The exchange of ancient Chinese culture and foreign culture
2 min readForeign Policies in History
The openness of the Chinese culture was also applied to its foreign policies in history.One way to conduct foreign relations was to send some envoys to show the good will of the Chinese Empire.Zhangqian（c.164-114BC）in the Western Han Dynasty and Ganying in the middle of the East Han Dynasty were appointed royal envoys to go to the Western Regions，and their efforts gave birth to the famous Silk Road，which connected the ancient East and West forthe first time in history.In the Tang Dynasty，China set up diplomatic relations with more than 70countries of the world.Chang’an，the capital city then，was a well known international city with people of different colors.
Contacts between China and Japan had been established in the early part of the Han Dynasty.This was enhanced by both the Sui and Tang Dynasties.During the Tang Dynasty Japan sent envoys to China on 19 separate occasions.Students and monks swarmed into the empire to study.And Silla（today’s Korea）had the greatest number of students studying in China.They learned Buddhism，sculpture，tea cultivation，architecture and painting from China.
Needless to say，China once had a great influence on the cultures of its two neighboring countries.Likewise，China had also friendly relations with both Persia（today’s Iran），Tazi（the Arab Empire）and some other countries then.The most important diplomatic demonstration of Ming authority was the expeditions of the 15th century，led by the eunuch general Zheng He（1371-1433）.Over 28 years（1405-1433），he commanded seven fleets that visited 37 countries，through Southeast Asia to faraway Africa and Arabia.He set up diplomatic relations in all the countries he visited and received tributes from most rulers that he met.Almost 30 countries sent envoys back to China to give homage to the emperor.
The Qing government had little contact with the outside world until the Western colonialists broke in with their guns；since then，the two cultures between East and West collided violently，and the traditional Chinese culture was confronted with unprecedented challenges from the Western powers and faced a great crisis.This condition continued until the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949，when the two cultures began to have another round of equaltalk.And the opening door policy of China，begun in 1978，once again brought different cultures of the world together，which is beneficial for the healthy development of the home culture.
