Tributary system of Imperial Daxia: Difference between revisions

Tributary system of Imperial Daxia (view source)

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 The fourth obligation is the most vague and less understood and there was great discrepancy in how each dynasty interpreted it. Tributaries were supposed heed the dictates of the empire in their dealings with third parties. The majority of the dynasties had a very loose interpretation often reduced to a simple mantra of 'do not conspire with our enemies', in all other respects vassal states were free to conduct their affairs as they saw fit.The Qian dynasty conception of this obligation was that they had a right to dictate the foreign policy of all vassal states, including if they could use royal marriages as a tool in foreign policy and with who they could carry them out, or demanding that permission to wage war on a third state first be requested from the imperial court. The Qian interpretation lent itself to much greater involvement (or meddling in the eyes of the tributaries) to the point that some vassals operated more as provinces than independent entities. The Qian even began appointing [[Imperial Viceroy (Daxia)|Imperial Viceroy]]'s to safeguard their interests in some especially important subject states.
 ===Benefits===
+The benefits of joining the tributary system were manifold. Tributary states gained the right to trade with the empire (all relevant taxes and duties still applied), which was the largest market of eastern [[Audonia]] and had the biggest agglomerations of people, in addition to being the only nation with access to eastern goods. (''[[Levantia]] and [[Sarpedon]] are located east of Daxia, therefore Daxian sources call it the East''). The political recognition and support of the empire was also very useful in helping local rulers cement their positions and intimidate and discourage internal rivals from attempting a power grab. Often times a veiled threat of intervention was enough to maintain the status quo for a few more years. Especially loyal and valued vassal states whose rulers were granted titles by the imperial court could also expect monetary stipends to reinforce their loyalty, in rare cases the monies kept being dispensed in a hereditary manner, a very rare form of praise for a particularly loyal royal line.
 ===Rituals===
 ===Status===
-In the [[Zhangwo]] conception of Daxians as the peerless ideal of humanity, all other nations were lacking and inferior. There are many terms in the Daxian language for outsiders, foreigners and barbarians; epithets applied to most nations that eventually found themselves in thrall to the empire. But giving tribute was seen as a way out, and upwards. Coming under the wing of the greatest civilization and being cognizant of their own inadequacy and inferiority by obeisance and tribute was the first step towards an enlightenment. These nations went from ''Kakun'' and ''Hurd'' to the [[Good Barbarians]], peoples on the path to joining the Daxians at the pinnacle (a journey that would take them hundreds of thousands of years, by tge most moderate estimates of learned scholars). The [[Good Barbarians]] could be lavished with titles of some consecuence and meaning, with resplendent robes and scepters of office, with tablets engraved with solemn declarations of authority and friendship and if worthy and loyal enough, with the strength of arms of imperial armies. The term of the [[Good Barbarians]] is tangentially related to the myth of the 'noble savage' espoused by some Levantian authors when discussing the native [[Crona]]ns, but in the case of the [[Good Barbarians]] all of the positive moral attributes of a people seen as innately inferior were entirely dependent on their subservient attitudes, like a light switch they could be turned off if tribute stopped and they would be relegated once more to the offal pile in the eyes of imperial authorities.
+In the [[Zhangwo]] conception of Daxians as the peerless ideal of humanity, all other nations were lacking and inferior. There are many terms in the Daxian language for outsiders, foreigners and barbarians; epithets applied to most nations that eventually found themselves in thrall to the empire. But giving tribute was seen as a way out, and upwards. Coming under the wing of the greatest civilization and being cognizant of their own inadequacy and inferiority by obeisance and tribute was the first step towards an enlightenment. These nations went from ''Kakun'' and ''Hurd'' to the [[Good Barbarians]], peoples on the path to joining the Daxians at the pinnacle (a journey that would take them hundreds of thousands of years, by the most generous estimates of learned scholars of the time). The [[Good Barbarians]] could be lavished with titles of some consecuence and meaning, with resplendent robes and scepters of office, with tablets engraved with solemn declarations of authority and friendship and if worthy and loyal enough, with the strength of arms of imperial armies. The term of the [[Good Barbarians]] is tangentially related to the myth of the 'noble savage' espoused by some Levantian authors when discussing the native [[Crona]]ns, but in the case of the [[Good Barbarians]] all of the positive moral attributes of a people seen as innately inferior were entirely dependent on their subservient attitudes, like a light switch they could be turned off if tribute stopped and they would be relegated once more to the offal pile in the eyes of imperial authorities.
 ==List of tributaries==
 ===Kingdom of Guangbei===