Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, Volume 78

Page 3

Those who arrive once every few years allow us to truly grasp their actual circumstances. Once we understand these circumstances, we can manage them with a proper method.

Some argue that the Sage-Kings of antiquity divided the Nine Provinces original: "Jiuzhou"; a traditional name for the heartland of China and established the Five Zones original: "Wufu"; a system of concentric zones of increasing distance from the capital, used to define the relationship between the Emperor and various peoples to ensure prosperity within the empire, never seeking anything from the outside. During the Han dynasty, the "barbarians" opened markets for trade, using deceitful language and fraud; they often requested envoys to escort them across great distances. Therefore, Meng Jian the courtesy name of Ban Gu (32–92 AD), a famous historian and author of the Book of Han stated that since great virtue resides within us, we have nothing to gain from them.

Today, however, various ships from the Southern Seas Nanyang; referring to Southeast Asia and the maritime trade routes arrive at our borders in groups of hundreds, their masts stretching out in a continuous line. Their weapons consist of cannons and foreign blades, while their people are nimble and predatory. If bandits were to lie in wait, we would see wild unrest break out; can the historical precedents of the Han dynasty truly address such a situation?

I respond to this by saying: This is not enough to cause concern. In military matters, one must always weigh the balance between the host and the guest. The custom of these islanders is to seek profit only through trade and relocation.

There are two things for which the foreigners must rely on us, and two reasons why we need not fear foreign trouble.

As for the nature of these foreigners, they are particularly fond of milk products The text likely refers to the "barbarian" diet, which was often used in Chinese strategic thought to argue that foreigners were physically dependent on Chinese exports like tea and rhubarb to digest their heavy diet of meat and dairy...