The Early Formation of Chinese Modern State—— Perspective on the Semantics of “Yi” Character

Modern state-building includes composite elements.Based on different elements,the content of modern state-building also varies.The transformation of the traditional concepts of the “Hua-Yi(“华夷”) segregation” and the “common ruler under the heaven” are two key steps in the process of Chinese modern state-building.These two major changes were clearly reflected on the cases of Zengjing-Lv Liuliang and Macartney's envoy to China occurred in the mid-19th century.In order to dissolve the challenges brought by Han intellectuals such as Zeng Jing to the Manchu rule,rulers such as Yongzheng reshaped the meaning of the Yi character and promoted it consciously,striving to shape a more equal and syncretic pattern among different ethnic groups.Due to the continuous protests of the British diplomatic personnel such as Macartney towards the Yi character,the Qing rulers were forced to abandon the Yi character and replace it with Xi(“西”),Yang(“洋”),and Wai(“外”),reflecting the Qing rulers’ transition from the concept of “common ruler under the heaven” to that of “member of the world nation-state system”.The semantic change and the historical fate of the Yi character reflect China’s early modern state-building in the dimensions of ethnic and international relations in the mid Qing Dynasty.