An important factor here was the different way in which tribute was
understood. Superior karma and thus status was recognised in the
mandala through a net transfer of power to the centre, both eco-
nomic—through tribute paid in the form of goods and food
supplies—and military—through provision of a contingent of troops
when called upon. Tribute in Southeast Asian mandalaswas thus the
principal means by which political elites extracted and concentrated
surplus resources. In an economic sense, tribute constituted a ‘mode of
production’. Instead of taxing people, land, or agricultural produce at
a fixed rate, tribute from a subordinate ruler required delivery of spec-
ified amounts of valuable local products, which might be gathered
(such as aromatic woods and resins, rare wildlife, or spices), mined
(gold, silver and other metals), grown (mainly rice), or manufactured
(including weapons and luxury handicrafts). Some of these would be
retained for use by the king and his court; others would be traded,
often as a royal monopoly. All that was offered in return was status as
a lord of the realm and protection against the depredations of neigh-
bouring kingdoms.
Tribute in a Southeast Asian context was thus very different
from the tribute demanded by Chinese emperors from vassal kingdoms.
For the Chinese tribute denoted not the transfer of economic
resources, but symbolic submission. The presents the emperor gave
in return were consistently of higher value than the tribute offered, in
order to demonstrate imperial magnanimity and benevolence. China
pretended that it needed nothing material from barbarians. Tribute for
China was thus not a means of accumulating wealth (even through
accompanying trade), but symbolic recognition and reinforcement of
China’s superior status in its own sinocentric world order.
For Southeast Asian kings, tribute ‘paid’ to China did not
carry the same connotation as tribute demanded from their own
vassals, just because more valuable gifts were given in exchange. What
was tribute for the Chinese was for Southeast Asian rulers the polite
exchange of gifts as a formality that went with mutually beneficial
Early relations