Information Reducing and Noise Combating: the Communication Logic Behind the Tribute System

Abstract

The academic community calls for providing a more general analytical framework or finding new interpretations for the tribute system. In this article, I argue that the tribute system has the bottom logic of reducing information and combating noise by introducing Claude Elwood Shannon’s information theory. High quantity of information and noise bring about uncertainty, increasing the risk of miscalculation and rash actions. The tribute system functions as a communication channel, in which messages unveiling an actor’s real strength and intention convinced the other actors by offering and receiving tribute and gifts, which could be seen as an effective noise-combating scheme. Through multiple rounds of offering tribute and giving back gifts, which is actually a process of successful message transmission, countries were increasingly clear of one other’s real intention and capacity, and avoided misunderstanding and strategic miscalculation, thus contributing to the stability and prosperity of this region.