Beyond Patriotism, Real Self-Esteem

 Many associate the term "Dongyi" (東夷) with a disparaging label meaning "eastern barbarians." However, if you open the Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)—the earliest comprehensive Chinese dictionary compiled by the Han dynasty scholar Xu Shen in the early 2nd century AD—you will encounter a surprising record that completely defies this common misconception.

When analyzing the non-Chinese peoples surrounding the Central Plains, Xu Shen utilized highly derogatory characters and radicals for most groups. He used the "insect" radical (虫) for the southern Man (蠻) to imply a serpent-like origin, "dog" (犬) for the northern Di (狄), and a word meaning "weapon/spear" (戈) for the western Rong (戎). In stark contrast, no offensive beast- or weapon-related characters were used for the eastern Dongyi (東夷). Xu Shen wrote: "They are the people of the East. They follow [the characters for] 'great' (大) and 'bow' (弓). The Yi are great people (大人). Their customs are benevolent, and they enjoy longevity, such that they have a country of superior men (君子, junzi) that never dies." Rather than viewing them as savages, he uniquely honored them as a dignified and benevolent (仁) people.

This positive assessment is consistently echoed in other esteemed Chinese classics and official dynastic histories. In the Analects, when Confucius lamented the decline of moral order in the Central Plains, he expressed a desire to "go and live among the Nine Yi (九夷)." When a disciple asked how he could live in such a "crude" place, Confucius famously retorted, "If a person of virtue (君子) lives there, how could it be crude?" (君子居之 何陋之有). Furthermore, the preface to the "Dongyi Biographies" in the Book of the Later Han (後漢書) records: "The East is benevolent and loves to cherish life. Being natural, gentle, and easily governed by moral principles, it is called the Country of Superior Men." The classic geographical text Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas) similarly attests that "the people of Joseon (朝鮮) care for and love one another."

Broadening our view across East Asia reveals a consistent historical recognition of this distinct identity. The 8th–9th century Tibetan Dunhuang manuscript (Pelliot tibétain 1283), housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, explicitly identifies the northern powerhouse Goguryeo as 'Mug-lig' (貊句麗), recording it as an independent and formidable empire alongside the Tang Dynasty. This indicates that Tibetans, too, recognized the Dongyi-descended states as a powerful, autonomous world separate from China. Likewise, Japan’s official imperial chronicles, Nihon Shoki and Shoku Nihongi, meticulously document the three Korean kingdoms (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla) as highly advanced cultural partners that introduced advanced civilization and Buddhist thought to Japan.

As these validated, primary historical sources demonstrate, the ancient Dongyi were far from unrefined barbarians. Beyond the mere balance of power, they were viewed as a distinct, moral civilization characterized by cultural grace and benevolence. That is the true face of the Dongyi recorded by the ancient world.

#Dongyi #KoreanHistory #AncientRecords #HistoricalTruth #BeyondPatriotism