China, as the name suggests, is the "country of the central government". But China is located in the eastern tip of Eurasia, so why do you still say that you are the "central country"? Therefore, the word "China" is not simple, its connotation is profound. Today's word "China" is the general name for our motherland, but this was not the case in ancient times. The evolution of the meaning of the word "China" is also tortuous and complex.
First, is "China" the China of the Han Dynasty?
In ancient times, people called cities "nations", the earliest countries were city-states, and the birth of cities also meant the emergence of civilization. "China" is the most central city, that is, the capital. The first dynasty in Chinese history was the Xia Dynasty, and its capital was probably located in the Luoyang area, so Luoyang was known as "china under the heavens". During the Western Zhou Dynasty, "Zhaozi China" also means Dingding Luoyi.
He Zun: The earliest recorder of the Chinese word
The Western Zhou Dynasty implemented a system of sub-feudalism, and its Chinese princes also called their capital "China", so "China" spread throughout the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people used "Zhuxia", "Huaxia" and "Zhongyuan" to refer to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Zhongyuan, that is, the development of the word "China". Since then, the ancient text of "China" is the meaning of the Central Plains, so the Central Plains Dynasty often called itself "China".
Since the Han Dynasty, the basic meaning of the word "China" is still the Central Plains, but there has been the germ of the concept of the state. The ancient dynasty called itself China, which was also a manifestation of orthodoxy. And most of the dynasties in ancient China were established by the Han people, so was the Northern Wei, Liao, Jin, Yuan, and liquidation "China" established by ethnic minorities? Tan Qijun believes that as long as the nationalities within the territory of the Qing Dynasty belong to the Chinese nation, then as long as it is a political power established within the territory of the Qing Dynasty, it is also a Chinese political power. This explanation is correct, but not convincing enough.
We must first find out whether China is necessarily a Han China, and only by clarifying this question can other doubts be eliminated. The land of the Central Plains, or "China", was not inhabited by han chinese or Huaxia or Yanhuang. According to molecular anthropology, the first to survive in Asia were denisovans, and some of their genes are still present in modern humans. In the era of Homo sapiens, the earliest humans who migrated to China were the Northern Branch (C series) of the brown race, and their main descendants were the historical Xianbei, Khitan, Mongol, Jurchen and so on.
Human migration in East Asia
The ancestors of the Han people are the O2 lineage, that is, the ancient Qiang people, which are of the same origin as the Tibetans. The ancient Qiang arrived in China a little later, but became stronger because of their farming operations, and gradually drove the C series out of the Yellow River Valley. Of course, there are still many C-series left behind, integrated into the Huaxia ethnic group. The Xia Dynasty was founded by the ancient Qiang people, while the Shang Dynasty was founded by the C-lineage peoples, and the Western Zhou Dynasty was founded by the Q-lineage. Therefore, the Central Plains were not only Of the Huaxia ethnic group at the beginning, but of many ethnic groups living together. In addition to the O series and the C series, there are also N series, Q series and so on.
Second, confrontation and conquest: survival game of the weak and the strong
In ancient times, there was basically no modern concept of the state between tribes and tribes, and between nations, and some only had war and peace, the weak preying on the strong, and the combination of vertical and horizontal. After the ancient Huaxia became strong, they expelled the "Four Yi" who originally lived in the Central Plains to the surrounding mountains, grasslands, and forests, which was a manifestation of the weak and the strong. After the grassland and forest peoples became strong, they also invaded the Central Plains, and even entered the Central Plains, which was a very normal thing.
For example, Beidi and the Yellow Emperor have a relationship, and the historical Yellow Emperor's unification of the Yandi and Xuanyu tribes may be the earliest nomadic people to go south. In the Shang Dynasty, Wu Ding and others repeatedly went north to ghost fang (Northern Di), causing a large number of its residents to become slaves, and the Di people were forced to abandon their homes and move north to the area of Lake Baikal, becoming Ding Zero, creating the Karasuk culture. Since then, Ding Zero has evolved into a Tiele, Turkic, Uighur and other ethnic groups, and has invaded the Central Plains many times in history. This is the law of the jungle, and it is difficult to distinguish who is right and who is wrong.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, such examples were not uncommon. Wuhu entered China, northern Wei was unified, and the Han dynasty was partial to the south. But if you think about it, many of these ethnic groups originally lived in the Central Plains, and now they are back. This is naturally accompanied by a large number of burning and looting, which is unavoidable. At the same time, the Han Dynasty, which had moved south, went south to seize the land of the Shanyue and Miao tribes, forcibly incorporating them into slaves, or rushing to the more remote Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The history of any nation is made up of bloody history, but we cannot now just stare at this bloody thing.
After the unification of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the implementation of reforms in the north made the north soon settle down, they brought the fierce folk customs of the grassland, as well as the exotic culture, brought fresh blood to the decaying Central Plains civilization, and laid the foundation for the great unification of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The dynasty that moved south developed a large number of barren mountains and wild mountains, expanded the living space of Chinese civilization, and prepared for the southward shift of economic center of gravity. All these are promoting the progress of history.
When the Northern Wei Dynasty entered the Central Plains, it naturally called itself "China", because the Northern Wei Occupied the Land of Traditional China; the Southern Dynasty was partial to Security, and also flaunted orthodoxy, calling itself "China". As a result, China was divided into two parts, the north and the south, and the Tang Dynasty recognized this phenomenon and compiled them into the "History of the North" and the "History of the South" respectively, both of which are the orthodoxy of China. In the process, the concept of "China" was expanded, previously confined to the Central Plains and now including the South.
Third, from small China to big China
After the Northern Wei Dynasty entered the Central Plains, it carried out comprehensive Sinicization and also promoted the great integration of the northern ethnic groups. Many people think that as long as ethnic minorities are Sinicized, they are part of China; if there is no Sinicization, or if Sinicization fails, it is not part of China. Is this view correct? Of course, it is not true, as mentioned above, China is not only Han China, but ethnic minorities are also part of China. Ethnic minorities can learn han culture, but it is also a natural choice to preserve their own culture.
During the Liao Dynasty, the official system of the north and the south was implemented, and the Han ruled the Han dynasty with The Han Dynasty and the Yi Dynasty ruled yi with Yi, and achieved certain results. On the one hand, the Liao State is learning the culture of the Han People, and on the other hand, it is also preserving its own traditions, which is beyond reproach, and even very correct. During the Jin Dynasty, the implementation of the Meng'an Mou Restraint (Thousand Households System) in the Northeast and the Han System in the Central Plains were also no problem. During the Yuan Dynasty, the culture and system of various ethnic groups were mixed, and it was no problem. No nation or any political power, unless it encounters a huge crisis, will not take the initiative to abandon its own cultural customs and beliefs, and "do not do to others what you do not want."
After the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, the Mongols and Manchus had very large hereditary privileges, while the status of the Han nationality was relatively low, which was also a very normal thing, or the truth that the weak preyed on the strong. For example, the Yuan Dynasty was founded by the Mongols, whose ethnic groups in ancient times were several million people, while the Han Chinese had tens of millions. If the Yuan Dynasty abolished the privileges of the Mongols, then the basis of the dynasty's rule would soon be disintegrated, and what dynasty would do such a stupid thing? These ethnic minorities are equivalent to the clans of a dynasty, just as the Han Dynasty would give up the privileges of the Liu clan? Will the Ming Dynasty give up Zhu's privileges?
In history, the weak eat the strong, fight, kill and kill, that is history. The most important thing is how people absorb the lessons instead of dwelling on the past. Summing up, after a long period of confrontation and war, the major nationalities have formed a pattern of large settlements and small mixed residences. For example, provinces such as Guizhou in Yunnan are inhabited by many Hui and Mongolian ethnic groups, and a large number of Han chinese live in the northeast and western regions. Through the form of surname change and intermarriage, there has been a great integration of various ethnic groups. According to DNA testing, 40% of the Y chromosome in the Han population is not O2, which means that a large proportion of modern Han people come from ancient ethnic minorities. The same phenomenon also occurs among the major nationalities, and the peoples who really exist by blood do not exist at all, after all, "men and women with the same surname are not born." ”
Genealogy of khitan descendants in Yunnan
With the integration of nationalities and the exchange of cultures, China's sense of identity is rising and expanding. For example, during the Tang Dynasty, the Turks called China "Chin". By the Song Dynasty, the Qarakhanid Dynasty in the Western Regions (founded by the Turks and Uighurs) referred to the Northern Song Dynasty, the Liao State, and itself as Chin. Of course, the fourth generation of the Liaojin Yuanqing dynasty also called itself "China".
Yongzheng said: "Since the unification of ancient China, the territory cannot be wide, and those who do not have a direction are denounced as Yidi... Since I entered Middle-earth, the king came to the world, and the tribes on the far side of Mongolia, all returned to the territory, it is the territory of China to open up a wide range, it is a great blessing for the Chinese subjects, how to still have the distinction between Huayi and foreign countries! Yongzheng summed it up very well, and the ancient central dynasty often called itself China, and denounced the surrounding ethnic minorities as barbarians, which was an economic and cultural discrimination. Only by identifying with the cultural beliefs and economic life of all ethnic groups can we treat all people equally, abandon the narrow nationalist concept of "Huayi distinction", and shape the "China" perspective of great unification.
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