The Sacral Nature of Power in the Qing Empire and Its Manifestation in Foreign Policy towards the Dzungar State and the Kazakhs

Introduction. The sacred nature of power is one of the main features of the empire. Since ancient times in the Chinese state the sacralization of power is presented in the religious-philosophical doctrine of the Emperor as the Son of Heaven who rules the Celestial Empire. This doctrine differs from the Sinocentrism conception in its understanding of the nature of power. Goals. The present paper examines foreign policy of the Qing Empire towards the Dzungar state and the Kazakhs with due regard of the manifestation of the sacred nature of power in foreign policies conducted by the Chinese government. The article also addresses the issue of the number of Oirats slaughtered by the Qing Empire. Materials. The research analyzes scientific works on the history of the Qing Empire, Chinese-Kazakh, Chinese-Oirat, Kazakh-Oirat relations, as well as published Chinese sources. Results. The paper shows that the sacral nature of power in the Qing Empire manifested itself in foreign policy as well. The rulers of the Dzungar state and Kazakh clans became nominal subjects of the Empire without coercion from the Chinese side. And this fact did not oblige them to become real subjects, tributaries. There was a ritual interaction that was beneficial for both sides. If a non-Chinese ruler became a nominal subject of Bogdykhan, the Empire showed soft power in relation to his people. Even in the case of a deliberate violation of its decrees, which happened in the episode of Sino-Kazakh relations under consideration. When the ruler stopped the established interaction and began to contradict the Emperor, the Empire sought to destroy him, like the case with Galdan Boshogtu Khan and his successors.

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