China proper

China proper,also calledInner China,are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during theManchu-ledQing dynastyto describe the distinction between the historical "Han lands" (Hán mà)—i.e. regions long dominated by the majorityHanpopulation—and the "frontier" regions of China where more non-Hanethnic groupsand new foreign immigrants (e.g.Russians) reside, sometimes known as "Outer China".There is no fixed extent for Chinaproper,as many administrative, cultural, and linguistic shifts have occurred inChinese history.One definition refers to the original area of Chinese civilization, theCentral Plain(in theNorth China Plain); another to the Eighteen Provinces of the Qing dynasty. There was nodirect translationfor "Chinaproper"in theChinese languageat the time due to differences in terminology used by the Qing to refer to the regions. Even to today, the expression is controversial among scholars, particularly inmainland China,due to issues pertaining to contemporary territorial claim and ethnic politics.

A 1912 map from an issue ofNational Geographicmagazine showing theRepublic of China.China proper is shaded in pink, while other Chinese territories have pink borders

China proper
Traditional Chinese	Trung Quốc bản thổ
Simplified Chinese	Trung Quốc bản thổ
Hanyu Pinyin	zhōngguó běntǔ
Literal meaning	Chinaproper
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin zhōngguó běntǔ Wade–Giles Chung1Kuo2Pen3T'u3
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	Trung Quốc bản bộ
Simplified Chinese	Trung Quốc bản bộ
Hanyu Pinyin	zhōngguó běnbù
Literal meaning	China core
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin zhōngguó běnbù Wade–Giles Chung1Kuo2Pen3Pu4
Second alternative Chinese name
Chinese	Mười tám hành tỉnh
Hanyu Pinyin	shíbā xíngshěng
Literal meaning	Eighteen Provinces
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin shíbā xíngshěng
Third alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	Quan nội mười tám tỉnh
Simplified Chinese	Quan nội mười tám tỉnh
Hanyu Pinyin	guānnèi shíbā shěng
Literal meaning	Eighteen Provinces insideShanhaiguan
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin guānnèi shíbā shěng
Fourth alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	Nội địa mười tám tỉnh
Simplified Chinese	Nội địa mười tám tỉnh
Hanyu Pinyin	nèidì shíbā shěng
Literal meaning	Eighteen Provinces in mainland
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin nèidì shíbā shěng
Fifth alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	Trung Nguyên hán mà
Simplified Chinese	Trung Nguyên hán mà
Hanyu Pinyin	zhōngyuán hàndì
Literal meaning	Hanterritory inCentral Plain
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin zhōngyuán hàndì

Map of China proper in 1900 from theBrockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary

Outer Chinausually includes the geographical regions ofDzungaria,Tarim Basin,Gobi Desert,Tibetan Plateau,Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau,andManchuria.

Etymology

It is not clear when the concept of "China proper" in theWestern worldappeared. However, it is plausible that historians during the age of empires and the fast-changing borders in the eighteenth century, applied it to distinguish the 18 provinces in China's interior from its frontier territories. This would also apply toGreat Britain properversus theBritish Empire,which would encompass vast lands overseas. The same would apply toFrance properin contrast to theFirst French Empire,whichNapoleonmanaged to expand all the way toMoscow.

According toHarry Harding,the concept can date back to 1827.But as early as in 1795,William Winterbothamadopted this concept in his book. When describing the Chinese Empire under the Qing dynasty, Winterbotham divided it into three parts: China proper,Chinese Tartary,and thestates tributary to China.He adopted the opinions ofDu HaldeandGrosierand suspected that the name of "China" came fromQin dynasty.He then said: "China, properly so called,... comprehends from north to south eighteen degrees; its extent from east to west being somewhat less..."

However, to introduce China proper, Winterbotham still used the outdated 15-province system of theMing dynasty,which the Qing dynasty maintained until 1662. Although Ming dynasty also had 15 basic local divisions, Winterbotham uses the name of Kiang-nan (Giang Nam,Jiāngnán) province, which had been calledSouth Zhili(Nam Trực Lệ,Nán-Zhílì) during the Ming dynasty and was renamed to Kiang-nan (i.e.,Jiangnan) in 1645, the second year after the Qing dynasty replaces the Ming dynasty. This 15-province system was gradually replaced by the 18-province system between 1662 and 1667. Using the 15-province system and the name of Kiang-nan Province indicates that the concept of China proper probably had appeared between 1645 and 1662 and this concept may reflect the idea that identifies China as the territory of the former Ming dynasty after theMing–Qing transition.

A 1944 map of China Proper,Manchuria(Northeast China),Mongolia(Outer Mongolia), Sinkiang (Xin gian g), andTibetfrom theWar Information Officepropaganda filmWhy We Fight:The Battle of China.The outer borders includeseveral areas claimedby theRepublic of China

The concept of "China proper" also appeared before this 1795 book. It can be found inThe Gentleman's Magazine,published in 1790, andThe Monthly Review,published in 1749.In the nineteenth century, the term "China proper" was sometimes used by Chinese officials when they were communicating in foreign languages. For instance, the Qing ambassador to BritainZeng Jizeused it in an English language article, which he published in 1887.

"Dulimbai Gurun" is the Manchu name for China (Trung Quốc,Zhongguo; "Middle Kingdom" ).After conquering the Ming, the Qing identified their state as "China" (Zhongguo), and referred to it as "Dulimbai Gurun" in the Manchu language. The Qing emperors equated the lands of the Qing state (including both "China proper" and present day Manchuria, Xin gian g, Mongolia, Tibet and other areas) as "China" in both the Chinese and Manchu languages, defining China as a multiethnic state, rejecting the idea that China only meant Han-populated areas in "China proper", proclaiming that both Han and non-Han peoples were part of "China", using "China" to refer to the Qing in official documents, international treaties, and foreign affairs, and the "Chinese language" (Dulimbai gurun i bithe) referred to Chinese, Manchu, and Mongol languages, and the term "Chinese people" (Người Trung Quốc,Zhongguo ren; Manchu: Dulimbai gurun i niyalma) referred to all Han, Manchu, and Mongol subjects of the Qing.

When the Qingconquered Dzungaria in 1759,they proclaimed that the new land was absorbed into "China" (Dulimbai Gurun) in a Manchu language memorial.The Qing expounded on their ideology that they were bringing together the "outer" non-Han peoples like the Manchus, Mongols, Uighurs and Tibetans together with the "inner" Han people, into "one family" united under the Qing state, showing that the diverse subjects of the Qing were all part of one family, the Qing used the phrase "Zhong Wai Yi Jia" (Trung ngoại một nhà) or "Nei Wai Yi Jia" (Trong ngoài một nhà,"interior and exterior as one family" ), to convey this idea of "unification" of the different peoples.A Manchu language version of a treaty with the Russian Empire concerning criminal jurisdiction over bandits called people from the Qing as "people of the Central Kingdom (Dulimbai Gurun)".

In the Manchu officialTulisen's Manchu languageaccount of his meetingwith theTorghut Mongol leaderAyuki Khan,it was mentioned that while the Torghuts were unlike the Russians, the "people of the Central Kingdom" (dulimba-i gurun;Trung Quốc,Zhongguo) were like the Torghut Mongols, and the "people of the Central Kingdom" referred to the Manchus.

While the Qing dynasty used "China" (Zhongguo) to describe non-Han areas, some Han scholar-officials opposed the Qing emperor's use of Zhongguo to refer to non-Han areas, using instead Zhongguo to mark a distinction between the culturally Han areas and the territories newly acquired by the Qing empire. In the early 19th century,Wei Yuan'sShengwuji(Military History of the Qing Dynasty) calls the Inner Asian politiesguo,while the seventeen provinces of the traditional heartland, that is, "China proper", and three eastern provinces of Manchuria are called "Zhongguo".Some Ming loyalists of Han ethnicity refused to use Zhongguo to refer to areas outside the borders of Ming China, in effect refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Qing dynasty. Han Chinese intellectuals gradually embraced the new meaning of "China" and began to recognize it as their homeland.

The Qing dynasty referred to the Han-inhabited 18 provinces as "nèidì shíbā shěng" (Nội địa mười tám tỉnh), which meant the "interior region eighteen provinces", or abbreviated it as "nèidì" (Nội địa), "interior region" and also as "jùnxiàn" (Quận huyện), while they referred to the non-Han areas of China such as theNortheast,Outer Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Xin gian g, and Tibet as "wàifān" (Ngoại phiên) which means "outer feudatories" or "outer vassals", or as "fānbù" (Phiên bộ,"feudatory region" ). These wàifān were fully subject to and governed by the Qing government and were considered part of China (Zhongguo), unlike wàiguó (Ngoại quốc,"outer/foreign countries" ) like Korea, Vietnam, the Ryukyus and Japan,who paid tribute to Qing China or werevassal statesof China but were not part of China.

Political use

In the early 20th century, a series ofSino-Japaneseconflicts had raised Chinese people's concern for national unity, and the concept of aunified, undivided Chinese nationbecame more popular among Chinese scholars. On Jan 1, 1939,Gu Jiegangpublished his article "The term 'China proper' should be abolished immediately",which argued that the widely accepted area covered by "China proper" is not the actual territory of any of theChinese dynasties.Gu further theorized that "Trung Quốc bản bộ",the Chinese and Japanese term equal to "China proper" at the time, actually originated from Japan and was translated into "China proper", hence the concept of "China proper" was developed by Japanese people, and it had become a tool to divide Chinese people, making way for the Japanese invasion of Mongolia,Manchuria,and other parts of China. Gu's article sparked a heated debate on the definition and origin of "Zhonghua minzu"(Chinese nation),which contributed to unifying the Chinese people in theSecond Sino-Japanese War,and to an extent shaped the later established concept of Zhonghua minzu.

Modern

Much of the regions outside of China proper areautonomous regions.

Today, China proper is a controversial concept in China itself, since the current official paradigm does not contrast the core and the periphery of China. There is no single widely used term corresponding to it in theChinese language.

The separation of China into a "China proper" dominated by Han people and other states for ethnic minorities such asEast Turkestan(Chinese Turkestan) for theUyghursimpugns on the legitimacy of China's current territorial borders, which is based on thesuccession of statesprinciple. According to sinologistColin Mackerras,foreign governments have generally accepted Chinese claims over its ethnic minority areas, because to redefine a country's territory every time it underwent a change of regime would cause endless instability and warfare. Also, he asks, "if the boundaries of the Qing were considered illegitimate, why should it go back to the much smaller Ming in preference to the quite extensiveTang dynastyboundaries? "

Extent

The approximate extent of China proper during the lateMing dynasty,the last dynasty of China ruled by the Han people.Liaodong Peninsulawas still administered as part of China proper before it was conqured by the Manchu.

The Eighteen Provinces of China proper in 1875, before Taiwan's separation from Fu gian in 1885 and its annexation by Japan in 1895

There is no fixed geographical extent for China proper, as it is used to express the contrast between the core and frontier regions of China from multiple perspectives: historical, administrative, cultural, and linguistic.

Historical perspective

One way of thinking about China proper is to refer to the long-standing territories held bydynasties of Chinafounded by the Han people. Chinese civilization developed from a core region in the North China Plain, and expanded outwards over several millennia, conquering and assimilating surrounding peoples, or being conquered and influenced in turn. Some dynasties, such as theHanandTangdynasties, were particularly expansionist, extending far intoInner Asia,while others, such as theJinandSongdynasties, were forced to relinquish the North China Plain itself to rivaling regimes founded by peoples from the north.

The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox Chinese dynasty of ethnic Han origin and the second-last imperial dynasty of China. It governed fifteen administrative entities, which included thirteen provinces (Chinese:Bố Chính Sử Tư;pinyin:Bùzhèngshǐ Sī) and two "directly-governed" areas. After the Manchu-led Qing dynasty succeeded the Ming dynasty in China proper, the Qing court decided to continue to use the Ming administrative system to rule over former Ming lands, without applying it to other domains under Qing rule, namelyManchuria,Mongolia,Xin gian g,TaiwanandTibet.The 15 administrative units of the Ming dynasty underwent minor reforms to become the "Eighteen Provinces" (18 hành tỉnh;Yīshíbā Xíngshěng,orMười tám tỉnh;Shíbā Shěng) of China proper under the Qing dynasty. It was these eighteen provinces that early Western sources referred to as China proper.

There are some minor differences between the extent of Ming China and the extent of the eighteen provinces of Qing China: for example,some parts of Manchuriawere Ming possessions belonging to the province of Liaodong (nowLiaoning), which is inside theMing Great Wall;however, the Qing conquered it before entering theCentral Plainand did not administer as part of a regular province of China proper. On the other hand, Taiwan was a new acquisition of the Qing dynasty, and it was placed under the administration ofFu gian,one of the provinces of China proper. EasternKhamin Greater Tibet was added toSichuan,while much of what now constitutes northernBurmawas added toYunnan.

Near the end of the Qing dynasty, there was an effort to extend the province system of China proper to the rest of the empire. Taiwan was converted into a separate province in 1885, but was ceded to Japan in 1895.Xin gian gwas reorganized into a province in 1884. Manchuria was split into the three provinces ofFengtian,JilinandHeilong gian gin 1907. There was discussion to do the same in Tibet,Qinghai(Kokonor), Inner Mongolia, and Outer Mongolia, but these proposals were not put to practice, and these areas were outside the provincial system of China proper when the Qing dynasty fell in 1912.

The Provinces of the Qing Dynasty were:

Eighteen provinces
Postal	Pinyin	Chinese		Postal	Pinyin	Chinese		Postal	Pinyin	Chinese
Anhwei	Ānhuī	An Huy tỉnh		Hunan	Húnán	Hồ Nam tỉnh		Kweichow	Guìzhōu	Quý Châu tỉnh
Chekiang	Zhèjiāng	Chiết Giang tỉnh		Kansu	Gānsù	Cam Túc tỉnh		Shansi	Shānxī	Sơn Tây tỉnh
Chihli	Zhílì	Trực Lệ tỉnh		Kiangsu	Jiāngsū	Giang Tô tỉnh		Shantung	Shāndōng	Sơn Đông tỉnh
Fukien	Fújiàn	Phúc Kiến tỉnh		Kiangsi	Jiāngxī	Giang Tây tỉnh		Shensi	Shǎnxī	Thiểm Tây tỉnh
Honan	Hénán	Hà Nam tỉnh		Kwangtung	Guǎngdōng	Quảng Đông tỉnh		Szechwan	Sìchuān	Tứ Xuyên tỉnh
Hupeh	Húběi	Hồ Bắc tỉnh		Kwangsi	Guǎngxī	Quảng Tây tỉnh		Yunnan	Yúnnán	Vân Nam tỉnh
Additional provinces in late Qing dynasty
Fengtien	Fèngtiān	Phụng thiên tỉnh		Heilungkiang	Hēilóngjiāng	Hắc Long Giang tỉnh		Kirin	Jílín	Cát Lâm tỉnh
Sinkiang	Xīnjiāng	Tân Cương tỉnh

Some of the revolutionaries who sought to overthrow Qing rule desired to establish a state independent of the Qing dynasty within the bounds of the Eighteen Provinces, as evinced by theirEighteen-Star Flag.Others favoured the replacement of the entire Qing dynasty by a new republic, as evinced by their Five-Striped Flag. Some revolutionaries, such asZou Rong,used the termZhongguo Benbu(Trung Quốc bản bộ) which roughly identifies the Eighteen Provinces.When the Qing dynasty fell, theabdication decree of the Xuantong Emperorbequeathed all the territories of the Qing dynasty to the newRepublic of China,and the latter idea was therefore adopted by the new republic as the principle ofFive Races Under One Union,with Five Races referring to the Han, Manchus, Mongols, Muslims (Uyghurs, Hui etc.) and Tibetans. The Five-Striped Flag was adopted as the national flag, and the Republic of China viewed itself as a single unified state encompassing all five regions handed down by the Qing dynasty. The People's Republic of China, which was founded in 1949 and replaced the Republic of China on the Chinese mainland, has continued to claim essentially the same borders, with the only major exception being the recognition of an independentMongolia.As a result, the concept of China proper fell out of favour in China.

The Eighteen Provinces of the Qing dynasty still largely exist, but their boundaries have changed.BeijingandTianjinwere eventually split from Hebei (renamed from Zhili),Shanghaifrom Jiangsu,Chongqingfrom Sichuan,Ningxiaautonomous region fromGansu,andHainanfrom Guangdong. Guangxi is now anautonomous region.The provinces that the late Qing dynasty set up have also been kept: Xin gian g became an autonomous region under the People's Republic of China, while the three provinces of Manchuria now have somewhat different borders, with Fengtian renamed as Liaoning.

When the Qing dynasty fell, Republican Chinese control of Qing territories, including of those generally considered to be in "China proper", was tenuous, and non-existent inTibetandMongolian People's Republic(formerOuter Mongolia) since 1922, which were controlled by governments that declared independence from China. The Republic of China subdivided Inner Mongolia in its time on the mainland, although the People's Republic of China later joined Mongol-inhabited territories into a single autonomous region. The PRC joined theQamdo areainto the Tibet area (later theTibet Autonomous Region). The Republic of China officially recognized the independence of Mongolia in 1946, which was also acknowledged by the PRC government since its founding in 1949.

Ethnic perspective

The approximate extent of the Han ethnicity in China and Taiwan as of 1983, denoted in brown.Scattered distribution is denoted by circles

China proper is often associated with the Han people, the majority ethnic group of China and with the extent of the Chinese languages, an important unifying element of the Han ethnicity.

However, Han regions in the present day do not correspond well to the Eighteen Provinces of the Qing dynasty. Much of southwestern China, such as areas in the provinces ofYunnan,Guangxi,andGuizhou,was part of successive dynasties of ethnic Han origin, including the Ming dynasty and the Eighteen Provinces of the Qing dynasty. However, these areas were and continue to be populated by various non-Han minority groups, such as theZhuang,theMiao people,and theBouyei.Conversely, Han people form the majority in most of Manchuria, much of Inner Mongolia, many areas in Xin gian g and scattered parts of Tibet today, not least due to the expansion of Han settlement encouraged by the late Qing dynasty, the Republic of China, and the People's Republic of China.

Ethnic Han is not synonymous with speakers of the Chinese language. Many non-Han ethnicities, such as theHuiand Manchu, are essentially monolingual in the Chinese language, but do not identify as ethnic Han. The Chinese language itself is also a complex entity, and should be described as a family of related languages rather than a single language if the criterion ofmutual intelligibilityis used to classify its subdivisions.

In polls the majority of the people of Taiwan call themselves "Taiwanese" only with the rest identifying as "Taiwanese and Chinese" or "Chinese" only. 98% of the people of Taiwan are descendants of immigrants from mainland China since the 1600s, but the inclusion of Taiwan in the definition of China proper, is still a controversial subject. SeeHistory of TaiwanandPolitical status of Taiwanfor more information.

See also

• Names of China
• Annam
• Chinese world
  • Greater China
• Mainland China
• Metropole
• North China Plain
• Chinese Empire
• Inner Asia
  • Ming dynasty in Inner Asia
  • Qing dynasty in Inner Asia
• Outer Mongolia
• Outer Manchuria
• Sinocentrism
• Zhonghua Minzu
• Chinese macro-regions—Socio-economic divisions of China proper
• Willow Palisade
• Great Wall of China
• Serbia proper
• Russia proper
• Mainland India

References

Sources

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External links

• ChinaThe Catholic Encyclopedia
• Photographic survey of Outer China

This article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom websites or documents of theUnited States Government.