The evolution of the concept of Chinese and barbarians

The concept of the Chinese and the barbarians has evolved differently in different dynasties.

The early concept of the Chinese and barbarians during the Five Emperors, Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou periods did not contain any cultural discrimination or racial discrimination at the level of ethnicity or geographic location, which was fundamentally related to the Five Emperors system, the Xia, Shang, and the Western Zhou system's own ethnicity, its political structure of compatibility with the Chinese and barbarians, and the history of its continuous expansion into the neighboring barbarian communities.

It is true that during the Western Zhou period, the concept of the Chinese and the barbarians based on the socio-economic level and the mode of cultural choice began to be emphasized and strengthened, but at the same time, the concept of the pan-subjective people was absolutely present throughout the entire pre-Qin period. During the Eastern Zhou period, especially after the middle of the Warring States period, the concept of the Chinese and the barbarians began to harden with the frequent attacks of the neighboring barbarians on the Chinese-Xia ethnic alliance, but it could not take root due to the specific situation of the rivalry between the various states.

Huayi concept in the pre-Qin period:

The imprint of the Huayi concept in the national consciousness can be traced back to the legendary Yao, Shun, and Yu, and to the memories of the Xia and Shang periods. However, the concept of Huayi at that time was different in connotation from that of later generations, and the concept of Huayi at that time did not seem to contain elements of cultural discrimination and racial discrimination, which was reflected in the ancient historical concepts of the pre-Qin and even the Western Han people.

Sima Qian and others described the creation of the Five Laws of Service during Yu's rule of the water, defining the so-called barbarians and rabbis on the basis of the closeness of their relationship with the Chinese and the duties and obligations they needed to fulfill, and not on the basis of a comparison between the kingdoms and civilizations of the rabbis and barbarians. There is no comparison between the civilizations of Wang Ji and the "barbarians" and "barbarians", and the early barbarians and barbarians were not equal.