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News India Live, Digital Desk: Nepal China Relations: Today, when we see Nepal and China as two independent neighboring countries, it is also difficult to imagine that there was a time when Nepal used to send precious gifts to China on a special mission every five years. This is not today, but this series is more than 100 years old.
After all, why did Nepal do this? Was he under China? The answer to this question is hidden in the pages of history which are associated with a war.
The story begins with a war
This is the end of the 18th century. At that time, the relationship between Nepal and Tibet regarding trade became quite tense. The controversy increased so much that Nepal attacked Tibet in 1792. Tibet was at that time under the patronage of the powerful King dynasty of China. When the Chinese emperor got this news, he sent a large army to help Tibet.
The Chinese army not only drove the Nepali army out of Tibet, but they reached Kathmandu while chasing. Seeing the danger over his capital, the Nepali rulers got nervous and decided to make a treaty with China.
A treaty that changed everything
One of the conditions of this treaty was the most unique condition. Under this, Nepal agreed that he would send a mission to China every five years in honor of the Chinese emperor, which will carry some local products and gifts with him. It seemed unilateral to see, as if Nepal was accepting the subjugation of China.
Was Nepal really ‘Ghulam’?
Actually, this relationship was not as straightforward as it looks. Historians say that it was a kind of diplomatic and business system. Nepal wanted to maintain a peaceful relationship with the powerful China by sending gifts so that there is no attack in the future.
The funny thing is that China also respected this mission. The Chinese emperors often used to give more precious and expensive counter -gifts in exchange for gifts from Nepal. Through this mission, trade between the two countries also continued. Therefore, Nepal saw it not as its ‘slavery’, but as a way to maintain a relationship with a powerful neighbor.
How did this tradition end?
This series continued for about 120 years. The last mission went from Nepal to China in 1908. After this there was a big revolution in China in 1911-12 and the King Dynasty rule ended there. A new government was formed in China and this centuries -old unique tradition of sending gifts also became buried in the pages of history forever.
