| Former Liang was a local regime controlling the Northwest in the early period of the Sixteen Kingdoms in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.It was a "middle-level regime" amongst other contemporary regimes,smaller than the Eastern Jin Dynasty,Former Zhao,Later Zhao,Former Qin,Former Yan and other big countries,but larger than Qiuchi,Yanqi,Qiuci,Shanshan,Cheshiqianbu and other small countries in the Western Regions.The complex foreign environment led to a very flexible foreign policy.The relationship between Former Liang and neighbouring political powers is not static,but constantly evolving with the changing circumstances.The rulers of Former Liang will typically consider multiple factors,including but not limited to the strengths of the regimes,the world situation,the ethnic composition(whether or not they are part of the Jin),as well as the national needs,to make prompt adjustments to their foreign policies to better fit the situation and safeguard the core interests of Former Liang.In general,while the rulers of Former Liang highly valued their relationship with the Eastern Jin Dynasty,they were also extremely cautious of the eastern regime.From a military perspective,Former Liang maintained friendly relations with surrounding regimes with the exception of a large-scale conflict with the eastern regime and a military campaign against the Western Regions.Due to the weaker power of the western regimes,Former Liang’s foreign strategy focused on western expansion while maintaining a defensive position against eastern regimes.Regimes such as Qiuchi,Chenghan,Daiguo and Former Yan,have neither conflict of interest or formal feudal relationship with Former Liang.As a result,they rarely interact with the Former Liang regime and are marginalized in Former Liang’s foreign relations. |
