Heqin (simplified Chinese: 和亲; traditional Chinese: 和親; pinyin: Héqīn; literally "peace marriage") was a term used in ancient China for an alliance by marriage. It usually referred to the Chinese Emperor marrying off a "princess" (usually a pseudo-princess or concubine whom he had 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 pseudo-princess was offered to a Xiongnu Chanyu as suggested by Lou Jin (later given the surname Liu by the Imperial Court).
Heqin was engaged in by most dynasties in Chinese history to some extent. By contrast to their contemporaries, such as the Liao, Jin, Western Xia, Yuan and the Northern Yuan dynasties, the Song and Ming dynasties did not practice such alliances.
They were used to best effect by the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, and the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty.
Spirits of the night
Communicate with me
Their visions of a future
Of what is yet to be
As I see the way I die
And I try to change it
I am running short of time
I'll just sit here waiting
'Til the moment comes around
Like I've been here once before
And I'm questioning the truth
No escaping déjà vu
If I could harness this power
Assume absolute control
Of my visions from a future
No one will ever know
That I've seen the day you die
And I tried to change it
You are running short of time
You'll just sit there waiting
'Til the moment comes around
Like you've been there once before
And you're questioning the truth
No escaping déjà vu
Faces become strangely familiar
Stumbling upon traces of my visions
No I see a shadow of a man
In my silhouette he stands
The wisdom of my premonition comes to life!
I was just a kid back then but now I'm back to take revenge
I sternly look my killer in the eye
I'm out for satisfaction when I'm suddenly distracted
By the silent cries that echo in the streets
My finger pulls the trigger
With my whole life left to figure if the boy I accidentally killed was me
Voices become strangely deceiving
Gravity's pull has zero effect on me
Now the moment's finally here
And it feels like just before
Only now I face the truth
I will have to wait no more
Will this ever end?
I've been through enough
This is the part where I wake up with blood on my hands
Traveling back to where it all began
As for the boy, it pleased me to know
That he'll just wake up nine years old, alone and afraid
He'll live for the day this moment comes around again
Now the moment's finally here
And it feels just like before
Even now I know the truth
I accept my fate no more
I bet you don't remember me
I guess you won't forget
The only way to go
When there is nowhere left to roam
Scenes from someone else's lifetime
Flash like bright lights before my eyes
Scenes from someone else's lifetime
Flash like bright lights in my eyes
From the beginning I never dreamt I was the killer
Over the edge, falling in and out of time
Yeah the moment passed us by
And it felt just like before
As I leave this world behind