[1] Zhonghang Yue lived during the Han dynasty, which had a complex relationship with its neighbor, Xiongnu, a tribal confederation inhabiting the eastern Eurasian Steppe.
Heqin, a foreign policy of marriage alliance, was introduced by the Han following the defeat of their imperial army in 200 BC.
[5] During the process of heqin, the Han would send a messenger to accomplish the mission of escorting the princess and delivering peaceful messages to Xiongnu.
Zhonghang Yue countered that the elderly from Han offered their food and clothes for the army, and that since the Xiongnu regime was based on military strength and the elderly were unable to fight, it was rational to give better resources to the strong youngsters to maximize benefits, so that both generations could survive.
When a male dies, his wife will be remarried to his living brothers, father or sons to avoid the discontinuity of family.
Han people land and grow mulberry to provide themselves with food and cloth, they build walls for self-defense.
"[2] Zhonghang Yue showed his attitude of encouraging ethnic independence of Xiongnu and separation from Han in this dialogue.
[2] Zhonghang Yue is frequently viewed as a hanjian (a Han race traitor) who betrayed his country and helped its enemy.
Jia Yi, a Chinese poet and politician in the Western Han dynasty, criticized Zhonghang Yue.
[9] Jia Yi supported the establishment of a strong and united China through eliminating the Xiongnu regime and Chinese localization.
[9] There is also criticism on his shallow argument that war was the only reason for the cultural differences between Han and Xiongnu, ignoring the influence of geographical location and climate.