由守土到开疆:春秋时期列国疆域观念的转变

On the Formation and Characteristics of the Concept of Territory in the Spring and Autumn Period

春秋时期,周王朝固有的政治结构发生变动,原属王朝地方行政单位的诸侯国各自发展,不断完善主权,充实封疆。诸侯、邦君过去作为周王的下属,其主要职责是“正封”,即治理封域,至春秋时期则转为“启土”。出于经济及安全方面的考虑,列国不断拓展疆域,成为拥有广土众民的领土国家。与社稷血食相比,开疆拓土变得日益重要,“启封疆以利社稷”成为统治者侵逼他国的借口。贵族阶层流行以“启方”“启疆”等命名,反映了开疆拓土已成为春秋贵族社会的主流追求。列国对疆域安全愈加重视,部分贵族主张“守在四境”及“土不可易”,将疆域视为一个整体,并认识到即使是外围边域亦具特定价值,不可轻弃。

The old political structure of Zhou Dynasty has changed during the Spring and Autumn Period.The vassal states,which were originally local administrative units,started to develop independently.They constantly improved sovereignty and strengthened control to their territory.In the past,as the subordinate of the king of Zhou,the main duty of vassal was to“governing fief”.However,in the Spring and Autumn Period,this duty has been replaced by“expanding territory”.For economic and security reasons,many states,especially Jin,Qin,Qi and Chu,which were adjacent to Rong(戎)and Di(狄),continued invading small neighboring states and gradually became major power with vast territory and large population.Comparing with the original sacrifice system,expanding territory was getting more and more important.Names like“Qifang(启方)”“Qijiang”(启疆)have become popular in the nobility,which reflected that expanding territory was the mainstream pursuit of the aristocratic society in Spring and Autumn Period.The states paid more attention on the security of their borders,some nobles advocated to defend their borders.Territory was regard as a entirety,and people started to recognize that peripheral areas also had specific values and should not be easily given up.