The process of integration between China and various ethnic groups can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn period.
At that time, due to the imbalance of local economy and culture, the more advanced countries in the Central Plains were called Huaxia, while the more backward countries adjacent to them or inhabited were called Rongdi Barbarians.
However, the names of the various ethnic groups are not clear-cut, and sometimes the inhabitants are called "Yi", "Man", "Rong" or "Di", but this does not mean that there is a complete difference of blood.
In fact, "barbarian" is a general term, while "Rongdi" is a term for the barbarian species and tribes, rather than dividing the four directions into four races.
Although the "Four Descendants" are mentioned in the Zuo Biography, there is no concept of assigning "Yi", "Man", "Rong" and "Di" to the four directions.
It was not until after the Warring States Period, with the formation of the Han nationality, that the titles of "Dongyi", "Xirong", "Beidi" and "Nanban" gradually appeared.
Many of the princely states divided by the Zhou royal family were located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Valley, and these countries generally had more advanced productive forces and culture, and had entered the stage of slavery society, so they were called different names such as China, Huaxia, and Zhongxia in ancient texts.
Originally, the meaning of "Yi" was "corpse", and in the oracle bone inscriptions, there are records such as "隹 corpse Fang Shou You" ("Jia" 279) and "Hou sue the corpse Fang" ("Cui" 1187).
In the Jin text, there are uses such as "Dongyi" ("Xiaochen"), "Nanyi" ("Zongzhou Zhong"), and "Huaiyi" ("Xijiapan").
The main Yi people mentioned in the literature are Shuyi, Huaiyi, Xuyi and Laiyi.
Shuyi is located in the central part of present-day Anhui Province, and Huaiyi is distributed in the lower reaches of the Huai River today, and Xuyi is also known as Xu Rong (Shang Shu Fei Oath) or Xu Fang (Shi Daya Changwu), located in the northern part of Si County, Anhui Province.
Laiyi was located in the northeastern part of today's Shandong Peninsula.
And the so-called "Jiuyi" is not necessarily an exact reference, but may only refer to the meaning of many branches.
The earliest use of the word "barbarian" was in Jin Wen, called "barbarian" (Xijiapan) or "barbarian fang" ("虢吉子白pan"), which seems to refer to the Raccoon tribe in the northwest.
There are also so-called "hundred barbarians" ("Jin Gong") and "barbarians" ("Qin Gong Zhong") near the Jin and Qin dynasties, which refer to the ethnic groups in the northwest like the "barbarian fang" in the "Book of Poetry Daya Suppression".
In addition, there are "Hundred Barbarians" ("The Book of Poetry Daya Han Yi") near Henan and South Korea, and there are "Barbarian Raccoon Dogs" ("The Book of Poetry Lu Song Palace") near the Eastern Lu Kingdom.
The Book of Songs also mentions ethnic groups such as "Barbarian Jing" ("Xiaoya Crane Song").
Historically, both the Rong and Di ethnic groups were ethnic minorities in the Central Plains.
The Rong people are a large family with many branches, and their species are really numerous, and their places are not easy to study.
According to historical records such as "Zuo Chuan", the Rong people are distributed in various places in the Central Plains, such as the mountainous areas and the Yellow River Valley, including the "Rong" near Lu and Cao, and the "Lu Rong" and "North Rong" in the south of the Chu State.
Among them, the "Beirong" near the Jin, Zheng, Qi, and Xu Zhuguo is probably the Rong that lives north of the Yellow River and is adjacent to the "Zhuxia".
In addition, there are "Shanrong", "Zhurong", etc., probably living in Hebei and Shanxi.
Sima Qian pointed out in the "Historical Records of the Xiongnu Liebiography" that the Rong nationality is a branch with many branches, which are not unified and change frequently, and it is indeed difficult to understand its distribution.
The Di people are also an ethnic minority in the Central Plains.
According to the records of "Zuo Biography", the Di people mainly have three branches: Bai Di, Chi Di, and Chang Di.
In the Jin inscriptions of the Zhou Dynasty, you can also see the use of the word Di, such as "Di", "Di", etc.
Although the Di and Rong are ethnic minorities in the Central Plains, their distribution is less than that of the Rong.
In Shanxi, Hebei and other regions, the two major tribes of Chidi and Baidi are entrenched in the local area, and their influence sometimes extends to Shandong and Henan.
Changdi was active in the border area from Linfen, Changzhi and Shandong in Shanxi, and once attacked Qi, Lu, Song, Wei and other countries.
In addition to the northwest and eastern parts of these regions, there were also subordinate Di tribes in the south of the Chu State.
Cultural exchange is one of the main reasons for the integration of these ethnic groups.
In 559 B.C., Fan Xuanzi of the Jin Kingdom had a dispute with Jiang Rong Juzhi, and Juzhi replied to him: "My Zhurong's diet and clothes are different from those of the Huaxia people, and the city and language are not compatible, so what malice is there between us?"We do not participate in your meetings, nor do we hinder you.
This shows that the Rong and the Chinese are culturally different.
However, Komachi was able to recite the poem "Blue Fly" and express his will in this way (all of the above are from the 14th year of Xianggong in the "Zuo Chuan").
The beginning of "Blue Fly" is: "How can you be a gentleman, no faith and gluttony" ("The Book of Poetry Xiaoya").
Komaji's ability to recite the poem and express his will proves that he was deeply influenced by the culture of the Central Plains.
In 525 B.C., Lu Guozhao held a banquet to entertain Tanzi.
Zhao Gong asked Tan Zi, "What kind of bird is Shao Hao's name?"Tan Zi answered this question very fluently and told many historical allusions.
When Confucius heard about this, he went to visit Tanzi and learned Xi from him.
Later, he told others: 'I have heard that the Son of Heaven has lost his official position, and the official school has remained between the four provinces, which is believable.
Although the Tan State was not a Yi people, because it mixed with the Yi people, Confucius made such a comment, reflecting the wide spread of Central Plains culture.
In 5 BC, after the Zhou prince dynasty failed to compete for the throne, he fled to Chu with the Zhao clan, Mao Bode, Yin Shigu, and Nangong Huan with the classics of the Zhou dynasty ("Zuo Chuan" in the 26th year of Zhaogong).
In the late Spring and Autumn Period, Ji Zha, the son of Wu State, listened to the ** dance of the Zhou Dynasty in Lu State, and the musicians sang "Zhou Nan" and "Zhao Nan" for him, and he commented: "This is the cornerstone of our culture, although it is not perfect, but we are diligent and not resentful."
When they sang "Shao", "Hu", and "Wei" for him, he commented: "This is profound, excellent and not confined to difficulties" ("Zuo Chuan" in the 29th year of Xianggong).
From these evaluations, it can be seen that the Chinese culture of the Central Plains has had a profound impact on the Wu State.
At the same time, other ethnic cultures have also enriched Chinese culture.
In 662 BC, the state of Qi defeated Shan Rong and dedicated the "Rong Shu" (the 31st year of the reign of Zhuang Gong in the "Legend of Gu Liang") to the state of Lu.
Guan Zi Jiedi also mentions: Qi Huan Gong "Northern Expedition to Shanrong, brought winter onion and Uncle Rong, and spread it all over the world".
During the Spring and Autumn period, the integration between the countries of the Central Plains and other ethnic groups was a common phenomenon.
Although it began in the early days, it is said that since the Northern Expedition of Qi Huangong, "Rongshu" was popularized and widely spread throughout the country to closely connect various ethnic groups.
In the highly regarded art of riding and archery at that time, the Central Plains countries had begun to use vehicles and horses at the same time, which was inseparable from the close interaction between various ethnic groups.
Intermarriage between ethnic groups is also a major factor in promoting integration.
The Jin Kingdom was one of the countries with the most intermarriages with other ethnic groups, and in the 28th year of Zhuang Gong in the "Zuo Chuan", it is recorded that Jin Xiangong married two Rong women and gave birth to Chong'er and Yiwu.
When the prince of Jin was heavy on "Bendi", Di Ren was guilty of his second daughter, and the Jin State also married the woman to Rong Di.
The states of Chu and Wu also intermarried with the countries of the Central Plains, and even King Xiang of Zhou once "took his daughter as the queen".
In the past 300 years, the gradual integration between the Huaxia and the Yi, Man, Rong, Di and other ethnic groups has opened a new page in the history of various ethnic groups in ancient China.
This integration was also going on after the formation of the Han people.
As the main body of the Chinese nation, the Han nationality has played a tremendous role in safeguarding the unity of the country.
The contribution of various ethnic minorities to the history of the motherland cannot be ignored.