Children in China
descendants of the dragon
The origin and evolution of the appellation of "Chinese nation"
About the author: President of China National History Research Association and Professor of Chongqing Normal University. Date of joining Shishi Shishi: February 24, 2006 +0 1: 55: 27.
What is the "Chinese nation"
The theory of "nation" came into being in modern times, but in history, "nation" was replaced by "country". Patriotism in the past actually refers to national heroes. During the Revolution of 1911, there were both "Chinese nation" and "Chinese nation", or "national race". This really confuses "nation" and "country". During the Anti-Japanese War, "national supremacy" and "national supremacy" were mentioned side by side, but there was no difference between them. The "national anthem" only mentions the "Chinese nation" and does not mention the "country". In the process of publicity and education, the distinction between nation and country is not a big problem; However, when studying history scientifically, this kind of confusion is not allowed. When discussing what is a "nation" and what is a "Chinese nation", we must get rid of the entanglement of the concept of "country" and discuss the problem purely from the perspective of the nation. We must not forget that "nation" is naturally formed, and "state" and "political power" are man-made fundamental differences.
So, how should the "Chinese nation" be interpreted? Who should be included? The author believes that the Chinese nation should include:
First, the Han nationality (whether living at home or abroad).
Second, all ethnic minorities living in China.
3 overseas Chinese (including overseas Chinese who have not entered a foreign nationality and Chinese who have entered a foreign nationality).
When explaining the word "Chinese nation", we should not only explain that those people belong to the Chinese nation, but also explain that the "Chinese nation" has gradually developed from the "Chinese nation" and the "Han nationality". It is necessary to trace back to the gradual development and evolution of Huaxia-Han-Chinese nation in a long period of time.
Before the Xia Dynasty, tribes and tribes in China migrated irregularly, and their separation was impermanent. From Xia Dynasty to Qin and Han Dynasties, it was a period of coexistence of Yi and Xia nationalities. Zhu Xia, with a higher education level, and Zhu Yi, with a lower education level, are intertwined. They enter here and there, and gradually merge in mutual struggle and peaceful exchange. At that time, "Zhu Xia" was not a single nation, but all ethnic groups with different blood ties used "Li Xia" to call "Zhu Xia". It is precisely because of the word "Zhu" that it means plural rather than singular. Zhu Xia is also called Huaxia, so Huaxia is not a single nation, but a national alliance linked by Chinese culture.
After Hanwu, "Huaxia" was gradually renamed as "Han". After about 2,000 years of integration from Xia to Han, the "foreigners" living in the Central Plains have integrated into the Han nationality, and only some ethnic minorities still exist in the north, west and border areas. The relationship between Han nationality and ethnic minorities is: advance, retreat, division, harmony and impermanence. The general development trend is that the Han nationality is constantly integrating with various ethnic minorities, and often has an advantage in population, so it has achieved the status of the main ethnic group in China. The "Han nationality" is not a single nationality, but a "national integration".
Activities and the people on the land of China are not Han nationality, and there are many ethnic minorities, which can be collectively called "Chinese ethnic groups". The name "China" appeared in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. At the end of Yuan Dynasty, the peasant uprising army and the revolutionaries at the end of Qing Dynasty formally put forward the slogan of "expelling Tatars and restoring China". People who "restore China" will restore the country established by the theory of "China's ethnic groups" (not just the country established by the Han nationality). Modern western colonialists came from the East, and under the impact of external forces, the "Chinese nation" who created China culture began to realize the necessity of seeking common ground while reserving differences and uniting to resist humiliation. The so-called "sameness" is the sameness of China culture; The so-called "difference" refers to the differences between different ethnic groups in language, religion, wind speed and habits. In the case of external humiliation, "all ethnic groups in China" gradually formed the "Chinese nation". Therefore, "Chinese nation" is the "national unity" formed by China culture.
Chinese sons and daughters and descendants of the Chinese people
There are two nicknames for the Chinese nation, one is "Chinese children" and the other is "descendants of the Chinese people" (or just "descendants of the Chinese people"). The term "Chinese sons and daughters" only appeared in modern times, and its meaning is biased towards culture (a group that accepts China culture); The term "descendants of the Chinese people" (or descendants of the Chinese people) has existed since ancient times, and its meaning focuses on blood (ancestors of the same ancestry). At one time, some ethnic minorities could accept the term "sons and daughters of China" instead of "sons and daughters of the Chinese people".
The formation of a nation, first of all, is due to blood, followed by culture. In primitive society, a group of people can live together for a long time, probably a family and a clan forever. In the future, when the tribe grows stronger, it will accept people of different blood ties to participate. Among thousands of ethnic groups in the world, some people pay special attention to blood relationship, thinking that blood is thicker than water and blood is exclusive, so it is difficult to accept the participation of outsiders; Some ethnic groups attach importance to culture. As long as outsiders accept our culture, we welcome their participation and do not exclude them. The Chinese nation is a complex composed of many tribes where it was formed, and then it shows the characteristics of attaching importance to culture and not paying much attention to blood relationship in its development.
It is precisely because the Chinese nation has a long tradition of valuing culture over consanguinity that the name "sons and daughters of China" with strong cultural color is more acceptable than the name "descendants of the Chinese people" with strong academic color. Professor Tan Qixiang, a famous historical geographer in China, pointed out that the theory of descendants of the Yellow Emperor goes against historical facts, because the Chinese nation is multi-source, that is, multi-source, and has no ancestors. The theory of "descendants of the Chinese people" is neither scientific nor conducive to the unity of all ethnic groups in China.
The theory of "descendants of the Chinese people" involves the origin of the Chinese nation. For a long time, we have been accustomed to the monism of the history of the Chinese nation, that is, the ancestor of the Chinese nation is the Yellow Emperor, the birthplace of the Chinese nation is the Loess Plateau in the northwest, and the Yellow River is our mother river. The spread of Chinese civilization centers on its birthplace and then radiates in all directions. In short, it is a nation, an ancestor, a birthplace and a mother river. Chinese civilization has only one center, and it has gradually spread in all directions. Is this the historical truth? Absolutely not. This framework of ancient history was established by Sima Qian in his book Historical Records. At that time, Sima Qian could not speak freely. He knew that Fuxi, who was born in Dongyi, and Shennong, who was born in Nanman, had a longer history than Huangdi, who was born in Xirong. But when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty compared himself to the Yellow Emperor, he must have regarded the Yellow Emperor as the ancestor of the Chinese nation. He also had to give in, but he revealed some real situations between the lines, hoping that readers would "think carefully before they know what it means" and understand the truth for themselves.
In modern times, the archaeological work in China has just started. Mr. Xu, a famous archaeologist, and Mr. Meng, a famous historian, first began to challenge the monism of the Chinese nation, boldly pointing out that in the legendary Yellow Emperor era, there were at least three ethnic groups in China, and each ethnic group made great contributions to the creation of Chinese civilization. Confucian Confucius and Mencius were born in Dongyi Group, and Taoist Laozi and Zhuangzi were born in Nanman Group. The Chinese nation is not just a descendant of Yanhuang or Huangdi.
Later, due to more and more archaeological discoveries in the Baiyue area of Southeast China, the origin of the Chinese nation and civilization was revised from the past three-point method to the four-point method. China's monism of national history was completely overthrown. Therefore, it is obviously inappropriate to use "Chinese descendants" or "Chinese descendants" to represent the "Chinese nation".
Overseas Chinese
Although the expression "descendants of the Chinese people" or "descendants of the Chinese people" has existed since ancient times, it was not used much in the past. It was not until the reform and opening up that this language appeared in newspapers and periodicals in large numbers with the return of many overseas Chinese. Overseas Chinese are willing to control the Chinese nation with "Chinese descendants" or "Chinese descendants" for the following reasons:
First of all, there is a lack of a more suitable name. When we overseas Chinese went abroad in large numbers, it was in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, foreigners occupied the Central Plains and the Han people were persecuted. All the overseas Chinese who fled abroad for a few days had a tragic history and were hostile to the Qing Dynasty. Many non-governmental organizations even openly ask them to say that they belong to the Great Qing Dynasty under the banner of anti-Qing and regaining sight. Of course, they don't want to. What's more, the Qing court is still very stubborn, thinking that going abroad is treason, treating them as stubborn people who abandon their own kingly ways, and adopting a bad attitude of contempt for hatred, neither admitting that they are undefended, but also attacking them everywhere, making them overseas orphans without their motherland. It is difficult for them to choose a suitable self-identity, so they have to miss the more prosperous dynasties in the history of the motherland and call themselves Han Chinese or Tang people.
Second, why did you choose "Chinese descendants"? The Chinese nation is basically an agricultural country. It is not willing to migrate and wander around, but a nation that has moved to the land and is nostalgic for the pastoral ancestral graves. Due to various inevitable reasons, such as famine and war, it is not easy to make a living, so the overseas Chinese ancestors took risks and set sail in the rivers and lakes, with a heavy heart and a bleak future. Going overseas, unarmed, without privilege. Only by working hard can we make a living. Many other ethnic groups they contact, whether white, black or yellow, have less history and culture than the Chinese nation. Even if not as good as people at that time, as long as they think of themselves as "descendants of the Chinese people", they immediately feel excited and full of pride. Because there are rich meanings between the lines: our motherland has a long history, is a great country and a state of etiquette. No matter how difficult our situation is, no matter how difficult our life is, we must work hard, win honor for our motherland and not humiliate our ancestors. The phrase "descendants of the Yellow Emperor" has long been the spiritual pillar for overseas Chinese to struggle hard.
Third, the phrase "We are all descendants of the Chinese people" has become a bond of solidarity among overseas Chinese. When you leave Wan Li and have no friends, you will naturally feel at home once you meet Chinese descendants. The survival, development, unity and struggle of overseas Chinese for hundreds of years can be said to have drawn infinite spiritual strength from the term "descendants of the Chinese people".
Today, it is not appropriate to use "descendants of the Chinese people" as another name for the Chinese nation; However, looking back at history, we will find that this language has played a great role in promoting the development of overseas Chinese. Of course, we should not use this language in academic research and diplomatic occasions to avoid misunderstanding; However, in general and folk occasions, in order to enhance feelings, according to the principle of "convention" in linguistics, the title "descendants of the Chinese people" can be used, but it is not important.
The word Chinese nation has not been formally formed for a long time, and there is no formal abbreviation. We can build China in the name of the country, but we can't use the surname for short. It is even worse to call the Chinese nation Han for short, because it excludes many ethnic minorities other than Han. But short for "China people" is also possible. The etymology of "Chinese" comes from overseas Chinese. For example, Singapore calls Malays in China Malays, and correspondingly calls Chinese "Chinese".
At this point, it is not difficult for us to sort out all kinds of nouns and appellations around the world, straighten out their relationships and correctly understand their meanings.
The Chinese nation is a national isomorphism higher than general democracy. It has always been the most populous country in the world. These include Han nationality (whether living at home or abroad), ethnic minorities living at home and overseas Chinese (including overseas Chinese and Chinese).
Chinese sons and daughters, another name of the Chinese nation, have a strong cultural color.
The descendants of the Chinese people (or descendants of the Chinese people), another name of the Chinese nation, have a strong blood color and are widely used by overseas Chinese.
The abbreviation of the Chinese nation.
Overseas Chinese include overseas Chinese and China people, that is, people with Han nationality or domestic minority descent who have emigrated overseas. "Overseas" actually refers to foreign countries.
Another nickname of the Chinese nation, the descendants of the dragon, refers to the inheritors and successors of Chinese culture.
Is that clear?