The path of 'civilization state' as against the road of 'nation state'
- By Tan Chung
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, November 20, 2015
Shared civilization
I think the two great civilizations of China and India have been millennial "common entities with a shared civilization," making it a conception of four "common entities" (each with a "shared civilization," "shared destiny," "shared interest," and "shared responsibility").
This conception of four "common entities" shines upon the road of development for China today, not the "nation state" path, but the "civilization road" towards the goal of "civilization state."
No single nation was able to fill in the space created by the contours of the "sphere of Chinese civilization." We see an endeavour of thousands of nations of varying sizes in the unified China.
The ancient text, Lushi Chunqiu (Mr. Lu's Discourse on Spring and Autumn), authored by Lu Buwei, carries this narrative: "There were ten thousand states all-under-Heaven (tianxia) during the time of the Great Yu, and the number reduced to three thousand odd during the time of the Great Tang. Today, none of them survives." This concept of tianxia (all-under-Heaven) is exactly the space carved out by the two great rivers demonstrating China's development beyond the "nation state" path.
No regret
Confucius observed: "zhao wen dao xi si keyi," which literally sounds like "When I hear there is Tao in the morning, I don't regret dying in the evening." The correct interpretation of the often misunderstood Confucian adage is: "I can die without regret any time when I see the goal of civilization state has become a living reality."
Such a great statement by the Chinese sage looking forward to the early realization of the "civilization state" must now be resurrected from oblivion to guide China's road of development.
India's paramatman and China's tianxia traditions clearly propped up the "civilization road" in which individualism could not become riotous as in the "nation state" path.
A "nation state" is predicated on the notion of self-expansion into a superpower, ceaselessly waging aggressive wars and imposing one's own culture onto others.
China never developed such a style. Ancient dynasties of China have created "a common entity with a shared civilization" over more than two millennia. Nation-states intervened from time to time but never changed China's own "civilization road." China might not have qualified as a "civilization state" but was on the way to become one.
The secret of China's longevity is the "civilization road" which is the only reliable road for China's development from strength to strength.
The author is a historian of Chinese studies, Sino-Indian relations and cultural exchanges. He now lives in Chicago, United States. Shanghai Daily condensed his article.
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