Zhao Tingyang ( simplified Chinese : 赵汀阳 ; traditional Chinese : 趙汀陽 ; pinyin : Zhào Tīngyáng ; born 1961 in Guangdong , China ) is a political philosopher credited with modernising the ancient Chinese concept of Tianxia . He argues that the concept of a new Tianxia or all-under-heaven can offer an alternative blueprint for creating a more peaceful and inclusive world.
31-479: (Redirected from Under Heaven ) Under heaven may refer to: Tianxia , ancient Chinese cultural concept that denoted the entire world Under Heaven (novel) , novel by Guy Gavriel Kay Under Heaven (film) , 1998 film Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Under heaven . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
62-708: A contemporary of Wang Fuzhi, wrote that the destruction of the State was not equivalent to the destruction of tianxia . He argued that the Manchus simply filled the role of Emperor, and that the tianxia of traditional Chinese culture was thus carried on. The idea of the absolute authority of the Chinese emperor and the extension of tianxia by the assimilation of vassal states began to fade for good with George Macartney 's embassy to China in 1793. George Macartney hoped to deal with China as Great Britain would with other European nations of
93-489: A great power presents an opportunity to reshape the liberal international order into a hub-and-spoke pattern around a single, central state. In this contemporary discourse on tianxia , proponents argue that tianxia ' s moral appeal distinguishes it from realpolitik , which they submit as creating discord. Similarly, this modern treatment toward tianxia purports to be superior to the United Nations system, which
124-467: A historical Chinese cultural concept that denoted either the entire geographical world or the metaphysical realm of mortals, and later became associated with political sovereignty. In ancient China and imperial China , tianxia denoted the lands, space, and area divinely appointed to the Chinese sovereign by universal and well-defined principles of order. The center of this land was directly apportioned to
155-631: A means for lasting peace. According to Zhao, in the tianxia system, rulers relied on humane authority, as opposed to tyranny and military force, to win the hearts and minds of the people. The tianxia world view was not fully developed during the Shang dynasty . During the Zhou dynasty , it is first attested that Heaven took on anthropomorphic deity traits, and the concept of tianxia became common. Other political terms emerged during this time. These include 'four quarters' ( 四方 ; sìfāng )—referring to
186-628: Is a senior fellow of Peking University Berggruen Research Institute . He was also a Pusey Distinguished Fellow at the Harvard–Yenching Institute in 2013. His works are mainly on metaphilosophy , ethics and political philosophy . In 2005, he published The Tianxia System: An Introduction to the Philosophy of a World Institution . His book Investigations of the Bad World: Political Philosophy as First Philosophy
217-548: Is characterized as more akin to a political market, in which political operations are limited and constrained by parochial national interests. Historian Steve Tsang states that the concept of Community of Common Destiny presumes a vision of tianxia over and above the liberal international order. Applying the tianxia system to a modern framework, Chinese political scientist Yan Xuetong argues that great powers seeking international respect must use "humane authority" instead of seeking to impose hegemony. These concepts influence
248-709: Is possibly derived from the title "Son of Heaven". In 2013, the Singaporean historian Wang Gungwu coined the term " American Tianxia " to refer to the contemporary world order led by the United States. Zhao Tingyang Zhao Tingyang graduated from Renmin University of China and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , and is now a professor in the Institute of Philosophy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and
279-402: The Chinese school of international relations . Various academics have noted that the current discourse of tianxia has been produced for domestic consumption and risks alienating foreigners. Danish academics Klaas Dykmann and Ole Bruun state, "[f]oreign observers, particularly in democratic societies, will further note the glaring inconsistencies between the “harmonious world” conception and
310-534: The Second Opium War , China was forced to sign the Treaty of Tianjin , in which China was made to refer to Great Britain as a "sovereign nation", equal to itself. This made it impossible for China to continue dealing with other nations under the traditional tianxia system, and forced it to establish a foreign affairs bureau . Due to the liberal international order arguably being based on Westphalian sovereignty ,
341-465: The tianxia concept. At the end of the 19th century, Chinese Ambassador to Britain Xue Fucheng took the traditional Hua-Yi distinction in the tianxia world view and replaced it with a Chinese-foreigner distinction. In the 21st century, some academics have criticized contemporary philosopher Zhao Tingyang for "aggrandising" the concept of tianxia and being vague on details of what it may entail in
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#1732855230909372-641: The 7th century during the Tang dynasty , some northern tribes of Turkic origin, after being made vassal, referred to Emperor Taizong as the " Khan of Heaven ". By the time of the Song dynasty , northern China was ruled by the Khitan -led Liao dynasty , the Jurchen -led Jin dynasty , and the Tangut -led Western Xia dynasty. After being threatened by these northern states and realizing
403-543: The Chinese Emperor were themselves received and included into the Chinese tianxia . In classical Chinese political thought, the " Son of Heaven ", having received the Mandate of Heaven , would nominally be the ruler of the entire world. Although in practice there would be areas of the known world which were not under the control of the Chinese monarch, in Chinese political theory the rulers of those areas derived their power from
434-401: The Chinese court, forming the center of a world view that centered on the Chinese court and went concentrically outward to major and minor officials and then the common subjects, tributary states , and finally ending with fringe barbarians . The center of this world view was not exclusionary in nature, and outer groups, such as ethnic minorities and foreign people, who accepted the mandate of
465-547: The Chinese monarch. The larger concept of tianxia is closely associated with civilization and order in classical Chinese philosophy, and has formed the basis for the world view of the Chinese people and nations influenced by them since at least the first millennium BC. Tianxia has been applied by other realms in the Sinosphere . The historical consensus is that a tianxia system existed at various points in Chinese history. Historical views differ, however, on exactly when it
496-469: The contemporary world. Based on epitaphs dating to the 4th and 5th centuries, Goguryeo had concepts of Son of Heaven ( 天帝之子 ) and independent tianxia . The rulers of Goryeo used the titles of emperor and Son of Heaven, and positioned Goryeo at the center of the haedong 'east of the sea', which encompassed the historical domain of the Three Kingdoms of Korea . During the 17th century, with
527-559: The fact that the Great Learning's mentioning of harmonizing tianxia was actually in reference to government. Using these arguments, Wang was highly critical of Neo-Confucianism. On the other hand, the collapse of the Ming dynasty and the establishment of the Manchu -led Qing dynasty by the, people previously considered "fringe barbarians", heavily influenced people's views of tianxia . Gu Yanwu ,
558-686: The fall of the Ming dynasty in China, a concept of Korea as the cultural center of Confucianism, or " Little China " emerged among the Confucian literati of the Joseon dynasty. Chinese state media frequently portrays general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping as having the tianxia perspective to seek "rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and peaceful development of humanity". Under this contemporary view, China's re-emergence as
589-572: The idea that sovereign nations deal with each other as equals, China's traditional tianxia worldview collapsed. After China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War , the Japanese terminated Korea's traditional status as a tributary state of China, and the system of feudal enfeoffment and vassalage that had been practiced since the Han dynasty came to an end, a move that greatly changed attitudes toward
620-737: The latter half of the Zhou dynasty, the power of local rulers developed rapidly, and several regions outside the Zhou cultural sphere became powerful states themselves. As many of these states had shared cultural heritage and economic interests, the concept of a great nation centered on the Yellow River Plain gradually expanded. The term tianxia began to appear in classical texts such as the Zuozhuan and Guoyu . The theme of unification applied to tianxia can be seen in Sun Tzu 's The Art of War where
651-417: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Under_heaven&oldid=812406623 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Tianxia Tianxia , 'all under Heaven ', is a Chinese term for
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#1732855230909682-470: The meaning of tianxia . Dong described tianxia as a world order in three concentric layers: "The nation is on the inside and the various feudal kingdoms are on the outside; the feudal kingdoms are on the inside while the barbarians are on the outside." Unified China fractured into many different dynasties during the Northern and Southern period , and with it went the practical use of the term tianxia . In
713-614: The possible effects of a war to the country and people, the Song rulers invented a false concept of kinship with the Jurchens in an attempt to improve relations. The Mongol -led Yuan dynasty divided Chinese subjects into two types: those of the south, and those of the north. When the Ming dynasty overthrew the Yuan dynasty and reunited China under ethnic Han rule, the concept of tianxia returned largely as it
744-510: The supreme goal of offensive strategy was to conquer without destroying that which you sought to conquer: 必以全爭於 天下 ，故兵不頓而利可全，此謀攻之法也。 Your aim must be to take All-under-Heaven intact. Thus your troops are not worn out and your gains will be complete. This is the art of offensive strategy. During Qin's wars of unification , the concept of tianxia was adapted to act as an actual geographic entity. Qin Shi Huang 's goal to 'unify all under Heaven'
775-503: The territory established by the Zhou court and governed from the capital—and 'ten thousand states' ( 万邦 ; 萬邦 ; wànbāng ), referring to both the territory as well as the Hua and barbarian subjects residing on it. The Zhou kings received and empowered these "Ten Thousand States" by virtue of the Mandate of Heaven . During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods comprising
806-428: The then lack of a modern science of understanding geography, the Chinese notion of all under heaven meant all the land, sea, and people under heaven. The term all under heaven was virtually synonymous with the world." As reconstructed by philosopher Zhao Tingyang , tianxia presupposed "inclusion of all" and implied acceptance of the world's diversities, emphasizing harmonious reciprocal dependence and ruled by virtue as
837-552: The time, and to persuade the Emperor to reduce restrictions on trade. The Qianlong Emperor rejected his request, and stated that China was the foremost and most divine nation on Earth and had no interest in foreign goods. In the early 19th century, Britain's victory over Qing China in the First Opium War forced China to sign an unequal treaty . This marked the beginning of the end for the tianxia concept. Following their defeat in
868-481: The tough realities of the domestic harmonious society, and between China's global media outreach and its increasing domestic control, digital surveillance, blacklisting, and media isolation of the Chinese public." The expression 'all under heaven' inspired literary expressions with reference to China in a number of Western languages, such as the Russian Поднебесная Podnebesnaya . The English term " Celestial Empire "
899-543: Was during the Han dynasty. At the end of the Ming dynasty, criticisms of Neo-Confucianism and its mantras of 'cultivation of moral character, establishment of family, ordering the state, and harmonizing tianxia ' , a quote from the Great Learning , became widespread, producing large shifts in Confucianism . The philosopher Wang Fuzhi believed that tianxia was of a fixed, unchangeable dimension, notwithstanding
930-522: Was in fact representative of his desire to control and expand Chinese territory. At the founding of the Han dynasty , the equivalence of tianxia with the Chinese nation evolved due to the practice of enfeoffment of imperial relatives in return for military assistance. Although many areas enjoyed great autonomy, the practice established and spread Chinese language and culture throughout an even wider territory. Scholars including Dong Zhongshu sought to standardize
961-440: Was in place. How a system of tianxia operated varied over time, ranging from vassal states accepted the authority of a Chinese emperor to when vassal states nominally paid tribute while in fact exercising their own authority. In the most expansive historical view, a tianxia system existed between the Zhou (1027–256 BC) and Qing dynasties (1644–1911). According to political scientist Yan Xuetong of Tsinghua University , "Given