In the history of China, there are often some myths about Kyushu, but although this kind of myth is a myth, it is accurately recorded in Chinese history books.
However, Kyushu about each dynasty is different, because people in each dynasty seem to have a Kyushu, so such kyushu is different from people of other dynasties. So how big is Kyushu? Why is it that people have different concepts of the size of Kyushu in each period?
First, Kyushu was originally a geographical concept, and eventually derived into a political concept
1. Because the development of Chinese history books in the ancient period was not very developed, it led to the lack of records
Kyushu is actually a place in mythology, but it is also a relatively clear geographical concept. In layman's terms, Kyushu is a regional division recorded in ancient Chinese texts about the pre-Qin period. Then this kind of regionalization mainly refers to the hell plan of Xia Shang Zhou, and then finally this concept expanded and became a synonym for China.
In fact, such a regional concept is not an accurate regional concept of the people in the Xia Shang Zhou. Because most of the earliest history books describing Kyushu are history books of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Although there is a clear record of Kyushu in the Shangshu, Kyushu at this time seems to be limited to only one geographical concept, and may be some other concept.
Most people are repeating what Kyushu is all about. So what kind of territory it covers in China is mainly explained in many books during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States Period. Although Kyushu is a geographical concept, when such a geographical concept was really implemented, it should be in the late Eastern Han Dynasty that Kyushu was implemented as a formal geographical concept.
Then the so-called Kyushu, according to the records in the Book of Shang, the Kyushu are Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Liangzhou, Yongzhou, and Yuzhou. At the beginning, Kyushu was not actually such a clear geographical concept as put forward in the text.
In fact, the more popular Kyushu, and even the Kyushu that people are more accessible to, should be the Kyushu created in the myth of Dayu Zhishui. Legend has it that Kyushu arose because after Da Yu ruled the water, in the process of ruling the country, the whole world was divided into Kyushu, so tianxia also became a special term for Chinese territory.
Later people, especially after the Han Dynasty deposed the Hundred Families and exalted Confucianism, excessively sanctified some of the saints of the pre-Qin period at that time, so they also continued to derive the concept of Kyushu, and finally evolved into the concept of the entire concept of tianxia. Therefore, the concept of Kyushu is constantly changing, including the concept of Kyushu in the history books.
In addition to some people's inconsistent views, there is actually one of the most important things, that is, the concept of Kyushu. The earliest elaboration of relevance should be in the pre-Qin period, which is precise, it should be in the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou periods, there should be a record of relevance in Kyushu. But such records are very rare in such antiquities.
The most important reason is that in ancient times, China's historical official system and related history books did not develop particularly well. Including the history books at that time, there were also many problems in terms of accounting, coupled with the later burning of books by Qin Shi Huang, which also led to the lack of a large number of documents.
Therefore, it led to the later people's concept of Kyushu in the pre-Qin period, which was in a relatively hazy imagination. So there is why later people are constantly recalling how big Kyushu really is, so what are the specific concepts of Kyushu before it.
2. After the deposing of the Hundred Houses and the Confucianism of Monopoly, the concept of derivation suddenly became more numerous
In fact, if Kyushu had not attracted some attention at that time, perhaps Kyushu could have been preserved in the history books with a stable related concept. Because in this way, Kyushu was actually not valued by the rulers at that time, so if it was not valued, in fact, the original concept of Kyushu, perhaps the rulers would not modify it.
Perhaps in the inheritance of later history books, it can be preserved in its original conceptual form. But there is also a drawback in this way, if it is not taken seriously, it is possible that the geographical concept of Kyushu, even if it is a series of political concepts derived later, may not be recorded in the history books at all. Therefore, for the original concept of Kyushu, the best way to inherit is to be valued by the ruler, but this degree of attention is not great.
But such an idea is naïve, because after all, history has passed and cannot be changed. Then the specific extensibility concept of Kyushu is more diverse, specifically after the deposing of the Hundred Schools of Confucianism. Because the deposing of the Hundred Schools of Confucianism was actually an attempt to make the Confucianism of the time orthodox.
In the process, it is necessary to seek a certain experience as in the previous period. In the previous period, they sought evidence to become orthodox, so many Confucian scholars at that time also made more derivatives of the concept of Kyushu. Because of Confucianism, they advocate the ideas of the three generations and the great men who existed during the three generations.
For example, Yao Shunyu, and later Shang Tang, later King Wen of Zhou, King Wu, etc., are all a kind of saint image respected by later Confucianism. Then the geographical concept of Kyushu is actually based on the specific establishment of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it is related to the legend of the great Yu zhishui before.
Therefore, such a geographical concept was also interpreted by later Confucians as a political concept. In fact, in the previous Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Hundred Sons and Hundred Families also made an extended exposition of the concept of Kyushu at that time. However, most of the elaborations derived from this period are elaborated on the structure of Kyushu's view of the world.
Such an exposition is in line with the background of the times at that time, because during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the princes arose, independent forces rose, and the country was in a divided situation. Therefore, people at that time were eager for unity and also longed for stability. Therefore, it is necessary to find a reasonable reason for the concept of the world to make the unified logic of the time logical. Of course, after the Han Dynasty, it also inherited some of the ideas of the Spring and Autumn Warring States period on the concept of Kyushu Tianxia.
However, in later times, Confucianism was partially sanctified, so Kyushu was also excessively airborne. This is also why when people later go back to the concept of Kyushu, there will be many complex concepts, mainly derived from the Spring and Autumn Warring States period and the later Han Dynasty.
And with the development of the times, people in each era have made their own derivative interpretations of such concepts, so so far there are many derivative interpretations of Kyushu.
Second, people in each period look back at the concept of Kyushu differently
1. In the earlier period, people thought that Kyushu was a more sacred and a more concrete geographical concept
In ancient times, people thought that Kyushu was a more specific geographical concept, or a specific geographical division. Because in ancient times, people experienced first-hand that the geographical concept of Kyushu was widely used. Although it was not politically reflected, it was more popular in the social sphere at that time.
Therefore, in the ancient period, especially before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people were able to specifically say where Kyushu was, which Kyushu was, and which exact location each state was in. There should have been a more detailed or accurate description of that period.
However, these documents may be lost in the development of history due to some reasons of the inheritance of the times. However, with the development of the times, especially under the premise of China's territory expanding.
This led to a certain change in the concept of Kyushu, because the previous concept of Kyushu was applicable to the previous territorial scope. Once the territorial scope changes, then the corresponding geographical concept of Kyushu will also change, so compared to later people, the concept of Kyushu is actually amplified. So one of the main reasons why the later people were different from the previous people in Kyushu was the specific scope of the territory.
2. Kyushu may have referred to a certain area in ancient times, but as the area increased, it evolved into a relatively large geographical division unit
Because the concept of Kyushu in the ancient period should be relatively clear, because Kyushu in that period belonged to a stage that had just been proposed. So Kyushu at that time was most likely referring to a specific location. It is possible that at that time, only one name of the nine places was said, but some of the other places were not explained.
So at this time, if people want to specify the specific location of another place, they need to say one of the names of the nine states, so that people can better understand where the other place is. Therefore, as more and more people used Kyushu to point out specific geographical divisions at that time, in this development and evolution, the geographical concept of Kyushu was actually amplified by people's continuous social interaction.
The reason for this amplification, in addition to the specific reasons for the previous territorial changes, then there is also a process of interaction between people. Perhaps due to their own subjective ideas, the geographical concept of Kyushu has undergone a series of changes. The point is that such a subjective idea may have been synonymous with a social experience or a direction in antiquity.
3. Summary
Kyushu was first born as a geographical concept, so the specific period should be around the Western Zhou Dynasty, but later with the frequent use of the concept of Kyushu, people have interpreted the geographical concept of Kyushu in many ways. The most important result is the interpretation of the political aspects. Therefore, it is easy to cause people in each period to see Kyushu as different.
bibliography:
1. Ancient Chinese History
2. History of the Qin and Han Dynasties
3. History of Ancient Chinese Thought