For centuries, China has promoted a foreign policy grounded in harmony and mutual benefit. This approach is not merely modern political rhetoric; it can be traced through ancient poems, historical texts, and accounts of rulers who sought trade and cultural exchange rather than conflict. Notably, there is no historical record of warfare between ancient China and the civilizations of the Nusantara region (present-day Indonesia).

In Chinese statecraft, historical reflection is central. Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty once said: “yishiweijing, kezhixingti” (以史为镜，可以知兴替), meaning that “history can be used as a mirror to predict the rise or decline of nations.” By examining China’s historical expeditions, we gain insight into how Chinese elites historically shaped their foreign relations.

Tianxia Datong and Tianxia Hexie: Harmony at Home and Abroad
During China’s golden age under the Tang dynasty (AD 618–970), official historians compiled earlier historical records into major works such as the Book of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Book of the Sui Dynasty. These texts documented China’s relations with other states and upheld a philosophical ideal known as Tianxia Datong (天下大同) -- a concept referring to internal or domestic harmony, emphasizing social stability.

Stability was the guiding principle of Emperor Taizong (AD 626–649), especially given the political turbulence at the dawn of the Tang dynasty. Over time, however, the meaning of Tianxia (天下) expanded. Instead of referring solely to Datong, it began to encompass Hexie (和谐), meaning “Global Harmony.” Thus, the pursuit of internal stability became linked with peaceful external relations.

One vital source that recorded these external ties is the Liangshu (Book of the Liang Dynasty), completed in AD 635 by the historian Yao Silian. The work not only documents the Liang dynasty (AD 502–557) but also describes nations located over 20,000 li (±8,000 km) from China, including Japan. This demonstrates China’s early awareness of and engagement with distant civilizations.

Three Earliest Expeditions: Cultural Exchange, Not Conflict
China’s traditional international relations extended beyond East Asia. Long before the Tang dynasty, the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) recorded the first significant expedition. The envoy Zhang Qian traveled west via the ancient Silk Road from the Han capital of Chang’an -- a cosmopolitan hub for scholars, merchants, and diplomats -- seeking cultural exchange rather than conquest.

The second major journey occurred in AD 414, when the monk Fa Xian undertook a Buddhist pilgrimage to India. Due to a storm, he briefly stayed in Nusantara (likely in the Tarumanegara Kingdom in present-day Java), despite the kingdom being Hindu rather than Buddhist. This indicates that unexpected contact still enabled exchange.

The third expedition took place during the Tang dynasty in AD 671, when the monk I-Tsing/Yi Jing sailed to the Srivijaya Kingdom (AD 671–1025). He traveled aboard a ship provided by King Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa (AD 671–692), specifically designed for merchants and Buddhist pilgrims. Among the three, only Yi Jing can be definitively proven to have visited Srivijaya before continuing on to India.

These expeditions show that early China sought cultural exchange, pilgrimage, and trade, not territorial expansion.

A Poetic Glimpse of China’s Southern Outlook
Chinese literature also reveals the longing for peaceful exchanges with the Southern seas. In the poem “What Goes on in the Borderlands” by Tang poet Zhang Qiao, translated in Kevin Maynard’s The Iron Flute, we encounter the following lines:

The last line, “pan qing si ci shui chang yuan xiang nan liu”, reflects a strong longing to “flow toward the South,” beyond China’s frontier provinces such as Sichuan, Shaanxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou. This reinforces how cultural imagination itself propelled external engagement.

Conclusion: Historical Harmony as China’s Diplomatic Mirror
China’s earliest expeditions -- whether to Central Asia or the Southern seas -- were rooted in missions of exchange, pilgrimage, and trade. By the end of the Tang dynasty, internal instability only strengthened China’s outward longing for peaceful engagement with neighboring states.

Thus, China’s traditional foreign relations can be understood through the philosophy of Tianxia Hexie (Global Harmony) -- a principle emphasizing stability and mutual benefit. Emperor Taizong’s idea that history serves as a mirror remains relevant today.

Echoing this tradition, President Xi Jinping stated in 2025 that societies must “stand on the truth side of history, because the world needs fairness, not hegemony.” He emphasized that history moves toward progression, suggesting that future inter-state relations will align with global development trends -- sustainable, low-carbon, and technologically smart.

In this sense, ancient China’s peaceful expeditions continue to offer a historical template for future diplomacy: one based not on expansion, but on harmony, exchange, and shared progress under the ideal of Tianxia Hexie.

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Adinda Natassa Valentine Hutabarat is a Sinologist and a staff member at Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The opinions presented in this article are solely those of the author.

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