The “Challenge-Reaction” Pattern in the Rise of the Han and Tang Dynasties
Author: Chun-wei Su
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
As unified empires in China’s history, the rising Han and Tang Dynasties both maintained stable tributary systems in their surrounding areas. During these periods, they inevitably experienced various conflicts and crises with both the existing status quo hegemons which they faced upon their rise (Han Dynasty versus the Huns / Tang Dynasty versus the Turks) and with their neighboring countries. Based on the historical facts of Han and Tang China, this article reviews the process through which unified and prosperous great powers chose their modes of reaction and the scale of forces used to deal with challenges from surrounding states.
The main argument of this article is that at the beginning of the rise of the Han and Tang Dynasties and the periods of power transition, the Han and Tang Dynasties did not frequently challenge the hegemony of the status quo powers, and basically followed the expectations of defensive realism by prioritizing the security of their regimes. On the other hand, when the Han and Tang Empires were in their prosperous eras, once there was a challenge from a vassal state, the “Central Kingdom” would impose the severest punishment on those vassal states which failed to abide by their duties within the hegemonic order.
This differs from the theme of Confucian peace theory, which emphasizes that relative peace exists within the Confucian cultural circle. In actuality, the intensity of the conflict between the countries within this order may even be far stronger than the conflict between the Confucianist civilization and other civilizations. This article shows that China maintains a tough attitude toward the countries that it is closest with in the event of conflict. By combining and extending the tributary system theory and the “guanxi” theory, we can better understand the “challenge-reaction” decision-making pattern in historical China.