In ancient China, there were many famous sayings, such as: All the people under the world are not the king's soil; the shores of the land are all the king's ministers. It can be seen from these sentences that this is the imperial power's understanding of the world. In ancient times, the emperors who had concentrated power must not have too narrow concepts, otherwise they would easily be associated with the faint king. A wise king will always take the world as his own responsibility and do what he wants. Setting an example, for the emperor, imperial power is supreme. Emperors generally have a view of the world. What is the view of the world in ancient China?
1: The formation of the ancient Chinese view of the world
In the eyes of the ancients, there is a certain difference between the ancient view of the world and the world view. Due to the limited understanding of the ancients, the Chinese view of the world is generally Refers to the East Asian continent and surrounding areas. It is basically the scope of a vassal state, and it is an area influenced by Chinese culture. Those areas that are not integrated and accepted will become foreign lands. According to the ancient space concept of a round sky and a square place, the unity of heaven and man and the unity of Tao and King are the center of the world. Because Chinese civilization originated in the Central Plains region, the ancients took the Central Plains region as the center of the circle and then radiated to the surrounding areas, gradually forming the world.
It is not easy to construct a view of the world. The formation of "tianxia" in ancient China can be traced back to the history of the Xia, Shang and three dynasties. Especially in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the concept of a round sky and a square earth gradually came into being. strengthen. When the idea of ????"Tianxia" spread to various vassal states, it laid the foundation for the later formation of the idea of ????unification. Since the Huaxia tribe originated in the Central Plains region, there were too many vassal states at that time and there were many countries. They were all centered on the Shang Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains. This latent consciousness will form the center of the world over time. If you want to become orthodox, you must obtain the Central Plains region.
During the Zhou Dynasty, the thinking of the center of the world was gradually improved, and more emphasis was placed on the objectivity of the center. This also emphasized the legitimacy of power. Whether it was the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty or geographical location, the Zhou Dynasty The emphasis on "the center of the world" influenced the vassal states during the Warring States Period.
The area ruled by the King of Zhou was the Central Land, also known as the Central Kingdom. At that time, the word "China" even appeared. At this time, "China" was equivalent to "Zhongtu", as in "Poetry· It is recorded in "Daya Lao Min" that "it will benefit China and appease all directions". Although "China" has not become a real country name, "China" has become synonymous with the civilized area where the Chinese people live.
With "China" as the center, it radiates to the surrounding areas, gradually extending to the edge of the East Asian continent, forming a world centered on Chinese civilization. At that time, there were two words that reflected the concept of Zhou Dynasty's rule, namely "the world" and "the four seas". When describing the scope of territory, one of these two words is used.
"The world" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the vassal states during the Warring States period. Unification is what they need to do, rather than remaining divided. Therefore, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, wars never stopped in the Central Plains. Pass. Until Qin Shihuang unified the world, the concept of world played its role. An emperor must have the heart of the world, which became a concept that later emperors must have.
Two: Chinese Imperial Power and Western Theocratic Power
In ancient Western times, theocratic power was unshakable and was influenced by Christianity, whether in churches or historical documents. Divine power in the West is far greater than royal power (more commonly known as imperial power in China). Western kings need to be crowned by the pope to truly become legitimate kings. The royal authority of the king was therefore suppressed by the divine authority of the pope.
In China, divine power cannot transcend imperial power. The emperor has more power than anything else. As the saying goes: If the king wants his ministers to die, they must die. This is different from the Western royal power. They have to obtain the consent of the Pope before they can kill an important Christian at will. If you start a war, you still need the papal approval. The most famous one is the Crusades. In ancient China, the emperor could plan wars and decide national affairs.
Theocratic power is generally developed from religion. In China, none of the local religions formed a world-wide religion, and the imperial power was not restricted. After Qin Shihuang unified the country, he achieved an unprecedented level. In order to highlight his achievements, when choosing honorary titles, he believed that the three emperors and five emperors in ancient times were the supreme gods, so he chose one word for each of the three emperors and five emperors, so there is He took the title of emperor.
Do you think Qin Shi Huang only respected the ancient gods? No, he felt that his achievements had surpassed theirs, so he combined their titles into one and became emperor. King Yong can no longer show his supreme power. This is not just a matter of naming. It reflected that the view of the world was already in Qin Shihuang's heart, and it further strengthened the imperial power. Judging from ancient history, emperors can be superstitious, but they will not believe in religion. If religion interferes with government affairs, sooner or later this will cause rebellion.
The Qin Dynasty strengthened the imperial power, and the Han Dynasty established Confucianism to govern the country. After that, there was no religion. Religion can no longer influence the court. Not all emperors and civil and military officials believe in religion. Even though Buddhism is flourishing in China, it is still suppressed by the imperial court. For a religion that wants to expand its theocratic power, sooner or later it will be targeted by the imperial court.
Peasant uprisings such as the Yellow Turban Uprising and the Taiping Rebellion all had religious overtones, and they all ended in failure. This also made the court hate religion, because religious beliefs can always bring a group of peasants to rebel. Therefore, there are Which court wants to see religion develop and grow?
3: The ancient Chinese view of the world transcends divine authority
In Confucian culture, when it comes to cultivating one's character, the ancients often said that "human beings are inherently good by nature" and "loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness", etc. In these cultural thinking, the emperor must have: benevolence comes first when governing others; loyalty comes first when governing others. This culture, which originated from the ancients and was handed down from ancient times, reminds the emperor to have the world in mind and benefit the common people. The thinking of the ancients was different from that of the West. The West considered more the relationship between humans and gods, while the ancient Chinese considered the relationship between humans, and thus different changes occurred.
Considering the relationship between man and God, it is more important to highlight the role of divine power. Considering the relationship between man and man, various management systems and governance methods will appear, and finally evolve into various splendid cultures and organizational structure. Under the influence of Tianxiaguan, a country continues to expand and rule more places. In times of peace, it must be governed with benevolence and righteousness, and in times of war, it must be resolved by war. In ancient China, religion would not be used to manage a country. With the "view of the world", religion was a shackles. Only believers within the religion could be seen. Other ethnic groups or people who did not believe in them became aliens in the eyes of the religion. Believers.
This is the advantage of the concept of world transcending theocratic power. It can accommodate more ethnic groups in this country. Ancient China was able to become a unified multi-ethnic country. This has a lot to do with the fact that the Chinese nation is not a religious nation. If it is not a religious country, it will not have so many constraints and can create more miracles. In the people-oriented ancient times, the world view was the right choice. After all, the world already included all the farmers in the world, and it was they who supported a country, or even a civilization.
Four: Summary
It is not a coincidence that Chinese imperial power can surpass divine power. In ancient culture, imperial power was more promoted, which is conducive to centralized management. , the emergence of centralization itself was a product of imperial power, which greatly strengthened the role of imperial power in the country.
Compared with the theocratic power of the West, they use theocratic power more to restrain believers. In this case, the religious culture is brilliant because they have taken an extreme path. But other aspects will be restricted. As long as the Pope does not recognize something, it will be in opposition to religion, and then it will discredit and vilify these things that are not recognized by God.
The early development of a civilization is very important. If it does not form a strong and unique civilization, it will become extinct after being invaded by foreign nations, unless these nations can be assimilated. During the period from the Zhou Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty, Chinese culture and thought were in a state of blooming, the survival of the fittest, and history would choose high-quality culture over others.
During the Zhou Dynasty, the overall consciousness of China had been formed, with Huaxia as the center, surrounded by foreign barbarians, Dongyi in the east, Xirong in the west, Beidi in the north, and Nanman in the south. With the development of history, , the view of the world radiated around, and the unification of the Qin Dynasty was a turning point, and China began to enter the era of great unification.