Wang Qiangan: On the Chinese Nation's Pursuit of National Unity from the Perspective of the Unity of Chinese Civilization
The important speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development comprehensively, systematically, and profoundly revealed the "five prominent characteristics" of Chinese civilization, providing a fundamental guideline for the study of fine traditional Chinese culture in the New Era. Myriad important elements of fine traditional Chinese culture have collectively shaped these prominent characteristics. The Chinese nation possesses a historical and cultural tradition of Dayitong [1] (Great Unity). Dayitong is the primary thread running through China’s historical political landscape and its ideological and cultural fabric.
The term Tianxia [2] (All-under-Heaven) appeared as early as the "Announcement of Shao" in the Book of Documents (Shangshu), indicating that the concept existed at least as early as the initial period of the Western Zhou. The Zhou Dynasty implemented a patriarchal system of hierarchical enfeoffment [3] to consolidate its political power and maintain a unified order. By emphasizing the promotion and reinforcement of the concept of unity, an embryonic consciousness of Dayitong was nurtured within society. The people of Zhou believed that the Son of Heaven, as the "eldest son" of Heaven, ruled Tianxia on its behalf and held supreme status. All territories and peoples under Heaven were under his rule, as described in the "Beishan" section of the Minor Odes in the Classic of Poetry (Shijing): "Under the vast heaven, there is no land which is not the king’s; reaching to the borders of the earth, there is none who is not the king’s subject." This Western Zhou worldview of "All-under-Heaven as one" already contained the seeds of the ideology of a unified multi-ethnic state.
To reinforce the consciousness of a unified Tianxia, the Western Zhou rulers proposed the concept of Zhongguo (the Central Kingdom). An inscription on the He Zun [4] sacrificial vessel from the reign of King Cheng of Zhou reads: "After King Wu had defeated the Great City of Shang, he reported to Heaven in the courtyard, saying: 'I shall reside in this central kingdom (Zhongguo), and from here govern the people.'" The Zhou people established their capital at Luoyi and called it Zhongguo, which embodied a unifying consciousness of commanding the four directions geographically, politically, and culturally. The Western Zhou also promoted the spread of the ritual and music culture of the Zongzhou (the core Zhou territory) through the enfeoffment system. When enfeoffed vassals went to their respective states, they took with them officials such as diviners and historians, Zhou classics, and various ritual vessels bestowed by the Son of Heaven. The dissemination of and identification with this ritual and music culture promoted the development of the Huaxia [5] community. As the Huaxia people in the Central Plains continued to grow in strength, Zhongguo gradually became a designation for the Huaxia state, nation, culture, and the Central Plains region they inhabited. This indicates that political, cultural, and ethnic identity was continuously evolving during the Western Zhou. Meanwhile, as Zhou culture spread, it integrated with local indigenous cultures, forming regional cultures such as Qi, Lu, Jin, Chu, Yan, and Wu-Yue during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. These regional cultures incorporated a large number of Zhou cultural elements while retaining their own characteristics, thus forming a cultural pattern of "diversity within unity" in Huaxia civilization.
By the Eastern Zhou period at the latest, Emperors Yan and Huang were already revered by the various Huaxia states as their ancestors. The Discourses of the States (Guoyu) records that Prince Jin of King Ling of Zhou mentioned that some vassal states were "all descendants of Huang and Yan." During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, integration through personnel exchanges and economic interactions reached a historical peak. Unending wars and annexations also made social elites realize that only unity could promote economic development and social stability. Dayitong gradually became a social expectation and an elite ideal. As the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals states: "Why mention the King's first month? To emphasize Dayitong." Xunzi also remarked that if one could "unify Tianxia, manage all things, nourish the people, and benefit the whole world," a peaceful world could be established. Mencius directly explained that Tianxia would "settle in oneness." The propositions of these thinkers reflected the common aspiration of the masses: the establishment of a unified and stable central government.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, in order to strengthen central authority, he accepted Dong Zhongshu’s proposal to "dismiss the hundred schools of thought and revere only Confucianism," replacing Taoism's dominant position with Confucian ideology. In his memorial, Dong Zhongshu pointed out: "Dayitong in the Spring and Autumn Annals is the eternal law of Heaven and Earth, and the universal principle from antiquity to the present." By the time of Emperor Xuan of Han, Wang Ji further proposed that the work of transforming customs and habits should be carried out in a planned and systematic manner so that government decrees and laws would be consistent throughout Tianxia. Thus, the Book of Han (Hanshu) records: "The reason for Dayitong in the Spring and Autumn Annals is to ensure that the six directions share the same customs and the nine provinces are governed by the same thread." [6] This concept of Dayitong propelled the formation of a unified state.
In the Western Han, Sima Qian wrote the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), describing Emperors Yan and Huang as the common ancestors of the Huaxia and other ethnic groups like the Xiongnu and the Yue. Chu Shaosun, in his supplement to the Shiji, stated that "Shun, Yu, Qi, and Houji were all descendants of the Yellow Emperor." It can be said that the concept of "descendants of Yan and Huang," or the identification with Yan and Huang as ancestors, had long been formed. During the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Dynasties period, this concept was accepted by many peripheral ethnic groups. Some rulers of frontier ethnic groups who entered the Central Plains took the initiative to include themselves in the "orthodox" historical sequence of China. Documents such as the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Book of Jin, Book of Wei, and Book of Zhou record that the monarchs of these periods identified themselves as descendants of Yan and Huang, representing the formation of a profound sense of cultural community. In October 1995, a Sino-Japanese academic expedition discovered a brightly colored silk brocade in a Han Dynasty tomb at the Niya site in Minfeng County, Xinjiang. Among the colored patterns were eight Han characters in seal script: "Five stars appearing in the East bodes well for the Central Kingdom (Zhongguo)," demonstrating the very close ties that already existed between the Central Plains dynasties and the Western Regions.
Two concepts have long existed in Chinese history: the "distinction between Hua and Yi" (Hua-Yi zhi bian) and the "unity of Hua and Yi." The former held that the Huaxia were the primary ethnic group, while the Rong, Di, Man, and Yi were non-primary; the latter emphasized that both Huaxia and non-Huaxia fell within the Tianxia governed by the Son of Heaven and identified with Huaxia culture. Since the Pre-Qin period, as the understanding that cultural identity surpassed bloodline identity took hold, the idea of "the Hua and Yi as one family" gradually became the social mainstream. To consolidate their rule, sovereigns of various dynasties actively promoted this unity. For instance, Emperor Taizong of Tang remarked: "Since ancient times, all have prized the Zhonghua and devalued the Yi and Di; I alone love them as one." Similarly, when the Shatuo people moved inland during the late Tang, they placed great importance on identifying with the Han people and Han culture, adopting Han surnames and ancestral homes. Surnames like Liu, Yang, Guo, Qu, Zhang, and Bai among the Shatuo were all Han surnames acquired after entering the Central Plains. They also frequently intermarried with the Han; by the mid-to-late Song Dynasty, historical records no longer distinguish the Shatuo as a separate group, indicating they had completely merged with the Han.
The Yuan Dynasty was a Dayitong dynasty established by northern nomadic peoples. It chose "Yuan" as its dynastic name, which "follows the principle of 'rectifying the beginning' from the Spring and Autumn Annals and embodies the 'Great Qian-Yuan' from the Classic of Changes (I Ching)." Although the Ming Dynasty was primarily Han, the Han group at that time included descendants of those who migrated south from the Yellow River since the Eastern Jin, as well as ethnic groups like the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di, and Qiang who had entered the Central Plains, along with the Khitan, Jurchen, Mongols, and Semu people who remained. The various ethnic groups of China integrated deeply, becoming inextricably intertwined. After the Qing Dynasty stabilized its rule, successive emperors emphasized ethnic unity. the Kangxi Emperor stressed "making no distinction between internal and external, viewing all as one body"; the Yongzheng Emperor stated that "Tianxia is unified, and Hua and Yi are one family"; and the Qianlong Emperor said, "As for Tianxia, it belongs to the people of the world; it is not something to be held privately by North or South, internal or external." They implemented different administrative systems based on local realities: the province system in Han areas, the Generalship system in the early Northeast, the League and Banner system in Mongolia, the Beg system in Xinjiang, and the integration of religion and state in Tibet. These measures handled ethnic relations effectively.
After establishing the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen also proposed building China into a unified nation where "five nationalities are one family" [7] and "five nationalities achieve republicanism." He stated: "Now that the five nationalities are one family and stand on equal footing, the problem of racial inequality is solved, and the problem of political inequality is solved along with it; there shall never be strife again. What I hope for is that the five great nationalities will work together with one heart and mind to advance the nation... this is the great responsibility shared by our five great nationalities." This ethnic concept, which emphasizes integration rather than difference, promoted mutual identification among all ethnic groups.
The "family-state-world" (jia-guo-tianxia) sentiment advocated by Confucian Dayitong thought is an important cornerstone for national unity and ethnic solidarity. This sentiment, forged into the very lifeblood of the people, is a vital thread throughout traditional Chinese culture. As the Analects says: "The ruler of a state or the head of a family does not worry about scarcity but about inequality; he does not worry about poverty but about instability." Mencius said: "The foundation of the world is in the state; the foundation of the state is in the family; the foundation of the family is in the person." The Great Learning (Daxue) further derived the theory of "cultivating the self, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world" (xiu qi zhi ping). After the Han Dynasty, the "homology of family and state" (jia-guo tong-gou) order formed based on these ideas became the governance model for subsequent dynasties. The family is the foundation of the state, and the state is the extension of the family. In the spiritual genealogy of the Chinese people, the state and the family, society and the individual, are an inseparable whole.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "From a historical perspective, the fine elements of traditional Chinese ideological culture, including Confucianism, have played an extremely important role in the formation and continuous development of Chinese civilization for thousands of years without interruption; in the formation and maintenance of China's unified political situation; in the formation and consolidation of the great family of China's multi-ethnic harmony; in the formation and enrichment of the spirit of the Chinese nation; in inspiring Chinese sons and daughters to maintain national independence and resist foreign aggression; and in promoting China's social development and progress and the balance of social interests and relations." Through ethnic integration, the various ethnic groups have formed a strong cultural identity and forged a national spirit of pursuing unity. The reason the 1.4 billion Chinese people possess such strong cohesion is that we have an expansive and profound Chinese culture. A firm and persistent commitment to national unity is ingrained in the blood of our people, which is the source of our cultural confidence.
(The author is the Director and Researcher of the Institute of History, Anhui Academy of Social Sciences) Source: Guangming Daily February 10, 2025