Since the time of the ancient Greeks, European culture and civilization have lasted for more than 3,200 years. Although its historical depth is not as deep as the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization, Europe has never experienced complete unification during this long time. To this day, Europe is still a diverse region of many countries. Although the creation of the European Union has promoted European integration at the political and economic levels, this unification is far from reaching the level of full integration. What is the reason behind this?
Civilizational Differences: A Historical Comparison between Eastern Farming and Western Maritime Cultures
The roots of European civilization can be traced back to ancient Greece, a maritime civilization that was very different from China's agrarian traditions. The differences in the origins of these two civilizations have profoundly affected the basic characteristics of Chinese and Western cultures.
In an agrarian society like China, people rely on the land for a self-sufficient lifestyle. This dependence determines their tendency to maintain the existing order and pursue a stable and comfortable life. In contrast, maritime civilizations, such as the ancient Greeks, could not be fully self-sufficient in inland resources, and as a result, they were forced to explore overseas in search of new resources, shaping a more adventurous and open cultural attitude.
Further, the two civilizations also differ significantly in their diplomatic strategies. Agrarian Chinese can rely on the land to achieve self-sufficiency, so they rarely launch foreign aggression for resources. However, resource-poor Europe had to adopt a strategy of external expansion, plundering resources in order to survive and develop.
Resources are limited, and the need for human survival is constantly growing, which leads to constant wars and competition. Victory means survival, and defeat can lead to destruction. This kind of competition for survival has exacerbated the contradictions and conflicts between various ethnic groups, especially in the colonial expansion of modern Europe.
In China, the idea of unifying the world has been formed since ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, because Zhou Tianzi was unable to control the vassal states, powerful princes began to compete for power. After a long war, the Qin state finally unified the six kingdoms and established an absolute monarchy.
In contrast, there has never been a long-term unity in the history of Europe. The prolonged wars did not reduce the number of states, partly because of the incompetence of early European monarchs, and partly because of the lack of a unified idea in European culture. It took generations of unification for the Qin state, while there were no similar efforts or achievements in early Europe.
Europe's ethnic diversity and persistent contradictions
Globally, Europe is one of the regions where the contradictions between countries are most acute. Throughout history, there has almost always been some form of contradiction and conflict between the many countries of Europe.
The complexity of ethnic relations in Europe stems from the fact that there are many ethnic groups and the strength of each ethnic group is similar. Although most European countries belong to the Caucasian race, in order to distinguish different ethnic groups, experts divide European ethnic groups according to language into Indo-European, Finno-Ugric, Altaic, Afro-Asian, etc. The further subdivision of these ethnic groups helps us better understand the ethnic landscape of Europe.
In contrast, although China has 56 ethnic groups and its geographical conditions are more complex, the main reason for China's unification is that the Han people are its main ethnic group.
Most of the melee in Chinese history took place within the Han Chinese. In Europe, there is no obvious minority or majority ethnic group, and there is not much difference in the number of ethnic groups, resulting in most European countries being based on ethnic construction. The customs, sense of belonging, and strong sense of national honor of different ethnic groups have increased the difficulty of unification.
Competition and conflict among the various ethnic groups in Europe were particularly intense due to the lack of a dominant nation. Even if they are defeated by other peoples and the country perishes, the survivors will still try to rebuild their own nation.
The Polish nation is a case in point, and despite being destroyed three times in history, Poland still exists today. The unification of all peoples into one state seemed to Europe to be an almost impossible task, not only because of the unwillingness of the rulers, but also because of the resistance of the people.
In addition, the inter-ethnic hatred caused by numerous wars throughout history still exists today, which is an important reason why it is difficult for Europe to build a unified state.
The dream of European unity in the long history
Although Europe has a long history, the road to unification has been extremely tortuous. Over the course of 3,000 years, Europe has seen the emergence of leaders with the influence of Qin Shi Huang, who built vast empires and were once close to realizing the dream of European unity, but all of them failed to achieve this goal due to various accidents.
The Roman Empire was the first European power to turn the Mediterranean Sea into an "inner lake". Led by leaders such as Caesar and Augustus, the Roman Empire continued to expand, controlling about 5.9 million square kilometers of territory at its peak.
However, the Roman Empire failed to conquer the Germanic, Slavic, and Celtic peoples of the north. The defeat at the Battle of the Teutonic Woods marked the end of Roman expansion, and the ensuing division shattered the dream of a unified Europe.
This was followed by the Frankish Empire, when Charlemagne's empire conquered and annexed large swathes of Europe, creating a vast empire that covered present-day France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and other countries. But after Charlemagne's death, the Treaty of Verdun shattered hopes of unification when the mighty empire was divided into three.
During the Napoleonic era, France became the core of the empire, and its territory even surpassed that of Charlemagne's empire. But during the Russian expedition, the harsh Siberian climate gave Napoleon the bitterness of defeat, and after Napoleon's defeat in Russia, the British-led anti-French alliance quickly rose, Napoleon was defeated, and his empire collapsed.
Finally, Nazi Germany, under Hitler's leadership, quickly occupied most of the European countries through lightning tactics, creating the vast Third Reich. But the Nazis' unjust aggression and ultra-nationalism sparked a global revolt that eventually declined after the Battle of Stalingrad, with Nazi Germany unable to sustain itself on both eastern and western fronts, and Hitler finally committed suicide in Berlin.
These empires were close to uniting Europe, but only Caesar, Charlemagne, and Napoleon were praised by the European peoples, and Hitler became the sinner of the ages. The first three had a positive impact on the cultural and economic development of Europe, while Hitler's massacres and ultra-nationalism made him a historical countermaterial.
The history of Europe is almost a history of wars, from the Greco-Persian War in ancient Greece to the Second World War, Europe has never been able to form a highly unified country like China.
The inherent sense of family and country in Chinese society prompts us to pursue reunification, while Europeans seem to be naturally resistant to rejecting reunification, and all ethnic groups insist on rebuilding their own countries, lacking a sense of belonging and willingness to defend a unified country.