Study On The Problem Of Tribute Elephant In Ming Dynasty

During the Ming Dynasty,the central government valued the scarcity of elephants due to the gradual degradation of their habitats,and regarded them as the most distinctive cultural symbols in the southern minority areas and South Asian vassal states.As the capital city of the dynasty center,if the presence of such a special beast as elephants,is undoubtedly the side embodiment of the revered status of the heavenly dynasty.The issue of tribute elephants in the Ming Dynasty involves many aspects of local management and political rule in the Ming Dynasty,and it also has certain research significance for the communication with overseas regions.Therefore,the issue of tribute elephants can be used as a window to see the influence of the Ming Empire on the frontiers and even overseas regions.It provides a new perspective and entry point for the theoretical research on frontier governance and the tributary system in the Ming Dynasty.The full text is divided into seven parts:The introduction part is mainly to explain the reasons for choosing the topic,the significance of the research,the current research status at home and abroad,the definition of related concepts,and the research ideas and methods.The first part is "The history of tribute elephants in the past dynasties",taking the Tang Dynasty as the dividing point.Before the Tang Dynasty,there were occasional acts of tribute elephants in the south to the central government.At this time,elephants were used as tributes,and their scarcity and regional characteristics began to merge.,became a representative of different places and exotic lands,but its class attribute as a tribute is still unclear.After the Tang Dynasty,the tribute elephant system gradually improved,mainly reflected in the further expansion of the source of local tribute elephants,the further improvement of the tribute elephant reward system,and the increase in the number and frequency of tribute elephants.The second part is "the source of tribute elephants in the Ming Dynasty".The tribute elephant system in the Ming Dynasty inherited the previous dynasties.In terms of the source of tamed elephants,the tribute was still paid by overseas vassals and Yunnan provinces.The third part is "the operation of the tribute elephant system in the Ming Dynasty".The Ming court attached great importance to the management of the tribute image system.It not only flexibly handled the behavior of tribute elephants that did not comply with the regulations,but also set up local escorts that were compatible with the tribute elephant system.and inspection system.The fourth part is "The Disadvantages and Changes of the Tribute Elephant in the Ming Dynasty".Due to the disadvantages of the tribute elephant system itself,the method of obtaining elephants in the middle and late Ming Dynasty changed from the vassal’s initiative to pay tribute to the government’s own procurement.The fifth part is "The Breeding and Application of Tribute Elephants by the Ming Court".The court taming elephants in the Ming Dynasty needed to serve as guards,chariots,or treasures in grand royal ceremonies.Therefore,the Ming court attached great importance to the breeding of tribute elephants.The sixth part is "the political implication represented by the tribute elephant entering the court in the Ming Dynasty".The reason why the Ming court readily accepted the tamed elephant from afar has many considerations in its political implication.Generally speaking,in order to meet the needs of the Ming court,the chieftains in the southern minority areas and the leaders of the vassal states continued to pay tribute to the capital in accordance with the tribute period and tribute roads stipulated by the Ming court.It will also provide generous rebates for the tribute behavior of the territory and the country.At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty,the national power was strong,and its influence and control over border areas and overseas vassals were unprecedentedly strong.Therefore,the tribute elephant system operated extremely smoothly,and tribute elephants entered the dynasty in an endless stream.With the decline of national power and the tribute image system itself.The long-standing ills of the Ming Dynasty had to seek a breakthrough in the late Ming Dynasty,changing from a local tribute image to a central purchase image.