长城边界与华夏边缘——读《中国的亚洲内陆边疆》

The Boundary of the Great Wall and the Margins of Inland China:A Review of China's Inland Frontiers in Asia

长城作为军事工程的重要意义是广为认知的,但从民族学的视角研究,长城对理解中华民族的形成过程也有着重要意义。长城作为一个政治边界不仅仅具有军事防御的作用,从文化生态学和族群冲突理论的视角分析,长城作为草原与农耕社会的边界同时也具有族群边界的意义,对于游牧民族与华夏民族的形成过程都发挥了重大作用;同时由于长城边界形成的边缘地带具有双重性及流动性的特点,长城边界还具有外部分离和内部整合的作用,同时也是交流融合的地带。

The Great Wall is fanlous for its military significances. It is of great significance, however, to have a research of the huge project so as to know more about the formation of the Chinese nation from the perspective of ethnology. In accordance to cultural ecology and ethic boundary theories, the Great Wall as the border between a grassland society and an agricultural society played an important role as an ethic boundary apart from its military functions, effective in the formation process of both the Nomadic people and the Han people. Because of the duplicity and liquidity featured in its bordering ar- eas, the regions at the both sides of the Great Wall were critical in uniting the insiders and separating the outsiders. They were key places for cultural communication and integration as well.