Abstract
World history has not yet begun because the world is still not integrated into an all-inclusive Tianxia that is characterized by shared interests and mutual compatibility. Although at present the world is attempting multilateral internationalism in the hope of resolving or eliminating conflicts or wars, internationalism falls short of Tianxia, which envisages the internalization of all externalities. In the current era of rapid globalization and technological advancements that connect the world more than ever, the ancient concept of Tianxia and its experiments in Chinese history are highly relevant and worthy of study, given their potential to inform the tireless pursuit of mankind for the common good and peaceful coexistence.
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Notes
- 1.
See Kant. (1997). “Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View” and “Perpetual Peace” in Lishi Lixing Pipan Wenji (A Collection of Essays on Critique of Historical Reason). Beijing: The Commercial Press.
- 2.
See my article “Understanding and Acceptance” (in Les de la Connaissance Reciproque, ed. Alain Le Pichon, Le Robert, 2003).
- 3.
Rawls, John. (1999). Law of Peoples. Harvard University Press.
- 4.
Ibid., p. 81.
- 5.
Kant. Political Writings, p. 96 (page number of the English version).
- 6.
For details, please see my book: Zhao. (2009). Study on a Bad World. Beijing: People’s Publishing House in China, pp. 200–210.
- 7.
Huntington, Samuel, P. (1996). The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Touchstone Books, p. 51.
- 8.
Yong Ye chapter in The Analects.
- 9.
Callahan, William A. (2011). Tianxia, Empire and the World. In W. A. Callahan and E. Barabantseve (eds.), China Orders the World. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press, p. 105.
- 10.
Babones, Salvatore. (2017). American Tianxia: Chinese Money, American Power and the End of History. UK: Policy Press.
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Zhao, T. (2019). The Contemporariness of Tianxia. In: Redefining A Philosophy for World Governance. Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5971-2_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5971-2_3
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