta-li,nentirelyew andseparateountryrom-ta-li-ya.herewerealso otherways ofreferringo Portugaln addition o the five ustmen-

tioned. twouldhave aken strongmind o dentifyo-lang-chi,an-ssu-Ia,Po-erh-tu-chia-li-ya,o-erh-tu-ka-erh,nd I-ta-li-yas all referringothesamesmallwesternountry.

Confusion as notconfinedo thebooks.Just s Chinese,Japanese,ndKoreans ook much he ametothewesternman n the treet,o thewest-erners n China s in Japanwere ndistinguishablentheir ommon utland-ishness. he colloquial ermHung-mao-fan,Red-hairedarbariansor for-eigners),"was applied o both heDutch nd theEnglish, hoseblueeyes,redcomplexions,eaknoses, nd tawny airmade hem ll indiscriminatelyexotic.

SinceRicci's map of the world had not gainedacceptance,he native21 See sourcesitedn bid., 32-33.









habitat f these uropeans emainedhadowy. hey all arrived y sea fromthe outhwestnd theCollected tatutes f 1818 thereforepined hat heirlocationwas "in thesouthwesternea," the ame as Siam,Sungora, igor,

Patani,Johore nd way stations n therouteto theStraits.One of thePortugalsKan-ssu-la, astilla), however,was in thenorthwesternea, aswerealso Sweden ndDenmark. he exact ocation f theWesternOcean(Hsi-yang)was a bithazy, ince he erm ad originallyeen pplied othewaterswest ofBorneo nd into the ndianOcean on theancientwesterntraderoute.This wentdownthe ndo-Chinese-Malayanoast and was dis-tinguished rom he eastern outethroughhe Philippinesnd Moluccas.When theearlyEuropeans sed the termWesternOcean to refer o the

Atlantic t was not llogicallybjected hat he WesternOcean, as knowntotheChinese,had been ailedthrough romnd to end by theexpeditionsunderChengHo withoutnyonenoting traceof Europe.A compromisewas finally orked ut byreferringo the ndianOcean as theLittleWest-ernOcean,Hsiao-hsi-yang,hile theAtlantic ecame he GreatWesternOcean,Ta-hsi-yang.a-hsi-yang,ncidentally,as anotherfthenames fPortugal2

The relations etween heseminiscule ingdomsn thewestern ea were

naturally ifficulto keep straight,articularly hen theywere not toopermanentn actual factand weredifferentlyescribed y the patrioticmembers f each nationality hen theyvisitedChineseports.An officialwork ompiledn the1750'sunder hedirectionfthehighest fficialsftheempire, orexample, n describing hevariousbarbariansllustratedn itspages madethese tatements:hat weden nd Englandwere dependenciesofHolland; thatSwedenGui) and England Ying-chi-li)were shortenednamesforHolland (Ho-lan); thatFrancewas the same as Portugal; hatI-ta-li-yainstead fHolland) hadpresented ributen 1667, and that hePope himselfame to do so in 1725. These deviations rom rutheemtorepresenthe verage egree f error n theminds fChinese fficialsftheperiod. How long thisconfusion ersistedwas strikinglyhownby theImperialCommissionerh'i-ying n November f 1844 just afterhe hadnegotiated he treaties,withBritain, heUnitedStates, nd FrancewhichopenedChina to the west.No one in China shouldhave been better n-formed

hen e about hebarbarians. e explained o the mperorhat rance(Fo-lan-hsi)was the ame s theFo-lang-chiPortugal) ftheMing period;

22 Ibid., pp. 187, 232. For a pertinent iscussionof the reasons for the failureof Ricci's map togain acceptancesee KennethCh'en, "Matteo Ricci's contribution o and influence n geographicalknowledge n China," JAOS, 59 (Sept., 1939), 325-59, speciallypp. 347 etseq.









that nder he nfluencef MatteoRicci, hegreat esuitheFrench adbeeninduced o give up Macao to the Portuguese,ven though rancewas tentimes s strong.23rance, fcourse, adnever eldMacao. Thiswhole ock-

and-bull tory robablyllustrateshePaulBunyan uality aken n by thelegend fMatteoRicci,whohad already ecome he utelaryeity fclocks(li-ma-tou p'u-sa).

UNPREPAREDNESS FOR THE WESTERN INVASION

The vagueness ftheConfucianmind egardingheWest was no doubtproduct f ack of nterestnd ackofcontact ombined ithdistaste. ut-land merchantsn the fringefthe empirewere heard fmore han een,

printedources f nformationegardinghemwere few ndout of date; asmerchantsheywere beneath ttention,nd as barbarians ith powerfularms heywerepleasant oforgetbout ntirely.he WesternersnChinahad neverbeen many nd in the eighteenthentury heywereeffectivelyquarantined. he decadent art-half-casteommunityfMacao remainedwalled ff n tspeninsula,he Thirteen actories" tCantonwereoutsidethecitywalls,fromwhich oreignersere excluded. fter heearly ight-eenth entury oreign radewas notallowedat otherports.Moreover he

trading ommunityt Cantonwas not onlyquarantinedut nsulated. llforeignntercourse ith heChinese uthorities as mediatedhroughheofficialradingmonopolists,hehongmerchants,nd the warm f inguists,compradores,ndshroffs hospecializedwith hem n theconduct f bar-barian elations. his special lass of functionariesas nota literate lass,and t intervenedetween heforeignersnd thescholar-bureaucratsftheimperial dministration.here was thereforeo one in a positiono writeintelligiblyboutthe west. n fact, he use of pidgin nglish s the chief

medium or xchange f deasmade t rather ifficult,o to speak, o makeeany China-manavvy.

The European ribute mbassieswhichpenetratedheveil of Chineseexclusiveness ere relatively ewand farbetween.After he firstbortivePortuguese mbassy f 1520-21therewere onlyabout eventeenWesternmissions,o far s we now know,which otas far s an audiencewith heemperor.24hey all occurredntheyearsbetween 655 and 1795, ndsixofthemwere from ussia, n Asiaticpower n a somewhat ifferentate-

gory from he maritimeWest. There were fourfrom ortugal,fter hefirstne; three or perhaps our) rom olland; three romhePapacy; and

23 bid., p. 189-90.24 Ibid., pp. 188-89, table.









one from ritain nderMacartneyn 1793. All butthe astappear o haveperformedhekotow. The secondBritish mbassador, ord Amherst,n1816 failed o obtain udience.)Of thesevarious mbassies nly four c-

curred fter 727 and the ast one,that f the Dutch n 1795,fitperfectlyintothetraditionalributaryystem.25he established rderwas not chal-lenged y this ontact.

The only otherwesternontact side from radewas thatof theJesuitmissionaries,ut after1725 theirdefeat n the ritescontroversynd theimperial enial f papalclaimshadmade hemmpotentt court,ongbeforetheir issolutionn Europe n 1773. The Lazaristswho succeeded hem tPekingnthe ate ighteenthentury erenotnfluentialndthe ewCatholic

priestswhoperseveredn theprovinces eached nly smallgroup.

SUMMARY

In thiswaytheChinese tate f theearlynineteenthentury as leftn-tellectuallynpreparedgainstthe commercialnvasionfrom he West.First,Chinesenative radehad expandednto southeasternsia and thetributaryystem ad notmanagedokeepupwith t.Thereuponommercefrom heWesthad begun o flownto hese hannelsf native rade; here-

sultingncrease fcommercialctivityntheFar East had edtoan increaseafter 750 nthe endingf tributary issions oChina.Thus thenew west-erntradewithAsia indirectlytimulatedheold-styleributaryctivityfcountriesike Liu-ch'iu nd Siam,and thisstrengtheningf the ancienttributaryorms,hrough hichforeign ontact ontinuedo be mediated,left hescholar-officialsfChina ntellectuallylind o their anger. hisinterpretationeserves ctivetesting mong he voluminousourcesnowavailable.6

25 This Dutch embassy has been carefullystudied by Prof. Duyvendak, "The last Dutch em-bassy . . . ", T'oungpao, 34 (1938), 1-137, 223-27; 35 (1940), 329-53.

26 See Fairbankand Teng, op. cit., pp. 206-19 for a list of some 35 Ch'ing works on maritimerelationswhich await furthertudy.

Documents

1942 Tributary Trade and China's Relations With the West