The Diplomatic Relations Between Tang And Tibet In The Poems And Prose Of Tang Dynasty

In the poems and prose of Tang Dynasty there are various kinds of hints of diplomatic relations between Tang and Tibet. After studying these poems and prose carefully, we divide into four stages the more than two hundred years of foreign relations between Tang and Tibet: the honeymoon stage, the conflict stage, the invasion stage and the resumption of peace stage. In the honeymoon stage, the relation between Tang and Tibet is that of suzerain and subject, and the former is in dominant position. As the Tibet becomes stronger, the two nations begin to conflict with each other and there are frequent wars. They are rivals at this stage with the Tang insisting on being the suzerain and denying Tibet of its equal rights. The third stage is the period of invasion. Tibet invades Tang's territory taking the chance of Tang's civil strife, and their relation is invading and anti-invading. The strong Tibet wages wars while the Tang tries to maintain peace. Consequently, the former wins the equal rights with the latter. During the last stage, the Tibet and the Tang finally achieve peaceful coexistence, but the realization of this kind of normal relation is the result of the declining of the two nations.