A Study On The Diplomatic Institutions Of Northern Wei Dynasty

Diplomacy is an important part of state affairs of the ancient imperial China and supplementary means to realize national development strategy. Northern Wei Dynasty started as a relatively small nomadic society of Ancient North China, was able to successfully annex all the other Northern countries of Ancient China and became as a powerful nation as then South Dynasty. This is mainly attributed to its exceptional diplomatic institutions and events. This dissertation explores and studies the diplomacy policies of Northern Wei Dynasty from the History and Diplomacy perspective. The summary of the sections is as following:In the preface the meaning and academic value of the research topic are stated; the key concepts are defined and distinguished. The literature review in this area including synthetic study and special study is summarized. Finally, the research question is proposed, the methodology of this study is addressed and the theoretical framework is illustrated.In Chapter I, the diplomatic events of Northern Wei Dynasty are overviewed, following the developmental stages of the nation. Northern Wei Dynasty according to the different periods of Northern Wei Dynasty. Northern Wei Dynasty confronted different international and domestic environment at different stages. This decided its different priorities to its diplomacy issues and its diverse strategic plans. Correspondingly, this featured its unique diplomacy strategies.Chapter II investigated the central government diplomatic organization of Northern Wei dynasty. Northern Wei government diplomatic organization adopted the administration model of central dynasties originated from Han and Wei dynasty, taking double-track systems, namely Dahonglu and Royal secretary sharing and collaborating the work in the diplomatic organization. Dahonglu was in charge of dispatching delegates to other countries and receiving the foreign visitors etc.; the prime minister was responsible for foreign affairs administration and logistic work. These two were cooperating with and supplementing each others.Chapter III explored the central and local diplomacy related organisations. The complicated diplomatic work sometimes needed to be supported cooperated with by various other relevant central and local organisations respectively. The key relevant central orgnisations include Cabinet of Ministers, the branches of Prime Minister and Ushers of the Court, among which Cabinet of Ministers was responsible for drafting foreign affairs documents, diplomatic announcements and being instructed to visit foreign countries; the branches of Prime Minister took in charge of negotiation of relevant foreign affairs of the branch with the neighbour countries; the Ushers of the Court was responsible for the reception of diplomatic delegations, taking order for dispatching and accepting awards and titles. The relevant local foreign affair orgnisations mainly involve the local governments of border areas of Northern Wei dynasty. They were responsible for reception and sending off diplomatic delegates, dispatching delegates, diplomatic correspondences, resolving diplomatic conflicts, involving the administration of border trade, delivering diplomatic information etc.Chapter IV states the decision-making system of Northern Wei's diplomatic institutions. Northern Wei Dynasty basically carried out the emperor decision. As a sovereign,the emperor had the final decision-making authority. And Northern Wei Dynasty set up necessary working departments and organization, formed strictly management system to ensured the emperor's right to make decision. According to the difference of the contents and character of the diplomatic events, the government adopted different types of decision-making modes and procedures, summoned the related personnel, drew on the wisdom of the masses, and then choose the best solution to avoid or decrease serious error. Based on the differences of the contents, scopes, participants and historical stages, the forms of the diplomatic decision of Northern Wei can be classified as collective decision making by the emperor holding the meeting, collective decision making by all the officials, collective decision making by Functional Department, and by inquiring the related personnel.Chapter V explored the envoys dispatching and its managing system of Northern Wei dynasty. Diplomatic envoys, as the executive of diplomatic institutions and events, played extremely important role in Northern Wei diplomatic activities. Northern Wei dynasty had many different kinds of diplomatic envoys according to different dispatching aims. The composition and status of diplomatic delegates were distinguished depending on the dispatching purpose, time and dispatching destination. The selection of diplomatic envoys of Northern Wei Dynasty strictly followed the selection criteria. During the dispatching, they must strictly follow the diplomatic disciplines and accepted the awards or penalty according to their performance after return.Chapter VI investigated the diplomatic Rite system of Northern Wei dynasty. Diplomatic Rite was an important means to the diplomatic activities of Northern Wei as well as an indispensable fragment in diplomatic activities; it was the specific realization of national diplomatic institutions and principles. Northern Wei Dynasty had its own systematic diplomatic Rite system, running through its whole diplomatic activities.Chapter VII mainly examined the research of Northern Wei diplomatic papers. Northern Wei diplomatic papers include covenants, credentials, edicts, notes etc. The central government diplomatic papers were drafted, composed by Cabinet of Ministers, the following the emperor or the diplomatic decision making organization's order, and finally endorsed by the emperor before its release. Beside the executive or deputy official from the Cabinet of Ministers, the diplomatic papers may also have been written by knowledgeable diplomatic officials, experts in foreign affairs and documents who were appointed by the emperor. The Local governments of Northern Wei dynasty must report to and be permitted by the central government before their diplomatic papers were delivered to a neighbor country. The Northern Wei diplomatic papers were delivered mainly through envoys and the local government of border area.The last chapter summarized the whole dissertation. It is argued that as the extension of the interiors of a nation, diplomacy occupied an important position in state affairs of Northern Wei dynasty. Some characteristics of the diplomatic institutions of Northern Wei Dynasty were of the succession of the former generation. At the same time, it affected profoundly the diplomatic systems of Sui and Tang Dynasties as a successive historical process.