Celestial Empire () is an archaic name used to refer to China or the Chinese Empire, from a literary and poetic translation of the Chinese term, one of many names for China. The name was used in reference to the status of the Emperor of China as the Son of Heaven in the Sinosphere.
Accordingly, in the 19th century, the name "Celestial" was used to refer to Chinese people."Celestial" capitalized (Celestial Empire, old name for China): of or relating to China or the Chinese Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Both terms were widely used in the English-language popular mass media of the day,""The Wyoming Massacre" New York Times; 6 September 1885; p. 7, ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times Retrieved 12 March 2007."The Chinese Massacre," The National Police Gazette, September 19, 1885, no. 418, p. 6. but fell into disuse later on. Its usage has become popular again in the present day (2015), particularly among Chinese Internet users. It is used to refer to the current Communist regime, to imply either disapproval for its political suppression and arrogance or national pride in the country's emergence as a superpower in the 21st century, depending on the context.
In modern times it has mostly fallen into disuse, but the name "Celestial Empire" still appears in various media such as articles, stories, movies and television. It is a literal translation of Tiāncháo into English as mentioned above. The origin of the name goes back to traditional Chinese religion, in which the sky is often considered the highest god, with emperors being Sons of Heaven (tianzi), born to govern the country. The emperors were also considered to be born of dragons. This was extremely significant in fostering Chinese nationalism and support for the emperor.Cotterell, A. (2011). The Imperial Capitals of China: An Inside View of the Celestial Empire. London: Vintage Digital
Background In traditional Chinese history, the Chinese ruling class tended to perceive their country as a "great central kingdom."BOON, H. (2018). THE ORIGINS OF CHINA’S GREAT-POWER IDENTITY. In China's Global Identity: Considering the Responsibilities of Great Power (pp. 1–28). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Such trends have helped create the concept of Celestial empire, and these ideas have had a great influence on their neutralization ideas so far from generation to generation after generation. The Central Kingdom Complex was based on the understanding of China as "everything under the sky." According to Chinese studies, this concept of Chinese thought does not merely mean a glorious and powerful civilization. For them, they recognized their country as the only true civilization in all respects, including geography. Furthermore, the concept began to converge with the" noble race" to create boundaries between Chinese thought and other things.BOON, H. (2018). China's Global Identity: Considering the Responsibilities of Great Power. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. For the emperors of the central kingdom of China, the world can be roughly divided into two broad and simple categories: civilization and non-civilization, which means the people who have accepted the emperor's supremacy, the Heavenly virtue and its principle, and the people who have not accepted it.
China's neighbors were obliged to pay their respects to the 'excellent' Chinese emperors within these boundaries on a regular basis. It can be said that this was the most important element of the East Asian order, which was implicit in the name of Celestial Empire in the past. Under this order of China, the trade of goods between Empire and other dynasties took place in the form of the payment of tributes from neighboring states and the receipt of return goods from China. And this trade was sometimes more beneficial to tributaries than to China.Faure, G. (2017). China in Central Asia: Negotiating Cooperation for Mutual Benefits? In Hampson F. & Troitskiy M. (Eds.), Tug of War: Negotiating Security in Eurasia (pp. 53-68). McGill-Queen's University Press. In general, the Qing dynasty received special products from the Foreign Affairs Bureau, and the Qing dynasty received books and silk. The Chinese emperor also exercised power over the surrounding dynasty under the name of Celestial Empire.
Construction of Chinese nationalism The sinocentric term that is ‘Celestial Empire’ had many implications for the construction of Chinese nationalism. That is, the euphemistic nature of term elevated social perception of the nation to a status of authoritative and commanding nature for citizens; thus, highlighting the terms significance in fostering Chinese nationalism during the rule of the Qing dynasty.Yan, J. (2016) The construction of modernity in China and reflection on it: the decay of “celestial empire” idea and the establishment of sovereignty idea in the late Qing dynasty, by QU Congwen, Beijing, China Social Sciences Press, 2015, Journal of Modern Chinese History
The presence of Western influences in China during the midst of the 19th century was noteworthy for both the formation and perception of Chinese nationalism as it eroded the traditional view of the concept of Celestial Empire; merging it with the concept of a modern statehood.Yan, J. (2016) The construction of modernity in China and reflection on it: the decay of “celestial empire” idea and the establishment of sovereignty idea in the late Qing dynasty, by QU Congwen, Beijing, China Social Sciences Press, 2015, Journal of Modern Chinese History The years of the mid- nineteenth century were instructive to the Celestial Empire's realization that it had lost its eminence as a prevailing world power. The defeats experienced by China within the Opium Wars (1840–1842, 1856–1860), impacted the perception of Chinese nationalism; therefore, encouraging the Qing dynasty to reconsider its nationalistic approach.Fay, P. W. (1975). The Opium War, 1840–1842: Barbarians in the Celestial Empire in the early part of the nineteenth century and the war by which they forced her gates ajar. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press Zhao Suisheng had placed an emphasis on the idea that the escalation of Chinese nationalism had an explicit correlation with the intellectual search for answers to the questions regarding China's setback due to defeat in the Opium wars.Crossley, P. K. (1999.). A Translucent Mirror: History and Identity in Qing Imperial Ideology. Berkeley: University of California Press. This then oversaw a complete transformation in the characterisation of the term ‘Celestial Empire’ as Chinese scholars and political leaders began to evaluate the impact of the Western world.Zhouxiang, L., & Hong, F. (2010). From celestial Empire to Nation state: Sport and the origins of Chinese Nationalism (1840–1927). The International Journal of the History of Sport
In 1864, prominent figures within the Qing government, including Prince Luanqi, Zhang Zhidong, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Guofan and Feng Guifeng launched what was known as the ‘Self-Strengthening Movement’ in order to redefine the Celestial Empire.Zhouxiang, L., & Hong, F. (2010). From celestial Empire to Nation state: Sport and the origins of Chinese Nationalism (1840–1927). The International Journal of the History of Sport
The Self-Strengthening Movement was then moulded through the slogans that were: “‘Learn advanced technology from the barbarians to defeat the barbarians’, ‘Self-strengthening’, as well as ‘Seek Wealth’.” Zhouxiang, L., & Hong, F. (2010). From celestial Empire to Nation state: Sport and the origins of Chinese Nationalism (1840–1927). The International Journal of the History of Sport
A dominant issue for the leaders of the Self-Strengthening Movement was attempting to determine the internal catalyst for the weakness of the Celestial Empire. Political leader Feng Guifeng suggested that the failure of the Celestial Empire was due to the absence of economic, political, cultural, as well as social development in China.Zhouxiang, L., & Hong, F. (2010). From celestial Empire to Nation state: Sport and the origins of Chinese Nationalism (1840–1927). The International Journal of the History of Sport In order to overcome the shortcomings of the Celestial Empire, Feng Guifeng prompted the insertion of Western technology to redefine Chinese nationalism. The leaders of the Self-Strengthening Movement then introduced a vital sub-movement of modernization in order to promote industry, military force, commerce, agriculture and education.Zhouxiang, L., & Hong, F. (2010). From celestial Empire to Nation state: Sport and the origins of Chinese Nationalism (1840–1927). The International Journal of the History of Sport This modernization measure was reflective of the strengths found within the Western world. Modern factories and schools were introduced, and Chinese students were prompted to be sent abroad to study. Western technologies were therefore introduced to China in order to redefine the Celestial Empire; therefore, uplifting Chinese nationalism.Zhouxiang, L., & Hong, F. (2010). From celestial Empire to Nation state: Sport and the origins of Chinese Nationalism (1840–1927). The International Journal of the History of Sport
Another component of the self-strengthening movement which was vital in redefining the Celestial empire was the application of Western training techniques to the Chinese military. The leaders of the movement appointed Foreign military officers in order train Chinese soldiers and acquaint them with Western training techniques. Military drills that were largely influenced by both Swedish and German gymnastic techniques had been integrated by the Chinese Army.Zhouxiang, L. (2011) Sport, Nationalism and the Building of the Modern Chinese Nation State (1912–49). The International Journal of the History of Sport 28:7, pages 1030–1054 Within the Xiang Army, which was commanded by Zeng Guofan, who was one of the founding leaders of the self-strengthening movement; soldiers were obligated to exercise gymnastics at least twice a day as a requirement. Li Hongzhang, another leader of the movement and the commander of the Huai Army, saw that Western military generals were hired to train Chinese soldiers to be well acquainted modern military drills and exercises.Zhouxiang, L. (2011) Sport, Nationalism and the Building of the Modern Chinese Nation State (1912–49). The International Journal of the History of Sport 28:7, pages 1030–1054
Through the application of Western military physical exercises and techniques to improve the strength of Chinese armies, political elites and leaders of the self-strengthening movement then began to focus their attention to the promotion of Chinese people's physical strength.Fuhui, L. (1996). Chinese Nationalism. Wuhan: Huazhong Normal University Press By promoting the physical strength of the Chinese people, the government would then be able to strengthen Chinese nationalism through this notion of ‘Celestial Empire’.
Zhang Zhidong, a significant leader of the Self-Strengthening Movement, explained the importance of enforcing Western training techniques on all Chinese civilians for the elevation of nationalism: ‘Gymnastics concerns the future of the country. If everyone is as strong as soldiers, China will be a powerful country."Zhouxiang, L. (2011) Sport, Nationalism and the Building of the Modern Chinese Nation State (1912–49). The International Journal of the History of Sport 28:7, pages 1030–1054. The introduction of Western sports and training techniques to the Chinese populace was therefore vital in the creation of a strong ‘Celestial Empire’.