Chapter 38 Chapter IX The Formation of a Unified Chinese Territory Is a Historical Inevitability

In the formation of China's territory, the Han nationality made major contributions.This is not only because of the large population of the Han nationality, advanced culture, science and technology, but also because the Han nationality first established a unified regime and laid the foundation for China's territory. China's first unified dynasty in the Central Plains, the Qin Dynasty, was established based on the Huaxia tribes, the predecessors of the Han nationality.Although the Qin Dynasty existed for a short time, after nearly 400 years of consolidation by the Han Dynasty, the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty has basically been finalized.During the more than 2,000 years from the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, although the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty has shrunk from time to time, their main parts - starting from the Yinshan Mountain, Yanshan Mountain, and the lower reaches of the Liaohe River in the north, extending to Guangdong and Guangxi in the south, starting from Longdong and Sichuan Basin in the west, and reaching in the east. Sea - is quite stable.Even if this part splits into several regimes, there are no differences between them in all aspects of politics, economy, and culture, so they will soon be unified again.The fundamental reason is that the Han nationality accounts for the vast majority of the population within this range.The Han nationality has formed a common culture and national mentality in the long-term common production and life, which has been sublimated into a unified concept through the summary and improvement of Confucianism.Due to the superior natural conditions of the Han area and the hard work of the Han people, this main part has been the most economically and culturally developed area in the East Asian continent since the Qin and Han Dynasties, and is extremely attractive to other regimes and nations.Although this also led to the invasion of other ethnic groups, it also promoted the integration between ethnic groups.Due to the great economic and cultural advantages of this part, although it has become a non-Han ruled area more than once, the military conquerors have become economically and culturally conquered time and time again, and even the entire nation of the conquerors has been integrated Among the Han nationality.If there is no such main part, or if the economic and cultural power of this part is not enough to influence and integrate other ethnic groups, then there will be no such divisions after the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Sixteen Kingdoms, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Liao Song, Song and Jin Dynasties. The situation of unity may be restored again.But the historical fact is that such unification has not only been restored, but has become wider and longer in scope.

On the other hand, non-Han ethnic groups also made irreplaceable contributions to the formation of China's unified territory. First of all, China's frontiers were first developed and managed by non-Han people. Before these areas belonged to the Central Plains dynasty or became part of China, they generally had a certain economic and cultural foundation and a certain number of people, and established their own political power. Or form a political entity.The development of the south of the Lingnan and the southeast coastal and mountainous areas by the Baiyue people, the development of the southwest by the Ba, Shu, "Southwest Yi", Man, Liao, Li, Bo and other peoples, the Sushen, Donghu, Fuyu, Yilou, Xianbei, Wu The Huan, Goryeo, Mohe, Xi, Khitan, Jurchen, Manchu and other nationalities developed the Northeast; The development of the Northwest by the Dangxiang, Mongolian, Hui, and Uyghur ethnic groups, the development of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by the Qiang, Tuyuhun, and Tubo (Tibetan) ethnic groups, and the development of Taiwan Island by the local ethnic groups in Taiwan are all the reasons why these areas eventually became part of China’s territory. prerequisites and foundations.Because the natural conditions in the frontier areas are not as good as those in the Central Plains, there are generally difficult difficulties such as high and cold terrain, rugged terrain, hot or cold climate, humidity or drought, barren land, over-dense vegetation, epidemic diseases, and inconvenient transportation. In particular, it is necessary to pay a huge price and carry out an arduous struggle.While creating material civilizations adapted to specific local conditions, these ethnic groups also produced institutions and spiritual civilizations adapted to local conditions.

Secondly, although the Confucian theory of great unification has its positive effects, it also has its negative side, that is, it only pays attention to the Han agricultural areas, ignores the surrounding pastoral areas and undeveloped areas, and limits the scope of unification to the Central Plains dynasty and the Han population.Therefore, some powerful Han regimes in history, even though they have entered the Mongolian plateau many times, are satisfied with the principle of "the reason why heaven restricts Hu and Han" (God uses it to isolate Hu people from Han people, see "Hanshu · Xiongnu Biography") The Great Wall is the boundary.The gains and losses in the frontier areas are often indifferent, or even insensitive.The Han, Tang, and Ming regimes that once had strong national power were not able to unify other agricultural and pastoral areas. On the contrary, the three major unifications in Chinese history were all directly or directly carried out by non-Han people from the north. done indirectly.Although the migration of the northern ethnic groups to the south beginning in the Eastern Han Dynasty caused hundreds of years of division, it was the northern regime based on the rule of non-Han ethnic groups that finally realized the unification of the north and the south.The Yuan Dynasty, which rose from the Mongolian Plateau, and the Qing Dynasty, which originated at the foot of Changbai Mountain, were based on the northern ethnic groups and then unified the southern Han areas.

Therefore, if there were no development of the frontier by non-Han ethnic groups, and if they did not break the limitations of the traditional concept of unity, a unified Chinese territory would also be impossible.