Lord of Lords: Chinese Rulership in Fifteenth-Century Eurasia - EAP

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

East Asia Program  

present

Lord of Lords: Chinese Rulership in Fifteenth-Century Eurasia  

A Talk by David M. Robinson, Robert H.N. Ho Professor in Asian Studies, Professor of History, Colgate University

Observers of many stripes--scholars, pundits, politicians, military strategists—fiercely debate China’s present and future role in the world, perhaps most especially in Asia. This talk offers a view of the past. It explores the relationship between Chinese emperors of the fifteenth century and the single most important group of foreign elites in east Eurasia, Mongol nobles who were heir to the political and military legacy of Genghis khan.  It argues that the emperors of the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries acted as lords of lords, keen to win the support and allegiance of Mongol nobles.  This talk will argue first, the relationship between the emperor and foreign elites formed an integral part of imperial rulership and second, the Chinese throne was deeply embedded in east Eurasia.  

Sponsoring Departments: East Asia Program, Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, Department of History