War economy during the Western Han Dynasty

Type:

Book Chapter

Author:

Elisa Levi Sabattini

Published:

2019

Publisher:

Routledge

This chapter discusses the perspectives of Jia Yi on foreign relations, specifically the diplomatic and economic strategies that he suggested for the purpose of degrading the Xiongnu confederation. Jia Yi deals with the problem of the Xiongnu with a policy of economic containment. The political economy related to the Xiongnu might be seen as part of Jia Yi’s idea of diplomacy in order to avoid the battlefield: economically, going to war would have been much more demanding in terms of both material resources and human lives. The political inferiority of the Han was clearly in evidence when Chanyu Modun sent an official letter proposing marriage to the Empress Dowager Lu. Trade was thus used as a political weapon not only by the Han government but also by the semi-nomadic populations on the northern frontier. Due to military operations and tributary agreements, Xiongnu–Han relations became part of the economic expenses of the empire.

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