Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T12:12:24.745Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6 - Han foreign relations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

By
Yü Ying-Shih
Edited by
Denis Twitchett  and
Michael Loewe
Yü Ying-Shih
Affiliation:
Yale University
Get access

Summary

THE WORLD ORDER OF HAN CHINA: THEORY AND PRACTICE

In 219 B.C. the First Emperor of Ch'in decided to glorify the crowning success of his imperial career by erecting a number of inscribed stone monuments in various places on the east coast along the route of his first imperial tour of inspection. In one of the stone inscriptions (in Lang-yeh, modern Shantung) the emperor expressed his profound gratification that he had unified the entire civilized world known to the Chinese of the day. But the inscription was after all a public document, written with every intention to arouse the sense of solidarity of the newly unified empire. It therefore cannot be taken as representing the First Emperor's geographical conception of the world. Under the influence of the geographical speculation of Tsou Yen (305–240? B.C.), the First Emperor shared the belief with other rulers of the Warring States period that there were lands beyond the seas where “immortality drugs” could be obtained. In fact, it was also in 219 B.C. that the First Emperor sent Hsu Fu Shih (also called Hsu Fu) to sea in search of the fabled islands known as P'eng-lai, Fang-chang, and Ying-chou.

Tsou Yen's theory

According to Tsou Yen's theory, there are nine large continents (ta chiuchou) in the world, and each is further divided into nine regions. The nine continents are separated from one another by vast oceans, and the nine regions of each continent are also separated from one another by a circling sea. China, known as the Spiritual Continent of the Red Region (ch'ih-hsien shen-chou), constitutes but one of the nine regions of a large continent.

Keywords

Han dynastyHu-han-yehHsiung-nuforeign relationswu-fu theory
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of China , pp. 377 - 462
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ōba, Osamu. Shin Gi Wa Ō. Tokyo: Gakuseisha, 1971.
Abe, Takeo. Chūgokujin no tenka kannen. Kyoto: Dōshisha Univ., 1956.
Aurousseau, Léonard. “La première conquêtc chinoise des pays annamites (Ille siède avant notre ère).” Bulletin de I'École française d'Extrême Orient, 23 (1923).Google Scholar
Bielenstein, Hans. The bureaucracy of Han times. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1980. [abbreviation: Bureaucracy]
Bielenstein, Hans. “The Chinese colonization of Fukien until the end of T'ang.” In Studia Serica Bernhard Karlgren dedicata, eds. Egerod, Søren and Glahn, Else. Copenhagen: Ejnar Munksgaard, 1959.Google Scholar
Bielenstein, Hans. The restoration of the Han dynasty. 4 vols. Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, 26 (1954) ; 31 (1959) ; 39 (1967). ; 51 (1979). [abbreviation: Restoration]Google Scholar
Boulnois, L. The Silk Road, trans. Chamberlin, Dennis. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1966.
Bunker, Emma C. “The Tien culture and some aspects of its relationship to the Dong-son culture.” In Early Chinese art and its possible influence in the Pacific basin, ed. Barnard, Noel. Authorized Taiwan edition, 1974.Google Scholar
Ch'i, Ssu-ho “Hsiung-nu hsi-ch'ien chi ch'i tsai Ou-chou ti huo-tung’. Li-shih yen-chiu, 1977.3.Google Scholar
Chang, Wei-hua. Lun Han Wu-ti. Shanghai: Jen-min Ch'upan she, 1957.
Chavannes, Édouard. Les Mémoires Historiques de Se-Ma Ts'ien. Vol. I–V. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1895–1905; rpt. Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1969. Vol. VI. Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1969. [abbreviation: Mémoires historiques (see Chavannes, )]Google Scholar
de Crespigny, Rafe. The last of the Han: being the chronicle of the years 181–220 A.D. as recorded in chapters 58–68 of the Tzu-chih t'ung-chien of Ssu-ma Kuang. Canberra: Australian National Univ. Press, 1969. [abbreviation: Last of the Han]
Dubs, Homer H. The History of the Former Han dynasty. 3 vols. Baltimore: Waverly Press, 1938–55. [abbreviation: HFHD]
Eberhard, Wolfram. Lokalkulturen im alten China. Vol. I. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1942; Vol. II. Peking: Catholic Univ. of Peking, 1942. English translation of Vol. II. The local cultures of south and east China, trans. Eberhard, A.. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968. [abbreviation: Lokalkulturen]Google Scholar
Fung, Yu-lan. A history of Chinese philosophy, trans. Bodde, Derk. 2 vols. London: George Allen and Unwin; Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1952. Translation of Yu-lan, Feng. Chung-kuo che-hsüeh shih. 2 vols. Ch'ang-sha: Shang-wu Yin-shu-kuan, 1934.
Gardiner, K. H. J. The early history of Korea. Canberra: Australian National Univ. Press, 1969. [abbreviation: Early Korea]
Gardiner, K. H. J., and Crespigny, R. R. C.. “Tan-shih-huai and the Hsien-pi tribes of the second century A.D.” Papers on Far Eastern History (Canberra), 15 (1977).Google Scholar
Haloun, G. “The Liang-chou rebellion 184–221 A.D.” Asia Major (new series), NS 1: 1 (1949).Google Scholar
Harada, Yoshito, and Kingo, Tazawa. Rakurō: A report on the excavation of Wang Hsü's tomb in the “Lo-lang” province, an ancient Chinese colony in Korea. Tokyo: Tōkō-shoin, 1930.
Hervouet, Yves. Le Chapitre 117 du Che-ki (Biographie de Sseu-ma Siang-jou); traduction avec notes. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1972.
Hervouet, Yves. Un poète de cour sous les Han: Sseu-ma Siang-jou. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1964. [abbreviation: Un poète de cour]
Hsiao, Chih-hsing. “Shih shih ‘Han kuei-i Ch'iang chang’ yin”. Wenwu (formerly Wen-tuu ts'an-k'ao tzu-liao), 1976.7.Google Scholar
Hsieh, Chien. “Hsiung-nu cheng-chih chih-tu ti yen-chiu”. Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 41: 2 (June 1969).Google Scholar
Hu, Chao-hsi. “Lun Han Chin ti Ti-Ch'iang ho Sui-T'ang i-hou ti Ch'iang tsu” Li-shih yen-chiu, 1963.2.Google Scholar
Hulsewé, A. F. P. China in Central Asia: The early stage 125 B.C.–A.D. 23, with an introduction by M. A. N. Loewe. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1979. [abbreviation: China in central Asia (see Hulsewé, )]
Hulsewé, A. F. P. “The problem of the authenticity of Shih-chi ch. 123, the memoir on Ta Yüan.” T'oung Pao, 61: (1975).Google Scholar
Hulsewé, A. F. P. “Quelques considérations sur le commerce de la soie au temps de la dynastie des Han.” In Mélanges de Sinologie offerts à Monsieur P. Demiéville. Bibliothèque de l'Institut des Hautes Études Chinoises, Vol. XX. Paris: Bibliothèque de l'Institut des Hautes Études Chinoises, 1974, Vol. II. [abbreviation: “Quelques considérations”]Google Scholar
Hulsewé, A. F. P. Remnants of Han law. Vol. I. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1955. [abbreviation: Remnants]
Ikeuchi, kō. Mansen shi kinkyū: Jōsei hen:. Kyoto: Sokokusha, 1951.
Ishiguro, Tomio. “Senbi yūboku kokka no ryōiki”. Hokudai shigaku, 4 (October 1957).Google Scholar
Kai, Shan-lin. Ho-lin-ko-erh Han-mu pi-hua. Hu-ho-hao-t'e, Inner Mongolia: Nei Meng-ku Jen-min Ch'u-pan-she, 1978.
Kamada, Shigeo. Shin Kan seiji seido no kinkyū. Tokyo: Nihon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai, 1962.
Karlgren, Bernhard. “The Book of documents.” Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, 22 (1950).Google Scholar
Ku, Chieh-kang. Shih-lin tsa-shih. Peking: Chung-hua Shu-chü, 1963.
Kubo, Yasuhiko. “Boki kōi setchi no mokuteki ni tsuite” Shien, 26: (January 1966).Google Scholar
Lü, Ssu-mien. Yen shih cha-chi. Shanghai: Shang-wu Ch'ien-yin-pen (Kuang-hua Ta-hsüeh Ts'ung-shu), 1937.
Li, Shao-ming. “Kuan-yü Ch'iang-tsu ku-tai-shih ti chi ko wen-t'i”. Li-shih yen-chiu, 1963.5.Google Scholar
Loewe, Michael. “The campaigns of Han Wu-ti.” In Chinese ways in warfare, eds. Kierman, Frank A. Jr., and Fairbank, John K.. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1974. [abbreviation: “Campaigns of Han Wu-ti”]Google Scholar
Loewe, Michael. Crisis and conflict in Han China. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1974. [abbreviation Crisis and conflict]
Loewe, Michael. Records of Han administration. 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1967. [abbreviation: Records]
Ma, Ch'ang-shou. Pei-Ti yü Hsiung-nu. Peking: Sheng-huo, Tu-shu, Hsin-chih San-lien Shu-tien, 1962.
Ma, Ch'ang-shou. Wu-huan yü Hsien-pi. Shanghai: Jen-min Ch'upan-she, 1962.
Maspero, Henri, “Études d'histoire d'Annam: V. L'expédition de Ma Yuan.” Bulletin de I'École française d'Extrême Orient, 18: 3 (1918).Google Scholar
McGovern, William Montgomery. The early empires of Central Asia: A. study of the Scythians and the Huns and the part they played in world history, with special reference to the Chinese sources. Chapel Hill, N. C.: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1939.
Miller, J. Innes. The spice trade of the Roman Empire, 29 B.C. to A.D. 641. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.
Mori, Masao. “Kyōdo no kokka”. Shigaku zasshi, 59: 5 (May 1950).Google Scholar
Needham, Joseph, et al. Science and civilisation in China. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1954–. [abbreviation: SCC, or Science and civilisation]
Oba, Tsunekichi, and Kamejirō, Kayamoto Rakurō Ō Kō bo. The tomb of Wang Kuang of Lo-lang. Keijō (Seoul): Society for the Study of Korean Antiquities, 1935.
Rudenko, S. I. Die Kultur der Hsiung-nu und die Hügelgrāber von Noin Ula, trans. from the Russian by Pollems, Helmut. Bonn: Rudolf Habelt Verlag, 1969.
Swann, Nancy Lee. Food and money in ancient China. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1950.
Tezuka, Takayoshi. “Kyōdo bokkō shiron”. Shien, 31: 2 (March 1971)..Google Scholar
Tezuka, Takayoshi. “Kyōdo Zen'u sōzoku kō” Shien, 20: 2 (December 1959).Google Scholar
Tezuka, Takayoshi. “Minami Kyōdo no ‘koko’ to ‘shinkō’ to ni tsuite”. Shien, 27: 1 (June 1966).Google Scholar
Tezuka, Takayoshi. “Nitchiku ō Hi no dokuritsu to minami Kyōdo no Zen'u keishō ni tsuite”. Shien, 25: 2 (November 1964).Google Scholar
Tezuka, Takayoshi. “Kan sho Kyōdo to no washin jōyaku ni kansuru ni san no mondai”. Shien, 12: 2 (1938).Google Scholar
Uchida, Gimpu. “Ugan-zoku ni kansuru kenkyū”. Man-Mō shi ronsō, 4 (1943).Google Scholar
Waley, Arthur. The life and times of Po Chü-i, 772–846 A.D. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1949.
Wang, Chung-shu. “Shuo Tien wang chih yin yü Han wo-nu-kuo wang yin”. Kaogu (formerly K'ao-ku t'ung-hs¨n), 1959.10.Google Scholar
Wang, Ning-sheng. “Han-Chin Hsi-yu yü tsu-kuo wen-ming”. Kaogu xuebao (K'ao-ku hsüeh-pao), 1977.1.Google Scholar
Wang, Ning-sheng. Yün-nan k'ao-ku. K'un-ming: Yün-nan Jen-min Ch'u-pan-she, 1980.
Watson, Burton. Records of the Grand Historian of China: Translated from the Shih–chi of Ssu–ma Ch'ien. 2 vols. New York and London: Columbia Univ. Press, 1961. [abbreviation: Records]
Wheatley, Paul. The golden KJiersonese: Studies in the historical geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500. Kuala Lumpur: Univ. of Malaya Press, 1961.
Wiens, Herold J. China's march toward the tropics. Hamden: The Shoestring Press, 1954.
Yü, Ying-shih. Trade and expansion in Han China: A study in the structure of Sino-barbarian economic relations Berkeley and Los Angeles: Univ. of California Press, 1967. [abbreviation: Trade and expansion]
Yün-nan, sheng po-wu-kuan. Yūn-nan Chin-ning Shih-chai-shan kumu-ch'ūn fa-chūeh pao-kao 2 vols. Peking: Wen-wu ch' u-pan-she, 1959.
Yang, Lien-sheng. “Historical notes on the Chinese world order.” In The Chinese world order: Traditional China's foreign relations, ed. Fairbank, John K.. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1968.Google Scholar
Yang, Lien-sheng. “Hostages in Chinese history.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 15 (1952). References are to the reprint, in his Studies in Chinese institutional history. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1961.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×