Leiden University Student Repository

van Oosten, Ramses (2021)

Evaluating the ideology of universal emperorship in the foreign policy of the Former Han dynasty

Master thesis | International Relations (MA)

Chinese dynasties are often described in terms of “universal emperorship”, because their territory was vast and they had a large influence on the wider region. This has also been applied to the Han dynasty, which is the first major Chinese dynasty. However, there is much evidence suggesting that the Han empire used a more limited notion of empire, which challenges the theory of universal emperorship. Therefore, this paper explores the question: to what extent does the foreign policy of the Han dynasty reflect the principle of universal emperorship? To answer this question, historical evidence about the foreign policy of the Former Han dynasty is analyzed according to three aspects of universal emperorship: political emperorship, geographical emperorship and cultural emperorship. This case study yields the conclusion that the foreign policy of the Han empire does not reflect the theory of universal emperorship. Instead, the Han dynasty accepted the independence of other states, and...Show moreChinese dynasties are often described in terms of “universal emperorship”, because their territory was vast and they had a large influence on the wider region. This has also been applied to the Han dynasty, which is the first major Chinese dynasty. However, there is much evidence suggesting that the Han empire used a more limited notion of empire, which challenges the theory of universal emperorship. Therefore, this paper explores the question: to what extent does the foreign policy of the Han dynasty reflect the principle of universal emperorship? To answer this question, historical evidence about the foreign policy of the Former Han dynasty is analyzed according to three aspects of universal emperorship: political emperorship, geographical emperorship and cultural emperorship. This case study yields the conclusion that the foreign policy of the Han empire does not reflect the theory of universal emperorship. Instead, the Han dynasty accepted the independence of other states, and sought for equal relations with their leaders. This result suggests that the association between Chinese empires and universal emperorship has to be revised.Show less

History

China

Empire

Ideology

Author

van Oosten, Ramses

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Global Order in a Historical Perspective

Supervisors

Dr. Hilde de Weerdt

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en