略论中国古代的“天下”、“国家”和“中国”观

中国古代先民心目中包含“中国”和蛮、夷、戎、狄五方之民在内的“天下”具有某些现代国家的 属性。“中国”一词之“中”,并非源自地域位置,而是源自“以我为中心”的政治理念。在春秋大一统学说中,“中国”和“天下”终究是要合一的。

The ancientword '天下,'including '中国'and the 'Man,' 'Yi,' 'Rong'and 'Di'area,hassome traits of modern state. The meaning of'中'(literally, center) is notthe sense of the geography, but politic. It implied an egocentric political idea. According to the theory of the 'world unifying'(大一统) in the Gongyang’s commentary of the Chun Qiu, '中国'will be the same of the “天下”.