Information Contained in the “Ming Shilu” on the Timurid Embassies To China

The article is devoted to information from Chinese sources, first of all, “Ming shilu” (“True records [of the reign of the Ming Emperors”), about trade and embassy relations between Amir Temur and his descendants with the emperors of the Ming dynasty. The first emperor Ming – Hongwu (1368-1398 ave.) tried, in addition to restoring the “Chinese world order”, to establish relations between China and neighboring states, destroyed by previous dynasties. The Yongle Emperor (1402-1424) also actively encouraged the expansion of trade and tried to increase the number of embassies arriving in China. For the preference of the Turkestan countries, the Minsk court allowed their embassies to trade freely with the population without levying taxes. Pursuing a policy of activating the visits of embassies from these countries, the Yongle Emperor thus used the local political power of this region to neutralize the huge Mongolian forces from the north. Despite the “tributary” relations, Central Asian traders, receiving rather generous gifts and preferences in return for the so-called “tribute”, were interested in frequent visits to China. After the death of Amir Temur, the relations between his descendants and the Ming Dynasty improved and began to develop actively. The main commodity in which the Chinese court was interested was horses. Along with the Central Asian horses, which were invariably welcomed by the Chinese emperors, other goods appear, such as jade and wild animals, mainly lions. Embassies from Samarkand and Herat brought jade to China in large quantities. Khotan jade, whose history dates back several millennia, was especially famous. As for wild animals, at first the Ming emperors welcomed gifts that were unusual for China and rewarded the envoys with valuable gifts. Data on this is contained in many Chinese written works. But later, due to the high cost of keeping wild animals, government officials tried to limit their intake. After Yongle's death, China abandoned its early expansionist policies due to their ineffectiveness. Expensive expeditions, such as the naval missions of the famous Admiral Zheng He, were also discontinued.