“帝国”概念在中国古代史研究中的“适用性”  

“Suitability” of the Concept “Empire” in Research on Pre-modern Chinese History

作　　者：王子今 Wang Zijin

机构地区：[1]西北大学历史学院 [2]“古文字与中华文明传承发展工程”协同攻关创新平台 [3]中国人民大学国学院

出　　处：《国际汉学》2024年第2期7-16,155,共11页International Sinology

基　　金：2020年度国家社科基金中国历史研究院重大研究专项“兰台学术计划”“中华文明起源与历史文化研究专题”委托项目“中华文化基因的渊源与演进”(项目编号:20@WTC004)的阶段性研究成果。

摘　　要：对于中国古代政治实体的指称方式,有“王朝”“帝国”异说。以秦汉大一统政治格局为研究主题之一的《剑桥中国秦汉史》同时使用两种说法。有学者强调,在研究中,不应称王朝为“帝国”,以为清末之前的文献中从未出现过“帝国”之说,并建议有关“王朝”的研究应避免使用“帝国”“国家”一类“具有现代西方涵义的词语”。就此有必要讨论。中国古代文献“基本没有‘帝国’一词”之说,是不确实的。而实际上“王朝”这一语词在历史记述中也并未见普遍通行。其实,“王朝”概念同样会面临“在中国古代史研究中的适用性问题”。而“国家”一类词语使用较早,汉镜铭文已有实例,恐怕不宜理解为“具有近现代西方涵义”。也许我们对于今天的中国古代史研究,应当取比较宽容的态度,对于“帝国”“国家”一类词语,应当允许研究者按照自己的理解在学术论著中使用。There are different ways of referring to ruling entities in ancient China:“dynasty” and “empire”.Both terms are used in The Cambridge History of China,Vol.1:The Ch'in and Han Empires,221 BC—AD 220,which takes the Qin-Han political pattern of unification as one of its research themes.Some scholars emphasize that in research,one should not call a dynasty an “empire”,holding that the term “empire” never appeared in the literature before the end of the Qing dynasty,and suggest that research on “dynasties” should avoid the use of terms such as “empire” and “state”,which “have modern Western meanings”.This needs to be discussed.However,it is not true that “the word ‘empire' is basically absent from ancient Chinese literature”,while the term “dynasty” is not commonly used in historical accounts.In fact,the concept “dynasty” also faces the “problem of suitability in the study of pre-modern Chinese history”.The term “state”,on the other hand,was used earlier,as exemplified in the inscriptions on Han mirrors,and it is not appropriate to interpret it into “a modern Western meaning”.Perhaps we should be more tolerant about researchers' use of the terms “empire” and “state” in their academic writings about pre-modern Chinese history according to their own understanding.

关 键 词：帝国 王朝 中国古代史 适用性 

分 类 号：K2[历史地理—历史学]