Zhang Jingping Chen Zhiwei
On the morning of July 27, 2021, the 9th Frontier China Forum, jointly sponsored by the Academic Monthly Magazine of the Shanghai Federation of Social Sciences and the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University, opened at Lanzhou University. More than 40 scholars from research institutions such as the Chinese Academy of History, Peking University and other research institutions and universities submitted papers, and the forum was held in a combination of "online + offline".
The Frontier China Forum was initiated by the Academic Monthly Magazine of the Shanghai Federation of Social Sciences and as the first organizer, with relevant scholars engaged in the study of frontier history as the core, uniting researchers in sociology, ethnology, anthropology, international relations and other related disciplines, adhering to the intersection of disciplines and the integration of ancient and modern, the first forum was held in Shanghai in 2013. With the theme of "Environmental Resources, Ethnic Society and Historical Evolution", the 9th Frontier China Forum was hosted by the Research Team of Arid Area Water Conservancy History of the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University. Deng Hanhua, deputy director of the Social Sciences Department of Lanzhou University, first expressed a warm welcome to the experts attending the meeting on behalf of the school, and thanked the experts who could not come to the scene due to the epidemic, typhoon, flood and other reasons and changed to speak online; Lanzhou University has a long tradition of engaging in the study of China's frontier issues, and has achieved important results under the framework of history, ethnology, international relations and other disciplines, and looks forward to promoting mutual exchanges among frontier researchers through this forum and promoting the understanding of Lanzhou University by the frontier research community.
Zhou Qi, the initiator of the Frontier China Forum and editor of Academic Monthly Magazine, said in his keynote speech that studying the ins and outs of China's frontier history and explaining the evolution trajectory of ethnic groups to nationalities is an important original intention of the Frontier China Forum; understanding the historical context of unifying China's continuous evolution and presenting a strong source of cohesion for the formation and development of the Chinese national community has been consistent in previous frontier China forums. The theme of "environmental resources" was added to this forum, which is to realize the special importance of resource development and environmental change in the historical reality of frontiers, which should be paid more attention by frontier researchers.
In the theme report of the conference, DingYizhuang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of History, sorted out the similarities and differences of the relevant records in different document systems around the conquest of the Huifa Department by Nurhaci in the early days of the rise of the Jurchens in Jianzhou, and compared them with the family memories of an ordinary Manchu woman hundreds of years later, in order to remind everyone that the emergence of different historical memories may be more worthy of attention than the content. Professor Li Hongbin of the School of History and Culture of the Central University for Nationalities analyzed the strategic position of the Hexi Corridor in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and pointed out that in order to correctly understand this problem, it must be based on this basic feature of the Tang Dynasty as a composite dynasty; the essence of the composite dynasty, in the final analysis, is that many groups of Hu and Han heterogeneity are unified within one regime, and the geographical value of the Hexi Corridor is reflected through the integration of these groups. Professor Huang Dayuan Chinese of the Institute of State and Regional Studies of Xi'an University of Foreign Studies and Technology, starting from the analysis of the "theory of civilization" in Russia in the 19th century, revealed that one of the important motivations for Russia's expansion to Central Asia was to try to eliminate its own cultural anxiety in the face of Europe, resulting in the "Russia and Central Asia" style of spatial concepts and imperial construction discourses, which in turn had some influence on the qing dynasty's cognition of the northwest frontier. Professor Feng Jianyong of the Frontier Research Institute of Zhejiang Normal University analyzed the "diplomacy" orientation of border governance during the Republic of China period, pointing out that this is not only a stopgap measure to stabilize the border situation and safeguard the sovereignty of the frontier under the condition of insufficient national strength and poor geopolitical environment, but also shows that the National Government has deeply realized that the governance of the frontier needs to coordinate the overall situation at home and abroad.
On the afternoon of July 27, the forum entered the group report session. The theoretical discussion of frontier science is an important direction of this forum, and a total of five papers involve relevant issues, in addition to the exploration of China's frontier issues, there is no lack of reflection on relevant issues in the surrounding region. Professor Chen Bo of the School of History and Culture of Sichuan University showed the dedication and care of the older generation of frontier research scholars through the study of the origin of the frontier and the interaction of the two scholars, Gou Jile and Li Anzhai. Associate Professor Wei Bing of the School of History and Culture of Sichuan University, who spoke online, reviewed the research tradition of ethnic history and southwest ethnic history around Liu Fusheng's book "Draft History of Ancient Ethnic Relations in Southwest China", and believed that this book presented the complex internal "texture" of the southwest ethnic groups by distinguishing between proper names and generic names, self-designation and other names, self-description and other descriptions, which is of great significance for exploring historical rather than constructed ethnic entities. Associate Professor Yuan Jian of the World Ethnic Research Center of the Central University for Nationalities examined the concepts of inherent tension and distinct academic references between the group of "frontier society" and "frontier people" in the study of modern border politics, and pointed out that behind the framework of the history of frontier ideology, this group of concepts can still bring new meaning and new inspiration today. Li Rudong, associate researcher at the Institute of Central Asian Studies of Shaanxi Normal University, introduced two more concentrated discussions by Soviet scholars on the nomadic social forms of inland Asia in the first half of the 20th century, pointing out that taking "nomadic feudalism" as the core topic and believing that there is a clan-based feudal relationship widely among the nomadic peoples of inland Asia is the basis of relevant research in the Soviet Union. Wei Chao, assistant professor of the Frontier Research Institute of Zhejiang Normal University, analyzed the formation process of the two academic traditions of the "Great Wall Transition Belt" and the "Ethnic Corridor" in the paradigm status of frontier research in recent years, and pointed out that the two paradigms have inherent logical relationships, which is of great significance for re-understanding the issues of frontier society and ethnic integration.
Imagination and identity in frontier issues have always been an important topic of concern for frontier scholars, and there are four papers in this forum that deal with related issues. Professor Hui Dong of the Silk Road Research Institute of Northwest University discussed the knowledge sources and mapping traditions of the Ancient Western Map of Potinga, and from the analysis of specific details, pointed out that the map had a phenomenon of smaller scale, less detail and lower authenticity the closer it was to the central area of Rome, showing the imaginary picture of the Eastern region constructed by ancient Rome. Professor Li Xuan of the School of International Relations of Sichuan University, through examining the ethnicity, race and ethnic discourse in the United States, pointed out that the concept of "American nation" was neither recognized by the US government nor widely accepted in society, but was widely circulated in the context of Chinese under specific historical conditions, which was related to the "national imagination" of the United States by a part of the Chinese social elite in the early 20th century, and has since been selectively inherited by the Nanjing government. Associate Professor Cheng Xiujin of the Northwest Ethnic Minorities Research Center of Xinjiang University pointed out that after the Opium War, Russia's image has undergone a process of transformation from the "Hu people" in the traditional Tianxia system to the "foreigners" in the modern world system, which is synchronized with the disintegration of China's traditional Huayi concept and the establishment of modern nation-state consciousness. Cao Jinyong, an associate researcher at the Institute of Ethnic Literature of the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, who spoke online, outlined the scientific expedition process of modern Westerners in southwest China in stages, pointing out that this scientific expedition introduced modern Western scientific concepts, disciplines and methods into the southwest region for the first time, which in turn promoted the understanding and research of the Chinese people on the southwest and brought about the modern turn of the "Great Discovery of southwest China".
Research on specific issues in different frontier regions has always been the main body of various papers in previous forums, and this forum is no exception, which is more or less centered on the three regions of northeast china and sea frontier, southwest and northwest. In terms of northeast China and maritime frontiers, the forum contributed five papers. Professor Ma Guang of the School of History and Culture of Shandong University, centering on the Yellow Bohai Sea region, analyzed the role played by the environmental driving force behind the invasion of China's coastal areas in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, especially the major disaster elements such as typhoons, thus revealing some important issues in china's sea frontier governance and coastal defense construction system during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Professor Shen Yimin of the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University traced the record of the phenomenon of "black teeth" of the northeast ethnic groups in history through the combination of literature and fieldwork, and pointed out that the nature of "black teeth" in the literature has undergone a transformation from tribal names to special customs, and the essence of the tooth dyeing custom behind it is to prevent dental disease and protect teeth. Associate Professor Guan Shuhe of the College of Literature of Jilin University, who spoke online, examined the epidemic of smallpox and other foreign infectious diseases in Northeast China from the mid-19th century to the 1930s and its impact on the Hezhe ethnic group, and the cross-regional spread of diseases and the process of intra-regional integration were basically synchronized. Associate Professor Li Dianrong of the Institute of Legal History of China University of Political Science and Law, who spoke online, studied the "Current Rules of the Punishment Department" in the early Qing Dynasty, and believed that the Kangxi Dynasty Punishment Department Rules and Regulations were separately formulated since the Shunkang Dynasty to adapt the Eight Banners to the Han Law, and its nature was equivalent to the "National Law", and its source was the integration of the "Regulations" before entering the Customs and the "Regulations on Questioning and Punishment" of the Ming Dynasty law. Associate Professor Li Yiting of the Frontier Research Institute of Zhejiang Normal University analyzed the cultural connotation of The Wenchang Faith in Taiwan in the Qing Dynasty, and pointed out that the promotion of the Wenchang Faith in Taiwan showed the cultural characteristics of the intermingling of large and small traditions, which had been internalized as an organic part of Confucian culture and separated from the category of Taoist belief.
In terms of southwest frontier research, this forum contributed three papers. Associate Professor Liu Lingping of the School of History and Archives of Yunnan University inspected the dispute cases over the boundary between Yunnan and Sichuan in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and pointed out that starting from the "small tradition" of the national society itself, the management and identity of the ethnic society in the border areas can be more fully revealed under the background of "returning to the land". Liao Guoqiang, editor of the editorial department of Yunnan University's "Ideological Front", who spoke online, believes that in the Qing Dynasty, there were two cultural governance strategies of "Hanhuayi" and "rule by custom" in the areas where Yunnan was rehabilitated and returned to the land, and the two complemented each other and did not contradict each other, which jointly contributed to the formation of Yunnan's "pluralistic and integrated" regional culture. Zhu Haoxuan, associate professor of the College of Literature of Nantong University, who spoke online, sorted out the historical trajectory of the continuous adjustment of the frequency and scale of the imperial court to the southwest toast tribute from the Ming Dynasty orthodoxy to the Jiajing period, and pointed out that the imperial court promoted the political identity of the southwest toast from the previous tributary members to the Qi people.
The Northwest Frontier and related extraterritorial studies are one of the focuses of this forum, of which there are five studies on the ancient Northwest Frontier. Professor Niu Jingfei of the School of History and Culture of Shaanxi Normal University put forward new interpretations of some key historical geography issues in the historical geography of Tuguhun during the Northern Wei Period of the Sixteen Kingdoms through academic history analysis and document combing, and redefined the geographical scope of Tuguhun activities. Dr. Wang Xingzhen of the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University discussed the relationship between the prefecture and town system and the governance of the frontier in Guanlong in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and pointed out that the Northern Wei Dynasty had long implemented a parallel administrative management system of prefectures and counties and military towns in Guanlong, emphasizing the functions of military towns in the region, but there were also drawbacks such as insufficient thorough institutional integration and unclear division of power between prefectures and towns. Professor Jia Xiaojun, Dean of the School of History, Culture and Tourism of Hexi University, through studying the structure and structure of the Hexi Corridor cities in the Han and Tang Dynasties, believes that the function of the city in the Hexi Corridor from the Han to the Tang Dynasty has gradually shifted from "isolating Qianghu" to "Huarong Confluence", which reflects the great changes in the social history of Hexi. Dr. Shi Chunxia of the School of History and Society of Xinjiang Normal University sorted out the military and horse farms of various dynasties in the north, especially in the northwest, from the perspective of spatio-temporal distribution, and pointed out that its overall spatial distribution is based on the natural ecological conditions of the transition zone of "Great Wall-Tianshan", and the changes in the border area and the growth of external threats jointly promote its evolutionary motives. Associate Professor Zhao Tianying of the Dunhuang Cultural Research Center of Lanzhou University of Arts and Sciences discussed the calligraphy characteristics of Xixia cursive and believed that its mature knotting method and stable cursive symbols reflect the profound influence of Chinese cursive and are important evidence of the influence of Han culture on the northwest frontier region.
There are five papers focusing on the society of the northwest frontier since the Ming and Qing dynasties. Based on historical texts and fieldwork, Professor Zhang Yahui, director of the Department of Anthropology of Xiamen University, who spoke online, analyzed in detail the ruling characteristics of The Zhuoni Toast in Gansu in the Ming Dynasty and the various symbolic capitals used, and explored the evolution of toast and national connotation in local concepts. Professor Guan Bingsheng, dean of the School of History and Society of Xinjiang Normal University, examined and sorted out the changes in the status and nature of halakutu, a key traffic point in the western part of Hehuang, and described in detail how the ethnic pattern of the modern Hehuang region was formed step by step. Professor Wang Penghui of the School of History and Culture of Sichuan University studied the development process of the Fangshen faith and the Dingxiang Wang faith from Shaanxi, Gansu and Hunan in the late Qing Dynasty in Xinjiang, and believed that the introduction and localization of this belief played an important role in stabilizing The social order in Xinjiang and reflected the response of the folk belief level to the frontier crisis. Independent scholar Li Shuo, through the interpretation of Lin Zexu's diary materials during the Xinjiang period, restored the truth of the Sohuluk turmoil that was different from that contained in the official documents, revealed the complex ecology of the official field in Xinjiang in the Qing Dynasty, and further understood the gains and losses of the Qing Dynasty's governance of Xinjiang. Zhang Jingping, a researcher at the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University, discussed the change mechanism of the irrigation system in Turpan region of Xinjiang from the nullah in the Tang Dynasty to the Qaner well in the Qing Dynasty from the perspective of water resource management, and pointed out that the open canal and the kan'er correspond to the two different operation and governance logics of the frontier oasis society, and the growth of state power is of great significance in the reform of water conservancy technology.
There are three papers discussing the role of extraterritorial elements on the borrowing and influence of the northwest frontier, which invariably emphasize the role of infrastructure construction such as transportation. The paper co-authored by Associate Professor Zan Tao of the Department of History of Peking University and Postdoctoral Fellow Dong Yu took Turkmenistan as an example to study the development activities and influence of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union on the southern frontier, and pointed out that the Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union played a supporting role in its frontier strategy through infrastructure construction such as railways and canals, and it still played a role after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Through his microscopic research on the archives of Sven Hedin in Sweden, Associate Professor Wang Xinchun of the School of History and Culture of Northwest Normal University revealed that behind the support of Sven Hedin Central Asia and China's scientific expeditions in Northwest China is a complicated pattern of interests, especially its activities around the survey of communication lines are full of geopolitical games between various forces and powers in China. Dr. Li Xiaoxing of Zhejiang University of Technology, who spoke online, focused on the preparation of the Xinsui Railway at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and discussed in stages the strategic ideas of the Qing court to try to cope with the crisis in the northwest frontier through railway construction and compete with Japan and Russia for the geopolitical space in northern Asia. The content of some scholars who have submitted papers that have not been reported will not be covered.
During the discussion time of the roundtable, the scholars who participated in the conference report and the group report on the spot, as well as Professor Li Jianxin of the Department of Sociology of Peking University, and Li Kejian, editor of the Journal of Southwest University for Nationalities, spoke one after another, focusing on the formation and evolution of the concept of ethnic groups in the frontier, the relationship between scholarship and reality in frontier research, and the construction of a sense of community of the Chinese nation.
At the closing ceremony, Researcher Chen Linhui, a member of the Party Group of the Shanghai Federation of Social Sciences, thanked the scholars, fully affirmed the efforts of Academic Monthly magazine in supporting and promoting the research of China's frontier issues, and wished that the Frontier China Forum would be better and better. Zhang Jingping, a representative of the organizer of this forum and the head of the research team of arid area water conservancy history in the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University, said in his thank you that the Frontier China Forum has given academic colleagues in different disciplines a stage to carry out cutting-edge discussions; "Frontier" is not only the object of academic research, but also the paradigm of academic research, which has been recalled in many research fields. As we all know, a considerable proportion of China's border areas are in arid and semi-arid areas, and water resources development activities have an important position in history and reality, and also constitute an important window for observing frontier issues. The academic origin of the research team of arid area water conservancy history in the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University, the tuntian history team of Lanzhou University led by Mr. Zhao Lisheng and Professor Wang Xilong, and the water conservancy history team of Tsinghua University led by Professor Wang Zhongjing are committed to the study of the environmental and social history of the arid areas in the hinterland of Eurasia; the team will actively integrate into the academic community of frontier research, and while adhering to the inheritance, we will continue to take new problems as the traction and new methods as the basis, and work with all predecessors and colleagues. To promote the study of China's frontiers to do their part.
(The author Is a researcher at the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University, and a master's student of the School of History and Culture of Lanzhou University by Chen Zhiwei)
Editor-in-Charge: Yu Shujuan
Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang