CHANGING IDEAS ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF TIANXIA (Middle KINGDOM) IN PRE-IMPERIAL DISCOURSE 1

The article is devoted to one of the key concepts of the ancient Chinese worldview - the concept of the Middle Kingdom (Tianxia). Over the centuries, the specific content of the concept has changed, covering territories with wider or narrower borders, including more or less regions and state entities. The change in meaning could depend on the political situation and the aspirations of certain participants in the historical process. The extreme flexibility of the concept of the Middle Kingdom clearly shows how rich, non-linear and polycentric the construction of philosophical and ideological discourse in pre-Imperial China in the last centuries of the Zhou era was.

Keywords: China, Middle Kingdom, state, history, philosophy, ideology, Zhou, Qin.

THE TIANXIA CONCEPT AND ITS CONCEPTUAL EVOLUTION IN PRE-IMPERIAL-CHINA

This article deals with one of the most important concepts in early Chinese political discourse - Tianxia (Under Heaven). Over the centuries the concrete meaning of this term underwent considerable changes, as it referred to broader or narrower diapason on territory, including more or less areas and polities. Changes of sense often reflected changing political situation or distinct desires of historical actors. The remarkable flexibility of the Tianxia concept seonstrates how hich, nonlinear and polycentric was a formation of philosophical and ideological discourse in pre-imperial China of the last centuries of Zhou era.

Keywords: China, Ail-under Heaven, state, history, philosophy, ideology, Zhou, Qin.

More than half a century ago, Joseph Levenson in his research defined the traditional concept of tianxia ("world", "Middle Kingdom") as a regime of value ("system of normative values", or" rule of norm"), meaning that first of all this concept belongs to the sphere of culture, in contrast to the term go ("state", "kingdom", "principality"), which means, in turn, a political unit [Levenson, 1952, p. 447-451] 2. The essence of this contrast was as follows: being a supra-political concept, tienxia turned out to be a more comprehensive and fundamental concept than the politically controlled "Middle Principalities" of Zhongguo .At the same time, however, modern Chinese explanatory dictionaries, such as Tsy Hai or Han Yu da tsy dian , differ from Levenson in their interpretation of the concept of Tienxia. According to their explanations, it had a political meaning,

PINES Yuri-PhD / PhD, Professor, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, yuri. pines@mail.huji.ac.il.

Yuri PINES, professor, vice-dean, Faculty of Humanities, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

1 An earlier version of this paper, based on a paper presented at the 8th EACS Conference in Moscow (August 2002), in the section "Geographical Concept of the Pre-modern China", was published in Oriens Extremus 43 (2002). I am grateful to the participants of the conference for their valuable comments, as well as to Andrey Gomulin for his help in translating it. The Russian reprint was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant N 240/15) and Michael William Lipson Chair in Chinese Studies.

2 Later, Peter Bol defined the distinction between tianxia and guo as "society" versus " state "(or" dynasty") [Bol, 1993, p. 140].

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more or less identical to the concept of Zhongguo, while the use of the expression Tianxia in the sense of " the whole world "(i.e., including the land outside of Zhongguo) was secondary. This discrepancy in interpretation is more than just semantics: at least from Levenson's point of view, the distinction between Tienxia and Guo had far-reaching consequences that influenced the difficult process of China's integration into the modern political structure of nation-states (Levenson, 1952, p. 447-451).

Levenson's conclusions are based on an analysis of late Imperial discourse. In this article, which in a certain sense complements his research, I will trace the origin and meaning of the term Tianxia in earlier texts. I will try, first, to check whether the comparison of cultural and political meanings of this term analyzed by Levenson can also be found in pre-Imperial texts, and secondly, to find out where, according to pre-Imperial texts, the borders of Tienxia passed, in particular, whether Tienxia was limited to the "Middle Principalities", i.e., the Zhou space .

Before proceeding directly to the analysis, one essential detail should be noted: unlike many other concepts in the ancient Chinese philosophical and political discourse, the exact meaning of Tianxia was never the subject of special discussion by pre-Imperial politicians and thinkers. Moreover, its use in early texts was relatively free and more closely resembled the vocabulary of modern politicians and journalists with expressions like "nation", "humanity" or "world" rather than a specific and clearly defined philosophical term.3 In the same work, and sometimes in the same paragraph, the term tianxia could be used in different, sometimes even contradictory meanings. Such ambiguity requires extreme care when analyzing this concept in early texts. Nevertheless, a systematic and consistent analysis of the main texts of the Chunqiu (770-453) and Zhanguo (453-221) periods is needed.) allows you to detect different semantic fields of this term. Moreover, as will be shown below, these differences not only reflect some aspects of the development of ancient Chinese political thought, but also allow us to trace changes in the self-identification of the inhabitants of the Zhou space. In particular, the comparison of the" inclusive "and" exclusive " uses of the expression Tianxia (see below in this paper) helps to shed new light on the complex process of forming ideas about self-identification immediately before the unification of China into a single empire.

INITIAL STAGE: TIANXIA AS ZHOU SPACE

The term Tianxia, so common in the Zhanguo period, became part of political discourse relatively late: strictly speaking, this term did not appear until the middle of the Chunqiu period. Although Tian (, "Sky") was the supreme deity of the Zhou pantheon already at the very beginning of the Western Zhou period (1046-771), and possibly earlier, and the term tiantzi (, "Son of Heaven") Although it was the accepted title of the Zhou Wang rulers, [5] the term Tianxia ("Middle Kingdom") is almost completely absent from Early Zhou sources. It is not found in the inscriptions on bronze vessels that use the Shang (Shang , c. 1600-1046) term si fan 6, and is extremely rare in the early chapters of the Shu Ching , and in the odes and hymns of the Shi Ching . Of the early Shu Ching tiansha chapters, only one occurs, in the chapter "Shao gao", which says that the people under Heaven will follow the example of Wang's great virtue; from the context, however, it is not clear whether "tiansha" ("under heaven")should be read

3 For the vagueness of the use of the word "nation", see, for example: [Hobsbawm, 2000, p. 18].

4 Hereafter, all dates are B.C., unless otherwise specified.

5 For an early use of the term tientsi, see [Takeuchi, 1999, p. 105-130].

6 Conclusions are drawn from [Zhang Yachu, 2001]; the only inscription in which the term tianxia occurs dates back to the end of the fourth century (see [Mattos, 1997, pp. 104-111]). For more information about the term si fan, see [Wang Aihe, 2000, p. 23-74].

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as a two-syllable word-binomial or to understand literally, i.e. " people under (the shadow of the supreme deity) The Sky"7. In the ode to Huang yi (Shi Ching), we find another early example of the use of the term tienxia: the ode extols the military achievements of Wen-wang ( d. c. 1047), which "brought peace to the Celestial Empire"8. In both cases, the term Tianxia obviously refers to the territory controlled by the Zhou Wangs, although the context of its use does not allow for unambiguous conclusions.

To understand the earliest meaning of the word tianxia, let's turn to the expression tian zhi xia , which was used before tian and xia were used as binomials. The most famous and most frequently quoted use of the tian zhi xia expression is the "Bei shan" ode , supposedly dating from the eighth century: "Under the wide sky, there is nothing that is not Wang's land; of all those who work on the land, there is no one who is not Wang's servant." 9
But where were the borders of this land "under a wide sky"? The historical context suggests that it was a small area of the actual royal domain of Zhou. This ode was written at a time when the house of Wang largely lost its former power, and the former appanages of members of the ruling family and their allies turned into independent political entities, i.e., the wang could dispose of land and population only within its domain, but no more. The passage quoted cannot even be interpreted as a hidden protest against the decline of Wang's power, since the entire ode to Bei Shan describes only the internal problems of his domain. In other words, it seems that originally the expression Tianxia only referred to the territory under the direct rule of the Son of Heaven, and the borders of Tianxia may have narrowed along with the weakening of his power.

During the Chunqiu period, there was a gradual increase in the use of the term tianxia. Despite the ongoing disintegration of the Zhou world order, diplomatic ties and other contacts between the principalities may have increased the sense of cultural unity among members of the ruling elites, and Tianxia probably became the general definition of the Zhou ecumenical Order. The Zuo Zhuan , the main source for the history of Chunqiu, reflects the gradual increase in the use of the term tienxia: the term appears only four times in the first half of the Zuo Zhuan and no less than eighteen times in the speeches of statesmen of the sixth century. 10 The increase in the number of cases of using this term was accompanied by gradual changes in its meaning, which will be discussed below.

The primary meaning of tienxia in Zuo Zhuan is confirmed by Levenson's observation that the term belonged to the sphere of culture and had the meaning of "a system of normative values". Speakers often declare that certain actions will be condemned or, conversely, approved by the Middle Kingdom, while the context clearly indicates that we are talking about a social segment united by common cultural values, in other words, the Zhou aristocratic elite. In these

7 [Shang shu, "Shao gao" 15, p. 213].

8 [Mao-Shi zheng-yi, "Huang yi" 16, p. 520 (Mao 241)].

9 [Mao-Shi zheng-yi, "Bei shan" 13, p. 463 (Mao 205)].

10 For the reliability of the Zuo Zhuan speeches as a source for studying the intellectual history of the Chunqiu period, see [Pines, 1997]; for the same thesis, with some changes, see [Pines, 2002(1), p. 14-39]. These works prove that most of these speeches were incorporated into the Zuo Zhuan from primary sources, i.e., the original historical records of scribes of the Chunqiu period. Although some of these speeches were heavily edited or even invented by the scribes themselves, an analysis of their contents shows that in the vast majority of cases they reflect the intellectual atmosphere of the Chunqiu period and were not invented or significantly modified by the author or compiler Zuo Zhuan. The above statistics do not include a single speech, which, as I previously pointed out in another paper, is a later interpolation (see [Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhu (hereinafter referred to as Zuo Zhuan), Wen 18, pp. 633-643]; for details on this interpolation, see [Pines, 2002(1), p. 234-238]).

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However, the meaning of Tianxia was close to the concept of "public opinion", i.e. it was precisely the cultural values of the ruling aristocracy of the Chunqiu principalities that were meant.11
In the later part of the Zuo Zhuan, in addition to the dominant "cultural" meaning of Tianxia, a new political meaning became increasingly noticeable, which was put into this term by some political figures who argued about the possibility of if not universal domination, then at least the elevation of one principality over all others. It is not surprising that the term got its new political meaning in the principality of Chu , which by 541 had successfully established its rule over most of the Zhou world. Zuo Zhuan writes that the Chu Lin-wang (541-529) required the use of dice in fortune-telling.: "May I have the Kingdom of Heaven!" 12.

Other political figures of Chu also raised the topic of "possession of the Middle Kingdom" [Zuo Zhuan, Zhao 19, p. 1402; Zhao 26, p. 1474-1475]. Apparently, Lin-wang's political success convinced some Chu dignitaries that" power over the world " was no longer just an empty dream. For these people, Tianxia was now not only a source of public opinion, but also a very specific territory, the domination of which became the main goal of Chu politicians. 13
But in what sense did this" power over the world " seem universal? Did Chusky politicians understand the term "Celestial Empire" as something that goes beyond the borders of the Middle Principalities? Not necessarily. A study of the mention of Tienxia in the Zuo Zhuan suggests that the understanding of this term never went beyond the borders of the Zhou world, and the barbarian tribes were clearly outside the Middle Kingdom. In 636, the Zhou minister Fu Chen warned the Zhou Xiang-wang (, right. 651-618) from establishing friendly relations with the Di tribes, reminding the latter that the former Wangs "took care of the Middle Kingdom and treated it with gentleness, but were afraid of threats from outside."14 The very structure of the sentence suggests that certain places were "outside" the borders of the Middle Kingdom, which the Wangs "took care of and treated with kindness." Tian xia was only the territory that Wang's power extended to. In 533, another Zhou minister, Zhan Huan-bo, complained about the Rong encroachments in the Zhou domain:

The Rong hold the Middle Principalities (Zhongguo) - whose fault is that? Hou Ji (the progenitor of Zhou - Yu. P.) nurtured the Celestial Empire, and now the Rong rule it - is this not a real disaster?15.

Here, Tianxia clearly corresponds to Zhongguo, and the Rongs are definitely outside of it - just as the barbarians were outside of the Greek ecumene. The above quotations are not the only ones in the text: everywhere in Zuo Zhuan where the borders of Tienxia are defined, they exactly coincide with the borders of the Zhou world16. Consequently, the Chu struggle for "mastery of the Middle Kingdom" actually meant a struggle for power over the inhabitants of the Middle Principalities, i.e. Xia 17 .
11 See, for example: [Zuo zhuan, Zhuang 12, p. 192; Cheng 2, p. 804; Xiang 26, p. 1112; Xiang 31, p. 1195; Zhao 8, p. 1302; Ding 10, p. 1583].

12 [Zuo zhuan, Zhao 13, p. 1350].

13 On the success of the Chu and the dynamics of relations between the principalities, see [Pines 2002(1), p. 105-135]. Another indication of the intensification of Tienxia-oriented discourse in the Chu principality is the inscription on the bell of Gan (Gan-zhong), in which the author, a Chu aristocrat, so praises his merits: "I am never wrong, and under the shadow of the Sky (tian zhi xia ) it is difficult to find a minister like me!" (see: [Chen Shuxiang, 2002, p.2811).

14 [Zuo zhuan, Xi 24, p. 425].

15 [Zuo zhuan, Zhao 9, p. 1309].

16 In one case, the borders of Tianxia are even smaller: the rebellious Prince Zhao of Wang's domain complains (516) that his enemies "sow trouble in the Middle Kingdom", although, strictly speaking, these "troubles" were limited to the Wang domain [Zuo Zhuan, Zhao 26, pp. 1475-1479].

17 In 516, Fei Wu-chi proposed to Ping-wan of Chu (528-516) a plan for the "possession of the Middle Kingdom" [Zuo Zhuan, Zhao 26, pp. 1475-1475]; this plan was solely concerned with neutralizing the influence of the Jin principality on other Xia principalities.

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In Lun yu , a text whose vocabulary dates back to the fifth century BC, one can discern some changes in the use of the term tienxia compared to Zuo Zhuan. 18 First, in Lun Yu, the term appears much more frequently-twenty-three times, which is even slightly more than in Zuo Zhuan, ten times larger than Lun yu in volume. Second, the political aspect of tienxia in Lun yu is much more pronounced; whereas in Zuo Zhuan the cultural aspect is definitely dominant, in Lun yu both the cultural and political aspects are equally important. In about half of the cases, tienxia in Lun yu means "a system of normative values", which is clearly seen in such passages as "the whole of the Middle Kingdom will return to humanity", "three years of mourning - mourning accepted in the Middle Kingdom" , etc. (see: [Lun yu, "Yang Yuan" 12.1, p. 123; "Yang Ho" 17.21, p. 188; also "Li ren" 4.10, p. 37]). But the Tienxia in Lun yu refers not only to the cultural but also to the political sphere: the text often mentions ancient, wise rulers who owned "(all) the land." China" or ceded control of it [Lun yu, "Tai Bo" 8.1, p. 78; "Hsien Wen" 14.5, p. 145; "Yan Yuan" 12.22, p. 131]. Thus, the Celestial Empire is presented as something that should be managed. The politicization of the concept of tianxia is clearly seen in one of Lun Yu's most important statements on governance and the source of power:

When there is Tao in the Heavenly Kingdom, rituals, music, and punitive expeditions come from the Son of Heaven; when there is no Tao in the Heavenly Kingdom, rituals, music, and punitive expeditions come from the sovereign princes. If they come from sovereign princes, few [principalities] will be able to escape destruction for [the next] ten generations; when they come from noble families, few [principalities] will be able to escape destruction for [the next] five generations; when servants of servants determine the fate of the state, few [principalities] will be able to escape destruction for [the next] five generations. [next] three generations 19.

This passage is an example of the transformation of the concept of Tianxia from cultural to political. The presence of the Tao undoubtedly means a common system of values that should unite the entire Celestial Empire, but these values themselves are thought of in a political context, i.e. as one of the aspects of restoring political unity characteristic of the Western Zhou period, the Celestial Empire should be ruled by the Son of Heaven, Confucius argues. Moreover, the above quote is the first comparison between a "principality" (go , also referred to by the word ban in other places) and a larger political unit - the Middle Kingdom. It will be shown below that it is quite common in Zhanguo texts (as well as in other passages in Lun Yu) and, despite Levenson's arguments and analysis, it usually describes the (co-)relations of larger and smaller political units, and not the opposition of cultural and political concepts.

What are the borders of tienxia in Lun yu? In this regard, Lun Yu's approach coincides with that of Zuo Zhuan: tienxia is a region governed by the Son of Heaven, i.e., the Zhou space. When Confucius praised the first minister of the principality of Qi , Guan Zhong (d. 645), for having "unified and put the Celestial Empire in order" [Lun yu, Hsien Wen 11.17, pp. 151-152], he definitely knew that Guan Zhong's efforts had put only parts of the Zhou area in order But it didn't matter: for Confucius, the Middle Kingdom was the equivalent of the Middle Kingdom. The borders of the universe for him were the borders of the civilized world.

18 The Lun Yu dating is too complex a problem to be fully discussed in this paper. I assume that since the Lun Yu vocabulary corresponds to the fifth century BC, the bulk of the text may have been written during two or three generations after Confucius ' death; see [Pines, 2002 (2); compare Yang Bojun, 1991, pp. 26-301.

19 [Lun yu, "Chi-shi" 16.2, p. 174]. The phrase "servants of servants" by Pei chen refers to members of the lower strata of the aristocracy, such as Confucius ' contemporary Yang Hu , who, thanks to clever manipulations, briefly became the de facto ruler of the Lu Principality (505-502).

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FROM "ECUMENE" TO "EMPIRE": TIANXIA AS A POLITICAL UNIT

It was shown above that before the fifth century, the term Tianxia occupied a relatively insignificant place in political discourse, that it was much more related to the sphere of cultural values than to politics, and that geographically the concept of Tianxia basically coincided with the Zhou space, i.e. with Zhongguo, the Middle Principalities. However, since the end of the Chunqiu period, one can note, on the one hand, an increase in the importance of this concept for thinkers and politicians, and on the other, a redistribution of emphasis in its conceptualization from an exclusively cultural aspect to a political one. These two trends continued during the Zhanguo period, eventually turning Tianxia into one of the central objects of political interest for ancient Chinese thinkers.

Mo Tzu 's text can be considered a watershed between two periods of different use of the term Tianxia in pre-Imperial philosophical and political discourse. In the so-called central chapters, which probably date back to the beginning of the fourth century, Tianxia is discussed quite often.20 In these chapters, which are only two and a half times as long as the Lun Yu and considerably smaller than the entire text of Zuo Zhuan, the term tianxia is mentioned more than four hundred times. For Mo Tzu, the concept of Tianxia is much more significant than the separate principality of Guo, so the former is much more common. Moreover, Mo Tzu may have been the first Chinese thinker whose political program was based on true universalism and a literally universal approach.

In Mo Tzu, the politicization of the concept of Tianxia takes a more mature form, and the Celestial Empire is already primarily thought of as a political unit. The expressions "to possess the Celestial Empire" (yu tianxia , 14 times), "to reign in the Celestial Empire" (wang tianxia , 8 times), "to rule the Celestial Empire" (zhi tianxia , 23 times), etc. constantly appear in this text and, unlike Lun Yu, are by no means limited to the context of discussing the deeds of ancient wise rulers, but also refer to those rulers who should unite the Celestial Empire and rule it for the time being. The shift in emphasis to the political meaning of Tianxia in Mo Tzu, however, does not negate the other meanings of the term. Mo Tzu continues to believe that tianxia is not only a political concept, but also a cultural one, meaning a space of common moral values for all. He constantly criticizes the "erroneous" views of the " servants and noble men of the Middle Kingdom "(Tianxia zhi shi junzi ), implying that there is a "public opinion"in Tianxia. Moreover, Mo Tzu declares his intention to preserve the cultural unity of the Middle Kingdom by establishing a single criterion of "justice" ( i) for the whole of Tianxia [Mo-tzu, "Shang tong" 11-13, pp. 109-153]. In addition, Tianxia for Mo Tzu was not only a political and cultural concept, but also an economic one: all people in Tianxia share common resources, the protection of which must be ensured by proper management. Equating tianyi with " society "was later adopted by Zhanguo thinkers and may have influenced the notion of Tianyi as" society " in late Imperial discourse [Bol, 1993, p. 140].

The later Zhanguo texts-Meng Tzu , Xun Tzu , Han Fei tzu , and others-generally repeat and supplement what is said in Mo Tzu. Each of these texts treats tianxia as a political, cultural, and social concept.

20 Wu Yu-jian has shown conclusively that the "central chapters" (i.e., Chapters 8-38) could indeed have been written during Mo-tzu's lifetime (c. 460-390) or somewhat later (see Mo-tzu ge pien zheng wei kao ("A Study of the Authenticity of Each Chapter of Mo-tzu") in: [Mo-tzu, E. 1025-1055]). I generally agree with the results of Wu Yu-jiang's research, leaving aside the question of the possible different origins of each of the triple sections into which the "central chapters" are divided; for more information, see [Graham, 1985; Maeder, 1992, p. 27-82; Desmet, 2007].

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The cultural aspect of Tianxia is represented in the constant discussions that occur in all texts about the moral standards common to the entire Middle Kingdom. When, for example, Mencius (c. 379-304) declares that "he who governs the people, the people feed - this is the general justice of the whole Celestial empire" 21 or is indignant that "the words of Yang Zhu and Mo Di have filled the Celestial Empire" 22, it is clear that he means culturally and economically. perhaps an ethically unified space. Meng-tzu echoes Xun-tzu (c. 310-218), who discusses, among other things, the general Tao of the Middle Kingdom, and even Han Fei (d. 233), who is well aware of the power of public opinion that threatens a bad ruler with being "ridiculed by the whole of the Middle Kingdom." 23
In short, the cultural aspect of Tienxia remained relevant during the Zhanguo period and even later, and yet the political understanding of the term dominated in this period. The lion's share of discussions about Tianxia is devoted to the need to unite, restore order and establish decent rule in the entire Middle Kingdom. Moreover, Zhanguo thinkers contrast tienxia and guo in the same way that it appears in texts preceding Lun yu, with guo always meaning part of tienxia.24 Tianxia ceases to be just an ecumene, an inhabited world, but becomes a potential object of unified political rule, an empire.

I would like to note once again that in addition to the cultural and political aspects, the term Tianxia has also started to be used in additional senses. Thus, the economic and social significance of the term is particularly noticeable in Xun-tzu, where the author in the chapter "Fu Guo" ("Enrich the State") examines in detail how the resources of the Middle Kingdom should be properly managed so that the entire Middle Kingdom can use them. Tienxia takes on a cosmic dimension, such as in Lao Tzu - however, Tienxia is rarely mentioned in this sense in other texts, and therefore I will not specifically focus on it in this work. 25 It is worth emphasizing, however, that the abundance of meanings and contexts of Tianxia use should not obscure the main feature of the use of this term in the Zhanguo period, namely, its use mainly in the political sense. Tianxia is first thought of as a space where fair governance should be established, and only then as a "system of normative values" (Levenson) or as a "society" (Peter Ball).

The reasons for the shift in emphasis from cultural to political interpretation of Tianxia are probably to be found in the dynamics of changes that occurred in the cultural and political life of the Chunqiu and Zhanguo periods. In Chunqiu, when dozens of small and medium-sized political entities co-existed on the ruins of the Zhou world, political disintegration reached its peak. But political disintegration did not necessarily imply the simultaneous disintegration of the cultural community of the Zhou area. On the contrary, the study of burials and remnants of material culture throughout this area indicates a high degree of cultural unity (although, of course, with regional features).26. The ritual culture inherited from the Western Zhou period remained almost unchanged throughout the Chunqiu period; moreover, its area of influence expanded as relations intensified and cultural ties between the Zhou principalities and the southern Wu and Yi principalities strengthened.

21 [Meng-tzu, "Teng Wen-gong shang" 5.4, p. 124].

22 [Meng-tzu, "Teng Wen-gong xia" 6.9, p. 155].

23 See, for example: [Xun-tzu, "Zhong-ni" 7, p. 112-113; "Zhu xiao" 8, p. 133; Han Fei-tzu, "Shi Guo" 10, p. 70, 74; "Sho yi" 44, p. 108].

24 See, for example: [Meng-tzu, "Liang Hui-wang xia" 23, p. 30; "Jin xin xia" 14, p. 13, 328; Shang-jun shu, "Kai sai" 7, p. 57; "Xiu quan" 14, p. 85; Xun-zi, "Zhu xiao" 8, p. 114, 134; "Wang zhi" 9, p. 172; "Fu Guo" 10, p. 185; "Zheng lun" 18, p. 326; "Li Lun" 18, p. 351].

See [Bo-shu Lao-tzu, 28, p. 369; 43, p. 35; 52, p. 74] (the numbering of Lao-tzu paragraphs is given according to the breakdown of Wang Bi). It should be noted that the expressions tianxia and tiandi (heaven and earth) are partially interchangeable in texts of the Zhanguo and Han periods (see, for example, [Richter, 2013, p. 169]).

26 For more information, see [Falkenhausen, 1999, 2006; Yin Qun, 2001].

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Yueh [Falkenhausen, 1999, p. 525-539]. Common ritual norms and practices, supported by regular diplomatic relations and periodic migration of members of the aristocracy from one principality to another, 27 reinforced the sense of belonging to the same culture among the elite throughout the Zhou region, i.e., the Middle Kingdom.

Since the late Chunqiu and early Zhanguo periods, two different conceptions of tienxia have developed, which have replaced the understanding of the term primarily in its cultural meaning. On the one hand, the decline of aristocratic society led to a decline in ritual norms, as can be seen in the departure from Zhou burial practices. At the same time, the" peripheral " principalities , such as Chu and Qin, began to openly demonstrate their ideas about their own identity, which is quite different from that of Zhou. In other words, the cultural and ritual unity of the Zhou area was becoming less pronounced.28
On the other hand, the centrifugal processes were balanced by some centripetal tendencies. First, economic development during the late Chunqiu and early Zhanguo periods, in particular the growing commercialization of the Zhanguo economy, stimulated the development of inter-regional relations, including economic ties extending beyond the borders of individual principalities, and contributed to the emergence of a sense of economic unity and community in the Middle Kingdom, which is reflected, for example, in the Xun-tzu approach.29 Second, military events during this period also contributed to the growing sense that the entire Chinese world shared a common destiny. In contrast to the Chunqiu period, when military conflicts were mostly confined to neighboring principalities and long-distance campaigns were rare, by the end of the sixth century, deep penetration into enemy territory became a common tactic, and principalities previously considered "distant" became active participants in conflicts throughout the Central Plain and beyond.30 Third, and perhaps most important for our analysis , the increased migration of statesmen and politicians who regularly cross the borders of individual principalities in search of a better position has contributed to the preservation of cultural ties between these principalities and increased their political interdependence. Virtually all of the Zhanguo thinkers we know of were constantly moving from one principality to another, changing employers; most of them served in several principalities.31 Thus, it is not surprising-

27 The scale of migration during the Chunqiu period was much smaller than in the subsequent Zhanguo period, but it was nevertheless largely an important integrating factor; see [Pines, 2002(1), p. 285, fn. 95; cf. Zhang Yanxiu, 1996, pp. 21-25 Zhao Fago, 1997, pp. 171-187].

28 The decline of the general oital culture in the Zhanguo period was noted by Gu Yanwu (1613-1682) in Zhou-mo fengsu ("Customs of the End of the [era] of Zhou") [Zhizhi lu ji-shi 13, p. 467]. The processes of cultural diversification during this period are discussed in Goldin's article [Goldin, 2015]. On the change in the cultural image of the principality of Chu and the formation of a new concept of self-identification in Chu, see, for example: [Li Ling, 1991; Cook, Major, 1999]; on Qin, see below in this paper.

29 See: [Yang Kuan, 1998, p. 89-150; Hsu Cho-yun, 1965, p. 116-126; cf.: Perelomov, 1961, p. 22-34].

30 The first military encounter between the armies of Qi and Chu in 656 was quite an unexpected experience for the participants. Ambassador Chu said to the Qian Huan-gong (, 686-643): "You live by the North Sea, we live by the South Sea; even the smells of our (sacrificial) horses and oxen do not reach each other. Now you have suddenly invaded our land - for what reason?" [Zuo zhuan, Xi 4, p. 289]. The Chu rulers clearly considered Qi too far away for it to be a real opponent. A hundred and fifty years later, the situation was completely different. In 506, the southeastern Wu Principality launched an unprecedented military campaign against Chu, penetrating deep into the Chu lands and capturing the Chu capital of Ying Only with the military support of its northwestern neighbor, the Qin Principality, was Chu able to regain its lands. Thus, for the first time in Chinese history, the two opposite ends of the Chinese world were linked by a single campaign, ushering in an era of far-flung military expeditions. On the Zhanguo wars, see [Yang Kuan, 1998, pp. 303-316 et seq.]. Some Zhanguo thinkers were aware of the changed scale and duration of wars, as can be seen from the passage of Zhanguo tse (see: [Zhanguo tse, "Zhao tse 3" 20.1, p. 709]).

31 Some cynical Zhanguo ministers successfully combined their service in several principalities at the same time, thereby undermining the internal integration of each of these principalities; for details of these "servants of many masters", see [Lewis, 1999, p. 632-634].

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but that the subject of reflection for these people was the whole of the Middle Kingdom, and not a separate principality.

The economic, military, and partly cultural consolidation of the Zhou space in the face of political and ritual disintegration and continuous wars stimulated the thinking of politicians and thinkers to solve the centuries-old conflict. The only adequate solution to restore peace and stability, most thinkers saw the political unification of the entire Middle Kingdom. Their practical experience told them that no State can ensure stable governance if political stability is not achieved in the neighboring principalities, and ideally if it does not extend to the entire space where political and military activity developed, i.e., to the entire ecumene. This desire for unification, to which I have devoted a separate article (Pines, 2000), explains the politicization of the term tianxia in the Zhanguo period. But where were the boundaries of the world that was to be united? How big was tianxia for Zhanguo thinkers?

"THIS IS OUR WORLD":" INCLUSIVE "AND" EXCLUSIVE " CONCEPTS

In the first part of the work, it was shown that for thinkers and statesmen of the Chunqiu period, the concept of Tienxia more or less coincided with a culturally unified space, from a ritual point of view, ruled by the Son of Heaven, i.e., with the territory of the Middle Principalities. In the subsequent Zhanguo period, as the political aspects of Tianxia gradually came to the fore, overshadowing the cultural ones, the identification of Tianxia and Zhongguo ceased to be taken for granted. The Zhanguo period was marked by contradictory processes: on the one hand, the ritual unity of the Zhou space noticeably weakened, and in some of its components - in particular, such as the peripheral principalities of Qin and Chu-the formation of their own identity began. On the other hand, the migration of statesmen from one principality to another contributed to the cultural homogenization of the Middle Principalities. At the same time, the expansion of the territory of the main principalities to a certain extent led to the expansion of the distribution area of the Zhou civilization. These complex processes of defining and redefining the boundaries of cultural and political entities, as well as the attitude of thinkers and statesmen to the legacy of Zhou culture, were also reflected in the changes in ideas about Tianxia within the intellectual and political discourse of the Zhanguo period.

Mo Tzu may have been the first person to challenge the identity of Tianxia and Zhongguo. His ideal of political and cultural unity was universal in the literal sense of the word, not limited to the borders of the Middle Principalities. This ideal is especially clearly expressed in the chapters "Universal Love" ("Chien ai") and "Exalt unity" ("Shang tong"). When Mo Tzu admires the all-wise Yu for "putting the Celestial empire in order" after the flood, he also emphasizes the latter's help to the barbarian tribes on the borders of Zhou: Yu's exploits brought them as much benefit as the Chinese (Xia) themselves. These barbarians were by no means part of Zhongguo - but they were part of Tianxia. Unlike Zuo Zhuan, Mo-tzu considered Zhongguo only a part of the Celestial Empire.32
Mo Tzu's universalist approach was partly the result of his departure from the Xia paradigm of ritual and cultural superiority. Mo Tzu ridiculed ancient venerable rituals, which, in his view, may be as misleading as cannibalism and other disgusting barbarian customs. Emerging cultural landscape

32 See: [Mo-tzu, "Chien ai Zhong" 15, p. 160]. Cf.analysis of Mo-tzu's views in Chuang tzu's treatise [Chuang tzu, "Tienxia" 33, p. 863].

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Relativism allowed Mo Tzu to move away from uncritical admiration for the superiority of the Middle Principalities and expand his understanding of Tienxia beyond Zhongguo. 33 However, Mo-tzu's expansion of the borders of Tienxia may also reflect the actual expansion of the borders of Zhou space, which has been observed since the sixth century. By this time, some barbarian principalities (such as Wu and Yue in the southeast) were increasingly involved in various kinds of relations between the Middle Principalities, temporarily establishing their hegemony and constantly strengthening ties with the Xia principalities. Although the degree of" domestication " of the southern barbarians, and even more so their attempts to trace their lineage back to the Zhou, has been questioned from time to time (Pines, 2005, pp. 71-72), their influence on the political life of the principalities of the Zhou area is indisputable. From a political point of view, as well as, if not necessarily, from a cultural point of view, the expansion of the borders of Tianxia has become a fait accompli.

Against this political background, it is clear that the "inclusive" approach to understanding the term Tianxia is becoming stronger, even in those texts that, unlike Mo Tzu, postulate the cultural superiority of the Zhou principalities. For example, Gongyang Zhuan 's commentary on the annals of Chun Qiu, which places considerable emphasis on the "Chinese" / "barbarian" distinction, consistently emphasizes that the differences between Xia and barbarians are primarily cultural and therefore subject to change.34 The universality of cultural norms, as well as the universality of the role of the Son of Heaven, is expressed in the following commentary on Chun Qiu, which deals with the first meeting between representatives of the Union of northern principalities and the ambassadors of the Principality of Wu, which took place in 576.:

Why does Chun Qiu specifically set aside a meeting with (Ruler) Wu? - [Chun Qiu] considers the Wu Principality to be external. What does "external" mean? Chun Qiu considers his own principality [Lu ] internal, and all (other principalities) Xia external; when [Chun Qiu] considers all (principalities) Xia internal, then (barbarians) yi and di are external. But if a true monarch wants to unite the entire Celestial Empire, why does [Chun Qiu] talk about "external" and "internal"? The point is that it should start with those closer to 35.

Although Gongyang Zhuan refers to the" barbarians " as culturally more backward than the Xia, the text nevertheless considers them to be an integral part of the world that should be united by Wang. As Wu, Yue, and other non-Chinese political entities increasingly influenced interstate politics in the region, their inclusion in Tianxia became inevitable. This process was accelerated as the main principalities of Zhanguo expanded their territory, adding new lands inhabited by non-Chinese tribes. Tianxia was no longer confined to its original borders, but was becoming an all-encompassing concept that included both the Middle Principalities and the barbarian lands. For most Zhanguo thinkers, the Celestial Empire obviously meant the entire known world.

The" inclusive " view of tianxia can be illustrated by numerous citations from various sources and does not require special discussion in this paper36. It is much more interesting that parallel to the expansion process, one can observe

33 For Mo-tzu's mockery of Chinese ritual practices, see: [Mo-tzu, "Jie tsang xia" 25, p. 267-268; "Lu Wen" 49, p. 735]. On Mo Tzu's cultural relativism, see [Pines, 2005, pp. 75-77].

34 For the structure and ideology of the Gongyang Zhuan commentary, see [Gentz, 2001; Gentz, 2015]. Joachim Gentz dates this text to the second half of the Zhanguo period. For the authors 'views on the problem of "barbarians", see [Yu, 2010, pp. 105-107].

35 [Chunqiu Gongyang zhuan 18, p. 2297].

36 For example, in the Chung Yong chapter of the Li chi canon, it is stated that "the highest of the all-wise in the Middle Kingdom" will first establish his name and fame in the Middle Principalities, after which his actions will reach the Manei and Mo tribes; this concept is very similar to the Gongyang Zhuan approach ( see: [Chung Yong yanju 31, p. 38]. Following Mo-tzu, Lu-shi chun-qiu emphasizes the universality and "inclusiveness" of the legendary Yu's actions [Lu-shi chun-qiu," Qiu ren " 22.5, p. 1514]. Mencius repeatedly emphasizes the barbarians ' desire to be incorporated into the empire of Tang, the founder of the Shang Empire.

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and the narrowing of the understanding of Tienxia and the understanding of the latter as referring only to China, i.e. to the Middle Principalities, as well as the emergence of an "exclusive" view of Tienxia. Surprisingly, however, the exclusion from" insiders "did not apply to "uncultured barbarians", but to the strongest principality in the Middle Kingdom, the principality that was soon to unite China-the principality of Qin.

At one point in Zhan-guo ce , someone says that if the Zhou minister Zhou Zui goes on an errand to the principality of Qi, the principality of Qin "will become suspicious of (intentions) China" [Zhan-guo tse, "Dong-Zhou tse" 1.13, p. 23]. Leaving aside the diplomatic context, it is clear that a principality can only be suspicious of Tianxia if it is not itself part of the latter. This example is not the only one, and many of Zhan-guo ce's speeches leave a similar impression: the Qin principality is presented as a "stranger" to the Middle Kingdom, an enemy against which the whole of Tianxia should unite. This motif is explicitly expressed in a series of anti-Qin speeches attributed to Su Qin (c. 380-284), according to tradition-the creator of the "vertical" alliance against Qin. So, Su Qin states:

Qin is a principality of tigers and wolves, and it intends to swallow up the entire Celestial Empire. Qin is the mortal enemy of the Celestial Empire. All those who propose a horizontal alliance [with the Qin] want to cut off [pieces] from the lands of the appanage princes in order to serve the Qin; this is called "feeding the enemy" and "serving the enemy". Those ministers who [propose] cutting off [chunks] of their ruler's lands and using external connections to strengthen the tigers and wolves of Qin, thereby contribute to his capture of the Celestial Empire and end in disaster brought by Qin. [These people] don't see their mistake 37.

This speech is notable not only for the extremely hostile attitude towards Qin, but also for the complete exclusion of this principality from the Middle Kingdom. Qin is a mortal enemy of Tianxia, it invades the Celestial Empire and wants to "swallow" it; Qin is definitely outside the borders of Tianxia. The same approach is evident in many of the anecdotes of Zhan-guo tse38. Although not all characters share this view of a powerful power39, the available evidence suggests that a significant number of Zhanguo statesmen excluded Qin from the general space of the Middle Kingdom.

How should this "exclusionary" approach be understood? Was it just a rhetorical device in a dispute about making alliances with or against Qin that shouldn't be taken too seriously? After all, we all know how easy it is for the modern media to deny the enemy the "human race" or declare that "the whole world" is united against a "bandit" regime. And if we don't take literally such figures of speech or attacks like "Qin is the realm of tigers and wolves," why should we take more seriously the exclusion of Qin from Tianxia 40?

dynasties [Meng-tzu, "Liang Hui-wang xia" 2.11, p. 45; "Teng Wen-gong xia" 6.5, p. 148]. Xun-tzu also believes that even if the barbarians should not be controlled directly, their lands should certainly be included in a single empire [Xun-tzu, "Zheng Lun" 18, p. 328f-329; "Wang ba" 11, p. 204-205, "Qiang Guo" 16, p. 300].

37 [Zhan-guo tse, "Chu tse 1" 14.17, p. 508].

38 See, for example: [Zhan-guo tse, "Xi-Zhou tse" 2.13, p. 65; "Qin tse 3" 5.9, p. 192; "Zhao tse 2" 19.1, p. 655-657; "Wei tse 2" 23.7, p. 860].

39 In some anecdotes, Zhan-guo tse presents Qin as part of the Celestial Empire; see: [Zhan-guo tse, Dong-Zhou tse 1.11, p. 24; Qin tse 4 6.9, p. 240; Chu tse 1 14.18, p.514-515].

40 Sometimes Zhanguo texts actually describe a coalition of several strong principalities against one as Tianxia, thus excluding the actual opponent of the coalition from Tianxia. An exception may apply not only to Qin, but also to other principalities, such as Qi (see, for example: [Lu-shi chun-qiu "Quan xun" 15.2, p. 867; Zhan-guo tse, "Dong-Zhou tse" 1.21, p. 34; "Qi tse 3" 10.7, p. 365]. Sometimes the term tianxia is used rhetorically as "the rest of the world" as opposed to " us "(see for example: [Guan-tzu, "Qing Zhong yi" 81, pp. 1453-1454]). Nowhere, however, is Qi or any other principality described with such contempt and hatred as Qin.

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A careful study of the late Zhanguo texts suggests, however, that the exclusion of Qin from Tienxia reflects significant changes in the perception of Qin self-identification during the late Zhanguo period. It wasn't just Qin's opponents who considered him an "outsider". Many Qin statesmen also developed the image of a" stranger " in relation to the Middle Kingdom. Just as some modern regimes claim that "the whole world is against us," placing themselves literally in an "exceptional" position, some Qin statesmen may have consciously declared their opposition to Tianxia, which was supposed to help rally forces within the principality to confront the collective enemy. This concept is reflected in a report purportedly submitted by Han Fei to the ruler of Qin:

I've heard that the north of the Celestial Empire has Yang, and the south has Wei. When they unite with the Ching (i.e., Chu - Yu. P.) and rely on Qi, accept the Han and establish a vertical alliance, turn to the west and [enter into war] with strong Qin, they will create difficulties for it. I look at it and laugh. There are three causes of defeat in the world, and the Celestial Empire has all three... Right now, the Qin lands, if you cut down the long and supplement the short, extend over a square of thousands of li, and the armies number tens of millions of soldiers. No one in the Middle Kingdom can compare to Qin either for its rewards and punishments, orders and commands, or for its topographical features. If this means [entering into a war] with the Middle Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom will be annexed and [remain] in possession of [Qin]41.

Although the origin of the report cited above is unclear and remains the subject of heated debate among scholars, the name of its author and the date of its composition are not so important for our research.42 Whoever drew up this document may have reflected the concept adopted by the Qin court during the Zhanguo period, according to which Qin held a unique position outside of the Middle Kingdom and was the only enemy of Tienxia.

If my analysis is correct, and the idea of excluding the Qin principality from the Celestial Realm was widespread not only among its enemies, but also at the court of its ruler, it becomes necessary to explain the reasons for this phenomenon. The explanation seems to be both political and cultural. From the point of view of the political situation, from the second quarter of the third century BC, Qin was the only power that openly sought to "swallow" the Middle Kingdom. Its officials arrogantly referred to other principalities as Qin vassals, disregarding the norms of ritual equality adopted in the diplomacy of Chunqiu and early Zhanguo.43 Qin Yi's arrogance and aggressiveness may have been the main reason for his neighbors ' exclusion of Qin from the Chinese communal community.

In addition to political reasons, the exclusion and self-exclusion of Qin can also be explained from a cultural point of view. To explain the peculiar development of the Qin cultural tradition, it is necessary to make a small digression. Most twentieth-century scientists Both in China and in the West generally shared the concept that Qin was an alien body in the Zhou space, a barbaric political entity (possibly the Zhong) that was gradually and only partially adapted by the Zhou world just before the unification of China. [44] In the last

41 [Han Fei-tzu, "Chu hsien Qin" 1, p. 2-4].

42 The same report is contained in the text of Zhan-guo ce, which erroneously attributes it to a fourth-century Qin statesman. Zhang Yi (d. ca. 310). For details on the authenticity of Han Feizi's report, see a brief overview of various points of view: [Jiang Zhongyao, 2000, p. 14-25].

43 For the Qin's treatment of neighboring principalities as vassals, see the documents from Shuihudi (cit. see also [Ookushi, 1999].

44 See Meng Wentong, 1936; Bodde, 1938 for an earlier account of this point of view; the same approach is still found in some textbooks and popular science articles about the Qin Principality.

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Now, however, a new approach has emerged to this issue. The research of Lothar von Falkenhausen and Martin Kern, and later, under the influence of the latter, Gideon Shelach and my own, as well as the abundance of material evidence about the early stages of the history of the principality of Qin, radically changed our understanding of the origin and development of the Qin cultural tradition [Falkenhausen, 1990; Falkenhausen, 1999; Falkenhausen, 2004; Falkenhausen, 2006; Kern, 2000; Shelach and Pines, 2006; Pines, 2004, Pines, 2005/2006; Pines et al., 2014]. Initially, Qin was an ordinary Zhou principality; the image of "other" or "alien" only emerged in the second half of the Zhanguo period. This image was the result of, first, the tightening of the Qin struggle with the eastern principalities, and secondly, the socio-cultural transformations that really changed the face of Qin.

Excavations of Qin tombs from the Chunqiu and early Zhanguo periods show that during this period, Qin strictly adhered to Zhou ritual rules (although not without some local specifics), i.e., Qin definitely entered the ritual space of Zhou (Shelach and Pines, 2006, p. 205-216). Moreover, the Qin rulers who inherited the ancient lands of the Zhou royal domain began to consider themselves viceroys or even potential heirs of the Zhou dynasty. Inscriptions on bronze ritual vessels, bells, and lithophones made by order of the Qin rulers from Wu-gong (ruled 697-678) to Jing-gong (ruled 697-678). 576-537) proclaim that the founders of Qin received a Heavenly Mandate (Tian ming ), a statement hinting at their closeness to the Wangs of Zhou. 45 These rulers promised to bring peace and tranquility to their principality and "subjugate all the manyas." 46 They also "take care of the manyas and Xia with care "47 and" spread themselves out over the manyas and xia."48
Let's leave aside the megalomania of the Qin rulers and their belief that their ancestors received a Heavenly mandate. What is important to us here is that these sources indicate that the Qin rulers considered themselves part of the Zhou space and potential rulers of all the Xia. It should also be noted that the Zuo Zhuan, unlike later texts, does not contain any indication of any particular "barbarity" of Qin, although refined dignitaries from Lu apparently still considered Qin a "peripheral" principality.49
The situation changed completely in Zhanguo, especially from the middle of the fourth century BC, when the reforms of Shang Yang (d. 338) changed the face of Qin. As Qin has largely moved away from Zhou ritual culture, its local specifics have become more prominent. This is particularly evident in the dramatic changes in burial practices, such as the abandonment of sets of bronze ritual vessels or their ceramic imitations in burials and the introduction of a new form of burial (catacomb burials), unknown in Qin until the fourth century. 50 Moreover, the new system of nobility ranks introduced by Shang Yang led to a complete change in the structure of the the social structure of Qin and ultimately led to profound changes in the customs of the principality and its cultural appearance 51. These changes apparently increased the estrangement between the Qin and the inhabitants of the principalities east of Qin, which in turn gave rise to a profusion of derogatory statements about Qin "barbarity" in many Zhanguo period texts. Subsequently, the anti-Qin rhetoric of the Zhanguo period was

45 For the Qin view of the Heavenly Mandate, see [Zang Zhifei, 2001, pp. 243-260].

46 Eight Qin bells; cit. according to: [Mattos, 1997, p. 113; cf.: Kern, 2000, p. 85].

47 Inscription on the bell "Qin-gong bo"; cit. according to [Kern, 2000, p. 73]; cf. inscriptions on Qin lithophones, fragm. 3: [Kern, 2000, p. 90].

48 Inscription on the vessel "Qin gui"; cit. by: [Kern, 2000, p. 79].

Zuo Zhuan 49 mentions the surprise of one Lu official that the Qin embassy at the Lu court is able to behave in accordance with refined ritual norms [Zuo Zhuan, Wen 12, p.589].

50 See [Shelach and Pines, 2006, p. 217-219].

51 For the Qin system of nobility ranks, see [Korolkov, 2010, pp. 99-138].

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It is reproduced in Han texts, including Sima Qian's Shi ji (c. 145-90), which perpetuated the" barbaric " image of Qin 52.

From the point of view of studying the cultural processes of the Zhanguo period, the most interesting thing is that over time, the growing divergence between Qin and its eastern neighbors also affected the self-consciousness of the Qins. Unearthed Qin statutes dating from the late Zhanguo period at Tomb No. 11 in Shuihudi clearly indicate that the Qin distinguished themselves from the Xia and treated them with disdain as their vassals:

When the people of vassal states do not like their rulers and leaders and want to leave Xia, this cannot be allowed. What does "[leave] xia " mean? "(Leave) xia " means to leave the vassal states of Qin 53.

This passage speaks of the superiority of the Qin over the Xia, similar to what we saw in the quotations of the Qin rulers four centuries earlier, with the difference, however, that, according to documents from Shuihudi, the Qin no longer considers itself part of the Xia, but treats the latter as its vassals:

If the ruler or prince of a genuine vassal principality commits a crime that is punishable by shaving his beard or more severely, they should be allowed to pay off. What does "authentic" mean? A child born to a father and mother from a vassal principality or born in another principality is called "genuine". What does "son of xia" mean? This is the name of [a child born] to a father from a vassal state and a mother from Qin 54.

From the last quote, it is clear that the Qin officials of the late Zhanguo period clearly distinguished between their own principality and Xia. Qin was represented as a separate entity, differing from Xia not only culturally,but also in location and blood. 55 Thus, the otherness of Qin against the general cultural background of late Zhanguo is not only a later Han construct, but also the result of deep cultural and socio-political processes that took place in that period. Qin's self-proclaimed otherness, coupled with his aggressiveness, eventually turned him into an enemy of Tianxia and led to his exclusion from the Celestial realm. The failed attempt by local Qin dignitaries on the eve of imperial unification to expel all foreign-born officials from the country may have been the culmination of the process of separating Qin and Tianxia.56 Thus, paradoxically, at a time when non - Chinese political units were being incorporated into the Middle Kingdom, the principality located in the very place from which the Zhou dynasty originated was excluded - at least partially-from the general space, and the universality of the Middle Kingdom was called into question.

52 For changes in the Qin social system after Shang Yang's reforms, see [Pines et al., 2014, p. 24-26]; for changes in the image of Qin in Zhanguo texts, see [Pines, 2013]; for the image of Qin in Shi ji, see [Pines, 2005/2006].

53 See Planck's Qin lu da wen 176 (Shuihudi, 1990, p. 134; Hulsewe, 1985, p. 170).

54 "Qin lu da wen", planks 177-178 [Shuihudi, 1990, p. 135; Hulsewe, 1985, p. 171].

55 My interpretation of this passage is not generally accepted. Publishers of manuscripts from Shuihudi, as well as Kudo Motoo (1998, p. 100-118), believe that the "xia" of the passages quoted refers to Qin. Their arguments are repeated in [Zang Zhifei, 2001, p. 256] and [Takatsu Junya, 1999, p. 270-271]. I do not accept their interpretation for the following reasons. First, in the first passage quoted, "leave Xia" clearly means "leave the vassal states", not Qin (and why would a person from a vassal state who doesn't like its ruler leave Qin?). Second, despite Kudo's arguments, the Xia child was obviously different from the Qin child, since paternity was a priority over motherhood when determining whether a child belonged to a particular principality. Thus, the expression "vassal principalities" from the Shuihudi manuscripts refers to all principalities outside the direct rule of Qin, including the principalities of Xia, and not just "dependent national minorities", as Kudo, Zang Zhifei, Takatsu, and manuscript publishers believe. Cf. also an interesting analysis: [Ookushi Atsuhiro, 1999, p. 319-324].

56 See the description of this event in: [Shi Ji 82, pp. 2541-2545].

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This universality was restored with the unification of the Middle Principalities into an Empire in 221. The military successes of the Qin Principality restored it to its place in the center of the Celestial Empire.57 To facilitate governance, the Qin rulers tried to convince their new subjects that the Qin united the Middle Kingdom, not conquered it. In accordance with this, on the stone stelae of the First Emperor (Qin Shi Huang, right. 221-210), the Qin principality is never mentioned, but Tianxia is always mentioned. The Emperor is praised for "making the whole of the Celestial Empire one family "58," pacifying the whole of the Celestial Empire "59," weaving the threads of the Celestial Empire "60, and" uniting the Celestial Empire, putting an end to troubles and destruction and putting aside weapons forever " 61. Apparently, this propaganda served its purpose: even after the fall of the Qin Empire, its successor, the first Han Emperor Liu Bang (d. 195), established a capital near the former strategic center of Qin, thus restoring the Wei River Valley to a central place under the Sky. The former lands of Qin and its population were no longer excluded from Tianxia, but in a sense became a model and role model for the rulers of subsequent generations.62
The process of excluding and then re-including Qin in Tianxia demonstrates the elasticity of China's borders. The universality of Tianxia has been the subject of constant debate, and the meaning of the term has changed under the influence of various political and cultural factors. The topic of the elasticity of the Celestial Empire's borders, although in a slightly different form, also appeared in later imperial discourse, if the universality of the Celestial Empire was called into question, for example, when it came to"barbarians". This variability in the boundaries of Tianxia, as well as its political and cultural aspects, allowed imperial statesmen and thinkers to adapt to political changes on the map of East Asia, while still being able to offer a concept of "normalcy" even during the decline of dynasties and during periods of foreign conquest.

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57 The influence of Qin material culture and burial patterns on the eastern principalities is already noticeable in the late Zhanguo period (for various interpretations of this influence, see [Yin Qun, 2001, pp. 99-103, 252; cf. Falkenhausen, 2004]). This partial penetration of Qin culture to the east could later serve as the basis for Qin cultural hegemony in the later period. This does not mean, however, that it was not necessary to resort to coercion: as can be seen from the document "Yu Shu" from Shuihudi, dated 237, Qin officials were concerned with the introduction of uniform customs for the conquered peoples (see "Yu Shu" in: [Shuihudi, 1990, p. 13-16]; also: [Zang Zhifei, 2002, p. 8-18]; on manipulations with ritual aimed at promoting a new cultural unification and political unification, see: [Li Ling, 2001, p. 131-186]).

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