Emperor at home, king abroad was a system of conducting relations between states within the

Chinese cultural sphere The East Asian cultural sphere, also known as the Sinosphere, the Sinic world, the Sinitic world, the Chinese cultural sphere, the Chinese character sphere encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically ...

. Rulers of lesser regimes would adopt the title of ''

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

'' (皇帝; or other equivalents) and/or other imperial titles domestically, and adopt the title of ''

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

'' (王; or other equivalents) when dealing with the dominant Chinese regime. Instead of using the styles ''

Imperial Majesty Imperial Majesty (''His/Her Imperial Majesty'', abbreviated as ''HIM'') is a style used by Emperors and Empresses. It distinguishes the status of an emperor/empress from that of a King/Queen, who are simply styled Majesty. Holders of this style h ...

'' and ''

Majesty Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin ''maiestas'', meaning "greatness") is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks the st ...

'' (陛下), rulers of lesser realms were styled as '' Highness'' (殿下). This system was applicable to Japan, Korea and Vietnam, as well as less powerful Chinese states, among others. As China was a hegemonic power in East Asia for a large part of history, surrounding states were compelled to pay tribute to

Chinese emperors ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heave ...

in exchange for peace and political legitimacy. In this system, lesser regimes accepted the suzerainty of the dominant Chinese power and acknowledged the Chinese emperor as their nominal overlord. Since Chinese emperors claimed to be the Son of Heaven and held supremacy over

all under Heaven ''Tianxia'' (), literally meaning "(all) under Heaven", is a Chinese term for a historical Chinese cultural concept that denoted either the entire geographical world or the metaphysical realm of mortals, and later became associated with polit ...

, rulers of lesser regimes were to use titles subordinate to ''emperor''. The same doctrine also maintained that there could only be one emperor at any given time.

Korea

In 933, King Taejo of Goryeo was conferred the title of ''King of Goryeo'' (高麗國王) by the

Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang Li Siyuan (李嗣源, later changed to Li Dan (李亶)) (10 October 867 – 15 December 933), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), was the second emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, reigni ...

. Prior to its capitulation to the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

, imperial designations and terminology were widely used by the Goryeo dynasty domestically. Its rulers claimed to be the '' Son of Heaven'', as did

. King Gyeongsun of Silla addressed King Taejo of Goryeo as the ''Son of Heaven'' when he surrendered. Even though the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, the

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan language, Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that exi ...

and the Jin dynasty were well-informed of Goryeo's use of imperial titles, all three

Chinese dynasties Dynasties in Chinese history, or Chinese dynasties, were hereditary monarchical regimes that ruled over China during much of its history. From the legendary inauguration of dynastic rule by Yu the Great circa 2070 BC to the abdication of t ...

tolerated such practice. The Goryeo dynasty later became a semi-autonomous region of the Yuan dynasty, bringing an end to its domestic imperial system. Its rulers bore the title ''king'' and were prohibited from having

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dyna ...

s which were reserved specifically for the Yuan emperors. In 1356,

King Gongmin of Goryeo Gongmin of Goryeo (23 May 1330 – 27 October 1374), also known by his Mongolian name, Bayan Temür., was 31st ruler of Goryeo from 1351 to 1374. He was the second son of King Chungsuk. Biography Early life Goryeo had been a semi-autonomou ...

declared independence from the Yuan dynasty. In 1392,

King Taejo of Joseon Taejo of Joseon (4 November 1335 – 27 June 1408), born Yi Seong-gye (), was the founder and first ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. After ascending to the throne, he changed his name to Yi Dan (), and reigned from 1392 to 1398. He was ...

overthrew the Goryeo dynasty and founded the

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...

. He was bestowed the title ''King of Joseon'' (朝鮮國王) by the Hongwu Emperor of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. Both domestically and externally, Joseon monarchs held the title of ''king'', unlike the domestic claim of imperial titles before Goryeo's submission to the Yuan dynasty.

Vietnam

In 544,

Lý Bôn LY or ly may refer to: Government and politics * Libya (ISO 3166-1 country code LY) * Lý dynasty, a Vietnamese dynasty * Labour Youth of Ireland * Legislative Yuan, the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Science and te ...

established the

Early Lý dynasty The Early Lý dynasty ( vi, nhà Tiền Lý; Hán Nôm: ), also called the Former Lý dynasty or Anterior Lý dynasty, was a dynasty which ruled Vietnam from AD 544 to 602. Its founder Lý Bí assumed the title of "Southern Emperor" ('). ...

and proclaimed himself the ''Emperor of Nam Việt'' (南越帝). In 968,

Đinh Bộ Lĩnh Đinh Bộ Lĩnh (924–979) (r. 968–979), real name allegedly Đinh Hoàn ( 丁桓), was the first Vietnamese emperor following the liberation of the country from the rule of the Chinese Southern Han Dynasty, as well as the founder of the s ...

founded the

Đinh dynasty Dinh is a Vietnamese surname. In Vietnam, the surname is spelled Đinh or Đình but ''Đình'' is very rare in Vietnamese. Notable people * Andy Dinh, Team SoloMid owner, player * Dan Dinh, ''League of Legends '' player, brother of Andy Dinh * ...

and declared himself as ''emperor'', abolishing the old title of '' Jinghaijun

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", " legate" ...

'' (靜海軍節度使), a title of Chinese regional military commander. The

Emperor Taizu of Song Emperor Taizu of Song (21 March 927 – 14 November 976), personal name Zhao Kuangyin, courtesy name Yuanlang, was the founder and first emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976. Formerly a distinguish ...

later bestowed the title ''King of Jiaozhi Prefecture'' to Đinh Bộ Lĩnh. In 986,

Lê Hoàn Lê Hoàn (10 August 941 – 18 March 1005), posthumously title Lê Đại Hành, was a Vietnamese emperor and the third ruler of Dai Viet kingdom, ruling from 981 to 1005. He first served as the generalissimo commanding a ten-thousand man arm ...

was bestowed the title of ''Jinghaijun Jiedushi'' when the emissary of the Song dynasty visited. In 988, Lê Hoàn was promoted to ''Proxy

Grand Commandant Grand Commandant () is a title referring to the supreme military commander in ancient China, Vietnam and the Korean Peninsula. The earliest recording is on the Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals in 205 BC. During the Western Han, the position ...

'' (檢校太尉); in 993 to ''Prince of Jiaozhi'' (交趾郡王); and finally in 997 his title was promoted to the ''King of Nanping'' (南平王). In 1010,

Lý Thái Tổ Lý Thái Tổ ( vi-hantu, , 8 March 974 – 31 March 1028), Vietnamese name, personal name Lý Công Uẩn, temple name Thái Tổ, was a Vietnamese people, Vietnamese emperor, the founder of the Lý dynasty of Vietnam and the 6th ruler of ...

established the Lý dynasty and was granted the title ''Prince of Jiaozhi'' by the Emperor Zhenzong of Song. In 1174,

Lý Anh Tông Emperor Lý Anh Tông (1136 – 14 August 1175) of Đại Việt (literally Great Viet), was the sixth ruler of the later Lý dynasty, from 1138 until his death in 1175. Since Lý Anh Tông, given name Lý Thiên Tộ ( 李天祚), was chose ...

was bestowed the title ''King of Annam'' (安南國王); "Annam", meaning "the Pacified South", was the name of Vietnam during Chinese rule. Domestically, rulers of the Lý dynasty maintained the use of the title ''emperor''. Upon proclaiming the

Later Lê dynasty Later may refer to: * Future, the time after the present Television * ''Later'' (talk show), a 1988–2001 American talk show * '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a British music programme since 1992 * ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', or ...

Lê Thái Tổ Le is a romanization of several rare East Asian surnames and a common Vietnamese surname. It is a fairly common surname in the United States, ranked 975th during the 1990 census and 368th during the 2000 census. In 2000, it was the eighth-most-co ...

claimed kingship with the title ''Đại Vương'' (大王). It was not until the reign of Lê Thánh Tông did Vietnamese rulers reclaimed imperial titles. The system continued to be used until the end of the dynasty itself, as all rulers claimed imperial status domestically and reverted to royal rank when dealing with China. The Gia Long Emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty was conferred the title ''King of Việt Nam'' (越南國王) by the

Jiaqing Emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, born Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. While the Nguyễn dynasty accepted Chinese suzerainty and adopted the title of ''king'' when dealing with the Qing dynasty, it entered into foreign relations with other states as ''Emperor of Đại Việt Nam'' (大越南皇帝) and later as ''Emperor of Đại Nam'' (大南皇帝). Domestically, Nguyễn monarchs also used the title ''emperor'' and referred to its realm as the "southern dynasty" (in relation to the Qing dynasty, the "northern dynasty"), implying an equal status with China.

Japan

originally referred to Japanese rulers as the ''King of Wa'' (倭王), while they were called ''kimi'' or ''ōkimi'' in Japan. Some of the rulers, notably the

five kings of Wa The were kings of ancient Japan who sent envoys to China during the 5th century to strengthen the legitimacy of their claims to power by gaining the recognition of the Chinese emperor. Details about them are unknown. According to written records in ...

, accepted Chinese suzerainty. During the Sui dynasty, the Japanese diplomat

Ono no Imoko was a Japanese politician and diplomat in the late 6th and early 7th century, during the Asuka period. Ono was appointed by Empress Suiko as an official envoy ( Kenzuishi) to the Sui court in 607 (Imperial embassies to China), and he delivere ...

delivered a letter by

Prince Shōtoku , also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half- ...

to the Emperor Yang of Sui which claimed the

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japa ...

as "the Son of Heaven where the sun rises", implying an equal status between the Japanese and Chinese monarchs. The Emperor Yang of Sui was angered by such a claim. Since then, the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

has started to adopt the imperial title of ''tennō'' (天皇) both domestically and externally, and the title ''king'' (國王) was sometimes used for trade with China by shoguns, who held ''de facto'' power in Japan. China did not officially allow Japanese emperors to use the title ''tennō'', although it did little to compel the Japanese rulers into reverting to lesser titles. During the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

, Japanese rulers were conferred the title ''King of Japan'' (日本國王). In 894, Japan stopped sending envoys to the Tang dynasty. During the

, the Emperor Shizu of Yuan demanded the submission of the ''King of Japan'', referring to the Japanese emperor. Japan rejected this demand, which resulted in the Yuan invasions of Japan. During the

Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...

of Japan,

Prince Kaneyoshi Prince Kaneyoshi (懐良親王, ''Kaneyoshi shinnō'' or ''Kanenaga shinnō''; born c. 1329 – 30 April 1383) was a nobleman of the Kamakura period and the early Nanboku-chō period where power in Japan was split between two rival factions. He w ...

refused to accept the title of ''king'' granted by China, and killed seven Chinese ambassadors in retaliation. The shogun

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu ...

accepted the title ''King of Japan'' bestowed by the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

due to his desire to establish trade relations with the

.The Yamato Dynasty: The Secret History of Japan's Imperial Family; By Sterling Seagrave, Peggy Seagrave; Broadway Books, 2001; Page 23; https://books.google.com/books?id=Se8UzqKr2x8C&lpg=PA23&pg=PA23#v=onepage&q&f=false During the rule of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

changed the title of ''king'' to '' taikun'' (大君), as a sign of respect to the Japanese emperor. Thereafter,

Tokugawa Ienobu (June 11, 1662 – November 12, 1712) was the sixth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemi ...

switched the title back to ''king'', only to be changed once again to ''taikun'' by

Tokugawa Yoshimune was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lineage Yoshimu ...

References

{{reflist History of East Asia Foreign relations of Imperial China China–Japan relations China–Korea relations China–Vietnam relations

Korea

Vietnam

Japan

See also

References