漢唐崛起對周邊的「衝突—回應」模式

The “Challenge-Reaction” Pattern in the Rise of the Han and Tang Dynasties

漢朝與唐朝作為中國歷史上一個統一的大帝國，僅用不到數十年時間便使其帝國到達鼎盛，並與周邊維繫著穩定的宗藩關係，期間必然經歷各種衝突與危機，對手國包括甫崛起時面對的現狀霸權以及體系穩固後的周邊各國。本文透過檢視漢唐兩代與周邊衝突的回應策略出發，據以了解當一個大國（統一且強盛）面對來自周邊的挑戰時，大國如何抉擇回應方式以及動武規模，歸納出一個可資依循的大國「衝突—回應」決策路徑。
本文指出在漢唐崛起之初、權力轉移時期，作為崛起國的漢唐並未對現狀霸權國做出更多挑戰，基本遵循守勢現實主義的預期以政權安全存續為首要考量。另一方面，當漢唐帝國處於盛世時，其所建立的宗藩體系中一旦出現來自藩屬國的挑戰時，中原王朝會因對方並未恪守本分而施以最強烈的懲罰。此與儒家和平論中強調儒家文明圈內會相對和平的論述不盡相同，甚至儒家文明內部的衝突強度可能遠強於儒家與其他文明的衝突，突顯一旦出現衝突時中國對關係較親近者的強硬態度，並將朝貢體系理論與關係理論相互結合並加以衍伸，進而完善歷史中國的「衝突一回應」決策模式。

As unified empires in China’s history, the rising Han and Tang Dynasties both maintained stable tributary systems in their surrounding areas. During these periods, they inevitably experienced various conflicts and crises with both the existing status quo hegemons which they faced upon their rise (Han Dynasty versus the Huns / Tang Dynasty versus the Turks) and with their neighboring countries. Based on the historical facts of Han and Tang China, this article reviews the process through which unified and prosperous great powers chose their modes of reaction and the scale of forces used to deal with challenges from surrounding states.
The main argument of this article is that at the beginning of the rise of the Han and Tang Dynasties and the periods of power transition, the Han and Tang Dynasties did not frequently challenge the hegemony of the status quo powers, and basically followed the expectations of defensive realism by prioritizing the security of their regimes. On the other hand, when the Han and Tang Empires were in their prosperous eras, once there was a challenge from a vassal state, the “Central Kingdom” would impose the severest punishment on those vassal states which failed to abide by their duties within the hegemonic order.
This differs from the theme of Confucian peace theory, which emphasizes that relative peace exists within the Confucian cultural circle. In actuality, the intensity of the conflict between the countries within this order may even be far stronger than the conflict between the Confucianist civilization and other civilizations. This article shows that China maintains a tough attitude toward the countries that it is closest with in the event of conflict. By combining and extending the tributary system theory and the “guanxi” theory, we can better understand the “challenge-reaction” decision-making pattern in historical China.