Articles

The tianxia 天下 concept and its conceptual evolution in China before the Qin Empire

Vostok/Oriens '2016, №4

 
This article deals with one of the most important concepts in early Chinese political discourse – Tianxia (Under Heaven). Over the centuries the concrete meaning of this term underwent considerable changes, as it referred to broader or narrower diapason on territory, including more or less areas and polities. Changes of sense often reflected changing political situation or distinct desires of historical actors. The remarkable flexibility of the Tianxia concept demonstrates how high, nonlinear and polycentric was a formation of philosophical and ideological discourse in pre-imperial China of the last centuries of Zhou era.

Keywords: China, All-under Heaven, state, history, philosophy, ideology, Zhou, Qin

Pages: С. 39–56