Chapter 25 5. Destiny and Choice

It seems that from the very beginning, Datang has faced the world. Just look at their Protectorate – in the 14th year of Zhenguan (640), the Protectorate of Anxi was placed in Jiaohe, in the first year of Zongzhang (668), the Protectorate of Andong was placed in Pyongyang, and in the following year it was changed to the Protectorate of Hanhai. In the first year of Diaolu (679), the Annan Protectorate was established in Songping (now Hanoi, Vietnam).There are Dufu Mansions in the east, west, north and south. Jurisdiction has long been beyond the territory of China.The south reaches Vietnam, the east reaches North Korea and South Korea, the north reaches Mongolia and Russia, and the west includes eastern and southeastern Kazakhstan, all of Kyrgyzstan, eastern Tajikistan, most of Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, and the eastern half of Turkmenistan , Most of Uzbekistan.These places that belonged to other countries' territories today were all regarded by Datang as their own sphere of influence and even territory at that time.

Isn't this a world empire? However, all these actions were completed before Empress Wu became emperor.It took only thirty-nine years from the establishment of the Anxi Protectorate to the establishment of the Annan Protectorate.This fully shows that external expansion is the common national policy of the three generations of rulers from Taizong to Empress Wu.It is probably unusual for a dynasty of an agricultural nation to have such inflated ambitions and realize them so quickly.Where is the mystery? Briefly, there are three reasons. First of all, although the Sui and Tang Dynasties were agricultural empires, they were not or not entirely established by agricultural nations.The people who established the new dynasty were of mixed race.The blood of the nomads flowed on the royal family and important ministers of Yang Sui and Li Tang.Since their ancestors, they have not had the habit of being content with their duties. It is their nature to attack, invade, pioneer, and enterprising, but this time the "grassland" is wider.

Secondly, the agricultural empire did not necessarily stop expanding, and Assyria and the Han Dynasty were extremely expansive.The only difference between the two Han is that the Western Han mainly faces north, while the Eastern Han mainly faces south.In fact, the logic of agricultural nations is this: because they need to settle down, they need to establish a country; because they need to build water conservancy, deal with natural disasters, and resist foreign enemies, they must change from a city state to a territorial state, and finally develop into a centralized empire. After the establishment of the empire, boundaries became a problem.After the population increased, land became a problem again.Regardless of defending the country or developing production, there will inevitably be friction with neighboring countries, leading to war.Therefore, the agricultural empire will inevitably develop into an agricultural military empire, and opening up territories becomes the only way to survive.

Expansion is imperative. In this regard, agricultural empires are no different from nomadic empires.The difference is that the war appeal of nomadic peoples is wealth, while that of agricultural peoples is land.One wants movable property and the other wants real property. The way is different, and the technique is also different.Therefore, nomadic military empires only occupied but did not govern, only stationed troops but did not reclaim wasteland, and often captured one piece and lost the other.yes!There are only grass eaters in the world, how can there be grass growers? The policy of the agricultural and military empire is to cultivate and guard the border.Wherever the army in front hits, the peasants behind will follow.In their view, expansion is like land reclamation, and it should be regarded as land reclamation. Land reclamation without agricultural follow-up is meaningless.Therefore, if the front is not suitable for human habitation, the chariot will stop.

Therefore, the expansion of agricultural empires is rational and moderate, and their boundaries are within the safety line, depending on the saturation of land demand.The expansion of nomadic empires is irrational and unlimited, and their boundaries are their own capabilities.In other words, they always fight until they can't move.Therefore, their history is like a whirlwind or a typhoon, which rises and dies quickly, leaving only a mess. Looking at it this way, it is not surprising that Datang had the ambition to conquer the world, and it would be unusual not to have this ambition.Don't forget, even the little Goguryeo knew how to turn itself into a military kingdom and take advantage of the civil strife in the Central Plains to expand southward, let alone a unified and powerful Han and Tang?The so-called "those who offend a strong man will be punished no matter how far away" is an excuse but also the truth.It's just that Han and Tang can speak in this tone, and they can do what they say, but Goguryeo can't. Why is this?

The pros and cons of culture. Excuse me, are there advantages and disadvantages in culture? Generally speaking, in terms of nature and quality, culture is neither good nor bad.Culture is culture.As a way of human existence and development, any culture has its reason and right to exist, and they are not comparable.Therefore, we cannot say that one culture is superior and another or the other is inferior. However, quality has no advantages or disadvantages, but there are situations and situations.In other words, there is no superior or inferior culture in the world, but there are superior and inferior cultures.The advantage must be high quality, and it must be strong.Although the disadvantage is not necessarily inferior, it is definitely weak.Water flows to lower place, man goes to higher position.It was the Sui and Tang dynasties that became world civilizations and not others, and this is the fundamental reason.

However, there is still a problem here. The problem is that superiority is not permanent, and being superior does not necessarily mean being universal.Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi.How can Chinese culture maintain its superiority for a long time, and how will other cultures that are at a disadvantage deal with themselves? All nations in East Asia are faced with a choice. Turks, Huihe and Tubo chose to stick to it.Although they also understand Chinese and Chinese characters, the public language they use is independent.Although the Turkic script originated from Sogdia, the Uyghur script originated from Turkic script, and the Tubo script was based on Indian script, they were all their own.What is also important is that Buddhism and Taoism have never entered Turkic society. Huihe simply chose Manichaeism, and Tubo established its own religious system after introducing Indian and Chinese Buddhism at the same time, which has continued to this day.

This is not difficult to understand. Indeed, in the face of the strength of the Tang Dynasty, they lacked deep accumulation and had to be vigilant and stick to their positions, lest they be swallowed by the highly developed and highly spreadable Chinese civilization.Interestingly, however, Japan and Silla, which are equally weak, chose a cultural strategy of overall Sinicization, and did not hesitate to use a large number of Chinese characters directly before the creation of Japanese and Korean, lest they could not share a common cultural identity with Chinese civilization.They also scrambled to introduce Chinese Buddhism, which was just the opposite of Turkic, Huihe and Tubo.

Choice determines fate.The Turks and Uyghurs, who always wanted to keep a distance from the Sui and Tang Dynasties, retreated successfully on the stage of history. The Tubo, which was at a distance from China, integrated into the big family of the nation with a distinctive attitude. the way.Looking back suddenly, it really makes people feel a lot of emotion. Datang also faces a choice. That's right, the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century had enviable cultural advantages.The ancient civilization created 2,000 years ago, after 400 years of hardships, was injected with fresh blood by the Wuhu and Xianbei, thus combining the calmness of the agricultural nation and the bloody spirit of the nomadic nation, and it is more high-quality and powerful than the Han Dynasty. .At this time, even if they closed their doors and admired themselves, rushing out of the country to show off their might, or condescendingly looking down on everyone, I am afraid that not many people have the nerve to criticize them.

Datang chose to be open and tolerant. Openness is for the outside world.Anyone can come in, learn what they want, and give them what they want.Tolerance is internal.Any foreign culture can be used by me, and the nationals can take what they need.There are no restrictions, no differences, no rules and regulations, no rules and regulations, only a broad mind. It's a sign of confidence. Historians have discovered that the more unstable a dynasty or country is, the more shaky its rule will be, the more it will desperately restrain itself internally and stubbornly reject externally.On the contrary, if you believe that your regime is as stable as Mount Tai and your culture is as vast as the ocean, you will open all doors and windows and accept all foreign cultures without discrimination.

Can not help but admire the people of Tang.They have advantages and superiority, but they do not have a sense of superiority. On the contrary, they show curiosity about foreign cultures and a sense of normalcy towards other nations. They neither belittle themselves nor bully others.Because they believe that no culture can subvert our traditions, but can only be their own nourishment; they also believe that civilization is not private property, it belongs to the people of the world. This is really the demeanor of a great country. Now we can make a summary: the agricultural empire was inherently expansive, and the Sui and Tang dynasties were mixed dynasties, taking advantage of the advantages of Chinese culture and facing reality with an open attitude and a compatible mentality. This is how they created a world-wide civilization. Three reasons.It is not surprising that it is one of the three empires together with Byzantium and Arabia. So, what will be the story of the three empires? end of volume Please pay attention to the next volume

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Notes: Book four.