Temple Diplomacy, Sacred Rites, and Overseas Chinese During the Reign of Song Emperor Zhenzong (997-1022)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3496159 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gregory Sattler (University of California, Los Angeles, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 11 |
| Pages | 1401 |
| Publication date | 2024-11-18 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel15111401 |
| OpenAlex | W4404485071 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 32 |
Throughout most of Chinese history, leaders viewed the migration and movement of their subjects beyond state borders as a symptom of poor governance. As a result, record keepers generally avoided addressing the topic of Chinese people traveling or residing overseas. There is, however, an exceptional moment in Chinese history that provides valuable insight into the early establishment of Chinese communities abroad. Facing political pressure after signing a humiliating peace treaty with foreign adversaries in 1005, the Song dynasty emperor Zhenzong (968-1022, r. 997-1022) utilized unconventional forms of religious diplomacy and revived ancient rites to shore up support for his rule. The Feng and Shan rites were the highest level of sacrifice that an emperor could undertake, and they were only carried out by several emperors prior to Zhenzong's reign. One of the requirements of this complex ritual was for the sovereign to attract foreign peoples from afar by his virtuous character, and so Zhenzong's reign witnessed major initiatives to attract foreign envoys from states such as Srivijaya (Sumatra), Dai Viet (northern Vietnam), Japan, and India. Zhenzong's reign also incorporated forms of diplomacy that originated in South and Southeast Asia, namely, the construction of temples in foreign states to enhance his spiritual authority. This essay will demonstrate that Emperor Zhenzong relied on Chinese merchants residing overseas to work with foreign leaders to coordinate the participation of foreign emissaries in such forms of temple diplomacy and in the Feng and Shan sacrifices. The significance of these events brought the activities of Chinese people trading and residing overseas to the attention of the Song court and its chroniclers, and as a result, we are left with the earliest indications of Chinese communities abroad in official Chinese histories
Ancient history · Art · Diplomacy · Emperor · Political science · Reign · Chinese history and philosophy · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law
The Making of Song Dynasty History
China Among Equals
The Ideological Underpinnings of Private Trade in East Asia, ca. 800–1127
China in medieval Indian imagination
Death Rituals and Politics in Northern Song China
The Muslim Merchants of Premodern China
The Cambridge History of Japan
Development and Decline of Fukien Province in the 17th and 18th Centuries
The Cambridge History of China
The Origins of the Chinese Nation
Community, Trade, and Networks
Networks of Faith and Profit
Diplomacy and Trade in the Chinese World, 589-1276
Srivijaya, la Chine et les marchands chinois (Xe-XIIe s.). Quelques réflexions sur la société de l'empire sumatranais
Imagining Asia(s)
The Ningbo-Hakata Merchant Network and the Reorientation of East Asian Maritime Trade, 1150–1350
Portrait Sculptures in Imperial Ancestral Rites in Song China
Literate Merchants in Southeast China and Overseas, c. 800–1100
Tibetan, Burmese and Chinese Inscriptions from Bodhgayā in the British Museum
Esoteric Buddhism in Mediaeval Maritime Asia
An Early Age of Commerce in Southeast Asia, 900–1300 CE
A Few and Miscellaneous Pi-Chi Jottings on Early Indonesia
Geographical Notes on Some Commodities Involved in Sung Maritime Trade
Taoism at the Sung Court
Restudying Some Chinese Writings on Sriwijaya
Early Polities in Southern Sumatra
Junk Trade, Businesss Networks and Sojourning Communities
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |