#历史开讲 #
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The Ming Dynasty is one of the dynasties in ancient Chinese history, and the Siam mentioned in the Ming Dynasty is the ancient name of present-day Thailand. As early as the Han Dynasty, there were already trade exchanges between the two countries.
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the relationship between the two countries became tribute. This relationship lasted until the Ming Dynasty, when something changed again.
From the historical texts that remain, most of the relations between China and Thailand have remained relatively friendly. Even when civil strife broke out within Siam, it maintained friendly relations with it during the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty was the time when China and Thailand had the closest exchanges, and studying the tributary methods of Siam and the Ming Dynasty is also of great significance for understanding the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Diplomatic relations between the Ming Dynasty and Siam
The beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Ming Dynasty and Siam was that it took the initiative to send envoys to communicate with it, and then Siam actively sent envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
Because the relations between the two countries remained relatively friendly, Siamese envoys were treated favorably by the Ming Dynasty every time. In terms of tribute time, the Ming Dynasty originally had specific requirements for Siam.
For example, pay tribute once a year or once every three years. Although Siam did not comply with such regulations, the Ming government never accused Siam.
Especially when the Ming Dynasty and Japan had a military war, Siam also took the initiative to help the Ming army, and in this behavior, it can also be seen that the diplomatic relations between the two countries at that time were still very friendly.
However, in the diplomatic relations between the two, Siam and the Ming Dynasty are not without contradictions. When Siam launched foreign wars, it secretly bought some Chinese slaves.
After the Ming Dynasty learned of this, it criticized and warned Siam. However, from the perspective of overall diplomatic relations, the two countries have always been developing well.
There is relatively friendly cooperation in political relations, and economic relations have gradually developed with the progress of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Zhu Yuanzhang
Every time Siam sent an envoy to pay tribute, it brought a particularly large tribute. In addition, they will bring a large amount of goods and trade with the local people and merchants.
Correspondingly, the Ming Dynasty would also send relevant personnel to trade. When Zheng He went to the West, he sent some people to Siam for trade.
During the trade between the two countries, some Chinese also stayed in Siam and worked in a number of different trades, such as merchants, craftsmen, actors, etc.
Because at that time, Siam was still a slave society, many people were slaves and people, and there were obvious vacancies in some professions. And the arrival of these Chinese also promoted Siam's economic development in disguise.
In order to enhance diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Ming Dynasty also found some people who were proficient in Chinese and Thai, and established corresponding official positions for them, thus making them intermediate contacts between Siam and the Ming Dynasty.
Siam's economic development, along with the deepening of trade exchanges with the Ming Dynasty, promoted the economic development of the Ming Dynasty. Siam chose some Chinese to be responsible for trade between the two countries, especially in paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty, which also led to two-way economic and trade exchanges between the two countries.
Foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty and Siam
The two countries can have good diplomatic relations and promote each other's economic and cultural development, which is naturally inseparable from the foreign policies formulated by the two countries.
Ming Chengzu once sent people to other countries to publicize the prestige of his new emperor and ask them to pay tribute to their own country. The foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty also gradually became open up with exchanges with other countries.
The fundamental purpose of the Ming Dynasty's foreign policy was to maintain the stability of its own country. In the early days of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, there were corresponding economic and social contradictions within it.
Ming Chengzu
Externally, it also faced Mongol and Yokou invasions. After Ming Chengzu promulgated foreign policy, the rest of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty basically continued to implement it.
Each emperor was implemented differently, so the foreign policy of each period had some different characteristics.
Siam is one of the countries affected by the foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty, and the relationship between the two countries is very close, because of the frequent tribute, and many aspects of Siam's internal politics, diplomacy, economy, society and culture have been affected by the foreign policy of the Ming Dynasty.
The foreign policies of the Ming Dynasty and Siam also had some things in common, such as preventing aggression from other countries and establishing contacts with other countries.
The relationship established between Siam and the Ming Dynasty was based on a tributary policy. The two countries strengthened exchanges through this approach, and when Siam was threatened militarily, the Ming Dynasty would also send troops to help it accordingly.
In terms of cultural exchange, the tributary policy also has a positive impact on it. During the Ming Dynasty, there was a Siam pavilion, which made the biggest problem of communication between the two countries, the language barrier, well solved and handled.
The tributary policy drives not only economic exchanges, but also political and cultural aspects, trade exchanges, and so on. All of them have been well developed under the promotion of this policy.
Simply put, these areas that promote progress are also a way and embodiment of Siamese tribute. The ruler of Siam needed to rely on the Ming Dynasty to consolidate his throne, so he would often send people to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute.
Many Chinese have also come to Siam to do business, and even stay there to live. The cultural ideas they spread also had a considerable impact on Siamese society. In the research of later scholars, the historical materials left by the Ming Dynasty have more records on Siam's foreign policy.
At the same time, Siam, because it did not like to record history, coupled with the subsequent wars and other reasons, caused its historical materials to be burned wantonly, so in Thailand, there were fewer verifiable materials.
The Ming Dynasty's policy of sea ban, good-neighborliness and friendship, and defensive frontier policy all correspondingly promoted exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and foreign countries.
In historical records, it is described that the Ming Dynasty and Siam sent envoys to each other a total of 138 times, of which Siam sent 116 times and the Ming Dynasty sent 22 times.
Compared to other countries, the Ming Dynasty's contacts with Siam were very frequent. Of the seven voyages of Zheng He to the West, he went to Siam four times.
Every time Zheng He arrived in Siam He, he basically gave them precious goods from the Ming Dynasty. After obtaining these things, Siam also needed to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
This was an act of national strength and a way to attract other countries to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. Siam, on the other hand, was one of the countries that was very keen on establishing relations with the Ming Dynasty, and the relationship between the two countries became more friendly under the promotion of the tributary policy.
Tribute trade between the Ming Dynasty and Siam
One of the reasons why Siam was keen to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty was to obtain a large number of gifts and goods.
Chinese tableware, silk, medicines, copper utensils and a series of other items are all materials that Siam cherishes very much. These things will boost the country's economy and bring prosperity to local trade.
Moreover, during the tributary period, Siam would also send envoys to pay tribute and sue the Ming Dynasty, hoping that they could do justice for some civil strife in their country. Third, Siam's main purpose is to obtain more national interests.
They violated the Ming Dynasty's three-year tribute rule and paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty continuously, in order to make the country's economy develop rapidly.
Siam was very actively attached to the Ming Dynasty, and if the Ming Dynasty made some accusations and criticisms against them, Siam would also obediently pay tribute and confess its guilt.
Although the Ming Dynasty's accusations could only quiet them for a while, judging from the attitude shown by Siam, they still wanted to maintain positive and friendly relations with the Ming Dynasty.
Especially when the Ming Dynasty launched a war with Japan, Siam was not afraid of losing the interests of his own country in order to maintain the relationship between the two countries, and also sincerely wanted to send troops to help the Ming Dynasty.
Except for some minor contradictions, throughout the Ming Dynasty, Siam maintained good diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty, and also maintained a frequent tributary policy towards the Ming Dynasty.
Looking back at the history of the Ming Dynasty's initial dealings with Siam, it goes back to 1370 AD, when the Ming Dynasty sent Lü Zongjun to Siam. The Ming Dynasty of this period replaced the Yuan Dynasty, and some political changes took place in Siam. In the face of the envoys of the Ming Dynasty, Siam behaved very friendly.
In the following year, Lü Zongjun returned to his homeland with the Siamese envoys, which was the first time Siamese paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
The two countries completed the first foreign exchange, which also laid a good foundation for future exchanges. For the rulers of the Ming Dynasty, Siam's positive attitude was very gratifying.
Therefore, in the early days of the Ming Dynasty, Siam was a very existential country. Their internal political situation was somewhat chaotic, while Siam gained the support of the powerful Ming Dynasty through tribute, thus establishing a stable national foundation.
The Ming Dynasty's friendliness to Siam can also be seen, because of the sea ban policy of that period, the Ming Dynasty put an end to maritime trade. But Siam is different, it is one of only a few countries that can trade by sea.
In this context, the tributary trade was born. In the name of a tributary policy, Siam sent some precious goods to China for trading in an upright manner.
The Ming Dynasty also gave it a lot of preferential policies, making the relationship between the two countries more prosperous. Throughout the history of China, all the dynasties before the Ming Dynasty were not very close to Siamese exchanges. In the Ming Dynasty, the rise of tributary trade also made diplomatic relations between the two countries better.
This state of affairs continued even during the Qing Dynasty, and Siam's tributary method became a very important part of China's unique tributary trade culture.
To this day, China and Thailand still maintain a relatively good diplomatic posture. This is also inextricably linked to the tribute trade during the Ming Dynasty.
Resources:
1. A Preliminary Study of Southeast Asian Chinese Envoys in the Ming Dynasty{CNKI}
2. Research on the Friendly Relations between the Ming Dynasty and Siam {CNKI}