Pax Sinica Explained

Pax Sinica (Latin for "Chinese peace";) is a historiographical term referring to periods of peace and stability in East Asia,^[1] Northeast Asia,^[2] Southeast Asia, and Central Asia^[3] led by China. A study on the Sinocentric world system reveals that the multiple periods of Pax Sinica, when taken together, amounted to a length of approximately two thousand years.^[4]

The first Pax Sinica of the Eastern world emerged during the rule of the Han dynasty and coincided with the Pax Romana of the Western world led by the Roman Empire.^[5] It stimulated long-distance travel and trade in Eurasian history.^[6] Both the first Pax Sinica and the Pax Romana eroded at circa AD 200.

Periods of historical Pax Sinica

Han dynasty

The first period of Pax Sinica came into being during the Han dynasty of China.^[7] Domestically, the power of the emperor was consolidated following the devastation of the feudal system.^[8] The Rule of Wen and Jing (文景之治) and the Rule of Ming and Zhang (明章之治) were periods of societal stability and economic prosperity. Externally, the Han dynasty neutralized the threat posed by the nomadic Xiongnu following a series of wars.^[9] The boundaries of China were extended into what is modern-day western Xinjiang, South Korea (near modern Seoul), and Vietnam (around modern Huế).^[10] The Silk Road emerged as a major route that connected the East and the West after the Han diplomat Zhang Qian established contact with the numerous Central Asian tribes and states, thus facilitating commerce and cultural exchanges.^[11]

The Pax Sinica established by the Han dynasty is often compared to the Pax Romana of the Roman Empire.^[12] The Pax Sinica of the Han dynasty ended following decades of internal turmoil that later led to the downfall of the Han dynasty and a period of fragmentation in Chinese history.

Tang dynasty

The Tang dynasty was one of the golden ages in Chinese history and presided over another period of Pax Sinica.^[13] The Tang capital, Chang'an, was a major economic and cultural hub, and was the world's largest urban settlement at the time.^[14] The Silk Road facilitated economic and cultural exchanges between China and the outside world, with Persians and Sogdians among those who benefited the most from such exchanges with China. In the north, the First Turkic Khaganate was defeated and annexed;^[15] in the west, the Tang dynasty extended its control as far as modern-day Afghanistan and the Aral Sea;^{[16] [17]} in the east, Tang control reached Sakhalin. During its peak, the Tang dynasty maintained hegemony over 72 tributary states.^[18] During this period, Chinese culture was revitalized and became more diverse and cosmopolitan. The amount of interaction between China and Japan increased; Chinese influence on Japanese culture and politics became more prominent since the Tang dynasty.^[19]

Yuan dynasty

See also: Pax Mongolica.

The Yuan dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China ruled by ethnic Mongol and was the main successor to the Mongol Empire. While the Yuan dynasty is often considered a legitimate Chinese dynasty that bore the Mandate of Heaven, historians usually classify this period of peace under the Pax Mongolica.^[20]

Ming dynasty

The Ming dynasty of China presided over another period of Pax Sinica.^[21] This period saw the formal institutionalization of the Chinese tributary system, illustrating the great political power of China at the time.^[22] The seven maritime expeditions led by Zheng He projected the imperial power of the Ming dynasty across Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa.^[23] During this period, China also exerted a great amount of influence on the culture and politics of Korea.^{[24] [25]}

Qing dynasty

The Qing dynasty of China heralded another period of Pax Sinica.^[26] At its peak, it ruled over the fourth largest empire territorially, constituting 9.87 per cent of the world's total land area.^[27] The High Qing era was a period of sustained population growth,^[28] economic prosperity and territorial expansion.^[29] The multicultural and multiethnic nature of the Qing dynasty was fundamental to the subsequent formation of the modern nationalist concept of Zhonghua minzu. As the rulers of the Qing dynasty were ethnic Manchu, this period of peace is also sometimes known as "Pax Manjurica".^{[30] [31] [32]}

See also

• List of periods of regional peace
• Pax Romana; Sino-Roman relations; Comparative studies of the Roman and Han empires
• Silk Road & Maritime Silk Road; Belt and Road Initiative
• Golden ages of China; Chinese Century
• Constitution of the People's Republic of China
  • Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence
  • Community of Common Destiny
• Tianxia Datong ("Great Unity All Under Heaven")
• Heaven worship / Mandate of Heaven: Son of Heaven & Khan of Heaven
• Chinese Empire; Celestial Empire
• Sinocentrism; Tributary system of China
• Civilization state; Chinese culture; East Asian cultural sphere
• China and the United Nations; Military operations other than war (China); Chinese foreign aid

Further reading

• KIM, S.S, China's Pacific Policy: Reconciling the Irreconcilable, International Journal, 1994.
• Kueh, Y.Y. (2012). Pax Sinica: Geopolitics and Economics of China's Ascendance
• TERMINSKI, Bogumil, (2010), The Evolution of the Concept of Perpetual Peace in the History of Political-Legal Thought, Perspectivas Internacionales, vol. 10: 277–291.
• YEOH, Kok Kheng, (2009), Towards Pax Sinica?: China's rise and transformation : impacts and implications, University of Malaya.
• ZHANG, Yongjin, (2001), System, empire and state in Chinese international relations, Review of International Studies, vol. 27: 43–63.

Notes and References

1. Book: Deng, Yang . Promoting Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation: Perspectives from East Asia . 1997 . 12 . Springer . 9780230380127 .
2. Book: Domínguez . Jorge . Kim . Byung-Kook . Between Compliance and Conflict: East Asia, Latin America, and the "new" Pax Americana . 2005 . 125 . Routledge . 9780415951258 .
3. Book: Lee, Joseph . Wang Ch'ang-ling . 1982 . 94 . Twayne Publishers . 9780805764659 .
4. Book: Smolnikov, Sergey . Great Power Conduct and Credibility in World Politics . 2018 . 112 . Springer . 9783319718859 .
5. Book: Plott, John C. . Global History of Philosophy . 1989 . Motilal Banarsidass . Delhi, India . 9788120804562 . 57 .
6. Book: Krech III . Shepard . Merchant . Carolyn . McNeill . John Robert . [{{Google books |plainurl=y |id=Dmky95hwKr0C |page=135 }} Encyclopedia of World Environmental History ]. 3: O–Z, Index . 2004 . Routledge . 978-0-415-93735-1 . 135– .
7. Book: Morris. Ian. War! What Is It Good For?: Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots. 2014. 69. Farrar, Straus and Giroux . 9780374711030.
8. Book: Grousset. René. The Rise and Splendour of the Chinese Empire. 1964. 55.
9. Book: Tan. Koon San. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. 2014. 131. The Other Press . 9789839541885.
10. Grousset (1964). p. 60.
11. Grousset (1964). p. 85.
12. Book: Auyang. Sunny. The Dragon and the Eagle: The Rise and Fall of the Chinese and Roman Empires. 2014. 151. Routledge . 9781317516880.
13. Book: Mahbubani. Kishore. The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East. 2009. PublicAffairs . 9781586486280.
14. Book: Brown. Cynthia. Big History: From the Big Bang to the Present. 2012. New Press/ORIM . 9781595588456.
15. Book: Burnn. Stanley. Toops. Stanley. Gilbreath. Richard. The Routledge Atlas of Central Eurasian Affairs. 2012. 15. Routledge . 9781136310478.
16. Book: Hallet. Stanley. Samizay. Rafi. Traditional architecture of Afghanistan. 1980. 9. Garland STPM Press . 9780824070595.
17. Book: Gan. Chunsong. A Concise Reader of Chinese Culture. 2019. 24. Springer . 9789811388675.
18. Book: Cox. Michael. Dunne. Tim. Booth. Ken. Empires, Systems and States: Great Transformations in International Politics. 2001. 52. Cambridge University Press . 9780521016865.
19. Book: Embree. Ainslie. Gluck. Carol. Asia in Western and World History: A Guide for Teaching. M.E. Sharpe. 1997. registration. Japan culture tang dynasty.. 352.
20. Book: Zhao. George. Marriage as Political Strategy and Cultural Expression: Mongolian Royal Marriages from World Empire to Yuan Dynasty. 2008. Peter Lang . 9781433102752.
21. Book: Horner. Charles. Rising China and Its Postmodern Fate: Memories of Empire in a New Global Context. 2010. 34. University of Georgia Press . 9780820335889.
22. Book: Cheng. Weichung. War, Trade and Piracy in the China Seas (1622-1683). 2013. 11. BRILL . 9789004253537.
23. Book: Naidu. G.V.C.. Chen. Mumin. Narayanan. Raviprasad. India and China in the Emerging Dynamics of East Asia. 2014. 123. Springer . 9788132221388.
24. Book: Lee. Soyoung. Kim. JaHyun. Hong. Sunpyo. Chang. Chin-Sung. Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1400-1600. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2009. registration. ming dynasty korean culture.. 62.
25. Book: Fang. Weigui. Modern Notions of Civilization and Culture in China. 2019. 28–29. Springer . 9789811335587.
26. Book: Wong. Young-tsu. A Paradise Lost: The Imperial Garden Yuanming Yuan. 2001. 1. University of Hawaii Press . 9780824823283.
27. Book: Whitaker's Little Book of Knowledge. 2018. Bloomsbury. 9781408895870.
28. Web site: Demography of Qing China . Shuang Chen . July 30, 2024.
29. Book: Buoye. Thomas. Manslaughter, Markets, and Moral Economy: Violent Disputes Over Property Rights in Eighteenth-Century China. 2000. 34. Cambridge University Press . 9780521640459.
30. Book: McCord. Edward. Military Force and Elite Power in the Formation of Modern China. 2014. Routledge . 9781317907787.
31. Horner (2010). p. 54.
32. Smolnikov (2018). p. 141.