Since the Shang Dynasty, China has been one of the most powerful countries in the world. Southeast Asia, the southern part of China, has developed very slowly due to the limitations of the natural environment, and has not formed a strong centralized state for a long time. However, the southern part of China's border line advanced to the location of the tropical rainforest and stopped. China's territorial expansion has mainly developed from the northeast, northwest, and Qinghai-Tibet, but the promotion in Southeast Asia has been difficult and repeated.
In the pre-Qin period, Chinese civilization developed mainly in the Yellow River Basin, while the Yangtze River Basin, the Pearl River Basin, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin were beyond the reach of the whip. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the infestation of Chinese civilization, the Southern Wuyue and Chu States were gradually incorporated into the Zhuxia. The expansion of the Chu and Qin states extended the territory of China to the Yangtze River Basin. After the unification of the Qin Dynasty, the Southern Expedition to Baiyue included the Pearl River Basin in its territory for the first time.
The Han Dynasty further advanced on the basis of the Qin Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he destroyed the Eastern Ou of South Vietnam, reunified the land of Baiyue, and incorporated Jiaotong and Hainan Island into the territory. In the southwest region, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty conquered the Fang states of Yelang and the State of Dian and set up counties, which was also the first time in history. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yongchang Commandery was set up in the Ailao Prison, marking the incorporation of western Yunnan into the territory of China.
However, since the Qin and Han dynasties opened up in the south, China has basically stagnated in the south, and even the boundaries have retreated. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the central government in Yungui's rule existed in name only, and indigenous surnames arose, which was the source of later toast. In the Tang Dynasty, the Nanzhao state arose, and Yunnan was not included in the territory of the central dynasty for 600 years. During the Five Dynasties period, the Song Dynasty failed to unify, and Vietnam moved towards independence. This was a major retreat of the Chinese border in the south.
During the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, China's southern borders stabilized and made great achievements. During the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, Dali was destroyed and Yunnan Province was established, eliminating this 600-year-old separatist force. Since then, the Yuan Dynasty has launched a full-scale attack on Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, Java, Champa And Ryukyu, etc., causing Southeast Asian countries to pay tribute. During Kublai Khan's time, the Yuan dynasty established provinces in Burma, and its territory was pushed to the coast of the Indian Ocean. After reunification, the Yuan Dynasty set up 27 astronomical survey stations throughout the country, of which the southernmost South China Sea shadow station was located in the Paracel Islands.
However, the Yuan Dynasty did not eliminate the Tusi forces in the southwest region, and this task could only be entrusted to the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Ming Dynasty, Sizhou and Bozhou Toast were extinguished, Guizhou Province was set up, and large-scale migration to Yungui began to "change the land and return to the stream". The Ming Dynasty's advance in the south was also remarkable. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it inherited the Yuan Dynasty's toast in Burma, forming the "Three Xuan and Six Comforts"; during the Yongle Emperor period, he actively advanced southward, recovered Vietnam, and set up the Jiaotong Cloth Envoy Department; sent Zheng He to the West to carry out overseas canonization and combat piracy, and extended his influence to the whole of Southeast Asia. At its strongest, it was also crowned the "Old Port Propaganda and Consolation Division" in the Malacca area. In the early Ming Dynasty, almost all of the South China Sea Islands were incorporated into China's territory, such as the establishment of barracks in the Natuna Islands to supply Zheng He's fleet.
However, since the death of the Yongle Emperor, the Ming Dynasty has begun to retreat significantly. First, the Envoy Department was abandoned and Vietnam was restored; after that, the activities to the West were stopped, and many of the sea islands were abandoned, and later gradually occupied by Western colonists. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Western colonists controlled the Strait of Malacca and occupied Macau. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Burma had captured all of Yunnan's Waiyi Tusi Yamen, and the Dutch had also occupied the island of Taiwan. China's maritime situation has deteriorated dramatically.
Compare with the proportions of yuanming provinces
During the Qing Dynasty, it continued to implement the "land reform and return to the stream" in Yungui, consolidating the achievements of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. In the war with Burma, individual toasts lost by the Ming Dynasty were recovered, forcing Burma to submit. Although the Qing Dynasty failed to wage an all-out war against Southeast Asia like the Yuan Dynasty, it also forced countries to pay tribute, and vietnam and other countries became its vassal states. In the southeast, the Qing Dynasty pacified Taiwan and established Taiwan Province. But in the later period, the Western powers came east, turning Southeast Asia except Thailand into colonies, China's southern borders retreated slightly, and Vietnam also broke away from the vassal system.
Taken together, from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, China's southern border line has not changed much. Compared with the Han Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty did not have Vietnam, but more Taiwan. Therefore, China's advance in the south in 2000 was basically a failure. Why this phenomenon occurs.
First of all, the geographical environment of Southeast Asia is very different from that of China. China's Yangtze, Yellow and Pearl River basins are basically temperate regions, dominated by a monsoon climate. Lingnan and Yunnan, the closest to Southeast Asia, have a subtropical monsoon climate, while Southeast Asia has a tropical monsoon climate. Compared with the Pearl River Basin, the climate of Southeast Asia is more humid and hot, and its vegetation is basically tropical rainforest, which is not very suitable for the development of ancient agriculture. Coupled with the complex terrain and mountainous terrain of Southeast Asia, it is even more difficult to advance.
Secondly, the digestion time of Yunnan-Guizhou and the Pearl River Basin is long. Ancient China has long regarded Liangguang and Yunnan as barbaric places, let alone Southeast Asia, where conditions are even worse. The Qin Dynasty included the Pearl River Basin in its territory, and the price was also the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of troops. The Qin Dynasty's advance on the Pearl River was still so difficult, let alone Southeast Asia. It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that the economy of the Pearl River Basin was developed. Although the Western Han Dynasty established counties in Yungui, it did not completely eliminate the Fangguo forces here, which also led to the later southwest region being strong and powerful, with many toasts, and the central dynasty was difficult to advance. It was not until after the "return of the land to the stream" that the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau stabilized.
Third, there are big cultural differences. Geographically, Southeast Asia and South Asia are more similar, so Southeast Asia initially basically embraced Indian culture. Indian scripts, religious beliefs (Brahmanism, Hinduism, Buddhism) and even hierarchies spread to Southeast Asia, and the earliest countries in Indochina were almost all Indianized countries. In ancient times, the entire southeast Asian only cross-toe accepted the Chinese civilization. After the Song and Yuan dynasties, with the influence of Arab commerce, Islam also entered Southeast Asia. During the Ming Dynasty, a large number of Chinese immigrated to Southeast Asia, which allowed Chinese civilization to take root in some areas, such as what is now Singapore.
Angkor Wat
Therefore, it is difficult for China to advance in Southeast Asia, mainly affected by the geographical environment, such as cultural differences and mainly brought about by different geographical environments. Therefore, the dividing line between China and Southeast Asia is basically the dividing line between the tropical monsoon climate and the subtropical monsoon climate. The only tropical rainforest climate area in China is Xishuangbanna, which still has a strong Southeast Asian atmosphere here.
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