The terra-cotta warriors found around the tomb of Qin Shi Huang at Xi’an, Shaanxi Province Photo: CFP

In 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang established an empire of centralized monarchy, the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BCE). He abolished vassal states [a governance system implemented by the preceding Zhou Dynasty], and gained direct control over bian-hu [common people listed in the household register, based on a system of household registration introduced following the Qin unification] through a two-tier administrative system that organized the empire into administrative units [jun, or commanderies] and subunits [xian, or counties].

Qin Shi Huang also issued orders for almost universal standardization of the diverse practices of earlier Chinese states—from weights, measures, and the axle lengths of carts to the written language and the laws. In terms of national defense, he launched campaigns against the Xiongnu nomads in the north and initiated the construction of the Great Wall.

Han’s efforts of achieving unification

The Western Han Dynasty (202 BCE–8 CE) continued the [Qin] system of allocating land to registered citizens. Under this system, registered citizens who were assigned to land had to pay taxes, and [two years of] military service was required from all registered adult men. Another system aimed at military enhancement was known as jun gong jue, through which anyone who had military merits, regardless of family background or social statue, could enjoy a certain military rank of honor [It broke the previous system that only nobles could enjoy such ranks of honor].

Other reforms aimed at solidifying centralized power included adopting the principles of Confucianism as the state philosophy and code of ethics, improving the jun-xian administrative system, and promoting the use of wu-zhu coins [which ensured the central government’s right to mint coins]. During the Han era, further contact with western Eurasia connected the regions around the Tian Shan Mountains with the Chinese mainland for the first time. The “Unified China” mentioned in the edict of Emperor Wu of Han referred to the unified country centered on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River during the Qin and Han eras.

Regarding the “Unified China” under the Qin and Han jun-xian system, the renowned historian Cho-yun Hsu, former professor of University of Pittsburgh, once described its characteristics and importance with three points: political control down to the bottom of society, an interdependent, nationwide economic network, a shared writing system and Confucian orthodox values. This paper fully agrees with Hsu’s first and third points, but has reservations about the second point. The nationwide “economic network” driven by the wu-zhu coins during the Qin and Han dynasties had just formed at that time, which should not be overestimated. It may be more appropriate to describe the “Unified China” of Qin and Han with the phrase “carriages have all wheelbase of the-same size, all writing is with the same characters, and for conduct there are the same rules.”

Practices of standardization

This paper believes that the standardization of carriage wheelbase, writings, and conducts should not be understood in a narrow sense. “Carriages have all wheelbase of the-same size” didn’t only refer to the standardization of the wheelbase, but put emphasis on the standardization of “laws and dress codes.” It referred to the centralized governance over the registered population via the jun-xian bureaucratic system headed by the emperor, and the strict control over society, economy, culture, etc.

“All writing is with the same characters” was not restricted to the universal use of Qin small seal script, but stressed Confucianism as the official state ideology. “For conduct there are the same rules” referred to more than just standardized behavioral codes, but the formation of the Han Chinese as a common community. The Chinese historian Fan Wenlan pointed out that the Han people had already formed an ethnic group during the Qin and Han dynasties. This paper agrees with Fan’s view and believes that the basic formation of the Han ethnic group during the Qin and Han eras was precisely the manifestation of “for conduct there are the same rules,” which was the result of the fusion and expansion of the Chinese ancestors living in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers 2,000 years ago.

In essence, the concept of a “Unified China” during the Qin and Han jun-xian system was built upon the centralized monarchy within the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers 2,000 years ago. It adhered to the traditions of Confucianism, with Chinese characters as the primary medium of communication. Most Chinese ancestors began to identify themselves as part of the Han ethnic group. The singularity of the political system, culture, and ethnic groups during this period exemplified the characteristics of a “Unified China” under the jun-xian system of Qin and Han.

Chinese nation and ethnic outsiders

Some may raise the question: Since the Qin unified Nan Yue [various ethnic groups inhabited southern China], Xi’nan Yi [the general term for the ethnic groups settled in present-day Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan], and Xi Rong [ethnic groups living in western China] into its domains, did the “unification of Hua [a culturally defined China] and Yi [cultural or ethnic outsiders]” occur during the Qin and Han eras?

In fact, no clear phrase has been found in historical texts from the Qin and Han period that confirms the “unification of Hua and Yi.” Such phrases are mainly found in the Yuan and Ming texts.

Qin initially established 36 commanderies. The Han had up to 105 commanderies and vassal states under its jun-guo system [a system with coexisting administrative units of commanderies and vassal states]. Among them, dozens of commanderies were located in the border areas of Nan Yue, Xinan Yi, and Xi Rong. These ethnic groups had already been included in the map of Qin and Han, and some ethnic outsiders gradually became registered citizens.

Despite this, the territory and jurisdiction of the Qin and Han were predominantly situated south of the Great Wall. The Xiongnu nomads still persistently posed challenges to the Qin and Han dynasties in the northern regions beyond the Wall. They only recognized the ji-mi policy [a Chinese administrative policy established for rulers of ethnic groups, who received their duty from central authority while keeping their original status, and passed on their duty to heirs] instead of the jun-xian system. The fundamental reason was that the deserts and steppe [where Xiongnu lived] were unsuitable for agriculture and settlement—an essential prerequisite for the application of the jun-xian system. In summary, the nomads north of the Great Wall were beyond the reach of the jun-xian system during the Qin and Han eras.

It needs to be noted that the Great Unity under the jun-xian system of the Qin and Han eras, the integration of various ethnic groups into the Chinese nation and the basic formation of the Han ethnic group were achieved or completed almost synchronously. In this sense, the unification of Qin was indeed the unification of the Han Chinese and the other ethnic populations for the first time. However, this unification was largely limited to within the Great Wall.

From a long-term perspective, the various ethnic groups from within the Great Wall were mostly integrated into the 36 commanderies of “China” during the Qin and Han eras. In this sense, the unification under Qin and Han referred to the Great Unity under the jun-xian system. Compared with the pre-Qin cultural Chinese groups and the other ethnicities settled along the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, Qin and Han had formed a “unified China” in a broader sense. Compared with the “Great China” that included both the Central Plain and the areas beyond the Great Wall during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Qin and Han only established a “unified China” in a narrow sense.

Li Zhian is a professor from the Faculty of History at Nankai University.