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Imperial Tallies (Daxia): Difference between revisions
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References in extant Imperial bibliography provide a description of the tallies: The scrolls were fashioned of durable paper made from the bark of mulberry trees, which is resistant to mold, moth, creasing and corrosion. The scrolls were approximately five meters high and two and a half across, with two handles of worked bronze or copper at either end. Each scroll was housed between two columns, in a niche dedicated to a specific nation. | References in extant Imperial bibliography provide a description of the tallies: The scrolls were fashioned of durable paper made from the bark of mulberry trees, which is resistant to mold, moth, creasing and corrosion. The scrolls were approximately five meters high and two and a half across, with two handles of worked bronze or copper at either end. Each scroll was housed between two columns, in a niche dedicated to a specific nation. | ||
==Use== | ==Use== | ||
When a nation lost a war with [[Daxia]] it was typical for it to enter into a tributary arrangement with the Daxians. The defeated monarch was made to travel to the capital before a group of imperial bureaucrats and there, he would have to engage in a negotiation to determine what and how | When a nation lost a war with [[Daxia]] it was typical for it to enter into a tributary arrangement with the Daxians. The defeated monarch was made to travel to the capital before a group of imperial bureaucrats and there, he would have to engage in a negotiation to determine what goods and how many of said goods he would have to submit as tribute in order to keep his crown. From surviving sources, the format of the negotiation was not very formal and rulers were encouraged to haggle (as a form of ritual humilliation) and try to get better terms. The terms of the negotiation (which never were disadvantageous to Daxia) were then written down on the scrolls and sent to the Hall of Tributaries. | ||
At the start of the year all of the subject peoples and nations would send small delegations to Daguo. The delegates would ritually prostrate themselves and submit gifts to the Imperial court, then they would ask permission to review their obligations on the imperial tallies. Each nation had its own personalized scroll and a scribe that would read it to the delegation accompanied by music. | |||
[[Category:Daxia]] | [[Category:Daxia]] | ||