Satu Kajian Mengenai Konsep Wufu danZhongguo dalam Hubungan Luar China

A Study of Wufu dan ZhongguoConcepts in China’s Foreign Relation

Abstract

Prior to the Opium War (1839-1842), China’s foreign policy on politics, economy and culture was characterized by the tributary system. However, the system cannot be addressed and understood using the principle of sovereign equality and understanding based on the Western concept of Westphalia principles, except in the context of otherstates which recognized the suzerainty of China (overlordship). This is because underlying the tributary system that established diplomatic relations with surrounding states was the emphasis on Confucian (551 BC-479 BC) principles, such as trust, loyalty and mutual respect. Besides, the system was also based on the concepts of Zhongguo and Wufu. The fact that China believed she was Zhongguo (center of the world), meant that she was not only the centre of everything that emerged but also was superior to other cultures and civilizations tied with Wufu (five ties), which is the distance between China and the other states that indicated the degree of China’s influence on these civilizations. This study analyzes the concept of Wufu and Zhongguo as well as the topographical correlation that influenced the conception of China as the world and the world as China. By looking closer into the concepts of Wufu and Zhongguo, this study will be significant because China’s perceptions and views have steered China’s tributary system as a mechanism of Sino-foreign relations with other surrounding states