Abstract
A renewed interest in the question of Chinese identity has included the so-calledChinese–barbarian dichotomy (or, the difference between Chinese and barbarians) in Song times. Based on the works of three Song Confucians — Hu Anguo, Hu Yin, and Chen Liang — this article examines early arguments about qi (ether) as the reason for differences among human beings from different geographical locations. It shows that strong language against barbarians, which at some points may even sound nationalist or racist, did not lead to an elaborated argument for a biological difference between Chinese and barbarians or the biological superiority of the Chinese. The three authors argue from deeply rooted traditional Chinese thinking, and they define Chineseness in terms of adherence to a small set of cultural values. No claim is made to a special Chinese ethnicity. In addition to offering corrections to points made by major scholars, the present study reaffirms the validity of the concept of "culturalism" that was formulated by Joseph Levenson almost seventy years ago to describe how Song Confucians conceived of their own identity.
Keywords
Song, nationalism, ethnicism, culturalism, barbarians
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