When did the name China begin?

According to Yu Xiansheng's explanation of China, the word "China" appeared at the latest in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the earliest evidence so far is the inscription on a mouthful of "He Zun" (revered as an ancient sprinkler, made of bronze) unearthed in Jia Cun 1963, Shaanxi. The inscription reads, "Only the King of Wu ruled the merchants in Dayi, and later moved to Heaven, saying,' Yu Qi lives in China, and he rules the people himself'" (Zhou Wuwang held a solemn ceremony to report to Heaven after conquering the merchants' capital: "I have ruled these people by China." In front of the inscription, it is also mentioned that "only move, stay in the state, and return to Wu"; Visible is Zhou Chengwang's record. An article about Zi Cai in Shangshu also records Zhou Chengwang's recollection of the past: "The emperor will not only make the people of China cross the border with the former king". Because many contents in Shangshu are written by later generations, they are often mixed with truth and falsehood after being sorted out and even tampered with by many people. With the material evidence of He Zun's inscription, the words in Zi Cai were completely confirmed. Visible Zhou Wuwang and his son Zhou Chengwang did use the word "China".

There is no consensus on the exact time when Zhou Wuwang destroyed its business, but it is generally believed to be in 1 1 century BC. In this way, the word "China" has a history of three thousand years. Of course, it may have been used or appeared before, but even if there is, it won't be long, because the word "country" or "or" (associated with national character) has not been found in the Oracle Bone Inscriptions used by businessmen.

What is the original meaning of "China"? This has to start with the word "country". The words "country" and "or" are interlinked, meaning city and city. After the ancestors settled down because of the development of agriculture, they gradually formed the initial settlements and cities centered on the residence of tribal leaders. Cities are called villages, and the neighboring areas outside cities are called suburban residents. At the beginning, there was little difference between countries. Later, some countries developed rapidly, and some countries have expanded to the original countries. Therefore, large units are called "States" and small units are also called countries. Later, because the leader or clan already owns more than one city or city, that is, more than one "country", the main city or city where the leader lives is called "country"; This is also the origin of calling the capital "country" in the future.

It is precisely because a "country" is only a settlement of a tribe or clan, and its scope is generally very small. The big one is only equivalent to a small county today, and the small one is only equivalent to a "three villages". Since the vast majority of people in China are also engaged in farming, and the country also includes a large area of farmland, the scope of a country is still larger than that of a simple settlement. As you can imagine, the number of such countries must be very large. According to legend, Dayu convened a gathering of various countries in Tushan (there are different opinions today, which was said earlier in the south bank of Xihuai River in Bengbu City, Anhui Province). It is said that as many "nations" participated in and accepted the leadership of Dayu. Of course, "10,000" is not a real number, but there must be many. By the time of Tang Dynasty, the first monarch of Shang Dynasty, it had been reduced to more than 3,000. When Zhou Wuwang sent troops to attack Shang Zhouwang and arrived in Jin Meng (now by the Yellow River in the southwest of Mengjin County, Henan Province), 800 countries originally belonging to Shang Dynasty (known as princes in history, but actually using later names) voted for Zhou Wang. After Zhou Wuwang's commerce was destroyed, there were still 65,438+0,773 vassals.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the king of Zhou was called the son of heaven, and the country he enfeoffed or recognized was called the vassal. But no matter the emperor or the vassal, the city they live in is a "country". Since there are so many countries at the same time, the names are gradually different. The "country" (capital) where the son of heaven lives is in the center and central position, so it is naturally called "China". As mentioned earlier, after destroying the Shang Dynasty, Zhou Wuwang believed that God had given him the "China" because he occupied the capital of the Shang Dynasty. Book of Songs. In Daya's article "People's Labor", "Hui China, Sui Sifang"; The poem "benefiting the capital and leveling the four countries" clearly shows that the so-called "China" refers to the capital.

The Expansion and Change of China

The original "China" only refers to Feng (west of Fenghe River in the southwest of Chang 'an County, Shaanxi Province), Gao (around Fenghao Village in the northwest of Chang 'an County, Shaanxi Province) and its surrounding areas. After the demise of Shang Dynasty, according to the custom of Zhou people, the area around the capital of Shang Dynasty (Yin, now Anyang City, Henan Province) was also called "China". After arriving in Zhou Chengwang, King Wu's younger brother Zhou Gongdan presided over the expansion of Luoyi (in the area of Baima Temple in the northeast of Luoyang City, Henan Province), which was called Chengzhou. He moved the adherents of Shang Dynasty to live here, built a city nearby (in the area of Wangcheng Park in Luoyang City, Henan Province), and moved to Zhou people to live as the capital of Zhou to control the East. Luoyi, also known as "China", not only occupies an important position as the capital, but also is the world transportation hub. This shows that the concept of "China" began to expand from the only political center to the geographical center.

In 77 BC1year (eleven years), Quan Rong (a branch of Rong people in western Guanzhong) invaded Haojing and killed Zhou Youwang. Although Gou Rong temporarily withdrew from Haojiang, he threatened Zhou people at any time. In the second year, Wang You's son, Wang Ping Du Shi Luo Yi. Most of the population of the Zhou Dynasty, together with Wang Ping, Dong Shi and Feng Hao, was occupied by Rong people, and naturally lost the status of "China", while Luoyi and its surrounding areas became a veritable "China". At that time, Xiang Gong, the leader of Qin, sent troops to save Zhou and escorted Feng Ping to Qin. Wang Ping also made a ready-made favor, sealing the place to the west of Qi (now the northeast of Qishan County, Shaanxi Province) occupied by people, so that they could take it from people themselves. He also promised that as long as the Qin people could recapture Feng and Gao, they would also be owned by the State of Qin. Later, Qin did seize Guanzhong, but it did not become "China".

After Dong Shi, Zhou Tianzi lost his authority in previous years, and the scope of political litigation was beyond Wang Ji's reach. Soon, it was in name only, and he had to rely on powerful governors to support it. At the same time, several vassal states of Zhou Wang's closest family and those in the middle of the geographical position quickly became powerful by virtue of favorable conditions. They annexed the small countries around them and became a big country with dozens to dozens of cities. For example, the monarch of Zheng is a half-brother. At that time, there was only one Zheng Yi (in hua county, Shaanxi). After more than 30 years, Zheng Huangong has adapted to the life between Xinzheng and Xingyang. Three years later (in 769, the second year of Zhou Pingwang), Qiang was destroyed (now northwest of Xinzheng County) and its capital was Xinzheng (now Xinzheng County). Two years later, Dongguo was destroyed (in the northeast of Xingyang County today); It soon became one of the most powerful vassal States. In fact, these great vassal states have achieved equal status with the Zhou Emperor, and their country is also called "China". Within the vassal state, the capital is equivalent to the capital of the Zhou Emperor, just like the "China" in the country. In this way, the "China" in the Spring and Autumn Period was extended to the areas directly under the Zhou Emperor and the States of Jin, Zheng, Song, Shandong and Wei, roughly equivalent to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in most areas of Henan, southwestern Shanxi and western Shandong. The scope of "China" is constantly expanding. For example, although Qi is a big country, its geographical position is not in the center. In Qi Huangong, he gained hegemony, played the banner of "respecting the king and rejecting foreign countries", and sent troops to safeguard the interests of the Zhou Emperor and the order among the vassal states. Such an important country should naturally join the ranks of "China".

China in the Spring and Autumn Period also had national significance. For example, the State of Qin not only took the birthplace of Feng, Gao and Zhou from the people, but also conquered the various ministries of Rong to the west, which was strong enough to compete with countries such as Jin and Zheng. Such a big country, which still occupies the original China, can be justly called "China". However, because the Qin people came from the East and lived between the two armies for a long time, they were always regarded as "barbarians" by the governors of China in the Spring and Autumn Period, and could not squeeze into the circle of the "China" vassal alliance. Another example is Chu, which was sealed in the early Western Zhou Dynasty and had little contact with the Central Plains, calling itself "barbarian". During the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu was very powerful, destroying many small countries around it and sending troops to the Central Plains many times, threatening Zheng, Cai and other countries. However, instead of being recognized as "China" because of its great strength, Chu State is considered as harmful to the south of China, just like Di in the north. Chu's destruction of Deng, Gu, Zheng and Cai is considered to echo the destruction of Xing and Wei. In view of this situation, the author of "Biography of the Spring and Autumn Ram" exclaimed: "Yi is also seriously ill in China, and Nanyi touches Beidi, and China is endless." Yidi seriously harmed China, and the northern Di people echoed with the southern Yi people from afar, and China's fate remained as a thread. Qi Huangong saved Xing, Wei, Zheng and Cai, and was called "the teacher of the king" and "saved China", which was highly praised. When Confucius mentioned Guan Zhong who assisted Qi Huangong, he also praised his "benevolence" and said, "Guan Zhong, I left naked!" Without Guan Zhong, I would wear my hair and bare my left arm as my brother's costume. ) It can be seen that the standard of "China" has strong national boundaries.

In national standards, the role of culture is more important than consanguinity. For example, the monarch of Wu was born to Taibo, and Taibo was the eldest son of Gu Gong, the ancestor, and the lineage was the noblest. However, after Taibo arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, his tattoo was broken, and he completely obeyed the local customs in Man Jing and became the leader of Man Jing. The ancestor of Yan was surnamed Zhou. When he was in Zhou Chengwang, he once enjoyed the same status as the Duke of Zhou, and divided their ruling scope with Shaanxi (now Shaanxi County, Henan Province) as the boundary. But Yan is also surrounded by the world of Emperor Rong, and there may be many elements of Emperor Rong in his theme. Therefore, in the Spring and Autumn Period, both Wu and Yan were excluded from the "China".

By the Warring States period, small countries were almost wiped out. Among the other seven chivalrous men, Qi was originally "China"; Han, Zhao and Wei left the State of Jin and naturally continued to be "China"; Qin, Chu and Yan are also recognized as "China". With the expansion of the territory of these vassal states, the scope of "China" is also growing. For example, Qin destroyed Bashu, and its territory expanded southward to Sichuan Basin. Qin also immigrated to Shu in large numbers. Bashu became a part of the State of Qin, and the immigrants from the State of Qin lived here, thus achieving the same status as the State of Qin as "China". By the late Warring States period, the scope of "China" reached the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the south, Yinshan Mountain and Yanshan Mountain in the north, and Longshan Mountain and the western edge of Sichuan Basin in the west. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, all the original vassal states were incorporated into the territory of a unified country. The land before Qin was not only a part of China, but also the Guanzhong Plain in the Weihe River Basin was the capital and the "China" in China. And theoretically, most of the territory of Qin and Han dynasties can be regarded as "China". Obviously, with the formation of a unified country, the expansion of territory and the development of economy and culture, the concept of "China" is constantly changing and expanding. Generally speaking, after the establishment of a Central Plains dynasty, its main ruling area can be called "China", while the remote areas and regions outside its ruling scope are barbarians, barbarians and barbarians, so it is not "China".

China and the Central Empire

Before the Ming Dynasty, we didn't know what foreigners called the Central Plains Dynasty at that time, because there were not many books devoted to China like The Travels of Marco Polo, and most of the historical documents of the East were written in Chinese, which was no different from China, but there was a great inconsistency between the West and Arabia. However, from the late Ming Dynasty, westerners who came to China generally called China China or China, the Chinese Empire and the Central Empire, not the Ming and Qing Dynasties or the Ming and Qing Dynasties. After the Opium War, China began to be regarded as a synonym for the country or the Qing Dynasty in international communication.

However, people's ideas are still vague and even contradictory, and even famous officials and scholars are inevitable. The same is true of outstanding scholars and thinkers like Wei Yuan (1794- 1857). In his works, the word "China" sometimes refers to the whole Qing Dynasty, and its usage is exactly the same as today; But sometimes it only refers to the traditional "China" region, that is, the 18 provinces in mainland China, excluding Mongolia, Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Northeast China and Taiwan Province Province.

In western works since17th century, the provinces established in Qing Dynasty are often referred to as China or China headquarters and Chinese mainland, while other regions are referred to as Tatar, Mongolia, Tibet or Xinjiang (Turkic, China) and so on. We used to take this title very seriously, thinking that it was a westerner with ulterior motives and intended to invade. In fact, we should distinguish between time and object. It can be considered that most westerners have no malice, but only conceptual differences. Even Wei Yuan, an outstanding patriotic scholar, can't avoid this confusion, and foreigners don't have to make a fuss about it.

Some scholars have noticed that as early as the 28th year of Kangxi (1698), when China and Russia concluded the Treaty of Nebuchadnezzar, the word "China" was already used in Manchu and Latin texts provided by the Qing Dynasty. Later, in a series of unequal treaties concluded between the great powers and the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty also used "China" as the country name. However, what we want to make sure is that even in the late Qing Dynasty, although the concept of China as a country was quite clear, the official name of the Qing Dynasty was Qing Dynasty, Qing Dynasty or Qing Dynasty. We should also note that the reason why the Qing Dynasty was willing to use the word "China" in foreign exchanges and formal treaties actually contained a traditional mentality, that is, paying attention to the literal meaning of the word "China"-a country with a center, a center and a world. The same noun is understood by westerners as only one country, namely China, which has no special respect. Just as we call the United States UnitedStatesofAmerica, we have no intention of praising its beauty; Calling France France naturally does not mean that this country advocates law. However, in the Qing dynasty, it was understood as the central government, and it was accepted as an honorific title.

19 12 after the founding of the Republic of China, China became the official abbreviation of the country and became synonymous with the country. China also has a clear geographical scope-the whole territory of the Republic of China.