China's Tribute System Essay

152 Words1 Pages
China’s tribute system was influenced by their beliefs, world view and geography. The tribute system existed and operated to regulate China’s trade and diplomacy with its neighbors.
Sinocentrism or the acknowledgment of Chinese superiority played a major role in the Tribute system. For instance, the Chinese emperor was the “son of heaven,” and those who were in his inner circle of humanity, who offered tribute to the emperor, had more trading rights in China than the barbarians who did not offer tribute at all. These barbarians were uncivilized and culturally inferior in the view of China, who regarded themselves as the one and only true civilization, not as a part of many other nations. In order to establish trade with China, the emissaries