明代西南地区土司朝贡述论

Tribute Paying of Chieftains in the Southwest in Ming Dynasty

明代西南地区土司朝贡既是中央王朝与西南地区交往的主要途径,也是以儒家思想为核心的中原文化向土司地区传播的重要媒介。明代西南地区各地土司对中央王朝朝贡不断,并形成了一套完整的土司朝贡制度。明代西南地区土司朝贡不仅加强了西南地区与中原地区、少数民族与汉族之间的联系,加强了明王朝对西南地区的有效管控,而且进一步促进了西南地区社会经济文化的快速发展。

In Ming Dynasty, paying tribute was the major means of communication between the central government and the chieftains in the southwest. Meanwhile it was an important medium for the Confucianism-centered culture of Central Plain to spread in chieftain areas. The chieftains had never stopped paying tribute to the court, and there were a complete system for tribute paying. It not only strengthened both the government's control of the southwest and the ties between the southwest and the Central Plain, between minorities and the Han Nationality, but also promoted the society, economy and culture in the southwest.