Heqin
Heqin, also known as marriage alliance, refers to the historical practice of Chinese monarchs marrying princesses—usually members of minor branches of the ruling family—to rulers of neighboring states.
[5][3] The Han dynasty sent random unrelated commoner women falsely labeled as "princesses" and members of the Han imperial family multiple times when they were practicing Heqin marriage alliances with the Xiongnu in order to avoid sending the emperor's daughters.
[18] The Han diplomat Su Wu married a Xiongnu woman given by Li Ling when he was arrested and taken captive.
The Emperor Wu of Han dispatched Zhang Qian to explore the Western Regions and to form an alliance with the Yuezhi people in order to combat the Xiongnu.
Heqin marriage alliances during the Sixteen Kingdoms period differed from those practiced during the Han dynasty in two main ways.
Second, unlike during the Han dynasty, when most heqin marriages were aimed at establishing peace with foreign nations, heqin marriages during the Sixteen Kingdoms period were made primarily to settle rivalries and maintain a balance of power between the various states in China at the time.
Heqin marriage was employed as a method to maintain a balance of power or to solidify alliances between states.
[36] Some exiled royalty of Han descent fled from southern China and defected to the Northern Wei.
[45] One of Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei's sister was married to Zhang Huan, an ethnic Han, according to the Book of Zhou.
During the Tang dynasty, heqin marriage alliances were primarily aimed at the Tuyuhun, the Tibetan Empire, the Khitans and the allied Kumo Xi, the Uyghur Khaganate, and Nanzhao.
[61] Empress Rende's sister, a member of the Xiao clan, was the mother of Han Chinese General Geng Yanyi.
[62] Han Derang (Yelü Longyun) was the father of Queen dowager of the State of Chen, who was the wife of General Geng Yanyi and buried with him in his tomb in Zhaoyang in Liaoning.
The outbreak of the Song loyalist Red Turban Rebellion in Henan led to a recommendation that Zhao Wanpu should be transferred somewhere else by an Imperial Censor in 1352.
Paul Pelliot and John Andrew Boyle commented on Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's chapter The Successors of Genghis Khan in his work Jami' al-tawarikh, identified references by Rashid al-Din to Zhao Xian in his book where he mentions a Chinese ruler who was an "emir" and son-in-law to the Qan (Khan) after being removed from his throne by the Mongols and he is also called "Monarch of Song", or "Suju" (宋主; Songzhu) in the book.
[71] The King of Dali Duan Gong was married to the Borjigin princess Agai, daughter of the Yuan dynasty Prince of Liang, Basalawarmi.
Builders, carpenters, officers, and important prisoners such as the Ming Zhengtong Emperor often ethnic received Mongol wives.
The marriage also benefited the Qing dynasty in expanding its empire into the Mongolian Plateau and further west into Inner Asia.
[99] The Manchu imperial Aisin Gioro clan practiced marriage alliances with Ming generals of Han descent and Mongol princes.
[104][105] The offspring of Li received the "Third Class Viscount" (三等子爵; sān děng zǐjué) title[106] after he surrendered Fushun in Liaoning to the Manchu in 1618.
[107][108] Aisin Gioro women were married to the sons of the Han generals Sun Sike (孫思克), Geng Jimao, Shang Kexi, and Wu Sangui.
[111] The 4th daughter of Kangxi (和硕悫靖公主) was wedded to the son (孫承恩) of Sun Sike (孫思克), an ethnic Han.
[112] Imperial Duke Who Assists the State (宗室輔國公) Aisin Gioro Suyan's (蘇燕) daughter was married to Han Banner general Nian Gengyao.
[116] Manchu Prince Aisin Gioro Yuntang's fourth daughter married the Han Bannerman Zhao Shiyang (趙世揚) in 1721.
Manchu Prince Aisin Gioro Yunsi's first daughter married the Han Bannerman Sun Wufu (孫五福) in July/August 1724.
The Lý, Trần, Hồ dynasties ruled Dai Viet (Vietnam) in a succession of heqin alliances.
The Lý dynasty married its princesses off to chieftains of the local clans in the northern mountains[117] and regional rivals to establish alliances with them.
[122][123] In return, the king granted the Vietnamese the right to establish settlements in Mô Xoài (now Bà Rịa), in the region of Prey Nokor—which they colloquially referred to as Sài Gòn, and which later became Ho Chi Minh City.
