24 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS TRIBUTE AND TRADE 25 Thus the descendants of the Anyang kings spread their civilization fifteen conquered it,and so had to rely upon Chinese assistance or partnership in hundred miles across the hills and rice-fields to the south,to the seacoast government. of Annam,but have been unable to extend it more than a few hundred In short,the slowness of China's response to the Western impact in miles to the north. modern times,which forms the chief enigma of her modern history,can be This is merely another way of saying that the nomadic peoples of the understood only within the framework of China's traditional relations with Mongolian steppe have been a constant factor in the Chinese state.They the barbarians.The tragedy of the Chinese state has been that her adjust- have provided a permanent frontier beyond which the Chinese way of life ment to the barbarians of Inner Asia was such poor preparation for contact could not extend.The Chinese state from its earliest inception had to with the modern West.On the contrary,it was the most misleading pos- adjust itself to this barbarian contact.China and the barbarians have co- sible precedent,for it left China to deal with the industrial West through existed throughout their history.From ancient times the civilization of institutions and preconceptions developed over three thousand years of China received stimuli and cultural ingredients through the medium of the contact with pastoral nomads.The tribute system could not be successfully barbarians of Central Asia.The use of iron and of the horse,methods of applied to the modern West,yet it was China's only defense,for it was the warfare,and cultural elements of the Near East all came by this route. established mode through which the Confucian monarchy dealt with foreign Thus the Chinese state and monarchy were from the earliest days up powers. against this fact that the barbarians existed and could never be made If we look for the ancient sources of this institution,we find first of all Chinese.China's geographic isolation from Europe prevented her direct that the early Chinese states of the period before and after Confucius (up contact across the wastes of Central Asia with any settled power of equal to 22I B.C.),in their relations with one another,had developed conceptions size,and this,no doubt,conduced to the ethnocentricity which has roughly and procedures which may be compared in some ways with those of modern corresponded in China to the nationalism that grew up in Europe.Yet this international law.The classics recorded relations among ancient rulers on isolation from the nationalistic competition of equal powers did not pre- an egalitarian basis-the tribute institution was not the only precedent in clude the long struggle between China and the barbarians.The Chinese China's experience. society seldom had equals within its sphere in eastern Asia,but it always In this ancient legal system of the Warring States period,before China's had enemies.It was by no means left alone in solitary grandeur and to unification as an empire,the concept of the state required that there be this degree it was by no means unprepared for contact with the West. territory,people,sovereignty and organization or institutions.Because the The nature of China's relationship to the barbarians was far different barbarians moved about with a pastoral economy and no fixed territory, from any it could expect to work out with Western powers in modern times. they were regarded as not being states at all.Among the Chinese states In brief,this ancient relationship was based on supernationalist sanctions each had its capital as well as the above four attributes.There were derived from the Confucian social order. sovereign states and subordinate states.New states received a form of recog- The superiority of the Chinese way of life was exhibited in China's cul- nition by a certain procedure,sometimes at a conference of other states. ture as well as in her economic wealth.Yet this superiority in material goods Recognition could also be implicit,as by concluding a treaty,permitting as well as in intellectual and artistic life,and this greater complexity of a state to attend a conference,sending representatives to it,or extraditing social and political institutions,were both inadequate to save China from criminals.Whether explicit or implicit,recognition was permanent.States periodic barbarian domination.The key to the constant barbarian influ- could also be destroyed or divided.They had their rights and duties,includ- ence on China lay in the fact that the military force which could be based ing rights of equal treatment and trade,and rights of reciprocity.Their on the horsemen of the steppe,once it was concentrated,usually had duties included documentary and legal functions,while their moral duties superior striking power against any force which could be mobilized from were to preserve orthodoxy and save each other from danger.Procedures the sedentary farming population of the North China plain.Farm boys concerning the dispatch of envoys and other forms of inter-state relations were no match for trained hunters and horsemen.This simple fact re- were fully developed at this early time.a There was plainly no lack of mained a constant factor in favor of the nomad invaders.The barbarians' diplomatic machinery in the Chinese heritage. power in China was limited,however,by another constant factor-that they lacked the clerical personnel and local roots necessary to conduct the Four types of personnel were recognized in these inter-state relations:sovereigns,envoys,military representatives,and officials in charge of foreign relations.Envoys were sen t abroad to other countries bureaucratic administration of populous Chinese territory once they had toeetheirruers Unlike modern diplotic agents,however.they did not reside in the other country,but were sent back and forth on missions,usually concerning a single subject at a time.As24 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS Thus the descendants of the Anyang kings spread their civilization fifteen hundred miles across the hills and rice-fields to the south, to the seacoast of Annam, but have been unable to extend it more than a few hundred miles to the north. This is merely another way of saying that the nomadic peoples of the Mongolian steppe have been a constant factor in the Chinese state. They have provided a permanent frontier beyond which the Chinese way of life could not extend. The Chinese state from its earliest inception had to adjust itself to this barbarian contact. China and the barbarians have co￾existed throughout their history. From ancient times the civilization of China received stimuli and cultural ingredients through the medium of the barbarians of Central Asia. The use of iron and of the horse, methods of warfare, and cultural elements of the Near East all came by this route. Thus the Chinese state and monarchy were from the earliest days up against this fact that the barbarians existed and could never be made Chinese. China's geographic isolation from Europe prevented her direct contact across the wastes of Central Asia with any settled power of equal size, and this, no doubt, conduced to the ethnocentricity which has roughly corresponded in China to the nationalism that grew up in Europe. Yet this isolation from the nationalistic competition of equal powers did not pre￾clude the long struggle between China and the barbarians. The Chinese society seldom had equals within its sphere in eastern Asia, but it always had enemies. It was by no means left alone in solitary grandeur and to this degree it was by no means unprepared for contact with the West. The nature of China's relationship to the barbarians was far different from any it could expect to work out with Western powers in modern times. In brief, this ancient relationship was based on supernationalist sanctions derived from the Confucian social order. The superiority of the Chinese way of life was exhibited in China's cul￾ture as well as in her economic wealth. Yet this superiority in material goods as well as in intellectual and artistic life, and this greater complexity of social and political institutions, were both inadequate to save China from periodic barbarian domination. The key to the constant barbarian influ￾ence on China lay in the fact that the military force which could be based on the horsemen of the steppe, once it was concentrated, usually had superior striking power against any force which could be mobilized from the sedentary farming population of the North China plain. Farm boys were no match for trained hunters and horsemen. This simple fact re￾mained a constant factor in favor of the nomad invaders. The barbarians' power in China was limited, however, by another constant factor - that they lacked the clerical personnel and local roots necessary to conduct the bureaucratic administration of populous Chinese territory once they had TRIBUTE AND TRADE 25 conquered it, and so had to rely upon Chinese assistance or partnership in government. In short, the slowness of China's response to the Western impact in modern times, which forms the chief enigma of her modern history, can be understood only within the framework of China's traditional relations with the barbarians. The tragedy of the Chinese state has been that her adjust￾ment to the barbarians of Inner Asia was such poor preparation for contact with the modern West. On the contrary, it was the most misleading pos￾sible precedent, for it left China to deal with the industrial West through institutions and preconceptions developed over three thousand years of contact with pastoral nomads. The tribute system could not be successfully applied to the modern West, yet it was China's only defense, for it was the established mode through which the Confucian monarchy dealt with foreign powers. If we look for the ancient sources of this institution, we find first of all that the early Chinese states of the period before and after Confucius (up to 221 B.C.), in their relations with one another, had developed conceptions and procedures which may be compared in some ways with those of modern international law. The classics recorded relations among ancient rulers on an egalitarian basis - the tribute institution was not the only precedent in China's experience. In this ancient legal system of the Warring States period, before China's unification as an empire, the concept of the state required that there be territory, people, sovereignty and organization or institutions. Because the barbarians moved about with a pastoral economy and no fixed territory, they were regarded as not being states at all. Among the Chinese states each had its capital as well as the above four attributes. There were sovereign states and subordinate states. New states received a form of recog￾nition by a certain procedure, sometimes at a conference of other states. Recognition could also be implicit, as by concluding a treaty, permitting a state to attend a conference, sending representatives to it, or extraditing criminals. Whether explicit or implicit, recognition was permanent. States could also be destroyed or divided. They had their rights and duties, includ￾ing rights of equal treatment and trade, and rights of reciprocity. Their duties included documentary and legal functions, while their moral duties were to preserve orthodoxy and save each other from danger. Procedures concerning the dispatch of envoys and other forms of inter-state relations were fully developed at this early time.a There was plainly no lack of diplomatic machinery in the Chinese heritage. a Four types of personnel were recognized in these inter-state relations: sovereigns, envoys, military representatives, and officials in charge of foreign relations. Envoys were sent abroad to other countries to represent their rulers. Unlike modern diplomatic agents, however, they did not reside in the other country, but were sent back and forth on missions, usually concerning a single subject at a time. As