In the "Huaxia" of the pre-Qin period, how did the surrounding ethnic groups be defined as "barbarians"?

Introduction:

In the long history of China, the Han people also called themselves "Huaxia" people. So what exactly did the words "Hua" and "Xia" represent, which were used by the ancients to distinguish the Han from other ethnic groups in the Chinese nation? Follow Lan Ke Renjun into the early literature and explore together!

1. "华夏" in the literature

China has been called "Hua" or "Xia" since ancient times, or even "Hua Xia". The words "Hua" and "Xia" have a very early origin. These words have appeared many times in pre-Qin classics such as Shangshu, Zuozhuan and Guoyu. "Shangshu·Wucheng" has the concept of "华夏蛮兔子", and Kong Anguo in the Han Dynasty explained: " Mianfu Caizhang said Hua, the great country is summer. " There is a sentence of " Yi does not seek summer, Yi does not chase Hua ", Kong Yingda explained: " There are people of etiquette in China, so it is called Xia, and there is the beauty of attire, so it is called Hua. " "Book of Rites" has "舞大夏", the Eastern Han Dynasty Zheng Xuan's comment: "Daxia, the music of Wenwu each also. " means "Wenwu" and "wuwu" with music ". It can be seen that the word "Hua" is used to refer to the magnificent dress, while the word "Xia" is used to describe the style of behavior, focusing on etiquette.

Nowadays, the historian emphasizes the "dual evidence method", that is, the study of historical issues should combine written words on paper and archaeological materials. Mr. Zhan Yinxin, an expert in ancient philology of East China Normal University, has carefully verified the meaning of the words "Hua" and "Xia" on the unearthed oracle bone inscriptions. After his research, he concluded that the word "Hua" was first used to describe Dashan, specifically referring to Huashan today. One of the important places of the birthplace of Chinese civilization is the Weihe Plain in southern Shaanxi today. Huashan is undoubtedly the most towering mountain in the area and an important place for the ancients to worship gods. It is especially valued. After researching, he came to the conclusion that "Xia" is a pictographic character, and its shape is like dancing with hands. "Xia" originally meant music and dance, and later it was used exclusively to refer to "wan dance", a dance with the nature of military exercises, and the country would only perform it on major occasions.

(court dance)

Then why did the first dynasty in Chinese history name "Xia"? In fact, Mr. Zheng found that "Xia" and "Hua" have their own geographical designations. The main area of ​​Xia Kingdom is the Jinnan Plain in the southwestern part of today's Shanxi. In oracle bone inscriptions, "hua", "xia" and "he" often appear at the same time, because the Weihe Plain and the Jinnan Plain where Huashan is located are the birthplaces of Chinese civilization, but they are divided by the Yellow River. In the Shang Dynasty, there was the myth of the river god splitting the mountain, that is, Huashan and the first mountain of the Jinnan Plain were connected together. The "Sou Shen Ji" of Ganbao of the Jin Dynasty records that " is the mountain of the two flowers and one mountain, and the giant spirit of the river god splits the upper part with his hands and leaps away from the lower part with his feet. The middle is divided into two" "Xia" and "Hua" happen to have the same ancient pronunciation, which can confirm this ancient legend.

(Music influenced by Hu Feng)

In short, from the oracle bone inscriptions, "Hua" and "Xia" were originally regional names, namely the Weihe Plain and the Jin Dynasty where the Chinese nation originated. South Plains. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why Huaxia is called. So why did the classics in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, representing the "China" of Chinese civilization, depart from the region and favor rituals and music? This is closely related to the ethnic relations at that time.

2. "Huaxia" and "Man, Yi, Rong, Di"

On the land of China, there have been many tribes since ancient times, and the tribes have continuously merged and expanded, forming many ethnic groups. The Chinese nation occupies an advantageous geographical location, developed an advanced farming civilization, and was the first to establish a national mechanism and establish the Xia Dynasty. Xia established its dominance over neighboring tribes by virtue of its advanced civilization. The criterion for handling relations with neighboring ethnic groups is to give priority to the interests of the Chinese nationality. This gradually formed the Chinese central view that the Chinese civilization is superior to other civilizations.

But Xia was later conquered by merchants belonging to Dongyi, at this time this ethnic distinction and ethnic superiority gradually faded. But when Zhou, who came from the homeland of Western China, destroyed the commerce, in order to create the legitimacy and strongAfter transforming its own legitimacy, it began to call itself Huaxia again, demonstrating its unique status. When the Western Zhou Dynasty built its civilization system, the most important thing was Zhou Li. Zhou rituals, from national etiquette to personal development, have all made clear regulations, which are used as an important basis for distinguishing the Chinese ethnic group from other surrounding ethnic groups.

(National Distribution Map of Zhou Dynasty)

Countries that accept the rule of the Emperor Zhou and follow the rituals of the Zhou Dynasty are all designated as China. These countries are often in the original place of origin of Zhou and the old land of Yin and Shang rule. The Zhou people believed that the Emperor Zhou lived in the world and ruled "China", and the surrounding summers together defended the Emperor Zhou, forming a Chinese community. In addition to Zhuxia, there lived a large number of other ethnic groups, and Zhou people collectively referred to them as Siyi. According to their geographical location and the living habits of various ethnic groups, Zhou people classified them as Xirong, Dongyi, Beidi, and Nanman. The "Book of Rites·The System of the King" distinguishes Huaxia from barbarians. The reason for the distinction is very clear: " Dongfang said barbarians, who were tattooed, and those who did not eat fire; in the south, they said barbarians, carved inscriptions and cross their toes, and there were those who did not eat fire; the West In the north, there are people who don’t eat grains, and there are people who don’t eat grains. In the north, there are people who don’t eat grains.” . Siyi is considered to be a subject of Zhou's emperor, the so-called " the emperor has the way, guards in the Siyi".

(Stills of Miyue Chuan)

三、Yixiazhibian

With the development of history, the surrounding ethnic groups have gradually developed and impacted the Central Plains Zhuxia The Huayi defense line built by the state. After the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the prestige of the Emperor Zhou declined sharply, and all the Xia Dynasty lacked the right to speak, let alone dominate the Siyi. In particular, the Qin, Chu, Wu, and Yue countries, which were regarded as barbarians, gradually grew stronger and actively intervened in the original affairs. Take the state of Chu, which is regarded as a southern barbarian, for example, the king of Chu Wu once wrote to the emperor Zhou, " I am a barbarian. If you want to view China's politics, please the royal family respect me. " After the emperor Zhou refused, he actually established himself as Chu. Wang, Yi Shi is at the same level as Zhou Tianzi. The king of Chuzhuang "asked for the Central Plains" and asked about the weight and size of the Jiuding, which symbolized the rule of the world, which was unprecedented. In addition, various countries are facing the intrusion of surrounding ethnic groups, and even many small countries have been directly wiped out by barbarians.

（鼎）

In this case, Zhu Xia is also active. First of all, Qi, the great power among the Xia countries, united the countries of the Xia countries with the slogan of "respecting the king and fighting the barbarian". During the reign of Qi Huangong, he rescued the state of Xing that was surrounded by the Di people, helped the state of Wei and the country destroyed by the Di people, and helped the kingdoms of Hanyang surnamed to resist Chu's invasion. This earned him a good reputation and eventually became the No. 1 in Spring and Autumn. Confucius gave a very high evaluation to Guan Zhong, who assisted Qi Huangong, saying, "微管中, I was sent to the left gang." "被发左衽" was the typical costume and hairstyle of ethnic minorities at that time, Confucius said. It means that if there is no Guan Zhong, Hua Xia will become Yi Di.

is also at this time, the Confucian advocates "Hua Yi Zhi Hua" and "Yi Xia Da Fang" also appeared. It should be noted that the Hua and Yi here are not entirely a concept of kinship, but more of a cultural distinction. Confucius once said: "Yi Di has a monarch, not as good as the death of the summer. " means that a place without ritual and music culture (Yi Di), even if there is a monarch, is not as good as no monarch, but retains A place with a complete ritual and music system (Zhu Xia). In other words, Confucius believes that the fundamental difference between Hua and Yi lies in the culture of ritual and music, rather than whether there is a monarch.

Stills from the movie "Confucius"

Mencius strongly advocated the cultural difference between Hua and Yi. He pointed out: " I hear people who use Xia to become Yi people, and they have never heard of it. Yizhe ". In the historical writing under the guidance of Confucian Huayi thought, the distinction between Huayi has become an important criterion. The Confucian history book "Chun Qiu" and the biography of various schools to explain "Chun Qiu" are undoubtedly the main representatives of this kind of thinking, which strongly emphasizes the difference between Huaxia and Yidi. Great recognition and praise for Zhu Xia's unity to resist barbarous invasion; but if there is a country of China, if it does not conform to China's standards in terms of political norms and cultural etiquette, it will be derogated as barbaric.

文史君说:

In pre-Qin documents handed down from generation to generation, the interpretations of "Hua" and "Xia" are often associated with service etiquette. But when we explored their meanings from archaeological documents, we found that they generally refer to the origin of Chinese civilization. The reason for this difference requires us to go deep into the early history of the Chinese nation to get the answer. Starting from the Zhou Dynasty, it gradually emphasized the identity and cultural differences between the Chinese nation and the neighboring nations, defining them as "Xi Rong", "Dong Yi", "Bei Di" and "Nan Man". When the Siyi gradually threatened the survival of China during the Spring and Autumn Period, the Huaxia State psychologically strengthened the difference between it and Yidi. In the historical writing, "Hua" and "Xia" have gradually become synonymous with culture, which is different from Yidi as a cultural concept.

References:

Zhan Yinxin: "Hua Xia Kao", journal "Journal of East China Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition)", September 2001.

Zhu Shengming: "Reality and Thought: Revisiting the Spring and Autumn "Hua Yi", the journal "Academic Monthly", May 2015.

Qin Yongzhou: "The Difference between Chinese and Barbarians in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period and the Chinese Orthodox Struggle", Journal of Shandong Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition), Issue 6, 2001.

(Author: Hao Ran Cohen Literature and History · bad people)

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