Traditional Chinese geopolitical thinking rooted in Traditional Chinese Philosophy: origin, features and implications

Abstract

Although geopolitics only came to be accepted as a scientific discipline from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of the extensive studies related to geopolitics date back to ancient times. This essay intends to present some relevant aspects of traditional Chinese geopolitical thinking from 500 BC to the beginning of 19th century, bringing into the analysis literature from the classic works of Traditional Chinese Philosophy. First, we lay a conceptualization of the basic idea of traditional Chinese geopolitical thinking, or "sinocentrism", in order to trace the ideological origin of the policies according to which the Chinese dynasties came to relate to other states; second, we review the influence of "sinocentrism" on the trajectory of Ancient China, focusing in particular on the last dynasty (Qing dynasty), when "sinocentrism" reached its apogee whilst the Chinese empire formed a closed vision about the world; and finally, we look into the correlation between "sinocentrism" and the lack of an active global geopolitical projection of contemporary China, as well as its implications with regards to the Chinese government’s current foreign policies.