From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia: The Conceptualization of Chinese Identity in Early China

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia:

The Conceptualisation of Chinese Identity

in Early China

CHEN ZHI

1 Introduction

The question of the origins of the modern Chinese people has attracted the attention ofmany scholars from different disciplines for more than a century. However, studies of thebiological and physical formation of the Chinese often neglect a geographical and culturaldimension, and indeed the conceptualisation of “Chinese-ness” itself. Two issues might bedistinguished here. First, as many modern Chinese scholars have attempted, we might tryto define the constraints upon the ethnographical shaping of the Chinese as a group ofinhabitants of a geographical region. Second, we might also consider how and when thisgroup of people came to realise a series of shared values that constitute an identity thatwe would call “Chinese-ness”. This self-realisation or self-identity of the Chinese wouldlogically postdate the formation of the group itself. Tu Wei-ming points out that “thequestion of ‘Chinese-ness’, as it first emerged in the ‘axial age’ half a millennium prior tothe birth of Confucius in 551 B.C.E., entails both geographical and cultural dimensions.”1

Nevertheless, scholars have not yet paid adequate attention to the following questions:How did this concept of “Chinese-ness” emerge during the axial age? How did concepts of“Chinese-ness”, such as huaxia and zhongguo , evolve and become employed by earlyChinese people to refer to themselves? What is the relationship between “Chinese-ness” in ageographical dimension and in a cultural dimension in the early Chinese mind? What werethe historical and social conditions under which the demarcation between “Chinese-ness”and barbarism was conceptualised?

To answer these fundamental questions, we must first resort to extant documentarymaterials and existing communicative apparatuses, which preserve or partially convey theforms of thinking of the early Chinese people. Using these insights, this article attempts tobring a new methodological approach to the field of the intellectual history of pre-imperialChina. My method involves both paleographic and philological analysis of the perplexinggraphs and words which designate Chinese people, such as xia , hua and zhongguo ,and non-Chinese, such as yi , di , rong , and man , in early paleographic and textualsources. A synthetic study of the structural characteristics, semantic distribution, graphicalevolution and contextual analysis of these graphs against a chronological base shows how

1 Tu Wei-ming, “Cultural China: The Periphery as the Center”, in Tu Wei-ming (ed.), The Living Tree: TheChanging Meaning of Being Chinese Today (Stanford, 1991), 2.

JRAS, Series 3, 14, 3 (2004), pp. 185–205 C© The Royal Asiatic Society 2004DOI: 10.1017/S135618630400389X Printed in the United Kingdom

186 Chen Zhi

these terms first evolved to distinguish between two ethnographical concepts, and later cameto carry semantic connotations in their modern senses.

As a result of this study, this article shows that the conceptualisation of “Chinese-ness”postdates the actual formation of the ethnographical traits of the Chinese themselves. Theconcepts of Huaxia and Zhongguo carried different connotations in the Western Zhou periodfrom those prevalent in Spring and Autumn philological sources. The notion of Xia in theZhou mind evolved historically, and the notion of Ya in the Spring and Autumn mindthen incorporated diverse conceptions arising from the chronological and geographicalassociations of Xia. Thus the twin concepts of Xia and Yi, which had formerly been employedto distinguish between the Zhou elite and non-Zhou people, came to be used to distinguishbetween the central states and peripheral barbarian tribes in a geographical sense, as well asbetween Zhou subjects and non-Zhou subjects in a political sense.

2 The Zhou people and the Xia people

2.1 The Zhou People’s Identification with the Shang People

Stimulated by their increased contacts with Shang culture and its territorial domain, thepre-dynastic Zhou people nurtured a growing autonomy and an ambition to overtake theireastern rival both politically and culturally. Documentary sources and archaeological databoth suggest that the Shang influenced many aspects of Zhou culture prior to the dynastictransition. Military disputes between the states can be inferred from records preserved onoracle bones.2 Along with these military disputes, however, came cultural interchange. Thus,Shang influence can be detected on Zhou bronzes, even though the local characteristics ofthe Zhou bronzes cannot be denied.3 Inspired by Elman Service’s famous evolutionarytypology, which distinguishes the development of social integrity into the successive levelsof bands, tribes, chiefdoms and states,4 K. C. Chang has examined the relationship betweenthe Xia, Shang and Zhou peoples and posited the provocative theory that the three peoplesexisted synchronically. They were thus contending sedentary groups in a process which sawfirst Xia, then Shang, and finally Zhou dominate politically.5 During the period in whichthe Zhou people were subordinate to the Shang, their sacrifices to the Shang kings Di Yi

, Taijia and Cheng Tang prove that the Zhou once shared the same ancestralbeliefs as and subjected themselves to the cultural integrity of the Shang.6 In the mind of the

2 Chen Mengjia (1911–1966), Buci zongshu (Peking, 1956), 291–292. A discussion of thePredynastic Zhou and the Shang-Zhou relations can be found in Edward L. Shaughnessy, “Inscriptional andArchaeological Evidence for Zhou Before the Conquest of Shang”, in Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy(eds), The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilisation to 221 B.C. (Cambridge, 1999), 302–307.

3 Cho-yun Hsu and Katheryn Linduff, Western Chou Civilization (New Haven, 1988), 41–42.4 Elman Service, Primitive Social Organization: An Evolutionary Perspective (New York, 1962).5 K. C. Chang, “Cong Xia Shang Zhou sandai kaogu lun sandai guanxi yu Zhongguo gudai guojia de xingcheng”

[A Discussion of the Relationships between the Three Dynastiesand the Formation of the Early Chinese Nations in Light of the Archaeology of the Three Dynasties, Xia, Shangand Zhou], in Zhongguo qingtong shidai [The Chinese Bronze Age] (Taipei, 1994), 31–63; “Yin Zhouguanxi de tantao” [An Exploration on the Relationship between Yin and Zhou], in Zhongguoqingtong shidai, 91–119.

6 The sacrifices to Di Yi, Tai Jia and Cheng Tang were recorded in the oracle bone inscriptions of Zhouyuan (H11:3; H11: 84). See Zhu Qixiang , Zhouyuan Jiagu yanjiu [A Study of the Oracle-bone Inscriptions

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 187

Zhou people, some of the Shang forefathers had even been deified and were now worshipedas the God of Earth and other gods accompanying the Supreme God.7

2.2 Zhou People’s Identification with the Xia

Zhou’s identification with Shang, notwithstanding the above discussion, was probablyimposed by the Shang rulers when they first brought the Zhou people under control andsubdued the distinctive Zhou heritage. Documentary sources suggest that the pre-dynasticZhou people also identified themselves with the Xia. In the final years of the Shang, asShang control of Zhou dwindled, Zhou identification with the Xia grew stronger. TheZhou people claimed descent from the Xia, and its accompanying institutional and culturallegacy endowed them with legitimacy to confront the Shang. Zhou self-identification withXia is demonstrated clearly in some early Zhou documents, such as “Kang Gao” , “JunShi” and “Lizheng” chapters of the Shang shu.8 These documents preserve theDuke of Zhou’s words addressed to the Duke of Shao , Feng, the Shu of Kang ,and King Cheng . In the “Jun-Shi”, the Duke of Zhou remarks to the Duke of Shao,the grand protector: “But that King Wen was still able to make concordant the territoryof the Xia”9 10 clearly referring to the Zhou domain under King Wen’sreign as the “territory of the Xia”. According to the Duke of Zhou, it was King Wen whosecurely established this territory of the Xia. “And so he (King Wen) created our region ofXia”11 ,12 remarks the Duke to his younger brother Feng, the Shu of Kang inthe “Kang Gao” .

Following Fu Sinian’s and K. C. Chang’s theory, scholars have generally reachedthe consensus that the Xia, the Shang and the Zhou were one cultural grouping withinsignificant differences, though this assumption remains open to discussion. In this theorythe Zhou’s recurring assertion of their original identity with the Xia thus stemmed frompolitical and psychological needs. In the “Lizheng” (Establishing Government) chapterof the Shang shu, the Duke of Zhou admonishes King Cheng in this manner: “God raised13

[troops] to punish him [King Zhou of the Yin]. Thus it commanded us the Xia [people]to employ the mandate which the Shang had received, extensively cultivating the myriadfamilies [i.e. people]” , , , .14

Identifying themselves with the Xia would have given the Zhou people courage andgranted them a legimate right to overthrow the empire to which they were formerlysubjected. In the name of the offspring of the Xia, the Zhou conquerors in this way

from Zhouyuan](Taipei, 1997), 4, 33. It remains questionable, however, whether these diviners belonged to Shang orZhou. See Wang Yuxin and Yang Shengnan , Jiaguxue yibainian – (Beijing, 1999), 308–327.

7 Hsu and Linduff, Western Chou Civilization, 48–49.8 Modern scholars generally agree that these three chapters were composed in early Zhou times. See Chen

Mengjia, Shang shu tonglun (Peking, 1985), 112.9 Bernhard Karlgren, “Book of Documents”, Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 22 (1950), 61.

10 Shang shu zhengyi , 16.112, in Shisanjing zhushu (Peking, 1979), 224.11 Karlgren, “Book of Documents”, 39.12 Shang shu zhengyi, 14.91, in Shisanjing zhushu, 203.13 Here I have taken Sun Xingyan’s (1753–1818) reading of qin as xing , denoting “to raise”. See

Sun, Shang shu jinguwen zhushu [Commentaries on the Modern and Ancient Texts of Shang Shu](Peking, 1986), 2: 472.

14 Shang shu zhengyi, 17.119, in Shisanjing zhushu, 231.

188 Chen Zhi

acquired the legitimacy and the mandate of Heaven from the Xia, and stringentlyappropriated this mandate from the Yin due to the latter’s failure in maintaining virtueand in venerating Heaven. The Duke of Zhou or the Duke of Shao showed this whenaddressing the young king:15 “Those above and below being zealous and careful, letthem say, ‘As we receive Heaven’s Mandate, we should follow the calendar of the Xia,but not supplant that of the Yin’ - in order that (as one would wish) the king, throughthe little people, may receive Heaven’s eternal Mandate”16 , ,

, , .17

In pursuit of this practical purpose, the conquerors tried to show a connection betweentheir ancestors and the royal house of Xia, thereby asserting their legitimacy over the defeatedwhen Zhou troops succeeded in overcoming first the Shang troops and then Shang rebelsyears later. To consolidate the newly-established empire, the rulers inevitably warned eachother of potential crises. The example of the rise and fall of the Xia dynasty was thus usedby the Zhou rulers as a caveat in their reminder to “look at our ancients in antiquity, theXia”18 .19 According to the records of the Zuo chuan (Chao 9), Earl Huan ofZhan , an envoy of the Zhou House to the state of Jin , said to the Duke of Jin, “We [ofZhou], from the time of the Xia dynasty, in consequence of [the services of ] Hou Ji, hadWei, Tai, Rui, Qi, Bi as our territories in the West.”20 , : ,

, .21 Similar accounts also exist in the Guo yu, in which Zhai GongMoufu states more explicitly the range of Zhou territory in the epoch of Hou(Lord) Chi and Zhou subservience to Xia in a remonstrance to King Mu of Zhou.22

Modern archaeologists and historians have raised two possibilities regarding the spheres ofinfluence and provenance of the pre-dynastic Zhou people. In the 1930s, Qian Mu examinedphonetic and philological similarities between geographical names of the early fiefs of theZhou and those of modern Shanxi, and hypothesised that the Zhou group initially dwelt

15 There are two opinions regarding the identity of the speaker of the “Shao Gao”. Edward L. Shaughnessyagrees with the conventional identity of the speaker as the Duke of Shao (Shaughnessy, “The Duke of Zhou’sRetirement in the East and the Beginnings of the Minister-Monarch Debate in Chinese Political Philosophy”,Early China 18 [1993], 41–72). David S. Nivison follows James Legge’s and Bernhard Karlgren’s identification ofthe speaker as the Duke of Zhou and provides more evidence. See Nivison, “An Interpretation of the Shao Gao”,Early China 20 (1995), 177–193.

16 I have taken David Nivison’s translation of this passage from his “An Interpretation of the ‘Shao Gao’”, 182,with minor revisions. I read “Piruo” (Nivison’s “Let it grandly be like”) as “adopting” or “following”, with pias a rhetorical particle which means “nai” [hence or therefore]. Similar usages of pi can be found in compoundssuch as “pixian” , “picheng” in certain chapters of the Shang shu, Zuo zhuan and Yi Zhou-shu, and bronzeinscriptions. See Yang Shuda (1885–1956), Ci quan (Peking, 1965), 17. On my understanding of ruo,see Du Yu’s (222–284) annotation of “bu feng bu ruo” in the Zuo zhuan (Xuan 3), which glossesit as “shun” (Du, Chunqiu Zuo zhuan jijie [Shanghai, 1977], 547). This interpretation is applicablein reading many other passages in the Shang shu and the Zuo zhuan when the character ruo occurs. Karlgren andLegge usually translate ruo as “to comply with” or “to follow”. See Karlgren, “Book of Documents”, 25, 51, 52;James Legge, Chinese Classics, 1: 266, 442.

17 Shang shu zhengyi, 213.18 David Nivison’s translation of this sentence reads “Look at the former peoples of ancient times, the Xia (Xia)”,

which seems to me to leave “Xianmin” , which specifies the ancients of our clan, untranslated. See Nivison,“An Interpretation of the Shao Gao”, 180. Karlgren’s translation specifies “Look at the ancient predecessors, thelords of Xia”. See Karlgren, “Book of Documents”, 49.

19 Shang shu zhengyi, 212.20 C.f. Legge, Chinese Classics, 5: 625.21 Yang Bojun (1909–1989), Chunqiu Zuo chuan zhu (Peking, 1981), 1307 (Zhao 9).22 Guo yu (Shanghai, 1978), 2–3.

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 189

in modern Shanxi, migrating to modern Shaanxi in the middle of the Shang.23 Since then,many classicists and historians have accepted Qian’s theory.24 Some archaeologists have alsofurther substantiated the Shanxi origin theory by using additional information retrievedfrom archaeological findings and documentary sources.25

Contradicting Qian Mu’s hypothesis is the theory that the Zhou people originated fromthe Jing and Wei river valleys of Shaanxi and maintained a separation from the Xiaand Shang for a long time.26 From the information available to us, it is perhaps too early todraw a firm conclusion regarding the origins of the Zhou group. Scholars generally assumethat the place name Xia, referring to the central plains, was inherited from the dynasticdesignation. Fu Sinian claims that it was due to the fact that some Xia people continuedto reside in the Henan and Hedong areas during the transitional period betweenYin and Zhou.27 However, the Xia remnant elites, concentrated in several small states,28

23 See Qian Mu (1895–1990), “Zhouchu dili kao” [A Philological Exploration on the EarlyZhou Geography], Yanjing xuebao 10 (1931), 1955–2008.

24 See Lu Simian (1884–1957), Xian Qin shi [Pre-Qin History](Shanghai, 1941), 117–118; ChenMengjia, Buci Zongshu, 292; Li Min , “Shi Shang shu ‘Zhou-ren zun Xia’ shuo” [AnInterpretation of the “Zhou People Respected the Xia” Theory as Observed from the Shang Shu], Zhongguoshi yanjiu 2, 1982, 128–134. These authors differ from Qian in small details only, and largely substantiateQian’s theory by providing additional evidence. Yang Bojun, however, demarcates the territory of the Zhou duringthe Xia dynasty as ranging from Wugong and Qishan in Shaanxi to Ruicheng and Wanrong inShanxi. See Yang, Chunqiu Zuo zhuan zhu, 1307–1308 (Zhao 9).

25 Hsu and Linduff, in Western Chou Civilization, 33–67, provide a comprehensive treatment of the movement,developmental stages and location of the pre-dynastic Zhou people. Archaeologists in China, such as Wang Kelin

, have also investigated the characteristics of the pottery excavated from the late Lung-shan culture situatedin the lower reaches of the Fen river and the Dongxiafeng culture in modern Xia county of Shanxi, anddetermined various stages of typological and transmissible similarities between the finds and the Zhou potteries.See Wang Kelin, “Luelun Xia wenhua de yuanliu ji qi youguan wenti” [A BriefDiscussion on the Origin and Evolution of the Xia Culture and Other Related Issues], in Xia shi luncong[Collected Papers on the History of Xia] ( Jinan, 1985), 79–80. Zou Heng hypothesises that pre-dynasticZhou culture primarily derived from the Kuang-she culture in modern Shanxi. Zou Heng, “Lun Xian-Zhouwenhua” (On Pre-dynastic Zhou Culture), in Xia Shang Zhou kaogu xue lunwen ji[Collected Papers on the Archaeology of the Xia, Shang and Zhou] (Peking, 1980). Fang Shuxin proposesthat the Zhou ethnic group was initially derived from the Xia, refered to as Tufang in the oracle inscriptionsand some early documents, and that the group first inhabited an area south of modern Shanxi around a place namedTangdu , i.e. Tangtu , a place name frequently seen in the oracle-bone inscriptions. See Fang, “Ji-Zhou zuchuyu Tufang kao” [A Philological Exploration of the Origin of the Ji-Zhou Group as Tufang],in Shaanxi Lishi Bowuguan , Xi-Zhou shi lunwen ji [Collected Essays on the WesternZhou History] (Xian, 1993), 345–359.

26 See Qi Sihe , “Xi-Zhou dili kao” [On the Early Western Zhou Geography], Yanjing xuebao30 (1946), 63–106; Ding Shan , Shang-Zhou shiliao kaozheng [Philological Studies of

the Source Materials of Shang and Zhou] (Peking, 1988), 152–199; Xu Xitai , “Zao Zhou wenhua detedian ji qi yuanyuan tansuo” [An Exploration of the Characteristics and Origins ofthe Pre-dynastic Zhou], Wen wu 10, 1979, 50–59; Lin Xiaoan , “Cong jiagu keci lun Xian Zhou qiyuan”

[A Study of the Origin of the Pre-dynastic Zhou in Light of Shell and Bone Inscriptions],Kaogu yu wenwu (February 1991), 66–69; Zhang Tianen , “Xian Zhou wenhua zaoqi xiangkuanwenti qianyi” [A Brief Discussion of the Issues regarding Pre-dynastic Zhou Culture andIts Early Stages], Xi-Zhou shi lunwen ji, 360–375.

27 Fu Sinian (1896–1950), “Yi-Xia dongxi shuo” , in Qingzhu Cai Yuanpei xiansheng liushiwusui lun-wen ji (Peking, 1935), 1093–1134.

28 Zhou literature records two feudal states presided over by Xia descendants, of which one was Qi , and theother Zeng . These two states lasted through the Shang dynasty and were re-enfeoffed in the early Zhou. Qi wasdestroyed by the state of Chu in mid-fifth century B.C., whereas Zeng was devastated by Ju in 567 B.C. See Chen,Chunqiu dashi biao lieguo juexing ji cunmie biao zuanyi (Taipei, 1988), 2:121b–126a;4:298a–305b. The state of Yue, a powerful state in the late Spring and Autumn period, was, according to legend,founded by Shao Kang , one of the early Xia kings. However, this state does not exist in documentary recordsprior to the Eastern Zhou.

190 Chen Zhi

played an insignificant part in the entire history of the Zhou dynasty. The explanation putforth by Fu Sinian and other modern scholars cannot be justified if we further consider theruling elites of the State of Qi , the direct descendants of the royal family of Xia, beingtreated as belonging to the category yi (barbarians) in official Zhou writings.29 Whatmade the Zhou people assert themselves to be identical to the Xia was therefore certainlynot a genetic reason, nor a geographical one. This identity must rather have stemmed froma strategic plan to legitimise Zhou’s growth in ambition and power, and to elevate Zhouculture from vulgarity, as the Zhou conceived themselves, to elegance.

Nonetheless, Zhou identification with the Xia is well documented in the Zhou literature,as we have seen above. Aside from their religious belief in Heaven as the supreme moralwill, as posited by modern scholars,30 the Zhou people’s ancestral identity with the Xiaprovided them with another proof, non-theological but related to their theological purpose,to illustrate their legitimate access to Heaven and power.

Unlike the term xia, hua was a later creation which was employed by Chinese people torefer to themselves. The term huaxia first occurs in the so-called “ancient text” of Shangshu, “Wucheng” [The Successful Completion of the War], the authenticity of whichremains dubious.31 King Wu of Zhou is recorded saying to his subject state lords and officers:

, , , , , , ,, , , , , ,

, , ,

Show [Zhou], the king of Shang is without principle, cruel and destructive to the creatures ofHeaven, injurious and tyrannical to the multitudes of the people, chief of the vagabonds of theempire, who collect about him as fish in the deep, and beasts in the prairie. I, who am but a littlechild, having obtained the help of virtuous men, presume reverently to comply with the will ofGod, to make an end of his disorderly ways. The great and flowery region, and the wild tribesof the south and north, equally follow and consent with me.32

Kong Anguo’s commentary provides the following annotation: “Official caps and robes inflowery style are called hua, and a vast state is called xia” , . Thus, sincewe have not found a reliable Western Zhou record of the term huaxia , the earliest useof this term in reference to China is unknown. The character hua in the bronze inscriptionalcontext appears either as a personal name (Yin-Zhou jinwen jicheng [hereafter:Jicheng]: 3.547–8, 4.2418, 5.2541–45, 5.2547, 5.2735–6, 7.3765–6, 8.4321, 9.4386–4387,9.4412, 16.10321) or a palace name (Jicheng: 5.2792, 8.4202). The earliest occurrence of thischaracter is a place or palace name found in the inscriptions on Ming gui (Jicheng: 7.4112)which can be dated to the early Western Zhou. Xu Hao (1810–1879) reads hua as apictorial representation of flower with the character’s upper part depicting a bud and petals,

29 In the Shi Mi gui , Qi is written Qi-yi . The Xi 23 of Zuo zhuan has a record: “Qi, yi ye” ,(The Qi is an yi state), and Xiang 29 has a record: “Qi, Xia yu ye, er ji dong yi” , , (The peopleof Qi were the remnant of the Xia. They are also eastern barbarians).

30 See Benjamin I. Schwartz (1916–1999), “Early Chou [Zhou] Thought: Continuity and Breakthrough”, inthe World of Thought in Ancient China (Cambridge and London, 1985), 40–55.

31 The “Wucheng” text was recorded as lost during the reign period of Jianwu (25–56) of the Later Handynasty. Chen Mengjia believes that the extant “Wucheng” text was forged by an Eastern Jin scholar who was alsonamed Kong Anguo . See Chen Mengjia, Shang shu tonglun, 109, 122–135.

32 Legge, Chinese Classics, 3: 312–313.

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 191

and its lower part a stem and leaves.33 Gao Hongjin points out that this graphic form wasinitially employed by the Shang people to refer to a sacrificial name.34 It seems least possiblethat hua was already employed by Western Zhou people to refer to their kingdom or centralstates.

3 Concepts of Xia and Zhou elegance

3.1 The Etymological Relationship between the “Ya” and “Xia”

The phonetic connection between “Ya” and “Xia” was first noted by Wang Yinzhi(1766–1834) as recorded in Wang Niansun’s (1744–1832) Xunzi zazhi of Dushuzazhi [Miscellanies from Reading].35

, , . 36 : , , : ,, 37 ,38

For example, “A Man of Yue would be content with Yue, a man of Chu would be content withChu, and the noble man would be content with Ya.” (Wang) Yinzhi said: “Ya is pronounced‘Xia.’ The ‘Xia’ refers to the Central States. For this reason it was [placed] with Chu and Yuein an antithetical pair. The ‘Ruxiao’ chapter (of the Xunzi says): “Residing in Yue makes one [aresident] of Yue, residing in Chu makes one [a resident] of Chu, and residing in Xia makes one[a resident] of Xia.” This is the evidence. In the ancient times, the character ya and the characterxia were interchangeable. Thus in the Zuo zhuan, Ziya, a grand master from the state of Qi, isalso named Zixia in the first part of the “Waichu shuo” chapter in the Hanfeizi.

By juxtaposing two passages from the Xunzi , Wang Yinzhi raises the possibility thatya was a synonym for xia . Other Qing scholars such as Li Fusun (1764–1843), ZhuJunsheng (1788–1858), Wang Xianshen , Yu Yue (1821–1907) came to thesame deduction by intertextual comparison of different classical writings and documents.39

The modern scholars Zhu Dongrun (1896–1988) and Sun Zuoyun (1912–1978) have substantiated Wang’s assumption with more documentary evidence,40 and it is

33 Zhou Fagao (1915–1995) (ed.), Jinwen gulin (Hong Kong, 1974–1977), 8: 3954.34 Gao Hongjin , Zhongguo zili (Taipei, 1964), 78.35 See Dushu zazhi [Miscellanies from Reading] (Nanjing, 2000, rpt. Wangshi Jiake 1832

edition), 647.36 Wang Xianqian (1842–1918), Xunzi jijie [Collected Commentaries of the Xunzi] (Shanghai,

1986, rpt. Shijie Shuju, 1930 Zhuzi jicheng edition), 62.37 Wang, Xunzi jijie, 144.38 Wang Xianshen (1859–1922), Hanfeizi jijie [Collected Commentaries of the Hanfeizi]

(Shanghai, 1986, rpt. Shijie Shuju, 1930 Zhuzi jicheng edition), 231, 234.39 See Li Fusun (1764–1843), Zuozhuan Yiwenshi (Xuxiu Siku quanshu , Vol.

144, 7.14a [Shanghai, 1995] rpt. from Jiang Guangxu [1813–1860] (ed.), Biexiazhai congshuedition); Zhu Junsheng (1788–1858), Shuowen tongxun dingsheng , 9.113b (Wuhan, 1983, rpt.from Linxiaoge edition in 1849), 444; Wang Xianshen, Hanfeizi jijie; Yu Yue (1821–1907), Zhu Zipingyi in Zong Fubang , Chen Shinao and Cai Haibo (eds), Guxun huizuan(Beijing, 2003), 460.

40 Zhu’s article “Shi Da, Xiao Ya shuoyi” [A Hypothetical Theory of the “Greater Elegantiae” and“Lesser Elegantiae” Sections in the Book of Songs] was first published in Wenzhe jikan in the 1930s. It wascollected in his Du Shi silun [Four Essays on Reading the Book of Songs] (Changsha, 1940), 63–88, and Shisanbaipian tangu [An Exploration on the Origins of the Book of Songs] (Shanghai, 1981), 47–71. Sun’s

192 Chen Zhi

now generally accepted that ya was initially a phonetic loan character for xia, a geographicalterm referring to the central domain of Zhou.41 Karlgren’s reconstruction of old Chinesenotes that the character xia was pronounced ∗g’a and the character ya as ∗ng’a.42 Othermodern historical linguists have offered similar suggestions.43 Interchangeable use of ya andxia occurs occasionally in pre-Qin literatures, as Zhu Dongrun notes.44

Regarding the origin of the character ya , we know that it is a xingsheng (literally,form-and-sound) character, a phonetic compound, or pictophonograph, with two partsindicating the meaning and pronunciation respectively. Its left part ya , a portrayal of apair of molars in oracle-bone writing, indicates the sound, whereas the right part zhui , apictorial representation of a bird, associates its etymological base with a bird species, mostlikely a crow.45

The oracle inscriptions of the Shang dynasty feature no equivalent to the ya characterused in modern writing. There is a similar absence in Zhou inscriptional writings. Theearliest occurrence of the character ya preserved in paleographic materials is on one ofthe bamboo slips excavated in Shuihudi and ascribed to the Qin dynasty. The ya onthe Shuihudi bamboo slip means “long-term”,46 and thus must be an extended use of itsinitial semantic signification, and hence a comparatively maturated form. Therefore, the useof ya as phonetic loan of xia must have begun during the early phoneticisation of theChinese scripts, i.e. during the transformation from pictographs and ideographs to phoneticcompounds, generally presumed to have been initiated from the time of Anyang periodonwards (ca. 1350–1049 B.C.) and to have gathered pace in the Western Zhou.47

Xu Shen (59–147) comments in his Shuowen jiezi that ya was “a crownative to the place of Chu. It was also called yu or beiju . In the place of Qin itwas called ya . It follows the zhui radical and adopts the sound of ya .”48 The bronzeform of the script ya cast on the Xing hu dated to the thirteenth year of King Xiao

article “Shuo Ya” [On the Elegantiae] was first published in Shi jing yanjiu lunwen ji [CollectedPapers on the Book of Songs] (Peking, 1959), 260–279.

41 William H. Baxter, A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology (Berlin and New York, 1992), 355.42 Bernhard Karlgren, Grammata Serica Recensa, 28–29. For the principles on which Karlgren reconstructs the

pronunciations of the characters in archaic Chinese, see his “Compendium of Phonetics in Ancient and ArchaicChinese”, in BMFEA 26 (1954), 211–367.

43 For example, Wang Li (1900–1986) transcribes xia as hea (Shi jing yundu, 233; 301) and ya ( a characterwhich has the same pronunciation as . According to the Shuowen jiezi , ya adopts the pronunciationof ya ) as ngea (Shi jing yundu, 155; 275), Dong Tonghe (1911–1963), Li Fanggui (1902–1987), YuNaiyong , Li Zhenhua agree in the most important aspects.

44 In the “Tianzhi” chapter of the Mo zi, a passage from one of the “Da Ya” poems is quoted as alluding to the“Da Xia” . Zhu Dongrun, Shi sanbaipian tangu, 65.

45 It is recorded in the Xiao Erya [Lesser Approaching Elegantiae], a Han text, that yawu is acrow different from the species that we usually call wu . See Song Xiangfeng (1776–1860), Xiao Eryaxunzuan [An Annotated Compilation of the Lesser Approaching Elegantiae], in Huang-Qing jingjie xubian

[Supplemented Imperial Qing Edition of the Classics and Their Commentaries] (Taipei, 1965), 6:4574.

46 In the “Falu dawen” [Responses to the Questions on Law and Penalty] text from the ShuihudiQin bamboo slips, a passage reads “Jia yi yabu xiangzhi” [ Jia and yi had never known each

other], suggesting that this ya is synonymous with gu , which means “a long time”. See Shuihudi Qinjian ZhengliXiaozu (ed.), Shuihudi Qinmu zhujian [The Bamboo Slips Excavated from theQin Tomb of Shuihudi] (Peking, 1978), 156.

47 Of the decipherable characters in oracle bone writings, more than twenty per cent are already phoneticcompounds, which suggests a possible beginning of the phoneticisation of the Chinese script in the Anyang period.See Wee Lee Woon, Chinese Writing: Its Origin and Evolution (Macau, 1987), 4, 273–274 n. 2.

48 Xu Shen (58–147), Shuowen jiezi (Beijing, 1985), 76.

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 193

(r. 917–879) appears to be a rather undeveloped pictorial form49 compared to its shape asa radical of the ya on the Qin bamboo slips.50 Considering further the extensive use ofya in its extended meaning of gu in the Spring and Autumn period, I would suggestthat ya as a phonetic loan character for xia emerged approximately in the transitionalperiod of the Western and Eastern Zhou dynasties.

3.2 Xia and Ya: The Magnificence and Elegance of Zhou Culture

Nevertheless, as both characters were associated with the Zong-Zhou ,51 xia and yaalso displayed a considerable range of semantic possibility. Comparing scrupulously the twopassages from the Xunzi quoted by Wang Niansun, we find that xia is more geographicallyrelated to the domain of Zhou during the dynastic transition of Shang and Zhou, whereasya is a cultural term associated with Zong-Zhou society during the Zhou dynasty. Thisdivergence of meaning between xia and ya began in the Zhou period. Terms like “Changxia”

(“Huangyi” of the “Daya”, Mao 241), and “Shixia” (“Shimai” of the“Zhou Song”, Mao 273; “Siwen” of the “Zhou Song”, Mao 275) in the Shi jing referinvariably to Zong-Zhou either in a geographical or political sense, immediately after theestablishment of Zhou and its conquest of Shang. In the Shang shu the terms youxia ,fangxia or quxia also represent the immediate domain of Zhou during the dynasticchange between the Shang and Zhou, especially from the time of King Wen .52 Thedocumentary sources suggest that xia was the character used by the Zhou people to refer to

49 See Liu Shie and Yin Shengping , “Weishi jiazu qingtongqi qun yanjiu”[A Study of the Hoard of Bronzes of the Wei Family], in Yin Shengping (ed.), Xi-Zhou Weishi jiazu Tongqiqunyanjiu (Beijing, 1992), 92–93, 412–413.

50 Rong Geng’s (1894–1983) Jinwen bian (Beijing, 1985), 122–123, also records a number of otherZhou bronzes cast with the pictorial inscription of ya symbolising a pair of grinding molar teeth.

51 “Zong-Zhou” is a term frequently seen in early Chou bronze inscriptions and transmitted documents,referring to the early Chou capital (See Edward Shaughnessy, Sources of Western Chou History [Berkeley and LosAngeles, 1991], 265). It is often mentioned in contrast to Cheng-Zhou , which refers to the capital built underthe reign of King Cheng in a place located at modern Luoyang (See Herrlee G. Creel, The Origins of Statecraftin China [Chicago, 1970], 364, 364 n. 169). Chen Mengjia (1911–1966) presents a different opinion that“Zong-Zhou” initially refers to Qi-Zhou (Located approximately 15 kilometres northeast of modern Qishan

county in Shaanxi [Tan Qixiang, 13]), the ancient capital of the Zhou in pre-dynastic period in the WeiValley (Chen, “Xi-Zhou Tongqi duandai” , in Jinwen lunwen xuan , Wang Mengdan(ed.), (Hong Kong, 1968), 139–141). Nevertheless, the “Zhengyue” (Mao 192) of the Odes contains a passagereading “Hehe Zong-Zhou, Bao Si miezhi” , (Splendid was the Zong-Zhou, but destroyed byBao Si), which clearly refers the capital of the Western Chou as “Zong-Zhou”. In his glosses on the “Yu WuZheng” (Mao 194), Karlgren treats “Zhouzong” as a variant of the “Zong-Zhou” in referring to theWestern Chou capital (Bernhard Karlgren, Glosses on the Book of Odes [Stockholm, 1960], 96). Tang Lan(1901–1979) believes that “Zong-Zhou” refers only to the Haojing (Tan Qixiang (1911–1992) locatesit at 15 kilometres west of modern Xian city [Tan, Zhongguo lishi ditu ji , 17]) and was thus namedduring the reign of King Cheng (Tang, “He Zun Mingwen jieshi” , Tang Lan xiansheng jinwen lunji

[Beijing, 1995], 190). Some modern historians read “Zong-Zhou” as “Zhouzong” suggesting theheartland of the Chou domain, regardless of time. I adopt Chen Mengjia’s and Tang Lan’s identification of Zong-Zhou as both Qi-Zhou and Haojing. Before the erection of Cheng-Zhou, “Zong-Zhou” usually referred to theold capital Qi-Zhou where the ancestral temples were situated. After King Cheng’s construction of Cheng-Zhou,it then referred to Haojing or even Feng . This identification is evident from the fact that most of the bronzeswith the inscriptions “Zong-Zhou” were unearthed from modern Shaanxi province where the heartlands of thepre-dynastic and Western Zhou were located. The dates of these sites also belong to the Western Zhou, for instanceas Shi Song ding and gui , Ke ding, Yu ding, Ban gui, Shu you , Zuoce Hu you, YanHou Zhi ding, Mai and zun .

52 Shang shu zhengyi, 224, 231, 183, 203.

194 Chen Zhi

their place of origin in the Guanzhong area. This geographical association was maintainedover a long period in Zhou history. As late as the late-Spring and Autumn period, Ji Zha,after seeing a performance of musical works of the state of Qin (the “Qin feng” subsectionof the Book of Songs), which then controlled the place of origin of the Zhou, would praisethem and call them “Xiasheng” , literally the sound of Xia.

On the other hand, the term ya in the Spring and Autumn literature refers more to thecultural aspects of Zong-Zhou, such as music, language, rituals and customs, with which wewill deal further later. The different uses of ya and xia can even be seen in Han documents.In the “Yiwen” chapter of the Lunheng , Wang Chong mentions that ZhaoTuo , who lived among the southern Yue people, “spreading out his legs, and wearinghis hair in a tuft upon a frame, had taken to the uncivilised fashions of the Yue, abandoningthe cap and the girdle. Lu Jia persuaded him [by offering him] the costume of thexia and manners of the ya, [and] finally turned Zhao’s heart back to admire the culture ofthe central states”53 , , , , .54 The context of thispassage demonstrates not only the similarities between ya and xia in referring to the centralstates, but also their different associations, showing that the words indicate ritual customsand a regional costume style respectively. Moreover, in the Zuo zhuan and the Guoyu,recited poems from the “Da ya” and “Xiao ya” sections were frequently prefaced by thephrase “Zhoushi yue” (The poems of the Zhou read).55 In the Lunyu, documents andliterature arising or re-edited from the Zong-Zhou, such as the Shi jing, the Shang shu andthe books of etiquette, were also mentioned as representatives of the so-called yayan .56

In summary, xia is generally a geographical and political term associated with the Zong-Zhou culture, and ya is a term affiliated to xia, but containing some semantic alteration.Ya is frequently used to indicate the cultural and institutional attributes of the Zong-Zhou,especially the cultural renovations and institutional changes made by the Zhou rulers afterthe establishment of the Zhou dynasty.

The pertinence of ya to the Zong-Zhou culture meant that ya represented manifoldperfection in the minds of the later Zhou people. This is expressed clearly in the Xunzi: “Ifone’s manner and appearance, bearing and deportment, entrances and exits, and one’s rapidsteps proceed according to ritual principles, they will be cultured. But when they do not, theywill seem arrogant and obstinate, depraved and perverted, utterly commonplace and savage”57

, , .58 Contrary rhetorically to thenotions of “estrangement”, “obstinacy”, “depravity”, “perversion”, “mundaneness” and“savageness”, ya in the mind of Xun Zi has a variety of attributes including “standardness”,“orthodoxy”, “rectification”, “refinement” and “elegance”. In another chapter of theXunzi, the author further emphasises the Grand Master’s duties in “preparing modelpieces and instructions, examining odes and note pitch, proscribing lewd tones, andfollowing the appropriate season in his preparations so as to keep barbarian customs

53 Cf. Alfred Forke, Lun Heng (rpt. New York, 1962), Part 1, 124–125.54 Liu Pansui (1899–?) (ed.), Lun heng jiaoshi (Peking, 1990), 642–643.55 Zhu, Shi sanbai pian tangu, 65.56 Lun yu zhushu [Commentaries on the Analects of Confucius], 7.26, in Shisanjing zhushu, 2482.57 John Knoblock, Xunzi: a Translation and Study of the Complete Works (Stanford, 1988), 1: 152–153.58 See the “Xiushen” chapter, Wang, Xunzi jijie, 23.

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 195

and unorthodox music from presuming to bring confusion to the ‘elegant standard’”59

, ( ) , , , . In the realm of music, therefore,ya was conceptualised as diametrically opposed to yi (barbarism), su (vulgarity) and xie

(depravity or perverseness), and synonymous with zheng (righteousness or correctness),elegance and magnificence. The character ya thus accommodates more meanings thanare generally assumed in the common translation of “elegantiae”. John Knoblock, in histranslation of the Xunzi, has noted the etymological relationship between ya and xia,commenting that “the term xia was etymologically related to ya ‘elegant’, and among theCentral States ‘elegant’ always implied the ‘standards of Xia’, or those of the Chinese properlyspeaking, from the vantage of the inhabitants of the old Central States.” Nevertheless, indiscussing the reasons why Xun Zi mentions ya, Knoblock assumes that Xun Zi “contraststhe practices of the Central States, who were heirs of the Xia traditions, with the customsand standards of states like Chu and Yue, who were not. Xia referred to the thousandyear-plus history of the Chinese people from the founding of the Xia dynasty to the timeof Confucius, Mo Di, Mencius, and Xun Zi. These Central States looked back on a pastof great renown and power that contrasted with the present age, which was dominated byupstart states beyond the pale.” Here Knoblock may have overstated the conception of thexia and ya in terms of their origin and function in the minds of the Zhou people. In thethousand year-plus history of the three dynasties, the Xia tradition did not continue withouta break down to the time of Confucius and Xun Zi. Rather, the Xia tradition emerged fromthe Zhou rulers’ assertion of their legitimacy in early Zhou times to enhance their controlof conquered people ideologically and politically. The conception of Xia as referring toZhou culture and the Zong-Zhou realm then continued through the entire Western Zhou.The notion of ya, on the other hand, emerged from a re-assertion of the Zhou culture bythe Zhou elites when forced to leave their heartland, which was also the centre of the Xiaculture. It was always associated with the Zong-Zhou rather than the Xia culture in themind of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States philosophers.

4 The demarcation of the Xia and Yi and the transition from Westernto Eastern Zhou

4.1 Xia and Yi in the Context of the Spring and Autumn Period

The implementation of Zhou control over the states and substates outside Guanzhongmay not have been as firm and effective as is generally assumed by modern scholars. Theconception of Huaxia carried different connotations in the Western Zhou period fromthose given in Spring and Autumn philological sources. In Western Zhou Civilization, Hsuand Linduff write,

“The strategic location of the eastern capital at Cheng-chou [Cheng-Zhou] and theallegiance of the feudal states of the Chi [ Ji] and the Chiang [ Jiang] on the eastern plainprovided a solid foundation for Chou [Zhou] sovereignty. The acceptance and blending of thenative populations of the eastern regions with the Chou [Zhou] were the basis for a united and

59 Knoblock, Xunzi, 2: 106; 3: 82.

196 Chen Zhi

stable cultural and political system. The chief inhabitants of these areas, who identified themselvesas the Hua-Hsia [Huaxia] , were the mainstay of the “Chinese” population. This identificationwas not apparent during the Shang period, for their focus was on the Great City Shang, a politicalrather than a cultural identity. The term Hua-Hsia [Huaxia], however, was associated with anagglomerated cultural tradition including the traditions of past and current Chinese populations.A conglomerate population was what the Chou [Zhou] accumulated through conquest; theirgoal when they established the dynasty was to find the proper political, philosophical, and socialapparatus to manage this disparate population.”60

Hsu and Linduff have here successfully identified the Shang and Zhou cultural differencesin terms of the socio-cultural integrity embodied in the term Huaxia, which provideda culturally oriented ethnic identity. This differs from the Shang concept of the “DayiShang” (Great State/City Shang), which referred to the centre of Shang sovereignty.Nevertheless, in order to support this proposition, Hsu and Linduff may have overstated thedegree of distinctness between the Shang and the Zhou by assigning too early a date to theconceptualisation of Huaxia .

In Western Zhou times, especially in the first half of the Western Zhou reign, therelationships between the Zhou centre and its subject states and substates, especially thosein the central plains, were not dramatically different from the kind of political ties forgedunder the Shang. The concept of Xia found in Western Zhou literature was different fromthat of the Spring and Autumn period, in that it referred socially merely to Zhou elites, andgeographically merely to the Guanzhong area, where the centre of Zhou sovereignty wassituated.

In understanding this point, we should note that the differentiation between Xia andYi appears clearly only in the literature of Eastern Zhou and thereafter.1) The emperor said, “Gaoyao, the barbarians of Man and Yi disturb [our states of ] Xia.There are also robbers, murderers, insurgents, and traitors.”61

: , , (“Shundian” of the Shang shu)2) Those distant people should not interfere with the affairs of our Xia, and those barbarians[Yi] must not be permitted to create disorder among our flowery States.62

, (Ding 10 of the Zuo zhuan)3) Confucius said, “The barbarians of Yi and Di have their lords; notwithstanding [this],they are not as [cultured as] the states of Xia without lords.”

: , (“Bayi” of the Lunyu)4) I have heard only about the sinicisation of barbarians, but never about Chinese beingtransformed into barbarians.

, (“Teng Wen Gong” of the Mengzi )“Xia”, like the term zhongguo (central states), referred to the central states in the

Spring and Autumn period, but with the maturation of the ethnic identity of the Chinese

60 Hsu and Linduff, Western Chou Civilization, 123.61 Modified from Legge, Chinese Classics, 3: 44.62 Modified from Legge, Chinese Classics, 5: 777.

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 197

people, it later took on the meaning of “Chinese-ness”. Creel points out that

“the fundamental criterion of ‘Chinese-ness’, anciently and throughout history, has been cultural.The Chinese have had a particular way of life, a particular complex of usages, sometimescharacterised as li (ritual). Groups that conformed to this way of life were, generally, consideredChinese . . . It was the process of acculturation, transforming barbarians into Chinese, that createdthe great bulk of the Chinese people.”63

The ideas of Xia and Zhongguo went through what Creel defines as a process of acculturationand transformation that in turn transformed the boundary between barbarians and Chinese.The canonical texts of the Zhou frequently assert a differentiation between Xia (or zhongguo),meaning those states in the central plains subject to the Zhou sovereign, and Yi , Di ,Rong , and Man , all of which could be used generally to refer to non-Chinese ethnicgroups. Among these terms designating foreignness, yi seems to be more generally used indifferent compounds. In the Chinese classics, the term yi sometimes denotes genericallybarbarians from all directions, such as Sanyi [three yi], Siyi [four yi], Jiuyi [nineyi], Dongyi [Eastern yi], Xiyi [Western yi], Nanyi [Southern yi] and Beiyi[Northern yi], and sometimes specifically ethnic groups in the surrounding areas, such asHuaiyi [yi by the Huai River], the states of Chu , Qin , Zhu , Ju , Wu , Lai

, Xu and other clans, tribes or ethnic groups. It is worth noting that the same classicsin other places treat some of these barbarian yi groups as Chinese. The scribes in the centralstates, such as the author or authors of the Zuo zhuan and the Guoyu, repeatedly exhort theirreaders “not [to] allow barbarian states or groups to interfere with or take precedence overthe central states, or take over the direction of our meetings”. However, when Fuchai ,the king of Wu, called and directed a meeting of the central states at Huangchi , thescribes wrote, “Wu has made progress”. The author of the Guliang Commentary writes,

“Woo (Wu) was a barbarian state, where they cut their hair short and tattooed their bodies. [Itsrulers now] wished, by means of the ceremonies of Lu and the power of Jin , to bring aboutthe wearing of both cap and garment. They contributed [also some] of the products of the Stateto do honour to the king approved by Heaven.” At this point, even Confucius himself said,“Great was Fuchai”.64

The author of the Gongyang Commentary went as far to accuse the central states of beingbarbarian, since they did not follow Fuchai in paying the courteous respect properly givenby a vassal state to the King of Zhou.65

4.2 Xia and Zhongguo in the Context of the Western Zhou Period

Throughout the Western Zhou period, as noted by Creel, there are few terms, includingXia, which, defined accurately, were extensively used in referring to the central states or to“Chinese-ness”.66 The character Xia in the early Zhou documentary sources, such as some

63 Herrlee Glessner Creel, The Origins of Statecraft in China (Chicago, 1970), 197.64 Legge, Chinese Classics, 5: 81.65 Chunqiu Gongyang zhuan zhushu [Commentaries on the Gongyang Commentary of Chunqiu],

24.133, in Shisanjing zhushu, 2327.66 Creel, Origins of Statecraft, 196, note 1.

198 Chen Zhi

of the early chapters of the Shang shu and early poems of the Shi jing (Mao 241, 271, 275),invariably denotes the immediate domain of the Western Zhou in Guanzhong where theZhou clan originated and Zhou power was centred. In these two classics, the term Zhongguo,on the other hand, would sometimes be more appropriately translated as if it were written inreverse order, i.e. as guozhong [In the city or capital] (“Zicai” chapter of the Shangshu and Mao 253, 255, 257).67 In these contexts, Karlgren translates Zhongguo as “CentralKingdom”, Legge and Waley as “Middle Kingdom”, and Creel as “the central states”. Theterm Zhongguo denoted “central states or central kingdom”, but not the central states ofthe Zhou kingdom. When King Wu of Zhou succeeded in conquering the State of Shang,he condemned King Zhou of Shang, “Alas! you [sovereign of] Yin-Shang,/You showa strong fierce will in the Zhongguo,/And consider the contracting of enmities a proof ofvirtue.”68 The inscriptions on the He zun , which is dated to the reign of King Cheng(r.1042/35–1006), state, “King Wu of Zhou had already conquered the great state/cityShang. He reported his victory to Heaven at the courtyard: I now preside over Zhongguo”

, : ( ). The term Zhongguo here apparently refers tothe immediate domain of Shang. This Zhongguo is also called Dongguo [eastern state],69

Dongtu [eastern land],70 Shangkuo ,71 or Yinkuo in early documents and bronzeinscriptions so as to differentiate from Xitu and Quxia .

Guo in the Western Zhou bronze inscriptions and some Eastern Zhou literature normallyrefers to one of the capitals and its environs.72 The opening lines of each stanza of the poem“Minlao” (Mao 253) in the “Da ya” section read,

The people indeed are heavily burdened,But perhaps a little ease may be got for them.Let us cherish this capital region,To secure the repose of the four quarters of it.

. . . . . .

The people indeed are heavily burdened,But perhaps a little rest may be got for them.Let us cherish this capital region,And make it a gathering-place for the people

. . . . . .

The people indeed are heavily burdened,But perhaps a little relief may be got for them.Let us cherish this capital region,

67 Ibid.68 The orginal text of this passage reads: “ ! , ” from the “Dang”

of Daya section of the Shi jing. See Maoshi zhengyi, 553. The English translation is from Legge, The Chinese Classics,4: 507.

69 See Lu Tong you inscriptions.70 Shangshu zhengyi, 14.91, in Shisanjing zhushu, 203.71 “Shang Shi” chapter of Yi Zhou shu and “Zhou Benji” of the Shi ji.72 In contrast to guo, designating the capital, yi usually referred to other cities or city states. Ye designated

the rural areas. Qian Zongfan , “Guoren shishuo” [A Tentative Explanation of the Kuo-jen], inXi-Zhou shi lunwen ji, 584–596. See also Hsu and Linduff, Western Chou Civilization, 268.

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 199

To secure the repose of the States in the four quarters.. . . . . .

The people indeed are heavily burdened,But perhaps a little repose may be got for them.Let us cherish this capital region,That the sorrow of the people may be dispelled.

. . . . . .

The people indeed are heavily burdened,But perhaps a little tranquillity may be got for them.Let us cherish this capital region,That it may not everywhere suffer such wounds.73

. . . . . .

If we juxtapose the third and fourth lines of each stanza, it becomes clear that zhongguois equivalent to jingshi and refers to the immediate domain, rather than to other statesor kingdoms. The “Minlao” (Mao 253) and the Shang shu passages mentioned above referspecifically to the central domain of the Zhou, whereas in “Dang” (Mao 255) the wordrefers specifically to the immediate domain of Shang. In Western Zhou times, therefore, theterm Zhongguo designated the central region of the Kingdom, wherever it was located, andit had not yet become a proper noun indicating the Central States, as it was later used inSpring and Autumn period literature. The geographical conception of the Western Zhoumind, therefore, divided the territory of Zhou into three major regions as shown in thefollowing graphic representation:

73 Modified slightly from Legge, Chinese Classics, 4: 495–498.

200 Chen Zhi

As for the origin of the term zhongguo, paleographers such as Hu Houxuan traces it backto a Shang geographical designation of the capital of the Shang – the so called zhong-Shang

. The term zhong-Shang occurs a few times in oracle bone writings:

1 Jiaguwen Heji [hereafter Heji] (Bejing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1982): 07837

not at Zhong-Shang2 Heji: 20453

. , ,

Crack-making on the day of ?-si, the King divined at Zhong-Shang and called upon [others]to defend against the enemy state.3 Heji: 20540

, ,

Crack-making on the day of jiyou, divination was performed about an inspection trip of theKing at Zhong-Shang.4 Heji: 20587

, 74

Crack-making on the day of gengchen,5 Heji: 20650

,

Crack-making on the day of wuyin, the King divined on yearly production at Zhong-Shang.The tenth month.

Hu Houxuan believes that the term zhong-Shang, predating the term zhongguo, wasemployed by the Shang people to refer to the capital region and its vicinities.75

4.3 The Yi People in Western Zhou Society

Concordant with this observation, Western Zhou bronze inscriptions also differentiateresidents of Zhou into a pair of opposing categories. Li Ling has noted that the contrastbetween the “Wangren” and yi in Western Zhou bronze writings distinguishes thepeople of Zhou from other ethnic groups.76 Western Zhou bronzes preserve the namesof some of these yi groups (excluding the well-known Huaiyi ,77 Nanyi ,78 and

74 This character is unknown. The compilers of the Jiagu wenzi gulin (Beijing, 1996, 1046) assumethat it is a name of the diviner. In the context of Heji 20587, however, it is more likely that this character wasemployed as a verb.

75 Hu Houxuan (1911–1995), “Lun Wufang guannian ji Zhongguo chengwei de qiyuan”[On the Concepts of Five Directions and the Origin of the Concept of China], Jiaguxue

Shangshi luncong chuji (Shanghai, 1944), 383–388.76 Li Ling , “Xi-Zhou jinwen zhong de zhiguan xitong” [The official system as reflected

in the Western Zhou bronze inscriptions], in Wu Rongzeng (ed.), Jinxin ji: Zhang Zhenlang xiansheng bashishouqing lunwen ji : (Peking, 1996), 210–211.

77 Inscriptions on Yu gui , Zengbo Lin lu gu , Liaosheng xu , Jufu lu xu , LuTong zun , Xijia pan , Yu ding and others.

78 Inscriptions on Wuji gui, Shi Mi gui, Zong-Zhou zhong , Jing you and others.

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 201

Dongyi )79 as Qiyi , Zhouyi ,80 Ximen Yi ,81 Boyi ,82 Qinyi ,83

Jingyi ,84 Youshen Yi ,85 and the collective noun zhuyi .86 These yi are notnecessarily identical with the numerous yi in Eastern Zhou literature. On the contrary,except for the Huaiyi, Dongyi and Nanyi, these yi all seem to have vanished from thehistorical and inscriptional accounts of the Eastern Zhou. The inscriptions on the Xungui and Shiyou gui reveal that all these yi people served the Zhou court directly in thecategory of yiren in the posts of “Tiger-guards”:

: : · · · · 87

The King called Shi Qiang to record the edict to Shi You: “Be in charge of your hereditaryduties, governing these city people [serving as] Tiger-guards: Ximen Yi, Boyi, Qinyi, Jingyi,Youshen Yi . . . . . .

, : ; : ; :· · · · 88

Now I order you to take charge of governing these city people, first the Tiger-guards and thenthe servants: the Ximen Yi, the Qinyi, the Jingyi, the Boyi; the shiling cexin (a type of laborerin military service), Xi-hua Yi, Youshen Yi, Yu people; the Cheng-Zhou Zouya: the peoplecamped at Qin, those who have surrendered and the yi of fu . . . . . .

Yiren here refers to people who lived in cities including those cities outside the Zhoucapitals.89 The term yi in the inscriptions does not necessarily refer to people of physicallydifferent ethnic groups residing in areas outside Zhou territory. The inscriptions on thesetwo vessels and the Shi Mi gui classify certain groups of people residing in places withinthe region of Zhou control, such as the states of Qi , Jing , Qin and Zhou ,90 as yi.In his studies of the inscriptions on the Ling yi , Tang Lan identified Jing both asthe Jingshi or Jing taishi , a palace at Haojing , and as Jinggong , a capitalor royal palace located at Cheng-Zhou built by the Duke of Zhou after his conquest ofthe Shang people.91 Jing as it appears in the Shi jing poems sometimes refers to the palace at

79 Inscriptions on Zong-Zhou zhong, Xiaochen Zi gui, Yu ding and so forth.80 Shi Mi gui.81 Shi You gui and Xun gui.82 Shi You gui and Xun gui.83 Shi You gui and Xun gui.84 Shi You gui and Xun gui.85 Shi You gui.86 Nengyuan zhong and bo .87 Luo Zhenyu (1866–1940) (ed.), Sandai jijin wencun [The Remaining Inscriptions on

Bronzes of the Three Dynasties] (Shanghai, 1937. Rpt. Peking, 1983), Sandai jijin wencun, 9.21.2–9.24.1.88 Shang Zhiru , “Luelun Xi-Zhou jinwen zhong de Boyi wenti” [A Brief

Discussion of the Boyi Issue in the Western Zhou Bronze Inscriptions], in Xi-Zhou shi lunwen ji, 231–232.89 Shirakawa equates yiren with guoren , referring to citizens of cities. However, guo and yi differ in Zhou

literature in that the former designates the Zhou capitals and their satellite cities in the central domain, and thelatter refers in a broad sense to cities. The usage of yiren and guoren is thus related to the distinction between yi andguo. See also Hsu and Linduff, Western Chou Civilization, 268–270, for studies related to this question.

90 Archeologists generally identify zhou with Zhou , a state with Jiang as its royal xing, located at modernAnqiu in Shandong (See Li Xueqin, Zouchu yigu shidai [Shenyang, 1997], 173). Wang Zijin

, however, suggests zhou is synonymous with zhou in Shang and Zhou inscriptional writings. See WangZijin, “Shuo zhou zhou tongyi jianlun Zhouren jingying de zaoqi hangyun” , inXi-Zhou shi lunwen ji, 545–556.

91 The place name Jing is often found in the Shi jing poems. Tang Lan suggests that Jinggong was anancestral temple of the Zhou founding fathers (See Tang, “Zuoce Ling zun ji Zuo-ce Ling yi ming kaoshi”

202 Chen Zhi

Haojing, and sometimes to the city at Cheng-Zhou or Wangcheng .92 Therefore, theterm Jingyi suggests that a group, or groups, of inhabitants in these capitals were perceivedby the Zhou people as alien. The inscriptions on the Shih Xun gui also show that all thesedifferent yi possessed a social status similar to xiangren , people captured from other statesor ethnicities, or their descendants. The inscriptions on the Jing gui93 show that these yipeople also served as palace guards or servants.

The grounds for distinction between Xia and yi in the Western Zhou mind, therefore,differ from that of Eastern Zhou, in that the former is an ethnically and socially orienteddistinction, and the latter is more of a geographical and cultural distinction. The Zhouconquest of Shang resulted in a rearrangement of the hierarchical structure of society. Thestandards by which people and areas were classified in the Western Zhou were multiple. Asfar as can be inferred from the bronze inscriptions and documentary sources, the followingtypes of classificatory systems existed:

1) Geographical and societal: city vs. countryguo , yi , bang vs. Ye , dian ( )guoren , yiren , bangren vs. Yeren , dianren2) Ethnic and societal: the Zhou vs. otherswangren ,94 Zhouren vs. yi , yichenwangren , Zhouren vs. Yinren , shu-Yin ,

Yin duoshi3) Political: capitals vs. other cities or state capitalsguoren vs. yiren

The concept of yi, therefore, carried two semantic meanings in the Western Zhou mind.As a proper noun, yi was used to designate specifically or collectively certain groups of peoplein the remote lands of the east and south, such as Dongyi, Nanyi, Huaiyi, and Nan-Huaiyi,as shown on Zhou bronzes, or sometimes to designate the Yifang (Heji, 33038, 33039) orsimply yi (Hoji, 6457, 6458, 6459, 6460, 6461, 6462), an ethnic group which had battledagainst Shang since the time of Wuding . As an improper or generic designation, itreferred to conquered groups during the transitional period from Shang to Zhou and duringa large part of Western Zhou.

This partial ethnocentrism intermingled with the regionalism of the ruling class of Zhoubecame institutionalised in the highly stratified Zhou society. In the Western Zhou society,

, Guoxue jikan 4 [1]: 24–25; see also his “He zun mingwen jieshi” ,Wen wu , 1, 1976: 63).

92 Chen Mengjia locates the Jinggong at Wangcheng, the most westerly of the twin cities (Cheng-Zhou andWangcheng) built in the area of Luo, modern Luoyang in Henan (See Tan, Zhongguo lishi ditu ji, 1, pp. 17–18). SeeChen, “Xi-Zhou tongqi duandai”, 121–122.

93 The Inscription on the Jing gui reads:

,On the day of ding-mao, the King ordered Jing to supervise archery at the Office of Learning. Xiaozi, manyfu, many minor servants and many yi servants learned archery.

Shirakawa Shizuka reads the term fu as an official title and the fu in the Xun gui as a type of soldier(See Shirakawa, Kinbun tsushaku [Hakutsuru bijutsukanshi (Kobe, 1962-1984)], 16.84.127;31:182.705). A comparison of these inscriptions shows that fu refers a type of military soldier serving as a palaceguard, and yi indicates the social status in terms of origin of such soldiers.

94 Inscriptions on the Yi-hou Ze gui, and Hu ding.

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 203

Yeren or dianren ( ) were mostly farmers or farm labourers. The city civilians( guoren in a capital or major city; yiren or bangren in a city or a regional centre)were composed of wangren , Yinren , and yiren . People in the country had noright to enter the civil service, nor were they allowed to carry out the ritual codes of Zhou.These ritual codes were never extended to the common people.

4.4 The Transition of the Concept of Xia

Xia, as discussed above in detail, was a concept created by the early Zhou elites to seekethnic integrity, historical legitimacy and cultural dignity in their confrontation with others,especially the Shang. The conceptual demarcation between yi and Xia in the Western Zhoudrew a line only between the subjugated and their subjugators, non-Zhou people and Zhoupeople, people from outside the Xia areas (Zong-Zhou and its vicinities) and those fromXia.

The city of Zong-Zhou began to decline when King You failed to defend it against thenorthern rong tribes in Kuan-chung. He was killed by these northern tribes in 771 B.C. Toavoid a similar fate, his successor King Ping , emigrated from Guanzhong and resettled inLoyi , modern Luoyang, the heartland of the central states. At this point, the notion ofXia, in its geographical sense, underwent a substantial change. In its broad sense, Xia referrednot only to the immediate domain of the Zhou house, but also to those subject states ofthe Zhou widely distributed over the central plains during the Eastern Zhou times. This isshown by a bronze bell ascribed to the a duke of Ju, on which the duke claims his dukedomas Xiadong ,95 and a bronze lei attributed to an earl of Pi with inscriptions in which hestyles himself “Xiazi” (a son of Xia).96 These two states surely belonged to the easternyi groups according to conventional categorisation. Sometimes xia was also written zhuxia

.97 The term zhuxia did not emerge, however, until the movement of the Zhou capitalfrom Haojing to Luoyi .

On the other hand, Xia in its narrow sense defined the central domain of the WesternZhou court, which was located within the modern Guanzhong area. This definition of xiaoccurs mostly among the earliest texts related to the pre-dynastic founding era of the Zhouand the early part of the Western Zhou. Nonetheless, the infrequent but persistent use of thisdesignation lasted for centuries. In the middle of Eastern Zhou, when Ji Zha attended theritual musical performance of the Shi jing songs at the court of the state of Lu , he calledthe airs of Qin “Xiasheng” (music or tones of Xia). When the state of Qin presidedover Guanzhong after the royal house of Zhou moved to the east, it indubitably also used

95 Inscriptions on the Ju Zi Ping zhong describe that the sound of the bell spread over all Xiadong. Toread “Xiadong” as “dong-Xia” would be a likely possibility. The former reading identifies the central states asXia, and the latter identifies the state of Ju itself as Xia.

96 Wang Xiantang identifies this state as one of the Eastern Yi states, its feudal rulers surnamed Ren ,and sharing the same ancestry with the ducal family of the State of Xue . See “Bei Bo lei kao” , Kaoguxuebao 32 (2, 1963), 59–64.

97 The term zhu-Xia occurs frequently in Eastern Zhou literature. It occurs five times in Zuozhuan (Yang,Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhu, 256, 351, 392, 1002, 1716), five times in Guoyu (Guoyu, 193, 247, 255, 532, 595), onetime in Gongyangzhuan (Chunqiu Gongyang zhuan zhushu, 17.99, in Shisanjing zhushu, 2293), Lunyu LiuBaonan , Lunyu zhengyi [Shanghai, 1986, rpt. Shijie Shuju, 1930 Zhuzi jicheng edition], 45)and in other pre-Qin philosophical works.

204 Chen Zhi

the name of Xia as a geographical designation inherited from the Zong-Zhou as late as thereign of the First of Emperor of Qin.98

5 Conclusion

Modern historians are inclined to divide Western Zhou society into two major classes -common peasantry and patricians (nobles) – according to the professions and social strata ofthe people under the Zhou reign.99 This class taxonomy according to professional hierarchy,however, may obliterate the complexity of other groupings of people in the societal realityof Western Zhou. The great conquest of Zhou resulted in a dramatic perturbation ofpeople of different regions, clans and ethnicities. The reorganisation of the societal structure,thus, consisted of more than adding a ruling class, that is the Zhou people, to regionalcommunities. Large-scale enfeoffments (not only enfeoffments by the paramount leader, theKing of Zhou, but also by vassal lords [zhuhou ] and their noble assistants [daifu ]),military colonisation, voluntary immigration and strategic relocation of people of differentregions and ethnicities also contributed to the reconstitution of the regional societies.

Thus, categorisation of people based on their geographical and ethnographical attributesoccurs in Zhou literature and inscriptions. A new reading of the Western Zhou bronzeinscriptions and reliable Western Zhou documents suggests that there were three majorcategories of people during the Western Zhou: people of Zhou, people of Shang and peopleof yi (neither Zhou nor Shang). The Zhou rulers treated the Shang remnant elites withcourtesy and tolerance,100 whereas they treated yi people with less respect. The Shang elitescontinued to serve the Zhou rulers or the courts of provincial principalities in positionssuch as those of zhu (priest), zong (ritual official), bu (diviner), shi (scribe), andother civilian posts, owing to their cultural legacy and education. They also served the newdynasty as military chiefs or commanders. A number of members of the Shang elite andtroops remained together in coherent groups and were sent by the new rulers on expeditionsagainst Shang loyalists and other non-Zhou people.101 People of Yi, on the other hand,participated in Zhou social organisation with a lower status. As reflected in the bronzeinscriptions, the yi people served the Zhou primarily as infantry soldiers, palace guards,

98 The Qin bamboo slips found at Shuihudi, which can be dated to the thirtieth year of the First Emperor ofQin (221–209 B.C.), have a passage stating:

, ( ) ,For those who had claimed to be subject to our state, but wanted to leave Xia due to their discontentmentwith the leaders of Qin, their requests should not be allowed. What is Xia? If [the area] they want to leavebelongs to the realm of Qin, it is called Xia.

Obviously, the Qin writers of this legal documents identified Xia geographically with the realm of Qin, wherethe Western Zhou headquarters had been situated. See Shuihudi Qinjian Zhengli Xiaozu(ed.), Shuihudi Qinmu zhujian (Beijing, 1978), 226.

99 Henri Maspero, “Society in Ancient China”, in China in Antiquity (La Chine Antique), trans. Frank A.Kierman, Jr. (Amherst, 1978), 67–92.

100 See Du Zhengsheng , “Luelun Yin yimin de zaoyu yu diwei” (The Status ofthe Survivors of the Yin Dynasty after the Zhou Conquest), in Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo jikan

, 53 (December, 1982).101 For example, the so-called Yin bashi (Eight Divisions of Shang) were eight divisions formed by the

Shang people, and retained their establishment and designation throughout the Western Zhou period.

From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia 205

servants, slave labourers, and were treated as equivalent to those who had surrendered andbeen captured.

The destruction of Zong-Zhou and the eastbound movement of the Zhou elites changedthe conceptual boundary between the Xia and Yi. The signification of xia as well as thatof ya was now transferred from the paramount leader of Zong-Zhou down to the royalcourt at Luoyi , and further down to the courts of feudal lords. The area of the CentralPlains replaced Guanzhong as the political and economic mainstay of the Zhou kingdom.Xia or Ya became a label describing the new culture and rites centred round a new rulingclass consisting of the Zong-Zhou elite and the gentry class at the regional courts in theCentral Plains. The constant threat from the xianyun , rong and di tribes from thenorth, and the steady new threats from the Chu in the south and Qin in the westproduced a sense of apprehension throughout the states in the Central Plains. Centuriesof intermittent war between these central states and peripheral states led to the eventualsinicisation of the barbarians. However, during the Spring and Autumn period, sinicisationalso meant ritualisation, that is the adoption of the rites and customs of the central states andthe claim to be subject to the sovereignty of the Zhou court. The conceptual adaptation ofXia from a Zhou ethnic identity to Zhu-Xia, a cultural or ritual identity inclusive of otherclans and ethnic groups, had a great influence in the long term in Chinese history. Theintegration of Chinese culture, and the assimilation of lateral groups has been a commonfeature since this time, notwithstanding of the infusion of foreign blood.

Through an inter-textual study of inscriptional writings and transmitted documents,this article has attempted to prove that the conceptions of Huaxia and Zhongguo carrieddifferent connotations in the Western Zhou period from those defined in Spring and Autumnphilological sources. This conceptual transition of the boundary between Xia and Yi duringthe Western and Eastern Zhou questions a teleology that posits that the concept of China or“Chinese-ness” has always existed within Chinese civilisation itself. From the analysis above,we may deduce that the conceptual demarcation between xia and yi in the Western Zhoumind was not precisely a geographical and ethnic distinction. The descriptors Xia, Yi andYin were used to categorise people of different social status and ethnic origins in the newlyorganised and thereby stratified society of Zhou. The concept of “Chinese-ness” becameattached to Zhou culture only in the early Spring and Autumn period when Zhou powerwas on the wane. It therefore far postdates the actual formation of the ethnographical traitsof the Chinese, which can be seen from the shared characteristics of a number of Neolithicarchaeological sites.