Hua–Yi distinction
During the late Zhou dynasty, the inhabitants of the Central Plains began to distinguish between Hua and Yi (Chinese: 華夷秩序; pinyin: huáyí zhìxù), referred to by some historians as the Sino–barbarian dichotomy.
[9] Nicola di Cosmo doubted the existence of a strong demarcation between the "Zhou Universe" and "a discrete, 'barbarian', non-Zhou universe"[10] and claimed that Chinese historian Sima Qian popularised this concept, writing of the "chasm that had 'always' existed between China – the Hua-Hsia [Huaxia] people – and the various alien groups inhabiting the north.
[12] The Han Chinese civilisation influenced neighbouring states Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand and other Asian countries.
Areas outside Sinocentric influence and the divine rule of the Emperor were considered to consist of uncivilised lands inhabited by barbarians.
These people were being labelled as barbarians by the Chinese who believed themselves to be more refined and who had begun to build cities and live an urban life based on agriculture.
It was in an attempt of how best to deal with this problem that the philosopher, Confucius (551–479 BCE) was prompted to formulate principles for relationships with the barbarians, briefly recorded in two of his Analects.
"[16] The Disposition of Error, a fifth-century tract defending Buddhism, notes that when Confucius was threatening to take residence among the nine barbarian states (九黎) he said, "If a gentleman-scholar dwells in their midst, what baseness can there be among them?
The prominent Shuowen Jiezi character dictionary (121 CE) defines yi as "level; peaceful" (平) or "people of eastern regions" (東方之人) and does not attempt to marginalise them.
Zhou philosopher Mencius believed that Confucian practices were universal and timeless, and thus, followed by both Hua and Yi people.Shun was an Eastern barbarian; he was born in Chu Feng, moved to Fu Hsia, and died in Ming T'iao.
Meanwhile, the "Five Barbarians", who founded several of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China and Sichuan, often had to cooperate with the local Han people to consolidate their rules.
The Han-Zhao first introduced separate governing bodies for the Chinese and non-Han tribes which was later adopted by some of the Sixteen Kingdoms, thus upholding the Hua–Yi distinction.
Relations were especially tense in northern China under the Later Zhao dynasty, which culminated in racial violence during the final years of the empire.
In 349 CE, after his promise to be made Crown Prince was reneged, Shi Min seized control of the emperor and the capital, Ye.
[26] In 581, the Sui emperor Yang Jian deposed the Xianbei ruler of Northern Zhou and restored Han rule over North China.
These people brought their religions and customs: Buddhism, Islam, Zoroastrianism (Xianjiao), Manichaeism (Monijiao) and Syriac Christianity (Jingjiao), all of which flourished.
[28] This cosmopolitan policy caused controversy among the literati, many of whom questioned the recommendation of the Kaifeng governor for the participation of Arab-born Li Yan-sheng in the 847 imperial examinations and several similar incidences of what they believed as incorrect racial privileging.
Emperor Wenzong of Tang passed decrees in line with these views, especially restricting Iranian religions and Buddhism, but this policy was relaxed by his successors.
Secondly, the Song asserted that the Liao and Western Xia, and later the Jin, were barbarian states despite their control of large areas of traditional Han territory because they had not inherited any mandate from a legitimate, "Hua" dynasty.
In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed the Ming dynasty and issued a long manifesto, in which he labeled the Yuan as barbarians who had usurped the Chinese throne, and who had inflicted atrocities such as rape and murder.
Zhu's northern military expedition had been a success; Beijing was captured in the same year and China was again governed by ethnic Han.
[39] The Qing dynasty's order that all subjects shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue was viewed as a symbolic gesture of servitude by many ethnic Han, who thought that changing their dress to the same as Yi would be contrary to the spirit of the Hua-Yi distinction.
In 1728, failed Imperial examination candidate Zeng Jing, influenced by Lü's works, called for the overthrow of the Manchu regime.
The Yongzheng Emperor, whom Zeng accused of ten major crimes, took this event as an opportunity to educate the Qing's Chinese subjects.
One of the goals of the tract Dayi juemi lu (大義覺迷錄), which the Yongzheng Emperor published and distributed throughout the empire in 1730, was "to undermine the credibility of the hua/yi distinction.
[27] However, the Qing adopted Confucian philosophy and Han Chinese institutions to show that the Manchu rulers had received the Mandate of Heaven, while at the same time trying to retain their own indigenous culture.
[42] Following the overthrow of the Qing, Sun Yat-sen allegedly went to the grave of Zhu Yuanzhang and told him that the Huaxia had been restored and the barbarians overthrown.
Some Japanese philosophers, like the neo-Confucianists Yamaga Sokō and Aizawa Seishisai claimed that Japan was the "Central State" (中國; Chūgoku) instead of China.
Vietnamese dynasties competed for primacy, adopting the same descriptive term, "Central State" (中國; Trung Quốc), while the Chinese were "outsiders".
[citation needed] In the 1800s, Nguyễn rulers such as the Minh Mạng Emperor claimed the legacy of Confucianism and China's Han dynasty for Vietnam.
[54] As Vietnam conquered territory from the Khmer and Lao kingdoms and various tribes on the Central Highlands such as the Jarai and the Mạ, Emperor Minh Mạng implemented an acculturation integration policy directed at these peoples.
