"Liangzhou Talks" cannot be said to be "Liangzhou Huimeng"

In the second year of the Mongol Dingzong (1247), on behalf of the political and religious leader of the Tibetan monastic and secular circles and the leader of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Sakya Panzhida (abbreviated as "Saban"), Gongga Gyaltsen (1182-1251), the prince of the Mongol Khanate stationed in Liangzhou (present-day Wuwei City, Gansu Province), was invited by Kuoduan (1206-1251, grandson of Genghis Khan, second son of Wo kuotai, and brother of Dingzong Guiyu), despite his advanced age and long journey, to go to Liangzhou to hold talks with Kuoduan on the issue of Tibet's belonging. After a series of negotiations, Kuoduan and Saban straightened out the relations between the central authorities and Tibet, reached an important consensus, and Tibet was officially incorporated into China's territory and became an inseparable part of the sacred territory of the great motherland. The ancestors of the Tibetan nationality, Qiang, Qi, and Tubo, have had close political, economic, and cultural exchanges with the various ethnic groups in the Central Plains since ancient times, and this talk has made the Tibetan compatriots an inseparable part of the big family of the Chinese nation. Soon after the "Liangzhou Talks," the Yuan government set up administrative bodies in Tibet, checked household registrations, appointed officials, and collected tributes, so that Tibet was truly placed under the management of the central government.

However, in the writings of some scholars, the "Liangzhou Talks" are often described as "Liangzhou Huimeng". In fact, although the difference between "talks" and "alliances" is only one word, their meanings are very different.

"Huimeng" has a specific meaning

What is a "Huimeng"? The Cihai cites the example of the princes of the Qi Huan Guild alliance in the Spring and Autumn Period, explaining the meaning of "huimeng", explaining that huimeng is "the assembly and alliance between the ancient princes." "History of qi taigong family praise": "Huan Gong's prosperity, the cultivation of good government, thinking that the princes will be called Bo, it is not advisable'! The "Etymology" says: "An alliance, an alliance formed by the gathering of ancient princely states." "Zuo Chuan Zhao Gong Three Years": "Now the princes are hired at the age of three, and when they are five years old, they will meet when they have things, and they will not cooperate with each other." "History of Qin Ji Huan Gong Ten Years": "When it is, Chu Ba, for the alliance of princes." It can be seen that the word "huimeng" has a specific meaning, referring to the gatherings and alliances held between ancient princely states. The main body of the alliance is a vassal state, the purpose of which is to seek hegemony or other related interests.

In the history of the Chinese Spring and Autumn Warring States for more than 500 years, the alliances between the princely states are endless. For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi Huangong "accumulated wealth in currency, rich countries and strong soldiers" and became the head of the "Five Hegemons". Subsequently, the Duke of Qi Huan held several meetings of the princes, especially the first year of the Zhou Xiang King (651 BC) in Kuiqiu (northeast of Minquan County, Henan Province), and even Zhou Tianzi sent people to participate, and his hegemony reached its peak. For example, after the Battle of Jinchu Chengpu (present-day Linpu Town, Juancheng County, Shandong Province) in 632 BC, the small state of the Central Plains was freed from the control of the State of Chu and annexed to the State of Jin. After the war, the princes of the Jin Dynasty in Jiantu (southwest of Yuanyang County, Henan Province), King Xiang of Zhou officially crowned the Duke of Jin Wen as the overlord, thus achieving the achievement of "taking the power of the dingba". In the winter of that year, Duke Wen of Jin summoned the princes of Qi, Qin, Song, Lu, Zheng, Chen, Cai, and Ju to meet in Wen (Wen County, Henan Province), and King Xiang of Zhou was also summoned to the meeting, and the hegemonic position of the Jin state was further consolidated.

For another example, in the Spring and Autumn Period, there were two meetings of "soldiers". The first time was in the seventh year of King Jian of Zhou (579 BC), initiated by Bi Yuan, the ruler of the Song state, about Chu and Jin, and met in the Song Dynasty, and made a pact not to use force, to help each other, to rescue the crisis, and to jointly crusade against the disobedient princes. Therefore, there was a temporary truce between Jin and Chu. However, only three years after the conclusion of the covenant, the Chu state came to power and openly shouted, "If the enemy advances, what alliance will exist?" The covenant was torn up, and the war resumed. After years of fighting, people were tired of running for their lives and hoping for peace, so they held a military congress in the Song capital (Shangqiu City, Henan Province) with the participation of 14 princely states. The two great powers of Jin and Chu took advantage of the military congress to sacrifice the interests of small and medium-sized countries to divide up hegemony and maintain the balance of power.

According to the statistics of the "Ancient Chinese History" edited by Zhu Shaohou, in the 242 years recorded in the Spring and Autumn Period, the princely states fought as many as 483 wars, and the Dprang Alliance would be 450 times. Scholars generally believe that these military operations and the DPRK alliance are actually the plundering of small countries by large countries. The Jin Dynasty stipulated that each vassal state should be "hired at the age of three, and the dynasty at the age of five, and if there is a problem, it will be uncoordinated and allied", so as to squeeze money and benefits from the small countries. And small countries in front of the big countries are always "only strong and obedient", "there is no shortage of professional tributes, play well when the time comes".

The alliance of the princes is often seen in the annals of history

At that time, in the Warring States, the alliance between the princely states is still often seen in the annals of history. For example, in order to seek hegemony, King Hui of Wei met with Marquis Han Zhaohou in the eighth year of King Xianwang of Zhou (361 BC). Three years later, through military pressure, Han Zhaohou was forced to ally with him. Two years later ( 356 BC ) , the monarchs of Lu , Song , Wei , and Han all went to see King Hui of Wei , thus making him the leader of the princes. In the eighteenth year of King Xian's reign, Wei again allied with the State of Zhao over Zhangshui and compromised with the State of Qi to deal with the State of Qin. After that, a fierce war lasted five years between Wei, Qi, Zhao, and Qin, and the State of Wei still maintained hegemony. In the twenty-fifth year of King Xian's reign, King Hui of Wei convened another Fengze assembly, which was attended by 12 princely states.

Another example is the famous "combination of vertical and horizontal", that is, a series of alliance activities carried out in order to win the alliance with the state and isolate the enemy princely states. Unity means "to unite the weak to attack the strong" to prevent the strong from annexing; Lianheng is the meaning of "one thing is strong to attack the weak", and the strong force forces the weak country to help it carry out the annexation. Geographically, it was originally dominated by Han, Zhao, and Wei, with Yan in the north, Chu in the south, and the north and south connected as vertical; the east was connected to Qi or the west to Qin, and the east and west were connected to the horizontal. At first, the hezhong could be both aligned and aligned with Qin; lianheng could be connected to Qin and even to Qin. It was not until after the Battle of Changping that it solidified into the intention of combining the six kingdoms and resisting the strong Qin, and the six kingdoms surrendering to the Qin state respectively.

Not only the Spring and Autumn Warring States, but also other historical periods have many "alliances". For example, after the Anshi Rebellion, the tang dynasty's national strength declined, and Tubo took the opportunity to become stronger and fought a military struggle with the Tang dynasty for decades. Frequent wars weakened the national strength of Tubo, and after entering the 9th century, Tubo began to decline from prosperity to decline, unable to expand outward, so it sought a truce and reconciliation with the Tang Dynasty. According to the Old Book of Tang and the Biography of Tubo, in the first year of Changqing (821), Tubo Zanpu Keli Kezu (806-841, now translated as "Chizu Dezan") sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty to request an alliance and conclude a friendship covenant. The Tang Dynasty also attached great importance to it, and the solemn alliance ceremony was held successively in chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and the capital of the Tubo state, Lhasa (Lhasa). The covenant emphasizes the need to "sympathize with the afflictions and do not plunder" and to always live with each other well. The Monument of the Tang Dynasty, erected in the third year of Changqing, still stands in front of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.

Liangzhou talks are not "alliances"

We may wish to compare the difference between the "Liangzhou talks" and the "huimeng". Those present at the "Liangzhou Talks" were, on the one hand, Kuoduan, the prince of the Mongol Khanate, who represented the central government and was stationed in Liangzhou, and on the other hand, Sakya Panzhida Gongga Gyaltsen, a political and religious leader representing the local monks and laymen in Tibet. The two sides are representatives of the central and local governments, not between princes and princes or between "states" and "states". The purpose of the talks was to peacefully incorporate Tibet into the territory of the motherland and seek national reunification, not to seek hegemony and plunder small countries among the princely states. As a result of the talks, Tibet was subsumed into the territory of the great motherland and Tibetan compatriots were included in the embrace of the big family of the Chinese nation. The Liangzhou talks were not an act by the great powers of the princely states to control a number of small countries and strengthen their own strength, or the behavior of some small countries relying on the big powers for their own survival and interests, nor was it an act of equal strength between the two regimes and seeking to get along well.

It can be seen that the meanings of the words "alliance" and "talks" are very different. If the Liangzhou talks are described as "Liangzhou Huimeng," it will greatly distort the purpose of the Liangzhou talks and greatly degrade and dwarf the great significance and far-reaching influence of the Liangzhou talks. Therefore, the "Liangzhou Talks" can never be said to be the "Liangzhou Alliance."

The "Liangzhou Talks" conformed to the trend of historical development, reflected the general trend of China's historical development, promoted the further consolidation and development of a unified multi-ethnic state, and thus showed that the stability and unity of the country and the friendly unity of the nation conform to the common interests of the people of all nationalities throughout the country. The successful holding of the "Liangzhou Talks" has also won peace and tranquility for the Tibetan region and promoted the progress and development of Tibetan society. Just as the Tibetan historical book "Qingshi" contains, the monks, disciples, benefactors and other sentient beings who defend Tibet read the "Sakya Panzhida Letter to the People" released at the talks, "all of them rejoiced and encouraged," expressing the ardent expectations and heartfelt support of the broad masses of monks and laymen in Tibet for the results of the talks.

(The author is a professor at the School of History and Culture of Northwest Normal University, a counselor of the People's Government of Gansu Province, and a director of the Turpan Society of Dunhuang, China)

Edit: Hu Zixuan