Pax Sinica
Pax Sinica (Latin for "Chinese peace") is a historiographical term, modeled after the original phrase Pax Romana, applied to the period of peace in East Asia, maintained by Chinese hegemony. During this period, long-distance trade flourished, cities ballooned, standards of living rose, and the population surged.[1] It is usually the period of rule by the Western Zhou, Western Han, Eastern Han, Tang, Ming, and Qing dynasties.[2] During these periods, China maintained the dominant civilization in the region, due to its political, economic, military and cultural power.
The first Pax Sinica of the eastern world by Han China coincided with the Pax Romana of the Western World by Rome.[3] It stimulated the long-distance travel and trade in Eurasian history.[4] The Pax Sinica and Pax Romana both eroded at about 200 AD.[4]
Sui China (581-618) established a second Pax Sinica in AD 589, continued by Tang China (618–907).[5] This was considered one of the golden ages of China.[5] The economy, commerce, culture, and science was flourishing and reached new heights.[5] During the early Tang-era, most notably during Emperor Taizong's reign, the Chinese brought their nomadic neighbors to submission.[5] This secured the safety and peace at the many trade routes.[5] The Pax Sinica brought forth a new age for exchange via the Silk Road.[5] The Chinese civilization became open and cosmopolitan to all people from near and far away.[5] Many people from different backgrounds and denominations traveled to the capital of Chang'an.[5] These included clerics, merchants, and envoys from India, Persia, Arabia, Syria, Korea, and Japan.[5]
A resurgence of this term has happened in recent years, as the rise of China changes the geopolitical landscape in Asia. The view has been expressed that a renewed Pax Sinica in Central Asia may help maintain stability in the region.[6]
See also
- Imperial era of Chinese history
- All Under Heaven
- Son of Heaven
- Heavenly Kehan
- Sinocentrism
- Chinese Century
References
- ↑ Pollard, Elizabeth (2015). Worlds Together Worlds Apart. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-393-92207-3.
- ↑ 馬衛東, 中道網, 中國古代三大治世的歷史成因
- ↑ Plott, John C. (1989). Global History of Philosophy. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 57. ISBN 9788120804562.
- 1 2 Krech III, Shepard; McNeil, J.R.; Merchant, Carolyn, eds. (2004). Encyclopedia of world environmental history. New York: Routledge. p. 135. ISBN 9780415937337.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mahbubani, Kishore (2009). The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East. New York: PublicAffairs. p. 149. ISBN 9781586486280.
- ↑ Pax-Sinica: Why the U.S. should hand over Afghanistan and Central Asia to China
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.