Heqin was a term used in ancient China for an by marriage. It usually referred to the Chinese Emperor marrying off a "princess" (usually a pseudo-princess or concubine whom he'd never met before) to an aggressive "barbarian" chieftain or ruler. The theory was that in exchange for the marriage, the chieftain would cease all aggressive actions toward China. 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… (More on Heqin)