In fact, what is really dark is not these "foreign invasions", but the so-called "friendly exchanges with foreign countries and promoting national integration" of the central dynasty. China's modern 200 years, known as the dark ages, have suffered a lot. In our view, this is indeed tragic, but in the history of thousands of years, the territory of China has changed from a tiny place with only a part of its territory in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River to such a behemoth today. Say you're welcome, the national integration, the Han nationality is sometimes integrated, but more often it is the Han nationality who is playing with others! In the ancient tributary system, countless neighboring countries and nationalities were annexed by the so-called concept of "expanding the territory into a great cause", but generally speaking, the reason why the central government launched the war was very simple. Mongolia's external expansion will not be mentioned in textbooks unless it is really impossible to hide. Of course, the Mongolian Khanate can't be regarded as the history of China strictly, but the frequency of foreign wars is not as good as that of the Han Dynasty.
Let me give you some examples. There were several periods of great expansion in ancient China, the first being the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. If the general direction of the central plains vassal States is still the original Zhou Dynasty, then the border countries have been expanding to the periphery. Qin people caught Rong Di and beat him up. Chu annexed countless tribes before the north competed for the Central Plains, and Zhao Yan also expanded to the north. In the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang sent his troops to 500,000. Qin Jun is famous for his "honesty"-he never reasoned with others, but only punched them. Not to mention in the Han Dynasty, taking Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty as an example, eldest brother didn't think it was enough to beat the Huns. By the way, he also expanded everywhere. The reason for destroying Wei Man and North Korea is extremely simple-disrespectful to the central authorities, and so is destroying Yelang State-which makes you show off in an ostentatious manner, not to mention the countries in the western regions. Today, all this, not to mention at all, or just to mention briefly, is a kind of merit-the problem is that, in essence, it is simply a large-scale aggression everywhere. ...
The Sui and Tang Dynasties were also a period of great expansion. One of the great hobbies of the Sui Dynasty was to attack neighboring countries. Emperor Wendi almost sent troops because Goguryeo did not pay tribute to the Sui Dynasty (thus, the tribute system in ancient China was completely ancient imperialism). King Koguryo was forced to cry to his mother to pretend to be a grandson, and his son Emperor Yang Di was even more serious. Koguryo was killed in the east and Koguryo was killed in the west. Tang Jun left a sigh of relief along Sui Jun, Baekje was destroyed and Japan was also beaten. But all areas controlled by the Tang Dynasty, whether small countries or tribes, are grandchildren, and those who dare not are extinct.
Song dynasty was honest and had no way out. But by the Ming dynasty, the central dynasty was addicted again. Vietnam is rude, OK, just swallow Vietnam. The King of Yue hid in the mountains and fed mosquitoes for several years. He only dared to come out when the Ming army retreated.
Therefore, in the eyes of foreigners, the ancient history of China is a history of foreign aggression, because the first thing after reunification is to expand territory. Although we were bullied for 200 years in modern times, we bullied the people next to us for more than 200 years, 1000 years ... The last Qing Dynasty was an exception, mainly fighting civil wars, and the investment in foreign wars was extremely limited.
Therefore, our history textbooks, or those so-called official history books, do not involve light and dark, but only record a series of important events, such as Zheng He's voyage to the West. As an event record, it will say that Zheng He's fleet had several sunsets, but it will never tell you that Zheng He's fleet was equipped with regular troops and the most advanced weapons at that time. When you arrive at a place, you will be asked to belong to Daming.
But the problem is that in traditional Confucianism, we are really not bullying people. There is a simple reason. The central authorities don't treat those guys around us as equal partners. It's all for your own good, to educate you, to get rid of barbarism and stop being a barbarian. If they don't cooperate, they will be ungrateful and die.
These are actually in history books, so there is no such thing as hiding. Can only say that the narrative style is different. It's good to get used to that kind of narrative. China's narrative is often euphemistic, not as direct as that of foreign countries, and history cannot be absolutely true. Historical records need continuous textual research by future generations. No matter at home or abroad, no one dares to say that what we know now is absolutely in line with the real situation at that time. For example, the "real number" of Persian troops has shrunk many times.
At present, the government has indeed shaped the country into a character that the strong love peace and the weak are bullied, but that is only in textbooks. Historical records left over from past dynasties are hard to distort. These historical records are quite detailed and cannot be hidden unless the corresponding events are directly deleted. LZ, don't you know the five wild flowers? These are all handed down through the records of historical books. Historical books are the main force carrying history.