| The Tang dynasty was the heyday of China’s feudal system and established a series of perfect diplomatic systems from the central to the local level.As the maintainer of diplomatic relations between the Tang dynasty and neighboring ethnic regimes and countries,diplomatic envoys played a very important role in the diplomatic history of ancient Chinese imperial dynasties,and they were the executors of the foreign policy of the Tang dynasty.This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of diplomatic envoys in five parts.Part Ⅰ: Classification and Overview of Diplomatic Envoys in the Tang Dynasty.There were many envoys sent abroad by the Tang Dynasty in the Tang Dynasty,and the missions they carried were complex,and they appeared in the political,military and cultural life of the Tang Dynasty.According to their nature,the author classifies them into six categories,namely,the envoys of the hanging register,the envoys of the announcing category,the envoys of the beckoning category,the envoys of the replying category,the envoys of the reconciliation category,and the envoys of the special category.Among them,they include: the envoys for registration,the envoys for solicitation,the envoys for conciliation,the envoys for answering congratulations,and the envoys for the alliance,etc.The management agencies of the central diplomatic envoys in the Tang Dynasty were distributed among the three provinces and six ministries,and the competent agencies,Honglu Temple and the Department of Hosts and Guests,had clear authority,clear division of labor and mutual coordination.The Tang Dynasty also established a rather complete system for selecting envoys,which were selected with great care.The basic requirements were: good personal cultivation and character;good physical appearance,elegant manners,clear logic and strict rhetoric.Familiar with the affairs of the tombs,have the talent of the border;bold and resolute,bold and courageous,dare to take charge.There are a series of requirements such as good family background.When sending envoys,they also paid attention to qualifications and seniority,but were not strict.The emperor would choose his close ministers,mostly with constitutional posts.The selection and dispatch of envoys in the Tang Dynasty also formed the practice and criteria for selection and dispatch,with the Menxia Province in charge of the selection and dispatch of diplomatic envoys,but the emperor could also appoint them directly,and in special cases could use the form of "recruitment".Part Ⅱ: other ethnic regions and countries received Tang envoys in three forms: vassal courtesy,enemy courtesy,and uncle-nephew courtesy.In general,all ethnic regions and countries "paid tribute" to the Tang dynasty,except for the Tang dynasty,which performed the rituals of enemy state and uncle and nephew with the Turks and Tubo,and Japan,which always pursued diplomacy with the Tang dynasty on equal footing,tried to be equal to the Tang dynasty in diplomatic etiquette.However,China was always the center of the diplomatic circle in East Asia,so the Tang Dynasty,which had a strong comprehensive power,still included Japan in its diplomatic system.Part Ⅲ: Management and restraint of Tang diplomatic envoys.The Tang Dynasty had a comprehensive system of rewards and punishments for diplomatic envoys,rewarding those who did not disgrace their missions and punishing those who failed to perform their duties,as well as detailed regulations on the livelihood of the envoys’ families after their missions,and a monitoring mechanism to achieve precise management of diplomatic envoys.The Tang dynasty established relatively complete regulations and laws to regulate them,and sometimes the Tang emperor himself issued edicts to regulate their behavior in order to strengthen their management.Part Ⅳ: focuses on the outstanding diplomatic envoys of the Tang Dynasty,Wang Xuanze,Yang Liangyao and Cui Hangheng.They made great contributions to the diplomacy of the Tang Dynasty and plays a positive role in the relationship between Tang and Tibet.They opened the way to India and the Great Eclipse,prospered the trade,perfectly fulfilled the diplomatic mission they were entrusted with,expanded the international influence of the Tang,and increased the centripetal force of other ethnic regimes and countries towards the Tang Dynasty.Part Ⅴ: is about the status and influence of Tang envoys in ancient Chinese diplomatic history.The Tang diplomatic envoys were appointed by the central government to travel to various countries in the East Asian region.They were the link between the Tang dynasty and other ethnic regions and countries in diplomatic relations,and the frequent exchanges of the envoys contributed to the economy,culture,literature and geography,politics and military of China and abroad.They were the concluders of peace and the witnesses.The first-hand information they brought back provided the material basis for the diplomatic decisions of the Tang Dynasty. |
