This expression refers to pursuing conciliatory and benevolent policies and

offering benefits to tribes and groups in remote areas. It was a political concept

adopted by successive governments led mostly by the Han people in their

relations with other ethnic groups, tribes in remote areas not yet directly under

their rule, and foreign states. It also represented an important component of the

theory of winning over others by virtue. China was, as it is today, a multi-ethnic

country. The Han-led government ruled over a large territory and believed

that they had an advanced culture. They usually took a conciliatory approach

based on the Confucian concept of benevolence in dealing with the tribes and

populations in remote regions, rather than conquering them by force, with the

goal of placating them and winning their allegiance.