Chapter 259: Taking Chestnuts from the Fire (13) Attacking the Heart
Gao Pangshi laughed when he heard this, and said half-jokingly: "Does this shatter your view of history? I haven't even mentioned the source of China's powerful assimilation ability."
Liu Xin frowned and said: "I always thought it came from Qin Shihuang, and thought it was him who implanted the 'Great Unification' deeply into the bone marrow of the Chinese people... Based on what you mean now, do you mean that this source will continue to be pushed forward?
"
"Yes, we need to keep pushing forward. You think that Qin Shihuang's ability to unify requires an ideological foundation, right? You can't ask Qin Shihuang to have an idea of 'unification' appear in his mind out of thin air, because since you
When we say 'unification', it means that there is already such an overall framework, but this framework is relatively scattered and has not been truly assembled, so it is called 'unification' when this big platter is completely assembled, right?"
"Oh...this seems to make sense. Just like drawing a map of China, I must first draw the whole country's framework, and then draw the various provinces."
"Very good, you agree with this basic concept, and it will be explained later." Gao pragmatically said seriously: "About the two words 'Huaxia' - I mean the two words, it first appeared in "Shangshu". Huaxia
What does it mean? Later generations explained: "China has great etiquette, so it is called Xia; it has the beauty of wearing clothes, so it is called Hua."
But in fact, "Huaxia" was not so high-end and classy at first. It actually referred to the Zhou Dynasty and the Zhou regime. In other words, at that time, countries in the core region of East Asia regarded Zhou as a spiritual symbol, and used the big network of "Huaxia" to
draw each other in.
After the net was completed, the groups caught in the net were all 'my race' and 'Chinese'. The groups outside the net were naturally 'non-my race', and the 'my race' in the net gave them many names.
Unpleasant names, such as Man, Yi, Rong, Di, Hu, etc. Eastern countries not only strengthened their relations with each other through the concept of "Huaxia", but also implemented "Huaxia within, barbarians and Di" in their actions - for example, emphasizing on the Zhou Dynasty
The respect of the emperor.
If you recall, when we look at the history of the Spring and Autumn Period, do the princes from all walks of life go to war under the banner of the Emperor of Zhou, and hope to gain the recognition and praise of the Emperor of Zhou after the war? This is the so-called "respecting the king and rejecting the barbarians".
In addition, the Eastern countries also built the Great Wall to create a clearly visible edge of China in the north, thereby better protecting the resources of the south. And looking at the 'barbarians, Rongdi' who were excluded from 'China', they had
What's the difference?
In fact, there is not much difference between the original "Huaxia" and the "Barbarian Rongdi". After all, even the Zhou royal family rose up in a land mixed with the Xirong. However, the eastern vassal states began to repeatedly emphasize that "they are not our race.
His heart must be different, and he also built the Great Wall to isolate the surrounding tribes geographically.
This not only clarified the boundaries of China, but also gave the nomadic tribes in the north and west a strong self-awareness. They realized that the ethnic groups on the other side of the Great Wall were different from themselves and that they were excluded by them. In this way,
It also accelerated the overall nomadicization of the people north of the Great Wall.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, both conceptual and geographical boundaries appeared between ‘Chinese’ and ‘non-Chinese’. Since the ‘border’ appeared, the ‘circle’ of China also appeared.
However, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, China was nothing more than the Central Plains, which is today a circle centered on Henan. How did the circle of China continue to expand? In fact, there were two major adjustments to the edges of China.
The first time was during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and its representative adjustment was the addition of Wu, Yue, Chu, and Qin; the second time was during the Han Dynasty, when the edges of China were expanded to the limits of ancient China.
Let me first talk about the first major adjustment on the edge of China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Wu and Yue were located in the southeast of the Central Plains, Chu was in the south, and Qin was in the west. These areas did not originally belong to the earliest "China". How could they join China? Why
What about joining China? This involves an important method, which is to shape 'historical memory'. Specifically, it is to find a 'Chinese ancestor legend'.
For example, the Kingdom of Wu, in order to join the Chinese family, fabricated the legend of "Taibo ran to Wu". The general content of this story is that the ancestor of the Zhou people, King Zhou Taibo, had three sons, the eldest son Taibo, the second son Zhongyong, and the youngest son Ji
Li. King Tai of Zhou discovered that Ji Chang, the son of Ji Li, his youngest son, was smart and precocious. King Tai liked him very much and wanted to pass the throne to Ji Chang. But according to tradition, the eldest son, Tai Bo, should succeed.
After Taibo learned about this, he and his second brother Zhong Yong took the opportunity to collect medicine for their father and fled to the desolate south of the Yangtze River. Taibo cut off his hair and got a tattoo to show his separation from China. After that, he founded his own business and established the Kingdom of Wu -
-You see, as soon as this legend came out, 'I, the Wu Kingdom' became a 'Chinese ethnic group' with roots in Hongmiao. This method is to shape historical memory.
Wu State wants to join the Chinese family so much because it faces a real threat, which is the Chu State that borders its own territory. In the eyes of the vassal states of the Central Plains, the Chu State has always been the "Land of the Southern Barbarians", so Wu State feels
If you can join Hua Xia, you will have help.
In the Wu-Chu War, the State of Wu defeated the State of Chu and went north to form an alliance with the king of Jin, the eldest brother of the princes in the Central Plains. This was the highlight moment of the State of Wu and the trigger for its collapse - the State of Yue took advantage of King Wu's
Fu Chai went north, quickly surrounded the capital of Wu State, and destroyed Wu State. But what is very interesting is that right after, Fu Chai, the king of Yue, also went north to form an alliance.
What is the significance of the alliance? Do Wu and Yue really think that they are so powerful that they can dominate the princes and become the "eldest son" of China? Obviously not, they just hope that the "Chinese Alliance" in the north will recognize them as new members. And since
The land of Wu Yue officially joined the Chinese family.
Like Wu, Yue claims to be the descendant of Prince Shaokang of Xia. The royal families of Qin in the northwest and Chu in the south all claim to be descendants of Zhuanxu, one of the Five Emperors. The reason for shaping these histories is not that they were too busy to eat and have nothing to do.
Basically, it's all about joining the Chinese family - after all, no one wants to be called a barbarian land, right?
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Qin State was just a state that raised horses for the Zhou royal family. The six kingdoms were finally unified, and the Chinese civilization formed a unified political entity for the first time. However, it is a pity that the Qin Dynasty died too quickly and could not continue to serve as the foundation for China.
Opening up territory and expanding territory. This important historical task was handed over to the Han Dynasty, which succeeded the Qin Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty was the second major adjustment on the edge of ancient China. Until the Song Dynasty, and even during our dynasty (Gao Pragmatic refers to the dynasty here), the ancient Chinese people's imagination of China was still the version created by the Han Dynasty - at most 2.0 or
3.0, which is a little upgraded or strengthened, but generally there are not many changes.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when people imagined China, they would use the term "barbarians, Rongdi" to draw a boundary for China. How did people in the Han Dynasty imagine China? In the minds of the people of the Han Dynasty, they were also surrounded by foreign races from all directions.
Therefore, the Han Empire adopted different measures to deal with different marginalized groups.
Let me talk about the northern Xinjiang region first. This is where the edge of China first appeared, and it is also the area where the separation between China and foreign ethnic groups is clearest. Due to climate reasons, the nomadic economy is to the north of the Great Wall, and the agricultural economy is to the south of the Great Wall. The nomadic people cannot pass by themselves.
In order to develop to support themselves, it is inevitable to go south to rob. This is what caused the irreconcilable contradiction between the nomadic and agricultural peoples.
In the early days of the Han Empire, the country was still relatively weak and could only buy peace with money. When the Han Empire became stronger, it began to take the initiative, not only repelling the Xiongnu, but also occupying parts of the area north of the Great Wall, using these areas as military buffer zones.
Not only did he garrison his own troops, but he also asked the surrendered Hu people to help guard the border.
But in any case, the northern border of the Han Empire has never broken through the basic control scope of the Great Wall. China's expansion in the north has come to an end. On the western edge of the Han Empire, the Qiang people live, and the river valleys where the Qiang people live can be
To carry out agricultural production, the Han Empire took the initiative to invade and occupy the Qiang people's land.
Of course, the Qiang people were no match for the powerful Han Empire, so they thought: Since they can't defeat it, let's blend in. So the upper class of the Qiang people also used the tool of "historical memory" to connect their own people with the ancient ancestors of China.
, and the Han Empire also recognized their "historical memory" in order to ensure the legitimacy and stability of its rule. Through this method, the Han Empire expanded the western edge of China.
Compared with the north, China's border expansion in the south was relatively smooth. The expansion in the south was specifically the Yue, Dian, Yelang, and southern mountainous tribes. The Yue was roughly equivalent to today's Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi. That would
They are collectively called Baiyue. Dian and Yelang are in the Yunnan and Guizhou areas. The southern mountainous tribes are those tribes distributed in the continuous mountains.
The south is different from the north. The cultivated land environment in the south is generally very good. The Han Empire itself was a farming empire. Confucian ideas were promoted in the past and it was done very smoothly. Of course, in the process of military expansion and cultural promotion,
Naturally, this family heirloom is indispensable in shaping 'historical memory'.
In Kuaiji County of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which is today's Zhejiang and Fujian areas, people strengthened the saying that "Shun was a person of Dongyi". Local people believed that Shun, the ancient wise king of China, was actually related by blood to the people of Kuaiji, so
People from Kuaiji County also belong to the Chinese system.
There is also Shu County in the southwest, which is the area around Chengdu, Sichuan today. There is a local saying that "Yu prospered in Xiqiang", which also used this to get rid of the status of the fringe of China and successfully join the Chinese family.
However, in some southern and southwestern mountainous areas where it was difficult to quickly promote agricultural production, the Han Empire had to spend more effort. These places practiced a mixed economy of agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, and hunting, so farmers from the Han Empire penetrated into these areas and occupied as much as possible.
In river valleys and lowlands, merchants purchased local products and hired local laborers, while local officials of the Han Empire collected local taxes through tribal leaders.
All in all, in the process of continuous expansion to the west and south, the Han Empire, as the "Chinese orthodoxy", expanded the boundaries of ancient China to the extreme at that time, and finally formed today's (still Ming Dynasty) Chinese consensus, which was later the Tatar
The 'Eighteen Han Provinces' considered by the Qing Dynasty."
Liu Xin did not interrupt the whole process this time, and listened carefully to Gao Jingshi's explanation of the entire process of the formation of "Chinese" in his eyes. Although Gao Jingshi did not directly explain the source of the "assimilation power" of the Han people, it was obvious that she already understood.
So she tried to summarize it herself, thought for a while, and said: "You mean, China's 'civilization disguised as a country' relies on emphasizing its own strength and nobility, thereby making some surrounding forces feel inferior, so she
Are you rushing to 'shape history' for yourself, strive to join this 'Chinese' alliance, and finally become a part of China?"
Gao Pragmatic raised his thumb and praised: "The two elements you summarized are very critical, namely 'power and nobility'. Powerful means that the power is invincible; nobility means that it is sacred and inviolable.
The former makes it difficult for people who are regarded as barbarians to resist and use violent means to break the pride of the "Chinese Alliance" and prove that they are no worse than "Chinese"; while the latter creates an identity difference based on the former, making it difficult for "barbarians" to
'Having an identity crisis, they are eager to improve and enhance their status - obviously, getting themselves into the Chinese system is definitely the simplest and most effective way."
"Hiss..." Liu Xin suddenly made a "sudden thought" inhaling motion, opened her eyes wide and said: "The 'shaping history' you mentioned suddenly reminded me of a country."
Gao Pragmatic understood it all at once, and said with a laugh: "You mean South Korea at that time? Oh, they have a huge demand in this area, otherwise what would you ask them to do? They have a separatist regime, and they have
Unlike Japan, which has had a glorious history, it doesn't mind admitting that it is influenced by Chinese civilization, and is even proud to say that it is a 'Little China'.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! South Korea, or North Korea in a broad sense, has been a vassal state of China in history. It has finally become a nominal independence. Of course, it has to find some confidence. But this
Cultural confidence is hard to find. After all, China has been strong for thousands of years and only took a nap for a hundred or two hundred years during the Qing Dynasty.
But in terms of the world structure, the Koreans at that time did not have the prerequisites to shape history and join China. Of course, they had no choice but to shape history to emphasize themselves. So, although their performance was hateful, in the final analysis, they were just pathetic people."
"So you are now acquiescing to the Shimazu family claiming to be descendants of the Qin Dynasty. Are you also considering Japan's need to 'shape history and join China' in the future?"
"What else? The three Shimadzu brothers... Oh, there are only two brothers left now. They are older than me. I can't adopt them as my adopted sons, right? Besides, Japan has a high degree of Chineseization, and they are shaping history in Japan.
'It's relatively easy. Since they are so proactive, I naturally won't refuse.
I agree with the marriage proposal proposed by the Narita family, and have also taken this into consideration, that is, strengthening ties with some high-level people in Japan, fostering pro-China forces within the Japanese ruling class, and allowing them to start actively thinking about how to 'shape history and join China'.
This is much easier than simply engaging in military conquest, and the effect is more powerful and long-lasting.
You can know this by referring to Wu, Yue and other countries in the Spring and Autumn Period. Who doesn't default to "Wu and Yue are originally from China" when reading history? And my vision of Japan in the future is the same. My purpose is to let future generations think of "
The word "Japan" will tacitly acknowledge that Japan is an inseparable part of China! This is what the art of war says: attack the city from the bottom, and attack the heart from the top."
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