中国是怎么从那么一丁点变得这么大的
As a super fan of the historical atlas, I would like to share some insights I gained when compiling the historical map of China:
作为历史地图集的超级粉丝，我想分享我在编纂中国历史地图时获得的一些见解：
Chapter 1: Expansion of China as a Concept
第一章：中国作为一个概念的扩展
When China is translated from English to Chinese, it should be referred to as "ceramics" rather than "China". There are many aliases for different languages in China, including Khitan in Russian.
当China从英文翻译回中文时，它应该被称为“陶瓷”，而不是“中国”。中国有许多不同语言的别名，包括俄语中的契丹语。
Like any other concept, China has evolved in different eras. In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty, it was introduced into the inscription of the ritual vessel "He Zun". The king hailed his success and carved a passage:
与其他任何概念一样，中国是在不同的时代演变而来的。西周初年，周武王推翻商朝时，它被引入礼器“和尊”的铭文中。国王为他的成功欢呼，雕刻了一段话：
余其宅兹中或（国），自之乂民。
According to his definition, China is the center, while the country is a city or urban area. At that time, China was the political center. His successor, the Regent, established another stronghold called Chengzhou in order to better control present-day eastern China. At that time, it was a hub located almost at the center of the Zhou Kingdom. Since then, China has been elevated as a geopolitical center as a concept.
根据他的定义，中是中心，而国是城市或城区。当时，中国是政治中心。他的继任摄政王为了更好地控制现在的中国东部，建立了另一个据点，称为城州。当时它是一个枢纽，几乎位于周王国的中心。从那时起，中国作为一个概念被提升为地缘政治中心。
The Western Zhou Dynasty was severely weakened by the barbarians in the north, thus losing its hegemony in other Eastern countries. The relationship between countries rapidly degenerated into an endless struggle for new hegemony. Therefore, small countries were annexed by great powers, and invading barbarians were expelled from land with abundant resources, dense populations, and larger areas. At that time, these emerging regional powers were forcing/persuading the King of Zhou to recognize them as leaders of the alliance, and the concept of "China" was expanded to include regional powers.
西周王朝被北方的野蛮人严重削弱，从而失去了在东方其他国家中的霸权。各国关系迅速退化为争夺新霸权的无休止的斗争。因此，小国被大国吞并，入侵的野蛮人被驱逐出资源丰富、人口稠密和面积更大的土地。当时，这些新兴的地区大国正在迫使/说服周朝国王承认他们为联盟的领导人，而“中国”作为一个概念被扩展到包括地区大国。
With the improvement of agriculture, maturity of political structure, technological updates, and population growth, hunting activities subsequently escalated into death competitions. After the barbarians were conquered and their land was annexed, when regional powers reached a stalemate in the war for hegemony, they officially crowned themselves.
随着农业的改善、政治结构的成熟、技术的更新和人口的增长，狩猎活动随后升级为死亡竞赛。在野蛮人被征服和他们的土地被吞并之后，当地区大国在争夺霸权的战争中陷入僵局时，他们正式为自己加冕，成为国王。
Due to short-sighted mutual conspiracies, the other six regional powers, despite fierce resistance in some way, still fell trembling in front of Qin and Ying Zheng. I think you have always known that he was the first emperor of China.
由于目光短浅的相互阴谋，其他六个地区大国尽管以某种方式进行了激烈的抵抗，但还是战战兢兢地倒在秦国和嬴政面前。我想你一直都知道，他是中国的第一位皇帝。
Therefore, ancient emperors, usurpers, and potential opponents would strive for the unification of China, as this is a prerequisite for proving that they are the legitimate rulers of the people.
因此，古代皇帝、篡位者和可能的反对者会致力于中国统一，因为这是证明他们是人民合法统治者的先决条件。
Chapter 2: Agriculture and Population
第二章：农业与人口
• Wide agricultural areas
• 广阔的农业区
Like the other three civilizations, ancient China itself grew on the fertile alluvial plain of the Yellow River.
与其他三大文明类似，古代中国也生长在肥沃的黄河冲积平原上。
However, there is a significant but perhaps fortunate difference between ancient China and ancient Egypt, where the Yellow River roars on a vast wilderness rather than a relatively narrow valley, which hinders the latter's further expansion as the Sahara Desert is not suitable for habitation, especially after 6000 BC.
然而，古代中国和古埃及之间有一个重大但也许是幸运的区别，黄河在一个广阔的荒原上咆哮，而不是一个相对狭窄的山谷，这阻碍了后者的进一步扩张，因为撒哈拉沙漠不适合居住，尤其是在公元前6000年之后。
But the silver lining of hope for the ancient Egyptians was that at least the God of the Nile was in stark contrast to the God of the Yellow River, as it only flowed in one direction, not infinitely. Therefore, the ancient Chinese living on the alluvial plain in northern China needed to unite to fight against natural disasters to ensure their crops and survival, which in turn determined that China was born larger than other countries.
但古埃及人的一线希望是，至少尼罗河之神与黄河之神形成了鲜明对比，它只朝一个方向泛滥，而不是无限泛滥。因此，生活在中国北方冲积平原上的古代中国人非常需要团结一致抗击自然灾害，以确保他们的庄稼和生存，这反过来决定了多灾多难的中国生来就比其他国家更大。
• Ancient empires fueled population explosion
• 古代帝国助长人口激增
During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the development of agriculture promoted population growth. When a power vacuum arises as I mentioned in the first chapter, a prolonged war is inevitable. Therefore, regional powers have realized a decisive factor in long-term competition - human resources.
夏、商、周三朝时期，农业的发展促进了人口的增长。当权力真空像我在第一章所说的那样出现时，一场持久的战争不可避免。因此，地区大国意识到了长期竞争中的一个决定性因素——人力。
Therefore, they racked their brains for population growth, including the famous dialogue between the kind King of Wei and the philosopher Mencius. In addition, I would like to point out that this is a profound reform of the Qin state, which has made it more difficult to divide the extended family. In this way, in a large-scale war, the Qin state will usher in a baby boom. These babies were born to their parents aged 14 or 15, so they will serve the kingdom and empire in a timely manner as they grow up.
因此，他们为人口的增长绞尽脑汁，其中包括善良的魏王和哲学家孟子之间的著名对话。此外，我想指出的是，这是秦国的深刻改革，它使大家庭的分裂变得更加困难，这样，在大范围战争中，秦国将迎来婴儿潮。这些婴儿是由他们14岁或15岁的父母生下的，因此，他们长大后将及时为王国和帝国服务。
The first emperor, as a beneficiary of his predecessor, held a huge army during the unification of China. Therefore, he managed to overwhelmingly conquer the locals of present-day Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian. When his son, the incompetent Emperor II, failed to maintain rule from the farmers led by Han Dynasty founder Liu Bang and the heirs of the former kingdom conquered by the first emperor, a force composed of prisoners, merchants, and other farmers who may serve the army, like the panda warriors in World of Warcraft, stayed on the newly acquired land.
第一任皇帝作为其前任的受益者，在统一中国时掌握了一支庞大的军队。因此，他设法以压倒性的力量征服了今天的广东、广西和福建的当地人。当他的儿子，无能的皇帝二世未能从汉朝创始人刘邦领导的农民和被第一个皇帝征服的前王国的继承人手中保持统治时，由俘虏、商人和可能为军队服务的其他农民组成的部队，像《魔兽世界》中的熊猫战士一样，留在新获得的土地上。
In summary, I would like to say that the development of agriculture and even the demographic advantages brought by the rulers themselves were also the dominant factors in the expansion of ancient China.
综上所述，我想说，农业的发展甚至统治者自身带来的人口优势也是古代中国扩张的主导因素。
Around 201 BC, when the first emperor of the Han Dynasty defeated all his opponents, the Han Empire was like this. The rulers of South Vietnam (Guangdong and Guangxi) bowed to the emperor and lowered his title to King instead of Emperor, while Min Yue (present-day southern Fujian and Zhejiang in China) was actually a fiefdom recognized and restored by the emperor.
公元前201年左右，当汉朝第一位皇帝击败了所有对手时，汉帝国就是这样。南越（广东和广西）的统治者向皇帝俯首称臣，将他的头衔降为国王，而不是皇帝，而闽越（今天中国的福建和浙江南部）实际上是皇帝承认并恢复的封地。
Chapter 3: Geographical Conditions
第三章：地理条件
Before we start this chapter, can anyone answer me why Russia is so vast? What is its expansion accelerator?
在我们开始这一章之前，有人能回答我为什么俄罗斯如此辽阔吗？它的扩张加速器是什么？
Well, a possible answer that applies to China and Russia can explain this point-
嗯，一个适用于中国和俄罗斯的可能答案可以解释这一点-
• Water conservancy
•水利
Similar to Kiev Ross and Tsarist Russia, ancient China always conquered and unified by floating in rivers. As the first emperor, he ordered a large number of laborers to open the canal between the Yangtze River and the Pearl River in Guangzhou and Guangxi. For centuries, this canal has been the main transportation channel between economically developed regions and southern China. This canal is called the Lingqu Canal. From then on, China expanded to Lingnan and established stable control there.
与莫斯科大公国基辅罗斯和沙俄相似，古代中国总是通过漂浮在河流中来征服和统一。作为第一任皇帝，他命令大量劳动力在广州和广西开通长江和珠江之间的运河。几个世纪以来，这条运河是经济发达地区和中国南方之间的主要交通通道。这条运河被称为灵渠。从此，中国扩张到岭南，并在那里建立了稳固的控制。
Water, especially the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River, can sometimes be used as a natural barrier and a natural danger against invasion.
水，特别是淮河和长江，有时也可以用作天然屏障和防御入侵的天险。
Due to the Three Kingdoms Civil War, the nomad on the Mongolian Plateau, and the repeated invasions of the Khitans and Nuzhen people in the northeast, the remaining troops and refugees of the Chinese dynasty had to move to the south of China and use the water network there to resist cavalry from the north. The local people in the south were assimilated by people from the north, so China has remained united until today. As for the invaders from the north, they were also assimilated by the outnumbered, conquered but culturally advanced Chinese.
由于三国内战、蒙古高原游牧民族以及东北契丹人和女真人的多次入侵，中国王朝剩下的部队和难民不得不迁移到中国南部，并使用那里的水网来抵抗来自北方的骑兵。南方的当地人被来自北方的人同化，因此中国直到今天都是团结一致的。至于北方的入侵者，他们也被寡不敌众、被征服但文化先进的中国人同化。
China is still a mountainous country. From the map above, it can be seen that people in southern China may use the Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountains as their natural defenses.
中国还是一个多山的国家。从上面的地图上可以看出，中国南方人可能会使用秦岭和大巴山作为他们的天然防御。
The Qinghai Tibet Plateau in southwestern China and the Tianshan Mountains in northwestern China were impassable during the large-scale invasion of China in ancient times. This situation did not change until the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
中国西南部的青藏高原和中国西北部的天山在古代对中国的大规模入侵是无法通行的。这种情况直到16、17和18世纪才发生变化。
The same logic also applies to the expansion of ancient China in the the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. With the progress of technology, its altitude is increasingly unsuitable for settlement and military operations. However, when the imperial Chinese army of the Qing Dynasty found it still difficult to penetrate the thick and humid jungle, the process of conquering Southeast Asia was severely delayed.
同样的逻辑也适用于古代中国在云贵高原的扩张，随着技术的进步，它的海拔高度越来越不适合定居和军事行动。然而，当清朝的中国帝国军队发现自己仍然难以穿过厚厚潮湿的丛林时，征服东南亚的过程被严重推迟。
In addition, since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in the 1st century BC, the political and cultural connections between local tribes and imperial China have become increasingly close. The rise of the Tang Dynasty and its inheritance rights in the 16th to 18th centuries posed a new direct threat to the tribes of Yunnan, until they discovered that the rule of the Chinese emperor was relatively moderate.
此外，自公元前1世纪汉朝武帝以来，当地部落在政治和文化上与帝国中国的联系越来越紧密。唐朝的崛起及其在16~18世纪的继承权对云南部落构成了新的直接威胁，直到他们发现中国皇帝的统治相对温和。
Chapter 4: Security and Communication
第四章：安全和通信
Since Emperor Wu of Han, the expansion of the Chinese Empire was driven by security and communication considerations, which influenced and guided the basic expansion direction of the later unified and powerful ancient Chinese Empire.
自汉武帝以来，中国帝国的扩张是出于安全和通信的考虑，这影响并指导了后来统一而强大的古代中国帝国的基本扩张方向。
• Safety issues
• 安全问题
The second stage of ancient China's expansion was the result of the limited defense expansion policy aimed at frequent attacks by northern nomad. This situation was common in ancient agricultural areas bordering pastoral areas.
古代中国扩张的第二阶段是针对北方游牧民族频繁袭击的有限防御扩张政策的结果。这种情况在古代与牧区接壤的农业区很常见。
When the ancient Chinese prospered and unified under the rule of the Han Dynasty, the nomad of the Huns on the Mongolian Plateau ended their aimless wandering and became an aggressive ruling force controlling the northeast, west and central Asia of China. When the worst-case scenario occurred, the emperors of the Han Dynasty found themselves surrounded by an oppressive, even hostile alliance. The years of plundering by the Xiongnu confirmed the correctness of Emperor Wu's alliance with the Dayue clan. However, when Zhang Qian visited, the Yue people showed no interest in retaliating against the Xiongnu. Emperor Wu of Han had no choice but to fight alone.
当古代中国人在汉朝统治下繁荣昌盛和统一时，蒙古高原上的匈奴游牧民族结束了他们漫无目的的流浪，成为一个控制中国东北西部和中亚的侵略性统治力量。当最坏的情况发生时，汉朝的皇帝发现他们被一个压迫性的，甚至是敌对的联盟包围。匈奴多年的掠夺证实了武帝联合大月氏的正确性。然而，当张骞来访时，月氏人对报复匈奴毫无兴趣。汉武帝别无选择，只能独自作战。
Therefore, the chessboard once again expanded to the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province, the western region of Xinjiang, and present-day North Korea and Guangdong Province. These areas are necessary for the empire's defense and expansion.
因此，疆域再次扩展到甘肃省的河西走廊、新疆的西部地区、今天朝鲜和广东省。这些地区是帝国防御扩张所必需的。
The above "Emperor Wu Han Map" illustrates the location of the new area on the broader chessboard that I just mentioned. When Emperor Wu passed away, the situation had already been reversed.
上面的《武帝汉图》说明了我刚才提到的更广泛疆域中新区域的位置。武帝去世时，已经扭转了局势。
From then on, the Hexi Corridor was regarded as an important component by every military power dynasty in ancient China. Its farmers, settlers and garrisons were deployed in the Hexi Corridor to encircle nomad until the Qing Dynasty, which made Mongolia firmly integrated into it for a long time. However, facing the huge desert in the western region, logistics costs are also a major challenge.
从此，河西走廊被中国古代每一个军事强国王朝视为重要的组成部分。其农民、定居者和驻军被部署在河西走廊，以围剿游牧民族，直到清朝，这使蒙古在很长一段时间内牢牢地融入其中。然而，面对西部地区巨大的沙漠，物流成本也是一个重大挑战。
河西走廊
Therefore, some dynasties, as their capital shifts from the current western region to the eastern part of Henan and even Hebei Province, will choose to change their defense priorities as Peter the Great did to Russia.
因此，一些王朝，随着他们的首都从现在的西部转移到河南甚至河北省的东部，会选择像彼得大帝对俄罗斯所做的那样改变防御优先权。
A typical example of this is the Ming Dynasty. Since the Song Dynasty, the northern part of Hebei Province has not recovered lost land. Her mortal enemies were first the Khitans, and later the Jurchen. Their economic and political capital was in present-day Beijing, which was inherited by the Yuan Dynasty.
这方面的典型例子是明代。自宋代以来，河北省北部一直没有收复失地。她的死敌首先是契丹人，后来是女真人，他们的经济和政治首都都在现在的北京，这是元朝继承的。
The following Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty. However, due to the strategic importance of the Wulianhai nobility located in northeastern China, Emperor Yongle decided to relocate the capital from Nanjing to Beijing in order to directly confront the Mongols and control the Jurchen in northeastern China. Since the Tang Dynasty ruled Northeast China 700 years ago, ancient China has greatly improved its control over Northeast China.
接下来的明朝推翻了元朝。然而，由于具有重要战略意义的乌连海贵族位于中国东北部，永乐皇帝决定将首都从南京迁至北京，以直接对抗蒙古人，并控制中国东北部的女真。自700年前唐朝统治东北以来，古代中国大大改善了对东北的控制。
In summary, the continuous military struggles between ancient Chinese agricultural and pastoral peoples objectively promoted their expansion.
综上所述，中国古代农牧民族之间不断的军事斗争客观上促进了其扩张。
• Communication
• 通信
Most of the time in ancient China was open and inclusive, except for the maritime ban policy implemented by the Japanese pirates. As is well known, the most famous communication channel is the Silk Road. The powerful emperors of ancient China also needed a clear path and stable base on the Silk Road to achieve the following two goals:
古代中国在大多数时候都是开放和包容的，除了因为日本倭寇而实施的海禁政策。众所周知，最著名的沟通渠道是丝绸之路。古代中国强大的皇帝也需要在丝绸之路上有一条清晰的道路和稳定的基地，以实现以下两个目的：
First, cut off the financial resources of nomad. In fact, the most important transit point on the Silk Road has always been Persia, especially Central Asia. Unlike the powerful Persian Empire, the city-state of Sogdiana has been under great pressure from the Mongolian Plateau and nomad in northern Kazakhstan. Imperialist China will never miss such a huge opportunity and not try to gain control. Therefore, the emperors of the Han, Tang, and Qing dynasties intervened and controlled the western region and even Central Asia.
首先，切断游牧民族的财政资源。事实上，丝绸之路最重要的中转站一直是波斯，尤其是中亚。与强大的波斯帝国不同，索格迪亚纳的城邦一直受到来自蒙古高原和哈萨克斯坦北部游牧民族的巨大压力。帝国主义的中国绝不会放过如此巨大的机会而不去尝试染指。因此，汉、唐、清王朝的皇帝介入并控制了西部地区甚至中亚地区。
Secondly, import more luxury goods and foreign goods. The rulers of powerful empires are always excited about walnuts, grapes, horses, and jade from Turkmenistan. For this reason, soldiers are stationed in the western region.
第二，进口更多奢侈品和外国商品。强大帝国的统治者总是对核桃、葡萄、土库曼斯坦的马和玉器感到兴奋。为此，士兵驻扎在西部地区。
However, due to logistical issues, this expansion cannot surpass the Aral Sea. Excessive expansion will be fiercely criticized by Confucian scholars, who believe that the cost is too high and people's uprisings cannot be ignored. Therefore, ancient China failed to expand excessively.
然而，由于后勤问题，这种扩张不能超越咸海。过度扩张将受到儒家学者的猛烈批评，他们认为成本太高，人民起义也不容忽视。因此，古代中国未能过度扩张。
The story of the Western Regions also took place in southwestern China, when Emperor Wu of Han hoped to communicate with India through the rainforests of Myanmar. However, since then, the power of the empire has extended to present-day Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. Although both Nanzhao and Dali in Yunnan had kingdoms from the 8th to the 13th century, the Ming and Qing dynasties successfully restored their rule there due to struggles with previous generations of loyalists.
西域的故事也发生在中国西南部，当时汉武帝希望通过缅甸的雨林与印度沟通。然而，从那时起，帝国的权力延伸到了现在的云南和贵州省。尽管从8世纪到13世纪，云南的南诏和大理都有王国，但明清王朝由于与前几代的效忠者的斗争，成功地恢复了对那里的统治。
Chapter 5: Flexibility of Governance Structure
第五章：治理结构的灵活性
Although ancient China was a bit stubborn, it showed great flexibility in its governance structure. That is to say, different systems will be applied to different regions.
古代中国尽管有点尾大不掉，但在治理结构上表现出极大的灵活性。也就是说，不同的系统将应用于不同的区域。
Because nomad used to be rulers, once they occupied a certain area in ancient China, they would claim to be the legitimate rulers of China, as I mentioned in Chapter 1. Therefore, they will accelerate the acceptance of the ruling system recognized by the local agricultural people (most of whom are actually Han Chinese). In this case, assimilation will inevitably begin.
因为游牧民族曾经是统治者，一旦他们占据了中国古代的一定面积，他们就会声称自己是中国的合法统治者，正如我在第一章中所述。因此，他们会加速接受当地农业人民（实际上大多数是汉族人）认可的统治制度。在这种情况下，同化必然会开始。
For the Chinese imperial rulers from agricultural areas, their choice would be to restrain nomad and tribes by appointing their nobles as local or regional rulers. The emperor will defend their rights by recruiting cavalry or mountain novices from nomad and tribes at the cost of economic exchange. I avoid using the term trade because most of the time, deficits are a heavy burden for the emperor.
对于来自农业地区的中国帝国统治者来说，他们的选择将是通过任命他们的贵族担任地方或地区统治者来约束游牧民族和部落。皇帝将通过从游牧民族和部落中征募骑兵或山区新手来维护他们的权利，以牺牲经济交换为代价。我避免使用贸易这个词，因为大多数时候，赤字对皇帝来说是一个沉重的负担。
For theocratic regions like ancient Tibet, emperors, regardless of their background (Mongolian, Han, or Manchu), will exercise imperial sovereignty by respecting religion and religious leaders.
对于像古代西藏这样的神权地区，皇帝，无论其出身（蒙古、汉族或满族），都将通过尊重宗教和宗教领袖来行使帝国主权。
Therefore, ancient China was able to grow and mature.
因此，古代中国得以成长和成熟。
Okay, I must stop here because a person's energy, time, and wisdom are all limited. I may consider providing more detailed explanations on various issues.
好吧，我必须在这里停下来，因为一个人的精力、时间和智慧都是有限的。我可能会考虑对各种问题提出更详细的解释。
Thank you for reading.
