历史语境中的王朝中国疆域概念辨析——以天下、四海、中国、疆域、版图为例

A Discrimination on the Territorial Concept of Imperial China in Historical Context

作为国家理念的体现,疆域概念产生于具体的历史语境。由于古今中国国家性质不同,王朝中国的疆域概念与现代中国主权、领土不能用简单的继承或对接来解释。在王权泛化或王权至上观念的影响下,王朝中国的疆域话语尽管受到地理知识限制,但仍坚持认为在可知范围内,王朝中国天子有权实行统治。这种深受王朝国家理念影响的疆域话语对古代疆域概念产生了很大影响。以常见的5个古代中国疆域概念为例,“天下”有广狭二义,一是普天之下,一是华夏诸国;“四海”即四方,有时包括四夷,有时不包括;“中国”概念迭加变化整合,各朝“中国”范围不尽相同;“疆域”是一国统治范围的宣示;“版图”则是王朝国家行政地区。本文通过追溯原本词义,认为上述概念原意与后世借用,因语境变化,语义发生差异;进而提出,学术用语与习惯说法应有区别,这不仅是运用概念准确与否的问题,而且也涉及研究价值的取向。

As the embodiment of national conception, the concept of territory originates from concrete historical context. Because the deferent natures of ancient China and modern China,it can not be simply explained to use inheritance or succeeding-to to explain the territorial concept of imperial China and the sovereignty territory of modern China. This paper discusses four principle concept, namely Tianxia, Sihai, China,territory and domain. It analyses their original connotations and the changes in the succeeding historical periods, thinking that their meanings are quite different with the historical evolution. It put forewords that there should be a clear definition between academic terms and conventional glossary. This not only concerns the nicety of conception, but also relates to the approach of research value.