Abstract
Te and i are terms of multiple connotations. Although they have been conventionally translated as 'virtue' and 'righteousness' respectively, neither of them signifies excellence in personal moral cultivation and conduct in the context of T'ang diplomacy. Te is employed to mean 'getting proper arrangement for things', and i to indicate 'appropriateness' of the intended foreign policy. T'ang foreign policy rested mainly on consideration of efficacy, appropriateness, expedience and mutual self-interest, not on any abstract moral principles such as virtue and righteousness.
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