tuế cống
Definition
- Noun:
- Annual tribute: A historical term referring to the formal practice where a smaller or weaker state or territory is required to send a yearly offering of valuable goods to a larger, more powerful neighboring state or empire. This act symbolized submission, allegiance, and the recognition of the superior state's dominance.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Nhiều quốc gia láng giềng phải thực hiện tuế cống cho triều đình Trung Hoa. (Many neighboring countries had to perform annual tribute for the Chinese court.)
- Lễ vật tuế cống thường bao gồm vàng bạc, lụa là, và các sản vật quý hiếm của địa phương. (The tribute gifts often included gold, silk, and rare local specialties.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used in a historical or literary context to describe feudal or imperial Sino-Vietnamese relations and similar hierarchical systems in East Asia.
- It implies a formal, institutionalized relationship, not a simple gift. The failure to send tribute could be seen as an act of rebellion.
Variants and Related Words
- Triều cống (v/n): To pay tribute; tribute. This is a very close synonym and is often used interchangeably with "tuế cống," though "triều cống" can sometimes have a slightly broader application.
- Sứ thần mang đồ vật sang triều cống. (The envoy brought goods to pay tribute.)
- Cống nạp (v/n): To offer tribute; the act of tributary offering.
- Nước đó phải cống nạp hàng năm. (That country had to offer tribute annually.)
Synonyms
- Tribute: Payment made periodically by one state or ruler to another, especially as a sign of dependence.
- Tribute payment: Emphasizes the transactional nature of the act.
Related Concepts
- Chư hầu: Vassal state; a subordinate state that owes allegiance and tribute to a superior one.
- Nước này từng là chư hầu và phải tuế cống. (This country was once a vassal state and had to pay annual tribute.)
- Thần phục: To submit; to pledge allegiance.
- Việc tuế cống là biểu hiện của sự thần phục. (Paying tribute was an expression of submission.)