Qiu Jun (1421-1495), a descendant of Chinese immigrants to Hainan, was one of the most accomplished Ming scholars of the latter half of the fifteenth century. Taking a distinctly Neo-Confucian approach to political philosophy and historical interpretation, he authored the Daxue yanyi bu as a sequel to the Southern Song Neo-Confucian minister Zhen Dexiu’s (1178-1235) Daxue yanyi (Extensive Meanings of the “Higher Learning”). Whereas Zhen’s work—framed as a commentary on the “Daxue” (Higher Learning) chapter of the Liji—emphasized the ruler’s moral self-cultivation and management of the imperial household, Qiu’s Supplement focused on explicating various principles of good statecraft, from court ritual to foreign relations. The Supplement’s intended audience was the Ming emperor, hence each passage written by Qiu begins with the phrase “I, your subject, note,” followed by his commentary on a passage from the “Confucian” classics, Song Neo-Confucian writings, or historical records. The passages translated below are from the chapters pertaining to foreign relations, which are grouped under the category “Managing the barbarians.”

~~~~~

From Chapter 143, “Managing the barbarians: Maintaining the boundary between the Xia on the inside and the barbarians on the outside,” Part 1

I, your subject, note: When the sage-kings were at the height of their power, the territory that they governed did not extend very far in any of the four cardinal directions…. At that time, the area covered by the Central Lands was limited to the states of Song, Jin, Qi, Lu, Wei, and Zheng and was equivalent to no more than several tens of commanderies (prefectures) in the present day. If this was the case even at the height of the Zhou dynasty, then one can imagine what it was like in the Xia and Shang and before.

Some say that before the Qin dynasty, [the Central Lands] extended further into the northwest while being limited in the southeast. From the Qin onwards, [the empire] expanded into the southeast while contracting in the northwest. I humbly observe that today, our territory in the southeast reaches all the way to the sea. That is its maximum possible extent, and there is no further room for expansion. Only on the west, the north, and the southwest has our territorial extent not yet reached the sea. However, we are cut off on those sides by many layers of mountains and by great wastelands and deserts. The qi of those lands is bad and their people’s nature is thus fierce and uncivilized. Those are not lands fit for human habitation. Whether we possess them or not has no bearing on the reputation of the Central Lands. An enlightened ruler regards our Hua-Xia, the part of the world illuminated by civility (wenming 文明), as a treasure, and can simply regard other lands as worthless rubble….

[Qiu Jun quotes the Governor of Shen, Xu, saying, “In ancient times, the Son of Heaven’s defenses lay among the barbarians of the four quarters” (see source 2.1).]

I, your subject, note: The Son of Heaven treats the whole subcelestial realm as his home. Within, the Central Lands are the inner halls. Without, the frontiers are the walls and fences. Beyond the walls and fences are the barbarians.¹ Therefore, the Son of Heaven propagates his moral authority and good governance to bring harmony to his people within, while strengthening his frontier defenses. That is how to ensure that the Central Lands remain supreme and at peace, without any invasions by foreign threats.

…

From Chapter 144, “Managing the barbarians: Maintaining the boundary between the Xia on the inside and the barbarians on the outside,” Part 2

I, your subject, note: Since antiquity, rulers have taken the ability to control the outer barbarians as a sign of their great moral authority, not knowing that moral authority is relevant only to our Hua-Xia, the lands illuminated by civility (wenming), and has nothing to do with those desolate and barren regions. Ban Gu said, “it would bring no benefit to us to gain control over them, and we would lose nothing by abandoning them. We possess a great enough bounty of moral charisma and need not seek more from ruling them.”² Those are truly wise words!

…

From Chapter 153, “Managing the barbarians: Descriptions of the barbarian tribes in the world’s four quarters,” Part 1

I, your subject, note: The great virtue of heaven and earth lies in giving life. Among those to which they give life, human beings are superior to all other things. Among human beings, there are Hua and barbarians (Yi). There is only one kind of Hua, but there is more than one kind of barbarian. Presumably this is because the lands of Hua-Xia lie in the center while the barbarians live in the periphery. Those in the center are unified and uniform. Their endowed natures and customs may differ slightly but are similar on the whole. Those in the periphery surround [the center] like a ring. They are connected to one another but not unified or uniform. Therefore, those in the near periphery are mostly similar but slightly different in their endowed natures and customs, while those in the far periphery [have customs] contrary to ours and are cut off from us. Because their living conditions and situations are different, the sage-kings governed them by teaching them without changing their customs and making the methods of governance uniform, but without changing the suitability in each case. They adapted to changing circumstances, formulating policies suited to the moment.³ In essence, they simply ensured that each [kind of barbarian] remained in its own place. As long as they remained in their own place and did not threaten the frontiers, then the Hua people in the interior would be safe.

[Qiu Jun quotes Jia Juanzhi’s memorial to Han Emperor Yuan (see source 2.4)]

I, your subject, note: Jia Juanzhi argued that the empire should have nothing to do with all lands whose people do not wear robes and caps, whose lands are excluded from the “Yugong” (Tribute of Yu), and whose histories are not recorded in the Annals. I believe Jia Juanzhi’s approach can be applied to all lands that did not belong to the [Ming] imperial ancestors. As for territories that were already part of the empire when the imperial ancestors gained sovereignty over the subcelestial realm, how could those be handed over to others? How much more so for the most fertile parts of the Central Lands or the most strategic frontiers, of which it was once said that an inch of mountains and rivers is worth an inch of gold? Unless we absolutely have no choice, and our survival and security depend on it, we should never speak lightly of abandoning them.

…

From Chapter 155, “Managing the barbarians: Descriptions of the barbarian tribes in the world’s four quarters,” Part 3

[Qiu Jun quotes the passage from Ming Taizu’s Ancestral Instructions pertaining to non-expansion (see source 2.16)]

Our sagely ancestor’s words are truly great! His sagely descendants should admire them and abide by them as family instructions for all generations. I, your subject, thus reverently quote them at length at the end of this section on managing the barbarians, so as to pass down these eternal principles for emperors to observe when ruling and managing the Hua and barbarians.

…

From Chapter 156, “Managing the barbarians: The error of raiding, deceiving, and waging unrestrained warfare [against the barbarians]”

[Qiu Jun gives an account of Han Emperor Wu’s war with the Xiongnu]

Alas! Heaven’s virtue lies in loving life; therefore, it establishes rulers to nurture the lives of the people. When the barbarians enter our territory and attack our people, we have no choice but to chase them out so that they will not harm our people. That is acceptable. But if they have not attacked our frontiers, and we raise armies without cause to cross the frontier to seek out and attack them, then it is clear which side is in the wrong and which side is in the right. A sage-king embodies the heart of Heaven and Earth and loves both the Hua and the barbarians. It is Heaven’s way for the Hua and barbarians to each live in their own land and not invade and harm one another. Ru (Confucian) scholars of the past said that Emperor Wu wanted a world without barbarians. Now, as long as there are Hua there will be barbarians. As long as there is yang there will be yin. How could there be a principle of exterminating them all? Emperor Wu was fond of military victories. But no victory comes without killing people. The emperor sought military victories because he desired to eliminate the caitiff (Xiongnu) threat for the sake of his descendants. But he did not know that when achieving these victories, he would surely have to kill many people. Heaven will always send down retribution on one who kills—if not on the murderer himself, then on his descendants. When we see that Emperor Wu soon afterwards suffered the calamity of the Heir Apparent [Liu] Ju, that itself can serve as a mirror (warning).⁴

[Qiu Jun gives an account of the Mongol Yuan emperor Khubilai’s disastrous second invasion of Japan in 1281]

I, your subject, note: During Yuan Shizu’s (Khubilai, r. 1260-1294) time on the throne, he attacked Miandian (Myanmar), Zhaowa (Java), Zhancheng (Champa), and Riben (Japan).⁵ Not a year went by without such expeditions. How does his waging of unrestrained warfare compare to that of the First Emperor of Qin and Han Emperor Wu?

The Great Wall was built and armies were sent beyond the frontier for the sake of the living souls in the Central Lands, because there was no threat greater to the Central Lands than the northern Di (the Xiongnu). If we did not chase them out when we were at the peak of our strength, they would surely do great harm to our descendants in the future. That was the intent of the First Emperor of Qin and Han Emperor Wu, nothing more. Shizu’s attacks on these countries were different. Miandian is connected to the Hundred Yi.⁶ Zhancheng is separated from us by Jiaozhi (Dai Viet). Zhaowa and Riben both lie beyond the southern sea. These countries are not connected to us by land and their armies never crossed swords with ours. Why did [Shizu] feel compelled to invade them? Simply out of greed for their wealth. He presumably had heard that these countries had many pearls and jewels and wished to have them. Alas! To gain useless goods, he harmed useful human beings. As a ruler of the people, he killed people to satisfy his desires, not just once but repeatedly. Alas! How could Shizu have been following the way of rulership when doing this? He was a barbarian ruler and cannot be faulted for not knowing better. But in future ages, those who become rulers of the people of Hua-Xia, as heirs to the position of the sage-kings, should take care not to emulate him.

---

1. This metaphor seems to be derived from the Xuande emperor’s Yuzhi dixun (see source 2.17). ↩︎
2. See source 2.8. ↩︎
3. This language is derived from the Liji document “Wangzhi” (see source 1.6). ↩︎
4. In 91 BCE, Emperor Wu’s Heir Apparent, Liu Ju, was falsely accused of witchcraft by the unscrupulous official Jiang Chong, who bore a grudge against him. Liu Ju launched a coup and killed Jiang Chong, but was defeated by imperial troops and committed suicide. ↩︎
5. Khubilai invaded the Pagan empire of Myanmar in 1283-1285 and 1287, the Singhasari kingdom of Java in 1293, Champa in 1283, and Japan in 1274 and 1281. In the cases of Pagan, Singhasari, and Japan, the invasions were responses to their rulers’ refusal to pay tribute to Khubilai. Champa did pay tribute but was invaded for rejecting Khubilai’s demand that its king lead a tribute mission in person or send a son to the Yuan capital as a diplomatic hostage. ↩︎
6. The Ming used the name “the Hundred Yi” for the Dai/Tai kingdom of Mong Mao on the frontier between Myanmar and Yunnan. ↩︎