论边疆的特征

On the Characteristics of the Frontier

认识边疆的特征是揭示边疆的本质、根据和变化发展规律的基础,也是概括提炼中国边疆学原理并构建中国边疆学学科体系的前提。边疆是一个蕴含着诸多对立统一关系的集合体,并在对立统一关系中呈现出一系列特征——边疆体现了历史与现实的多样性和连续性,是在多重力量互动过程中国家建构的产物,是边缘与中心的矛盾统一体,是伸缩性与波动性并存的一种相对稳定状态,是在离心和向心的双向运动中形成的圈层,是国家之间利益划分和冲突的"缓冲区",是各种区别、对立和差异互鉴的界面,是国内与国外交往互动的重要依托,是主体与客体相互作用的结果。

Understanding the characteristics of the frontier helps us grasp the nature of the frontier and the law of its evolution, and, for that matter, helps us generalize the basic principles of Chinese frontier studies as a systematic discipline. The frontier can be viewed as an assemblage of contradictions and conflicts, with many features demonstrating it as a unity of opposites. The frontier reflects the diversity and continuity of history and reality; it is the result of the interaction of different forces in a state. It shows a uniting and opposite relationship between the central and the peripheral. The frontier is a relatively secure state capable of extension and fluctuation, a circle formed by centripetal and centrifhgal forces working together, a cushion area for states competing for their own interests, an interface between various types of differences and oppositions, a platform for international exchanges, and the result of the subject and object involved in interaction.