The Cognition of the Western Regions Coming under the Jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty by Roman Empire and Kushan Empire in the Eastern Han Dynasty
During the Han Dynasty,the Western Regions were formally included in unified multi-ethnic China,and at the same time,the concept of"the Western Regions and the Inland Regions as a Whole"began to take shape.This concept is not only reflected in the Chinese central government's declaration of jurisdiction over the Western Regions and the identification of various ethnic groups in the Western Regions with the Chinese central government,but also in the recognition of the Western Regions coming under the jurisdiction of China by foreign countries.During the Eastern Han Dynasty,both the Macedonian merchant group of the Roman Empire and the Kushan ruler Kanishka I who forced some local governments in the Western Regions to send hostages,regarded the Western Regions as part of China.This not only echoes and contrasts with the recognition of the central and local governments of the Han Dy-nasty that the Western Regions belong to the Han Dynasty,but also sets a precedent for many ethnic groups in the Eurasian continent to develop the recognition of the Western Regions and the Inland Regions as a whole afterwards.From the perspective of intellectual history and world history,the fact is corroborated that the essence of the Chinese central government's governance of the Western Regions after the Han Dynasty is China as a unified multi-ethnic country implementing continuous integration of the Inland Regions with the Western Regions which had been inte-grated with the Inland Regions during the Han Dynasty,rather than the so called"conquest"in the historical experi-ence of Western empires.This study helps us further explore the limitations of some foreign scholars'understanding of Xinjiang's history since modern times,as well as the long-standing binary perspective of"China's Inland Regions-Inner Asia",and re-examine the uniqueness and continuity of China's unified multi-ethnic state form.
Eastern Han DynastyThe Western RegionsRoman EmpireKushan Empire
万方数据
维普
