Harmony was an important matter in ancient diplomatic relations. It is a political means to ensure peace between the two countries and avoid war by establishing in-laws with other countries and thus strengthening blood ties between the two countries.
Blood relatives are the earliest important link that maintains human society, and clans and their tribes in the primitive social period are a group gathered together according to blood relations. Obviously, this way of harmony and affinity is continued from primitive society to future generations.
Since peace and affinity is a way to strengthen blood ties, why in ancient Chinese society, only the princesses of the Central Plains Dynasty countries married to the minority countries, but there were no princesses from ethnic minority countries, and married to the Central Plains Dynasty?
Of course, it cannot be said that there is no such way at all. For example, the Korean princess once married Zhu Di, which also caused a big storm, and the historical legend that Zhu Di killed three thousand palace eunuchs for this purpose, which shows that this matter was very noisy at that time. However, this is a minority after all, and in most cases it does not exist. So why, only the Central Plains countries marry princesses to the Great Khans of ethnic minority countries, but few ethnic minority countries marry their daughters to the princes and nobles of the Central Plains countries?
The reason for this situation is related to the meaning of this political means of the Central Plains countries.
The policy of peace and pro-affinity of the Central Plains countries is not simply a kind of marriage, but more of a political gesture. What kind of political gesture is this?
The first thing we need to understand is that the peace and affinity of the Central Plains countries occurred under the condition of unequal political forces.
However, when we talk about political parity, we do not mean that the political power of the Central Plains countries and the political forces of the neighboring ethnic minority countries tend to be balanced, but that the political power of the Central Plains countries must be absolutely dominant when compared with the political forces of the neighboring ethnic minority countries. In this way, the surrounding ethnic minority countries will support the Central Plains countries.
This is equivalent to the relationship between local power and central power. The political power of the central government must be absolutely higher than the political power at the local level. In that case, if the local government is dissatisfied, it will rebel. The central authorities can completely eliminate them, and they will never make peace with the localities.
Similarly, the countries of the Central Plains will send troops to fight against the weak but untamed minority countries, and will not make peace with them.
In what way does peace happen?
It will happen when the power of the Central Plains countries and the neighboring countries are equal in strength, or even inferior to the neighboring countries. And the way of speaking and using, and kissing is an important content.
In the way of peace and affinity, why can only the Central Plains countries make peace with the minority countries? There are three aspects of significance.
The first is to show favors. The society of women in ancient times was very low, and they had the same meaning as possessions. The emperors of the Central Plains gave the minority countries the same meaning as giving them women. Similarly, if the princess is given to them, it is equivalent to giving the most valuable property of the minority country.
The second is to clarify the master and servant. The Central Plains countries married the princess to the great khan of the minority country, and there was also a clear sense of master and servant in it. Because in this way, the emperor of the Central Plains country will become the father-in-law of the Great Khan of the minority country. Then, the Central Plains countries are the masters, and the minority countries are the servants.
This master-servant relationship, of course, is also a political nomenclature. With this political nomenclature, it is natural to make minority countries inferior. In the case that their own armies cannot win, or that they need to pay too much sacrifice to win, using this political name to make minority countries inferior is of course a good thing for the Central Plains countries.
The third is to replace blood relatives. If the princess marries to an ethnic minority country and is able to have a child, then the child has the blood relatives of the emperor of the Central Plains country. In a sense, it is equivalent to replacing their blood relatives. This method of replacing blood relatives is also a kind of ethnic occupation of ethnic minority countries by the Central Plains countries.
Why did no women from ethnic minority countries marry into central plains countries? Because in this way, if she gives birth to a child, and this child becomes the emperor, then it is to replace the blood relatives of the Central Plains country. Of course, the Central Plains countries do not accept it.
During the Yuan Dynasty, Empress Qi was a Korean woman, so why did Empress Qi want her son to be emperor at that time? Will the imperial court be extremely opposed? It is because of the fear of this blood relative replacement.
In short, as a political means, because it gives it these specific meanings, it is not casually married, which is also a manifestation of the Central Plains countries' special emphasis on etiquette.