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.