Zhu Zhanji (1399-1435), the fifth Ming emperor, used the reign era Xuande (1425-1435) and was also known posthumously as Xuanzong. In 1427, he ended the costly twenty-year occupation of Dai Viet initiated by his grandfather, the Yongle emperor (r. 1402-1424), and reverted to the defensive foreign policy favored by Ming Taizu (on this, see also source 2.18). The excerpt translated below is a chapter from a 25-chapter work titled Yuzhi dixun (Imperially Authored Instructions for Emperors) that Zhu Zhanji completed in early 1428. It was intended as a statement of his philosophy of rulership and a repository of advice for future emperors. “On Managing the Barbarians” is the only chapter focused on foreign relations. In the general preface, Zhu Zhanji explains the purpose of the chapter as follows: “As long as the the Central Lands exist, the barbarians will exist. They are like yin and yang, or day and night; neither one can exist without the other. Being a good ruler of the subcelestial realm also includes regulating and managing then in the right way.” The chapter repeats conventional tropes about the moral inferiority of barbarians, using these as justifications for a sagely ruler’s focus on domestic governance and border defense rather than territorial expansion.

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On Managing the Barbarians

The barbarians (Yi) of the four quarters cannot be discussed in the same way as the Central Lands. Heaven and Earth have separated them from us; the barbarians (Yi-Di) are certainly a different kind of being. The barbarians do not have the teachings of the Odes and Documents, nor do they practice ritual propriety and moral duty. When they are pleased with you, then they behave like human beings, but when angered, then they behave like beasts. This is their ingrained nature. Therefore, sages do not govern them like the Central Lands. If the Central Lands are at peace and our civilization spreads abroad, and the barbarians know how to pay homage in admiration of our morality, that is very good. But they are not of our kind (zulei), and so their hearts waver constantly between rebellion and submission. We must not neglect to be on our guard. That is why our dynasty has established border defenses, appointed commanding generals, and equipped the troops with good weapons and armor to keep a vigilant watch on the frontier. This is to ensure that the barbarians cannot harm the Central Lands, that is all.

The sage treats the whole subcelestial realm as his home. The Central Lands are like the inner halls, while the barbarians of the four quarters are like the grounds beyond the fences and walls. The inner halls are where people live; they have ritual and music and proper hierarchies. The grounds beyond the fences and walls are where plants and insects grow, and that is Heaven’s way. When the barbarians seek to harm us, they always take advantage of the weaknesses of the Central Lands. If at the imperial court, the ruler and his ministers are in accord, the laws and institutions are enlightened, the Central Lands are at peace, the troops are well-fed, and the border defenses are strong, then no matter how wild and violent the barbarians are, what harm could they do? That is why a ruler who can maintain peace in the Central Lands never has trouble managing the barbarians. The best way to manage the barbarians is a vigilant defense. The model of the Annals is not to refuse those who come [to submit] and not to pursue those who leave.¹ Those who come are embraced with kindness, but those who rebel and leave are not pursued relentlessly. Truly this is due to concern that it would impose great expense and hardship on the Central Lands. The Odes say, “We smote the Xianyun/as far as Taiyuan”²; that can serve as a model for rulers to manage the barbarians.

1. This alludes to a passage in He Xiu’s subcommentary to the Gongyang commentary to the Annals (see source 1.5), relating to Lord Yin of Lu’s diplomatic conference with a Rong ruler in 721 BCE: “A true king does not seek to govern the barbarians, but the Rong are named here to show that when the barbarians come [to submit], we do not refuse them, and when they leave, we do not pursue them.” ↩︎
2. This quotes the ode “Liuyue” (The Sixth Month), which narrates a Zhou military expedition against the Xianyun during the reign of King Xuan (see source 1.1). The original text reads Dayuan 大原 (the Great Plain), but commentators in later periods tended to interpret this as Taiyuan 太原 in Shanxi. “Smiting the Xianyun as far as Taiyuan” then became a stock phrase for repelling raiders and pursuing them to one’s borders, but no further. However, some modern historians believe that the Dayuan of the ode was actually Guyuan, Ningxia, and that it was located within Xianyun territory at the time. ↩︎