Heqin

Heqin (simplified Chinese: 和亲; traditional Chinese: 和親; pinyin: Héqīn; literally "peace and kinship") was a term used in ancient China for an alliance by marriage. It usually referred to the Chinese Emperor marrying off a "princess" (usually a pseudo-princess or concubine whom he had never met before, some heqin princesses were at least noblewomen of recent imperial descent, but had no direct kinship) to an aggressive ethnic minority chieftain or ruler. The theory was that in exchange for the marriage, the chieftain would cease all aggressive or rebellious actions toward the Chinese state. The best-known example of heqin involved the beauty Wang Zhaojun. The first known instance of this type of marriage occurred in 200 BC, when a pseudo-princess was offered to a Xiongnu Chanyu as suggested by Lou Jin (later given the surname Liu by the Imperial Court).