著者

板橋 暁子

出版者

東洋文庫

雑誌

東洋学報 = The Toyo Gakuho (ISSN:03869067)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.97, no.3, pp.1-31, 2015-12

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The evolvement of an imperial Chinese ruling structure comprised of territories and subjects completely integrated politically, legally and ideologically into junxian 郡県 administrative districts (neichen 内臣) and territories and people governed by foreign heads of state swearing political and ideological allegiance to China (waichen 外臣) has been studied focusing mainly on the Han China's aristocratic (feudal) and bureaucratic institutions. In contrast, the author of the present article is of the opinion that the research to date has not sufficiently explored 1) statements and writings of individuals that may offer clues to changes occurring in perceptions concerning China's "nei" and "wai" in general and 2) specifically, the unique view of "the world" (tianxia 天下) adopted during the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, when the gap between ideals and realities the concerning "the world" had become greater than ever before. Consequently, this article is an attempt to point the research in a new direction by analyzing three pieces of correspondence recorded in the Jinshu 晋書 of the biography regarding Murong Wei 慕容廆 (350-385). These letters clearly reveal an attempt on the part of high level court officials and "protectors of the realm" (fanping 藩屏) to redefine the geopolitical distinction between "nei" and "wai"and to revise the Han Chinese view of "the world." The author makes the following three points in this respect.1. The first two letters (A & B) written by Murong Wei and members of his entourage argue that from the standpoint of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the territory ruled by the Murong kings clearly lies "beyond ["wai"] its borders;" therefore, Murong Wei should be considered as a legitimate non-imperial family feudal king. 2. The fact that Letters A and B were specifically addressed to Tao Kan (259-334), the renowned Jin Dynasty military commander and provincial governor, was, according to the author, due to Tao's southern (nanren 南人) origins and his lack of support compared to northern enthusiasts,"beiren 北人,"for the Eastern Jin's official "world" view aiming at the recapture of northern China and the re-establishment of the former social structure. 3. In the third letter (C), Tao does affirm Letter B's argument for the infeudation of the King of Yan (Murong), but on the basis that his realm constitutes "nei" within the Jin Dynasty's "world." Based on the gap between the ideal of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the de facto rule exercised in northern China by the Murong royal family, Tao's compromising attitude is in effect both anti-official and non-traditional in character. As a matter of fact, both the Murong royal family and nanren Chinese were considered as "peripheral" within the beiren Han Chinese order envisioned by the Jin Dynasty. From the arguments and responses to them appearing in the three letters dealt with in this article, the author detects a new imperial integration framework appearing simultaneously with the decline of the dynasty a core for the purpose of linking peripheral elements institutionally similar in service and allegiance to its core.