"The Great Nine Provinces" and "A Foot-long Ruler"

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In Chinese history, there are some concepts that have been used for a long time but never became a reality, such as the well-known "Nine Provinces" (九州). The general belief, particularly based on Confucian classics, is that the "Nine Provinces" refers to the nine regions of China that were created after the great Yu the Great (大禹) controlled the flood, in order to manage and govern the country more effectively. However, according to existing historical records and archaeological findings, there is no concrete evidence that Yu and his era ever existed. Even if he did exist, the rulers at that time could not have governed such a large area directly. Therefore, this concept remained an ideal, a reflection of a vision, not a practical reality.

Moreover, this concept gradually evolved in the late Warring States period. Scholars of that time saw the trend of the eventual unification of the country and made plans for future governance, envisioning a unified state. However, this vision was never put into practice. Whether it was the establishment of the "Thirteen Provinces" during the Western Han Dynasty or the implementation of the Provincial Governor system during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the country was never divided into nine provinces.

Nonetheless, this concept was continuously used, such as in the poem by Lu You, "But sorrow for not seeing the Nine Provinces united." Here, the "Nine Provinces" symbolized the entire country of China. Even today, we often use "Nine Provinces" to represent the entire nation. Therefore, some historical concepts remain confined to the intellectual realm, or over time, people have treated these ideas as practical concepts, which still hold real significance and a positive impact.

So, how did these concepts come about? Most were based on existing realities, but some were purely the result of scholars' logical reasoning or imaginative speculation, which could still solve practical problems and have an impact in history or science.

For instance, the Records of the Grand Historian (史记) records the scholar Zou Yan from the state of Qi, who lived after Mencius. He believed that "What the Confucians call China is actually only one eighty-first of the world. China is called 'the Red County Divine Land' (赤县神州). Within this Red County Divine Land, there are nine provinces, the ones that Yu the Great divided, but these do not represent the actual number of provinces. Outside China, there are nine other regions like the Red County Divine Land, surrounded by seas, where people and animals cannot communicate with one another, and each such region is considered one province. In this way, there are nine provinces, and outside these, there is the vast ocean surrounding the world, marking the boundaries of heaven and earth." Zou Yan’s concept was audacious and unprecedented. Based on existing historical records, Zou Yan likely never left the region of Qi, let alone visit the nine provinces, let alone the larger concept of the "Great Nine Provinces." Why did he propose such a grand idea? It was purely imagination and reasoning.

However, looking at the reality of the earth today, Zou Yan’s reasoning seems surprisingly accurate. Each continent is surrounded by oceans, and the concept of the seven continents or five continents we use today is essentially the idea of a landmass surrounded by water. The concept of "Nine Provinces" was not the result of fieldwork by Zou Yan but was born from his imagination and reasoning. Yet, this concept undoubtedly has more positive meaning than knowledge gained solely from practical observation or description of places that one had visited.

In fact, Western geographers were similar. The earliest people to hypothesize that the Earth was round or spherical did so without any fieldwork. Before the Age of Exploration, no one truly understood the world or the surface of the Earth. It was not just the remote places on Earth that were unknown; even within one’s own continent, few people had traveled extensively or understood the geography. How, then, did they establish large-scale geographical concepts? It was also through imagination and reasoning. We notice that during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods in China, various philosophies began to emerge and even reached high levels of development. This was because it was a time of intellectual freedom, or rather, the rulers were either too busy or unable to intervene in the realms of thought and scholarship. Brilliant individuals were able to make significant discoveries through their rich imagination and rigorous logic.

A famous example is the well-known saying by Zhuangzi, which our national leaders often quote in international forums: "A one-foot stick, take half of it every day, and it will never be exhausted." Over two thousand years ago, there were no scientific experiments, no electron microscopes to observe the micro-world, nor nanotechnology or particle accelerators. Zhuangzi had none of these tools—so how could he claim that a one-foot stick, if you took half of it every day, would never be exhausted? How could he explain the infinite divisibility of matter in just twelve words?

In fact, this is the result of free thought. His statement was not based on empirical evidence or scientific experiments, but purely on rigorous reasoning. If you take half each day, you would have half left, then half of that, and so on. If you say one day it would be gone, then where did the other half go? Therefore, it should never be exhausted.

Another example is the famous debate on the proposition "A white horse is not a horse." This was a sophism, but it became an important logical proposition in academic circles.

Gongsun Long emphasized that "white horse" is composed of two concepts—white and horse—and both are essential. If you only have a horse, it could be yellow, black, or other colors, but if you have "white," it does not necessarily have to be connected to a horse. In the concept of "white horse," both white and horse are inseparable; otherwise, it is neither white nor a horse, and thus "not a horse." Although this debate seemed meaningless in practical terms, it could freely occur at the time, and would be recorded and passed down, becoming part of a school of thought. The reason for this is that in an era where intellectual and academic thought was not controlled, brilliant individuals, especially some geniuses, could fully apply and display their talents.

This freedom of thought was not due to a conscious effort by the rulers to encourage intellectual freedom, nor was it the result of any formal institutions. It can be attributed to an important factor: the free movement of talent. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the existing order was breaking down, and individuals with skills, who dared to pursue personal development, had the freedom to move. At the same time, faced with intense and brutal conflict, if rulers wanted to protect themselves or achieve further expansion, they needed a group of outstanding talents, and they could not rely solely on their own people. They had to actively recruit from foreign lands. For talents, this meant freedom of choice and mobility. If one country did not value them, they could move to another.

A regime that was good at attracting and absorbing talented individuals, particularly immigrants, had the potential to rapidly develop, expand, and consolidate. Many famous stories from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods tell of rulers who spared no expense in attracting talent. The state of Qin was particularly effective in this.

Almost all of the people who contributed greatly to the rise of Qin, promoted legal reforms, or carried out important missions were immigrants. Some were from the Western Rong, some from Wei, some from Song, others from the state of Wu, and so on. These individuals had been marginalized or unimportant in their home countries. It was only in Qin that they found opportunities to succeed.

However, the rulers of Qin did not always prioritize the recruitment of immigrants. On the one hand, there was a pressing need for talent, and on the other, decisions needed to be made by the ruler. Once, the Qin royal ministers suggested that most of the immigrants who came to Qin served their original masters, and they recommended expelling them. After Qin Shi Huang issued the "Expulsion Order" to expel the immigrants, Li Si, who was a guest official, wrote the famous "Memorial on Expelling Foreigners," arguing that if Qin had not accepted the "guests" (immigrants), it would never have become as powerful as it was. By expelling them, the Qin would only help their enemies, making many enemies and accumulating resentment.

This led Qin Shi Huang to change his mind and revoke the expulsion order, allowing the "guests" to stay, including Li Si.

But when all talents belong only to one country, when they can no longer make their own choices, intellectual and academic freedom ceases to exist.