Hua–Yi distinction

The distinction between Hua (華) and Yi (夷), also known as Sino–barbarian dichotomy, is an ancient Chinese concept that differentiated a culturally defined "China" (called Hua, Huaxia 華夏, or Xia 夏) from cultural or ethnic outsiders (Yi "barbarians"). Although Yi is often translated as "barbarian", other translations of this term English include "foreigners", "ordinary others" "wild tribes", and "uncivilized tribes".

The Hua–Yi distinction was basically cultural, but it could take ethnic or racist overtones (especially in times of war). In its cultural form, the Hua–Yi distinction asserted Chinese cultural superiority, but implied that outsiders could become Hua by adopting Chinese values and customs. When this "cultural universalism" took a more racial guise, however, it could have harmful effects on those groups not considered 'Hua'.

Historical context

See also: Sinocentrism and Siyi (Four Barbarians)

Zhou dynasty cosmography of Huaxia and the Siyi.

Ancient China was composed of a group of states that arose in the Yellow River valley. According to historian Li Feng, who lived in Zhou dynasty (ca. 1041–771 BC), the contrast between the 'Chinese' Zhou and the 'non-Chinese' Xirong or Dongyi was "more political than cultural or ethnic". Lothar von Falkenhausen argues that the perceived contrast between "Chinese" and "Barbarians" was accentuated during the Eastern Zhou period (770–256 BC), when adherence to Zhou rituals became increasingly recognized as a "barometer of civilization."; a meter for sophistication and cultural refinement. It is widely agreed by historians that the distinction between the Hua and the Yi emerged during that period.

Gideon Shelach claimed that Chinese texts tended to overstate the distinction between the Chinese and their northern neighbors, ignoring many intergroup similarities. He doubted the existence of the Hua–Yi distinction. Nicola di Cosmo doubted the existence of a strong demarcation between the "Zhou Universe" and "a discrete, 'barbarian', non-Zhou universe" and claimed that Chinese historian, Sima Qian's popularized this concept, writing of the "chasm that had always existed between China – the Hua-Hsia [Huaxia] people – and the various alien groups inhabiting the north."

The conclusion of the Warring States period brought the first unified Chinese state-established by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC-who established the imperial system and forcibly standardized the traditional Chinese script, leading to the first of the distinctions between the refined Hua and the increasingly marginalized Yi. The Han dynasty (221 BC-206 AD) further contributed to the divide with its creation of a persistent Han cultural identity.

The Han Chinese civilization influenced neighboring states Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand and other Asian countries. Although Han Chinese superiority had only been sporadically reinforced by displays of Chinese military power, the Sinocentric system treated these countries as vassals of the emperor of China, literally "the Son of Heaven" (天子), who was in possession of the Mandate of Heaven (天命), the divine right to rule. Areas outside Sinocentric influence and the divine rule of the Emperor were considered to consist of uncivilized lands inhabited by barbarians.

Throughout history, Chinese frontiers had been periodically attacked by nomadic tribes from the north and west. These people were considered barbarians by the Chinese who believed themselves to be more refined and who had begun to build cities and live an urban life based on agriculture. It was in consideration of how best to deal with this threat that the philosopher, Confucius (551 – 479 BC) was prompted to formulate principles for relationships with the barbarians, briefly recorded in two of his Analects.

The arrival of European trade and colonialism in the 18th and 19th centuries, exposed Chinese civilization to the developments that had long outstripped China's. As such, the nation was forced to undergo a modification of its traditional views of its relationships with those "barbarians".

China

Confucius lived during a time of war between Chinese states. He regarded people who did not respect "li", or ritual propriety, as barbarians as he believed the workings of a state should be founded on ethical conduct rather than the relatively cruel social codes imposed by conquering princes. In the Ames and Rosemont translation of Analect 3.5, Confucius said, "The Yi and Di barbarian tribes with rulers are not as viable as the various Chinese states without them."

The Disposition of Error, a fifth-century tract defending Buddhism, a religion that had originated in India, notes that when Confucius was threatening to take residence among the nine barbarian nations (九黎) he said, "If a gentleman-scholar dwells in their midst, what baseness can there be among them?" An alternate translation of the philosopher's Analect 9.14 is, "Someone said: 'They are vulgar. What can you do about them?' The Master said: 'A gentleman used to live there. How could they be vulgar?'" In both translations, the author is shown to believe in the superiority of the Hua culture over that of the Yi.

The prominent Shuowen Jiezi character dictionary (121 AD) defines yi 夷 as 平 "level; peaceful" or 東方之人 "people of eastern regions" and does not attempt to marginalize them and implies that the Hua-Yi distinction was not universally held.

Zhou Dynasty

The Bamboo Annals records that the founder of Zhou, King Wu of Zhou "led the lords of the western barbarians" on a journey to conquer the Shang dynasty and while Duke Huan of Qi called upon the various Chinese states to fight the barbarian invasion and uphold the dynasty of the King of Shang, the Duke's defence of the Shang was ultimately unsuccessful, leading to the creation of the Zhou Dynasty that later contributed as much as the Shang to the Hua–Yi distinction.

Not all Zhou regarded the Hua–Yi distinction as a cultural barrier that needed to be overcome to 'purify' China. Zhou philosopher Mencius believed that Confucian practices were universal and timeless, and thus, followed by both Hua and Yi people- "Shun was an Eastern barbarian; he was born in Chu Feng, moved to Fu Hsia, and died in Ming T'iao. King Wen was a Western barbarian; he was born in Ch'i Chou and died in Pi Ying. Their native places were over a thousand li apart, and there were a thousand years between them. Yet when they had their way in the Central Kingdoms, their actions matched like the two halves of a tally. The standards of the two sages, one earlier and one later, were identical."

Jin Dynasty

In order to alleviate the shortages of labor caused by the Three Kingdoms wars, the Jin allowed millions of non-Chinese, Yi people to reside in Jin territory. Many officials opposed this decision in the name of the Hua–Yi distinction, claiming that if the barbarians did not identify with the Huaxia, they would conspire to destroy the empire.

Wu Hu uprising

Main article: Uprising of the Five Barbarians

During the Uprising of the Five Barbarians (五胡) uprising and ravaging of North China that occurred around 310 AD, the Jin dynasty and other Chinese appealed to entrenched beliefs in the Hua–Yi distinction call for a resistance against the Wu Hu invasion and the Yi they represented. The historians of the southern dynasties, who were all Han Chinese, portrayed the Wu Hu as barbaric.

Ran Min's order to kill the barbarians

Main article: Ran Min

See also: Wei–Jie war

In 349 or 350 AD (disputed), the Han general Ran Min (冉閔) seized power from the last emperor of the Zhao and encouraged the Han Chinese to slaughter the Jie people, many of whom lived in the Zhao capital of Ye. In this massacre and the wars that ensued, hundreds of thousands of Jie (羯), Qiang (羌), and Xiongnu (匈奴) were killed. The "five barbarians" quickly unified to fight Ran Min, yet Ran Min won victory after victory. Despite his military success, however, Ran's regime was toppled in 353 AD. As a result of this period of turbulence, three of the five main "barbarian" ethnic groups in China disappeared from Chinese history.

Ran Min continues to be a controversial figure. He is considered by some to be a hero, whereas others believe he was borne of the extreme prejudice that can result from the Hua–Yi distinction.

Northern Wei

Emperor Shaowu of Northern Wei (a state that controlled the north of China), who was of the Xianbei (鮮卑) people attempted to eliminate Yi from his state by imposing Sinicization on his people. The Xianbei language was outlawed and Xianbei people began to adopt Chinese surnames; for example, the Tuobas became the Yuans.

Sui Dynasty

In 581, Sui Emperor Yang Jian deposed the Xianbei ruler of Northern Zhou and restored Han rule over North China. This event marked the end of all power that the Xianbei and other non-Chinese groups had over China, and racial tension subsided.

Tang Dynasty

During the Tang dynasty, various ethnic groups including Koreans, Indians and Tibetans journeyed to Chang'an and other major Tang cities for business or study. These people brought their religions and customs: Buddhism, Islam, Zoroastrianism (Xianjiao), Manichaeism (Monijiao) and Syriac Christianity (Jingjiao), all of which flourished.

This cosmopolitan policy caused controversy among the literati, many of whom questioned the recommendation of the Kaifeng governor for the participation of Arab-born Li Yan-Sheng in the 847 imperial examinations and several similar incidences of what they believed as incorrect racial privileging. Such was the discourse that Tang intellectual Chen An wrote an essay defending the governor's decision; The Heart of Being Hua (Chinese: 華心; pinyin: Huá xīn), which is often cited as expressing the sentiments of the "non-xenophobic" Chinese position on the Hua–Yi distinction. In the essay, Chen wrote: "If one speaks in terms of geography, then there are Hua and Yi. But if one speaks in terms of education, then there can be no such difference. For the distinction between Hua and Yi rests in the heart and is determined by their different inclinations."

A prominent Tang Confucian, Han Yu, wrote in his essay Yuan Dao, "When Confucius wrote the Chunqiu, he said that if the feudal lords use the Yi ritual, then they should be called Yi. If they use Chinese rituals, then they should be called Chinese." Han Yu went on to lament that the Chinese of his time might all become Yi because the Tang court wanted to put Yi laws above the teachings of the former kings, creating the possibility that although insiders could lose their culture, outsiders could similarly gain insider culture.

Arguments that excoriated the Tang's lax attitude towards foreigners were strengthened by the Yi-led An Lushan Rebellion (755–763), which propelled the Tang into decline. An intellectual movement "to return to the pure... sources of orthodox thought and morality", including many of the concepts of the Classical Prose Movement, also targeted "foreign" religions, as exemplified by Han Yu's diatribe against Buddhism. Emperor Wenzong of Tang passed decrees in line with these views, especially restricting Iranian religions and Buddhism, but this policy was relaxed by his successors.

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

The "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" was a period in which the north of China was ruled by a non-Chinese people, the Shatuo, for three short-lived dynasties while the south was ruled by Chinese. Their legitimacy was recognized by the Song Dynasty.

Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty saw both an economic boom and invasion by alien states. States like the Liao dynasty (遼) and Western Xia (西夏) began to take territories inhabited by large numbers of Chinese and asserted that they too were Chinese and successors to the Tang, and posed legitimacy issues for Song rule.

In response to rising concerns from citizenry and claims from Yi states such as the Western Xia, Song scholars stipulated that groups like the Shatuo (whom the Song largely succeeded and whom largely continued the rule of the Tang) were not "barbarian or Yi" but Chinese or "Hua" and that the Song had only descended from ruling groups that were Hua. Secondly, the Song asserted that the Liao and Western Xia, and later the Jin (金), were barbarian states despite their control of large areas of Chinese territory because they had not inherited any mandate from a legitimate dynasty that was "Hua"

Yuan Dynasty

Concerns over legitimacy were not limited to only the Song: states rose up again in the Yuan dynasty, as its rulers were non-Han Chinese. However, the Yuan dynasty adopted a different approach to quelling the conflict. The Yuan asserted that the Song, Liao and Jin were all legitimate; therefore all three dynasties were given their own history, as recognition of their legitimacy.

Despite this, the Yuan racially segregated their people; dividing society into four categories:

• Mongols (蒙古): the ruling group and hence, the most important
• Semu (色目; "assorted categories"): a term for non-Chinese and non-Mongol foreigners who occupied the second slate;
• Han (漢人): a term for the Han Chinese, Jurchens, and Khitan under the rule of the Jin dynasty;
• Southerner (南人): a term for Han Chinese under the rule of the Song dynasty.

In addition, the Yuan also divided society into 10 castes, based on "desirability":

• High officials (大官)
• Minor officials (小官)
• Buddhist monks (釋)
• Daoist priests (道)
• Physicians (医)
• Peasants (農)
• Hunters (獵)
• Courtesans (妓)
• Confucian scholars (儒)
• Beggars (丐)

The Yuan rulers were Mongols and were viewed as barbaric and humiliating for the Chinese, although they did not last long in China (from 1271 to 1368).

According to historian Yao Dali, Chinese such as the "patriotic" hero Wen Tianxiang of the late Song and early Yuan period believed the Mongol rule to be legitimate. Wen was willing to live under Mongol rule as long as he was not forced to be a Yuan dynasty official, out of his loyalty to the Song dynasty. This shows that some pre-modern Chinese groups viewed culture and politics rather than race and ethnicity as the dividing line between the Chinese and the non-Chinese. There had been many cases when the Yi or non-Chinese had been later considered Hua or Chinese.

Ming Dynasty

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed the Ming dynasty and issued a long manifesto, in which he labeled the Yuan as barbarians who had usurped the Chinese throne, and who had inflicted atrocities such as rape and murder. He lists incidents where the Mongols massacred men in entire villages and appropriated the women. Zhu's northern military expedition had been a success; Beijing was captured in the same year and China was again governed by Han.

Although the Ming referred to the preceding Yuan as "胡元", or barbarian Yuan, they also accepted the Yuan before them as a legitimate dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang indicated on another occasion that he was happy to be born in the Yuan period and that the Yuan did legitimately receive the Mandate of Heaven to rule over China. In addition, one of his key advisors, Liu Ji, generally supported the idea that while the Chinese and the non-Chinese are different, they are actually equal. Liu was therefore arguing against the idea that Hua was and is superior to Yi.

During the Miao Rebellions, Ming forces engaged in massive slaughter of the Hmong and other native ethnic groups in South China; after castrating Hmong boys to use as eunuch slaves, Chinese soldiers took Hmong women as wives and colonized the southern provinces.

Towards the end of the Ming dynasty, Ming loyalists invoked Hua-Yi zhi bian to urge the Chinese to resist the Manchu invaders.

Qing dynasty

The Qing dynasty's order that all subjects shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue was viewed as a symbolic gesture of servitude by many Han Chinese, who thought that changing their dress to the same as Yi would be contrary to the spirit of "Hua-Yi zhi bian."

Scholar Lü Liuliang (1629–1683), who lived through the transition between the Ming and the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, refused to serve the new dynasty because he claimed that upholding the difference between Huaxia and the Yi was more important than respecting the righteous bond between minister (臣) and sovereign (君王). In 1728, failed Imperial examination candidate Zeng Jing (曾靜), influenced by Lü's works, called for the overthrow of the Manchu regime. The Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723–1735), whom Zeng accused of ten major crimes, took this event as an opportunity to educate the Qing's Chinese subjects. In a series of discussions with Zeng Jing, the emperor proclaimed that Chinese were not inherently superior to the barbarians. To justify his statements, he declared that King Wen, the sage king and the founder of the Zhou dynasty, was of Western Yi origin, but this did not hurt his greatness.

The Yongzheng Emperor also borrowed from Han Yu, indicating that Yi can become Hua and vice versa. In addition, according to Yongzheng, both Hua and Yi were now a part of the same family under the Qing. One of the goals of the tract Dayi juemi lu (大義覺迷錄), which the Yongzheng Emperor published and distributed throughout the empire in 1730, was "to undermine the credibility of the hua/yi distinction." However, due to the fact that this tract also helped to expose many unsavory aspects of court life and political intrigues in the imperial government, Yongzheng’s successor the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736–1796) recalled the tracts and had them burned for the fear that it would undermine the legitimacy of the Qing empire.

During the Qing, the Qing destroyed writings that criticized the Liao, Jin and Yuan using the Hua–Yi distinction.

The leaders of the Taiping Rebellion issued a long proclamation based on Zhu Yuanzhang's denunciation of the Mongols and accused the Manchu of similar crimes. A popular slogan for rebellion in the Qing was "Overthrow the Qing, revive the Ming" (反清復明).

Sun Yat-sen also used the Hua–Yi distinction to justify the overthrow of the Qing dynasty.

However, the Qing adopted Confucian philosophy and Han Chinese institutions to show that the Manchu rulers had received the Mandate of Heaven, while at the same time trying to retain their own indigenous culture. Due to the Manchus' adoption of Han Chinese culture, most Han Chinese (though not all) accepted the Manchus as the legitimate rulers.

Republic of China

Historian Frank Dikötter (1990:420) says the Chinese "idea of 'race' (zhong [種], "seed", "species", "race") started to dominate the intellectual scene" in the late 19th-century Qing dynasty and completed the "transition from cultural exclusiveness to racial exclusiveness in modern China" in the 1920s.

Following the overthrow of the Qing, Sun Yat-sen allegedly went to the grave of Zhu Yuanzhang and told him that the Huaxia had been restored and the barbarians overthrown. However, after the Republic of China revolution, Sun also advocated that all ethnic groups in China were part of the Chinese family.

People's Republic of China

The PRC did not abide by the concept of "Hua Yi zhi bian" and recognized the Qing and Yuan as legitimate dynasties. Initially, the CPC condemned all Chinese dynasties as "Feudal oppressors".

Hua-Yi zhi bian has little practical and real significance in twenty-first century China.

Conceptualization of the Hua–Yi distinction in non-Chinese states

Main article: East Asian cultural sphere

Japan

Prince Shōtoku wearing Chinese court dress

In the second unsuccessful Mongol invasion of Japan in 1281, 20–30,000 prisoners were taken but only 10,000 Southern Song Chinese were spared. The Japanese separated the Song troops who had recently surrendered to the Mongols from the other prisoners, called them "Men of Tang", and enslaved them. The Northern Han Chinese, Khitan, Jurchens, Koreans, and Mongols who had been living in the Mongol Empire for a century, were executed.

Some Japanese philosophers, like the neo-Confucianists Yamaga Sokō and Aizawa Seishisai claimed that Japan was 中國 Chūgoku instead of China.

Korea

Korean ritual dress resembles Ming hanfu  Korean court dress resembles Ming hanfu  Joseon official dress inherited from the Ming dynasty

Following the 1644 Manchu conquest, Joseon Koreans began to refer to themselves as "Sojunghwa"; literally "Little China". As the Joseon supported the Ming, they were reported to have extended a friendliness to the Ming that they did not display to the Qing dynasty.

Because Korea had been closely tied to Han Chinese "barbarianism ruling China" became a major issue for discussion there.

As the Ming dynasty fell, Korea was worried about its own security. This was due to previous instances in which Ming China aided Korea such as in the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98). Long after the establishment of the Qing dynasty, the Joseon ruling elite and even the Joseon government continued to use the Chongzhen Emperor's era name (숭정기원, 崇禎紀元) of the last Ming emperor. In private they referred to the Manchu Emperor as the "barbarian ruler" and Qing ambassadors as "barbarian ambassadors". These feelings could not be expressed as the "barbarians" held great power over Korea following their successful invasion in the First Manchu invasion of Korea in 1627 and the Second Manchu invasion of Korea of 1637.

Over time the Qing government exerted more power over Korea. This would eventually turn Korea into a hermit kingdom to limit foreign influence

Ryūkyū

King Shō Shin wearing Chinese court dress  Prince Shō Kyō wearing Chinese court dress

The Ryukyu Kingdom was heavily influenced by Chinese culture, taking language, architecture, and court practices from China. It also paid annual tribute to first the Ming and later Qing courts from 1374 until 1874.

Vietnam

Vietnamese court dress resembles Ming hanfu  Prince Nguyễn Phước Miên Thẩm (Tùng Thiện Vương) wearing Chinese court dress  Mandarin Cao Xuân Dục wearing Chinese court dress  Mandarin Trần Đình Bá wearing Chinese court dress  Emperor Bảo Đại wearing Chinese court dress

After the 18th century, following the Tay Son wars, the ruling Nguyễn dynasty consolidated power by adopting a more radical Confucian worldview. The country clashed with the Khmer and Lao kingdoms and various tribes on the Central Highlands such as the Jarai and the Mạ. In 1805, the Emperor Gia Long referred to Vietnam as trung quốc, the "middle kingdom". In 1811, Gia Long proposed a law "Hán di hữu hạn", which means "making clear the border between the Vietnamese and barbarians", referring to the Vietnamese as "Han". Cambodia was regularly called Cao Man, the country of "upper barbarians". In fact, earlier dynasties also considered themselves "Hua", in the sense that their nation was civilized, and their kingdom as a polity was at the center of Earth and Heaven. Even with regard to China proper, Vietnamese dynasties claimed to be the Middle Kingdom while Chinese were "outsiders".

External influences

Christianity

Main article: Bible translations into Chinese

At the end of the 1813, Robert Morrison's translated Bible was published in Malacca (in what is now Malaysia); it is believed to be the world's first published Bible in the Chinese language. The same version was reputed to have been used by the Taiping Rebellion's leader Hong Xiuquan, who eventually used ideas borrowed from this Bible and staged a massive anti-Manchu military campaign.

Hong Xiuquan studied Christianity under Morrison for two months, but Morrison refused to baptize Hong. Not satisfied by calling Manchus "barbarians" as commonly implied in the Hua-Yi zibian debate, Hong went one step further by calling the Manchus "devil", as in the term anti-Christ in the Bible. At the same time, Hong claimed that he was the brother of Christ and so another Son of God.

See also

• Barbarian
• Foreign relations of Imperial China
• Graphic pejoratives in written Chinese
• Greater China
• List of recipients of tribute from China
• List of tributaries of Imperial China
• Suzerainty
• Tributary state
• Wang Fuzhi

References

• Dikötter, Frank (1994). The Discourse of Race in Modern China. Stanford University Press.

Further reading

• Author? (date?). "Tan Sitong 'Hua-Yi zhi bian' sixiang de yanjin" 谭嗣同"华夷之辨"思想的演进 ["The evolution of Tan Sitong's thinking on the 'Hua-Yi distinction'"]. Retrieved on January 16, 2009. Google translation.
• Fan Wenli 樊文礼 (2004). "'Hua-Yi zi bian' yu Tangmo Wudai shiren de Hua-Yi guan – shiren qunti dui Shatuo zhengquan de rentong" "华夷之辨"与唐末五代士人的华夷观–士人群体对沙陀政权的认同 ["The 'Hua-Yi distinction' and scholar-officials' view of Hua and Yi in the late Tang and Five Dynasties: their recognition of the Shatuo regime"].[1] Yantai shifan xueyuan xuebao (Zhexue shehui kexue ban) 烟台师范学院学报 (哲学社会科学版) ["Bulletin of the Yantai Normal Academy (Philosophy and Social Science edition)"] 21.3. ISSN 1003-5117 (2004)03-0028-05. Google translation.
• Geng Yunzhi 耿云志 (2006). "Jindai sixiangshi shang de minzuzhuyi" 近代思想史上的民族主义 ["Nationalism in modern intellectual history"]. Shixue yuekan 史学月刊 ["Journal of Historical Science"] 2006.6. Retrieved on January 16, 2009. Google translation.
• Guan Jiayue 關嘉耀 (date?). "'Hua-Yi zhi bian' yu wenhua zhongxin zhuyi" 「華夷之辨」與文化中心主義 ["The Hua-Yi distinction and cultural [sino]centrism"] Google translation.
• He Yingying 何英莺 (date?). "Hua-Yi sixiang he Shenguo sixiang de chongtu: lun Zhong-Ri guanxi de fazhan" 华夷思想和神国思想的冲突一一论明初中日关系的发展 [The conflict between the Hua-Yi conception and the Divine-Land conception: on China-Japan relations in the early Ming]. Source? Retrieved on February 9, 2009.
• Huang Shijian 黄时鉴 (date?). "Ditu shang de 'Tianxia guan'" 地图上的"天下观" ["The 'All-under-heaven' conception on maps"]. From Zhongguo cehui 中国测绘. Google translation.
• Liu Lifu 刘立夫 and Heng Yu 恆毓 (2000). "Yi-Xia zhi bian yu Fojiao" 夷夏之辨與佛教 ["The Yi-Xia distinction and Buddhism"]. Retrieved on January 16, 2009. Google translation.
• Pang Naiming 庞乃明 (2008). "Guoji zhengzhi xin yinsu yu Mingchao houqi Hua-Yi zhi bian'" 国际政治新因素与明朝后期华夷之辨 ["A new factor in international politics and the Hua-Yi distinction in the late Ming dynasty"]. Qiushi xuekan 求是学刊 ["Seeking Truth"] 35.4. Google translation.