从“大清”到“中国”——基于皇朝时期天下秩序的讨论

From Qing Dynasty,Qing Kingdom to“China”--A Discussion on the“Order under the Heaven”During the Imperial Period

虽然清朝的国号为“清”,但在清末的《大清国籍条例》中却将“中国”作为“国籍”,由此其国号似乎也就成为了“中国”。要理解这一过程,就必须了解皇朝时期构建的天下秩序。首先,清朝与(大)清国存在本质区别,清朝统驭的是天下,而大清国统驭的则是现代人所谓清朝的“疆域”;其次,“中国”除作为一个国和一个地理单元之外,还表达了相对于“四夷”的优越性,因此既是清朝的核心,也是清朝统驭天下的合法性的来源之一;再次,皇朝时期,由于“中国”一词所体现的优越性,因此在与“四夷”交往时,通常使用“中国”一词,而不太使用中性的“大清国”这一国号,更不太使用皇朝的天下之号;最后,英法美俄等国都习惯用“中国”一词来指代历朝统驭的地理范围。由此,内外因交织,使清末在向现代国家转型时,越来越多地使用“中国”作为国家的名号。

The kingdomname of the Qing Dynasty was“Qing”,but in the Qing Nationality Regulations of the late Qing Dynasty,“China”was used as the“nationality”,and thus thekingdomname seems to have become the“China”.To understand this process,it is necessary to understand the“Order under the Heaven”constructed during the imperial period.First of all,there is an essential difference between the Qing Dynasty and the(Great)Qing Kingdom,the Qing Dynasty is in charge ofthe“under the Heaven”,while the Qing Kingdom is in charge of the modern so-called Qing Dynasty's“territory”.Secondly,in addition to being a country and a geographical unit,“China”also expressed its superiority over the“four barbarians”,which made it the core of the Qing dynasty and one of the sources of legitimacy for the Qing dynasty's control of the“under the Heaven”.Thirdly,during the imperial period,because of the superiority expressed in the word“China”,the term“China”was usually used when interacting with the“four barbarians”,and not too much use of the neutral“QingKingdom”,and even less use of the“Name of the under the Heaven”of the imperial dynasty.Finally,because Britain,France,the United States,Russia and other countries used to use the word“China”to refer to the geographical scope of the dynasty.Thus,the internal and external factors are intertwined,which made the late Qing Dynasty in the transition to a modern state,more and more use of“China”as the name of the country.