古代中国“天下秩序”理念的传承与变革

Core and Edge: The Inheritance and Transformation of Ancient China’s “World Order”Concept

古代中国的“天下秩序”与“国家秩序”建构理论,有着自身的特殊性与传承性,且贯穿于中国多民族国家的形成过程。宗法式与地缘式的“天下秩序”理念,是古人诠释世界和维系国家政治安稳的核心思想。二者相结合,进一步完善了王朝国家政治制度体系。中华文明核心体的形成和族群意识的凸显,是“天下秩序”得以传承与变革的基础。“国家秩序”和“国家政治体系”的建立,是古人想象“天下秩序”崩塌与重构的结果。在“国家秩序”建构中,“一统观”与“正统观”成为主体民族政权角逐天下后的政治意识。中华文明的主体性与“天下秩序”理念,形成历史上的“中国精神世界”,最终成为多民族国家统一的向心力。为此,历史上的主体民族政权,以“中国”为核心的天下一统理想才得以实现。阐释古代中国“天下秩序”理念的传承与变革,对进一步理解中国统一多民族国家的形成有着重要意义,同时也间接回应了用西方民族国家理论来倒叙解构历史中国的舛误。

The theory of“world order”and“national order”in ancient China had special meanings that found expression in the formation of China’s multi-ethnic nation.The“world order”concept,which had patriarchal and geopolitical implications,was the central idea the ancient Chinese used to explain their relations to the world and maintain the stability of the country.The combination of the two reinforced the political system of the dynastic state.The formation of the core of the Chinese civilization and the prominence of the national consciousness laid a solid foundation for the inheritance and transformation of the“world order”.The establishment of the“national order”and the“national political system”was the result of the collapse and reconstruction of the“world order”as imagined by the ancient Chinese.In constructing the“national order”,the view of the“great unity”and“the orthodox”became the political consciousness of political powers that triumphed in the fight for the rule of the country.Thus the subjectivity of the Chinese civilization and the“world order”concept constituted the spiritual world of the ancient Chinese people,and ultimately formed a centripetal force that held the multi-ethnic nation together.This has made it possible for various political powers of divers ethnic origin to achieve unification of the country,with the concept of“China”(central kingdom)at the core.Thus it is significant to explain the inheritance and transformation of the“world order”concept in ancient China in order to better understand how China as a unified multi-ethnic is formed and how erroneous the Western nation-state theory is in its deconstruction of the Chinese history.