Abstract
Reviews Chinese historical works from the 3d century BC to the 19th century to establish the traditional Chinese view of world history. The Chinese saw China as 'Zhongguo,' the center of the world. They divided China into five zones, whose inhabitants were considered less civilized the further they lived from China proper, the central Yellow River region. Other countries were considered inferior places inhabited by what the Chinese called 'fan, yi,' or 'man' (uncivilized barbarians). Foreigners who accepted Chinese culture and superiority were called 'shufan' (cooked barbarians), and those who did not were called 'shengfan' (uncooked barbarians). Traditional Chinese had little interest in foreign places and no wish to learn from the outside world. China was largely self-sufficient and isolated. European dominance in Asia from the 19th century astonished the Chinese, who suddenly realized that China had fallen behind. They confidently believed that the ceaseless change of history would sooner or later restore China to its rightful number-one position.