The Study Of Sino-Siamese Tributary Relations In The Early Qing Dynasty

Siam,an ancient Chinese name for the present Southeast Asian country Thailand.Since the Han Dynasty,China has maintained friendly relations with Siam.In1664,the Qing Dynasty replaced the regime of the Ming Dynasty and inherited the diplomatic system and model of the Ming Dynasty---the tributary system,which was used to deal with the relations with neighboring countries.Siam was in the ruling period of Ayutthaya dynasty during its contacts with the Ming Dynasty,and the Ming Dynasty and the Ayutthaya dynasty have maintained frequent exchanges of emissaries since the establishment of tributary relations.After the end of the Ming Dynasty,the Ayutthaya Dynasty took the initiative to establish tributary relations with the Qing Dynasty.There are special reasons and international backgrounds for establishing the tributary relationship between the Ayutthaya Dynasty with the Qing Dynasty.Since the beginning of the three years of the Emperor Kangxi(1664),Ayutthaya dynasty has formally established tributary relationship with Qing Dynasty,Until the thirty-two years of the Emperor Qianlong(1767)the Ayutthaya Dynasty was destroyed,during this period the two countries had maintained friendly diplomatic relations.The tributary relations between the early Qing Dynasty and Siam Ayutthaya Dynasty have their unique characteristics.By comparing the tributary relations between the Qing Dynasty and the Ayutthaya Dynasty vertically with those of the Ming Dynasty and the Ayutthaya Dynasty,we can find that in the Gong period,Gong Dao,Tributes and rewards,tributes,emissaries,and canonized emissaries have similarities and obvious changes in the two dynasties.The Qing Dynasty also established Tributary Relations with other Southeast Asian countries,including Vietnam,Sulu,Laos and Burma,during the tributary activities between the Ayutthaya dynasty and the Qing Dynasty,horizontal comparison of tributary relationship when the Qing-Siam tributary relationship with the Qing Dynasty and other Southeast Asian countries,it was found that Siam was the tributary to Southeast Asia that had the closest relationship with the Qing Dynasty during this period.After studying the factors influencing the establishment and development of the tribute relations between the Ayutthaya dynasty and Qing Dynasty,it was found that the domestic political situation and foreign policy of the Qing Dynasty,the changes of the policy of sea ban,the rich products of Siam,the trade structure and the war dispute with Myanmar,the Sino-Siamese rice trade,the Sino-Japanese-Siamesetriangle trade and the Chinese and overseas Chinese all play a certain role in the development of the tributary relations between the two countries.