The Journey of Guizhou Self-Consciousness: From Consciousness of?Geographical Space to Consciousness of Humanistic Values

Zhou Zhixiang

Abstract： Over more than six hundred years of reflection and awakening， Guizhou self-consciousness has developed a profound sense of self-awareness， ranging from the shaping and awakening of geographic consciousness in the Ming dynasty， the Qian peoples sense of identity when they compiled local annals in the Qing dynasty， the Qian peoples cultural consciousness when they established the Association for Qian Learning in the late Qing dynasty and the early Republic of China， and the cultural subjectivity entailed in the contemporary slogan “Colorful Guizhou，” to its recent humanistic values as advocated in the “humanistic spirit of Guizhou.” Such a humanistic spirit reveals the spiritual essence and value of Guizhous regional culture， thus providing spiritual guidance and methodology for constructing the discipline of Qian Learning.

Keywords： Qian Learning， Guizhou awareness， humanistic spirit of Guizhou， disciplinary construction， self-consciousness

The proposal of the humanistic spirit of Guizhou was a natural result of the continuous evolution of the Guizhou spirit together with peoples deepened understanding of it after a millennium of accumulation and refinement， and symbolizes the self-consciousness of Guizhous humanistic values. It constitutes both the foundation of spiritual value and the core of intellectual culture for the disciplinary construction of Qian Learning （namely， the academic learning of Guizhou or the Qian region）， thus laying the foundation for its axiology and methodology.

To explore Qian Learning and its disciplinary construction， we must first trace the intellectual and cultural history of Guizhou， and more importantly， the part of Guizhou self-consciousness based on self-perception and awakening in this intellectual process. In 1852， the term “Qian Learning” was proposed by Guizhou Provincial Education Commissioner Weng Tongshu 翁同書 （1810–1865）. In the 1980s， Guizhou scholars once again raised the concept of Qian Learning. By the second decade of the twenty-first century， various academic institutions in Guizhou have set up research institutes with Qian Learning as their object of study. It can thus be said that Qian Learning itself is a concept with a history of more than 160 years. But until today， no persuasive consensus has been reached on the connotations of Qian Learning in the academic community， and approaches to develop Qian Learning as a discipline have not yet been clarified. Therefore， exploring the emergence， development and evolution of Guizhou self-consciousness from the perspective of history and logic is quite necessary for us to deeply understand the connotations， research problems and historical position of Qian Learning， as well as the theories and methods applicable for its investigation.

The Geographical Self-Consciousness of Qian

[Refer to page 22 for Chinese. Similarly hereinafter]

As noted by scholars， Qian as a regional name was only a dynamic appellation for a region until Guizhou was established as a province in the Ming dynasty （1368–1644）. Qian varied in geographical size from the Qianzhong territory of the state of Chu during the Warring States period （475–221 BCE） to the Qianzhongdao Prefecture in the Tang dynasty （618–907）， and none of these could completely cover todays Guizhou Province as an administrative division. This shows that Qian was not a geographical space with unified characteristics during the millennia before the retablishment of Guizhou Province in the year 1413. After long-term economic， military， and cultural interaction among various forces over thousands of years， people became aware during the Ming dynasty that Qian or Guizhou as an administrative division or a place for cultural， economic， and ethnic activities had already become an independent geographical space for itself. It is in this sense that the author believes that Qian only began to exist as an independent regional space with self-consciousness in the Ming dynasty. This process was finally completed only after the border areas were changed from the tribal chieftainship system to the standard district administration system during the Yongzheng period （1723–1735） of the Qing dynasty， when Zunyi Prefecture and Wusa Prefecture that originally belonged to Sichuan Province， the northern part of the Hongshui River that originally belonged to Guangxi Province， and the garrison regions along the border between the provinces of Hunan and Guizhou were all placed under the jurisdiction of Guizhou.

The formation of the geospatial self-consciousness of Qian is of profound intellectual and cultural significance， and this process itself has shaped the culture， thought， and scholarship in the region. First， Qians spatial scope and boundaries were not determined by human will， but most fundamentally by the geographical texture of the Qian region itself. In other words， the long-term interaction between people and the natural environment in the Qian region， that is， the social， economic， cultural， military， and other characteristics formed by the interaction between humanity and nature， laid the foundation for the Ming and Qing （1644–1911） dynasties to set out their administrative divisions and achieve effective political administration. Similarly， it was due to their awareness of its independence as a geographical space that the Ming and Qing dynasties established Guizhou as an independent province， affording it with recognition and respect. Second， the establishment of the spatial scope of Qian allowed the survival of various ethnic groups and their life wisdom to be formed on the basis of long-term human–nature interaction， which was conducive for the regional culture of Qian to collide and communicate with the culture of the Central Plains as a whole， and thereby secure new opportunities for its own growth and development.

The cultural symbol of Qian regions geospatial self-consciousness was the completion of Guizhou governor Guo Zizhangs 郭子章 （1542–1618） Records of Qian [黔記](méi) in the Wanli period （1573–1620） of the Ming dynasty. As “the most canonical annals，” it summarized the regional knowledge of Guizhou after the awakening of regional geographical self-consciousness comprehensively in the format of a chronicle. As a matter of fact， it served as an early exploration and summary of Qian Learning. Therefore， it played a significant role in changing peoples understanding of Guizhou， as indicated by the relationship between geography， people， and literary records summarized by Guo Zizhangs contemporary Qiu Heshi 邱禾實(shí) （1570–1614）： “A place values its people through its mountains and rivers while a people values its place through its literary records.”

The Qian Peoples Self-Conscious Sense of Identity [23]

As long as Guizhou exists， there will be people living there， but whether they are willing to identify and accept themselves as Guizhou people is a very complicated yet important question， especially given that forty-nine ethnic groups live there， eighteen of which are indigenous. Peoples self-consciousness and recognition of their regional identity is indispensable for a regional consciousness to arise and grow in a regional culture. Without the Qian peoples self-conscious sense of identity， the subjective consciousness of Qian people that forms the core of Qian Learning could not emerge. In this case， Qian Learning would always be an exotic field of learning and a local knowledge system about an other， rather than a knowledge system and value system about Qian peoples self-awareness， self-understanding， and self-growth.

To trace the history of the Qian peoples self-conscious sense of identity， there were in general the following situations. The first involved the recognition of the identity of Qian people among the Han immigrants and Han scholars who lived in Guizhou for various reasons. Qiu Heshi noted that scholars of the Ming dynasty did not recognize themselves as Qian people. Due to the backward economic conditions of the Qian region， Han people and ethnic minorities tended to live together. As the majority were people of ethnic minorities， Han officials were reluctant to take up positions in Guizhou， and even those who had come were anxious to leave. This is perhaps not surprising， but what is strange is that even Han scholars who were born in Guizhou and had their households registered in the Qian region were inclined to give their forefathers birthplace rather than Guizhou as their own place of registration， since they thought being Guizhou people as an insult. It can be seen that until the late Ming dynasty， Han scholars who identified themselves as Guizhou people like Qiu Heshi were few and far between， with most of them being more willing to identify themselves with their ancestors regional identity.

For indigenous ethnic minorities， under the Ming dynasty they had no awareness of identifying themselves as Qian people. When Wang Yangming 王陽(yáng)明 （1472–1528， a.k.a. Wang Shouren 王守仁） came to Longchang Courier Station in Guizhou， he felt as if he was living at the time of Yao and Shun—“I work at sunrise and rest at sunset. What does the power of the Emperor mean to me？” This may explain the attitude taken by the local residents toward their identity at the time. In addition， from the Ming dynasty to the early Qing dynasty， there were a large number of “untapped regions” （生界） in the Guizhou region that were under neither the jurisdiction of the Central Plains dynasties nor the authority of the hereditary chieftains of the ethnic minorities. As many of the indigenous ethnic minorities lived by their survival wisdom in virgin forests， the Central Plains dynasties did not know they existed， and vice versa. Even the chieftains nearby did not know their details， let alone identify them as Qian people.

It is not difficult to see that the Qian peoples self-conscious sense of identity was also a historical process. Qiu Heshi， Chen Shangxiang 陳尚象 （fl. 1579–1597）， and others in the Ming dynasty had clearly identified themselves “we Qian people，” and they believed that Guizhou people in the Ming dynasty were already “l(fā)iterate and civilized”： “The people sang and danced in peace and happiness， the scholars immersed themselves in poetry and literature， and both were refined and cultured.” Such Han scholars were regarded as the earliest of their kind who self-consciously identified themselves as Qian people. However， it should be noted that their sense of identity was still based on their identification with the Central Plains culture， rather than that of Qian culture. Their ideological basis still lay in Confuciuss philosophy of “wishing to take up residence among the nine barbarian tribes” and Wang Yangmings serving as an official at the Longchang Courier Station in Guizhou， the hermit consciousness of leaving the amoral Central Plains to go into hiding.

In general， Han scholars did not recognize themselves as basically part of the Qian culture until the Qing dynasty. For example， figures such as Mo Youzhi 莫友芝 （1811–1871）， Zheng Zhen 鄭珍 （1806–1864）， and Li Shuchang 黎庶昌 （1837–1891）， representatives of Shatan Culture （沙灘文化）， attached great importance to collecting and collating the literature of their townships and fellow townsmen， and actively participated in the compilation of Qian annals with an evident Guizhou temperament. Zheng Zhen and Mo Youzhi， two Qian natives who co-edited the Annals of Zunyi Prefecture [遵義府志]， made their breakthroughs by applying the approaches of Han Chinese classics to historical works and adding such categories as “epigraphy and sigillography，” “farming and sericulture，” and “mining and metallurgy” to the annals， not only greatly increasing the categories and volume of regional knowledge about Guizhou， but also showing a native care for the development of the regional economy， society， and culture. As for the sense of regional Qian identity among ethnic minorities， earlier scholars had explored it after the border areas were changed from the tribal chieftainship system to the standard district administration system， such as An Jishi 安吉士 and An Ganxin 安淦辛 （fl. 1833）， a father and son of the Yi nationality who edited New Records of Guizhou [貴州新志]， reflecting a clear identification with Guizhou.

In short， from the intellectual and cultural perspective， Qian peoples sense of identity was not only based on their localization of Central Plains academic studies in Guizhou， but also based on the collision， fusion and penetration of their ethnic culture and the Central Plains culture. This makes the concept of Qian People itself an important topic of Qian Learning as a significant part of its intellectual history.

Qian Learning， the Association of Qian Learning， and the

Cultural Self-Consciousness of the Qian Region [24]

A sense of identity is based on identification with ones natural and geographic space as well a humanistic foundation with an intellectual and academic core. However， this humanistic environment is not as easy to identify and perceive as the geographical environment， since it is sometimes explicit while other times implicit. Therefore， it is one thing to know when academic studies were conducted in the Qian region， but another to know when people became aware and conscious that there was learning in the Qian region.

Guo Zizhang of the Ming dynasty proposed，

Before the Yuan dynasty （1271–1368）， Qian was a place of ethnic minorities where people communicated orally in their daily life rather than using writing， and therefore there was no learning. Learning in Qian did not appear until the beginning of the Yuan dynasty， when Shunyuanlu Confucianism and Linzhou Confucianism were established.

Obviously， the “l(fā)earning in Qian” mentioned by Guo Zizhang here does not refer to academic thought native to the Qian region， but to the development of Confucian education and the establishment of an education system under the auspices of the Central Plains dynasties in the Qian region. Unlike Guo Zizhang， when education commissioner Weng Tongshu， who was born in Jiangsu， proposed the concept of Qian Learning during the Xianfeng period （1851–1861） of the Qing dynasty， he was certainly referring to intellectual and academic studies of the Qian region. He said， “The rise of Qian Learning was in fact promoted by Wang Yangming who once presided over Wenming Academy， which is now called Guishan Academy，” and he furthermore noted that when Wang Yangming was in Guizhou， “he became enlightened as to the learning of self-examination and uncovered the principle of intuitive moral knowing， which he used to exhort other scholars， producing a dramatic change in Qian customs.” Here， based on the perspective of Central Plains culture， Weng Tongshu looked back on the academic thought of Guizhou， and affirmed that Wang Yangmings enlightenment of the dao at Longchang and his lectures at Wenming Academy marked the beginning of Guizhous intellectual history with Confucianism as its core. Later， Mo Youzhi delved deeper into the intellectual history of Guizhou， and noted that Guizhou-born scholar Yi Tianjue 易天爵 （fl. 1454） of the Ming dynasty was the “founder of cultural education” in Guizhou after it was established as a province， while Chen Wenxue 陳文學(xué) （fl. 1506–1516） and Tang Boyuan 湯伯元 （fl. 1516–1521）， two of Wang Yangmings disciples from Qian who inherited his theory of intuitive moral knowing， were the local scholars who first pioneered Qian Learning. Mo Youzhis investigation and his special attention to the academic thought and native place of local scholars undoubtedly represented the self-consciousness of native academic thought among native scholars of Guizhou.

The self-consciousness of Qian Learning and Qian peoples sense of identity were based on Chinese learning and the interaction between the greater tradition and the lesser tradition from the perspective of Chinese learning. On the other hand， the Association of Qian Learning proposed by Guizhou education commissioner Yan Xiu 嚴(yán)修 （1860–1929） in 1897 and founded by Qian scholars including Lei Tingzhen 雷廷珍 （1852–1902） to promote pragmatic statecraft， national strength， and enriching the people was based on their reflection on and examination of regional culture from the perspective of the collision between Chinese learning and Western learning in the modernization process of the nation. This not only gave support to Kang Youwei 康有為 （1858–1927） and Liang Qichaos 梁?jiǎn)⒊?（1873–1929） constitutional reform and modernization drive to make China wealthy and its people strong， but also provided a new understanding of Guizhous intellectual culture and education based on the modernization of both the country and Guizhou. In 1906， Ren Kecheng 任可澄 （1878–1946）， a noted educator of Guizhou， became president of the Association of Qian Learning. He promoted new science and new ideas in Guizhou， embracing Western learning with open arms， and can thus be regarded as a continuation of this intellectual trend. It can thus be seen that Qian Learning reappeared precisely as a reflection on the Qian Learning of the past with Chinese learning as its core. Qian Learning also changed its connotations into a modern pursuit of scholarship aimed at promoting research on such topics as Guizhous modernization and the transformation of Guizhous original thought and academic learning by means of Western institutional disciplines and systems of knowledge.

‘Colorful Guizhou and the Self-Consciousness of

Cultural Subjectivity [25]

However， both the Qian Learning rooted in the cultural perspective of the Central Plains and the Qian regions cultural self-consciousness represented by the Association of Qian Learning and based on the perspective of the comparison between Chinese and Western cultures still remained shrouded in the understanding of regional culture modeled on “the distinction between Han Chinese and barbarians.” The culture and customs of the seventeen non-Han ethnic groups living in Guizhou were either ignored or excluded from Qian Learning， or they were regarded an alien part of it that required a “dramatic change.” After the founding of the Peoples Republic of China， based on the ethnic theories of Marxism and the basic principles of equality and solidarity in ethnic policies， the languages， history， culture， and customs of the ethnic minorities in the Qian region gained much respect. The written classics and oral literature of the indigenous ethnic minorities were collected and unearthed， and their splendid history and culture finally shook off the dust covered by various cultural prejudices and have become bright pearls that illuminate the future for the Qian region. This defines the reasonable horizons and clear research boundaries for shaping a new form of Qian Learning， setting higher requirements for how to accurately summarize and express this rich and diverse regional academic pursuit. As scholars have noted， it is inevitably biased to use Yelang Culture， Plateau Culture， or Ethnic Minority Culture to refer to Guizhou culture from the perspective of equality among nationalities. Clearly， Guizhous awareness needs a more profound self-consciousness.

The year 2005 marked a significant moment in the course of Guizhous self-consciousness， an extremely important landmark of which was the concept of “Colorful Guizhou” as proposed by the Publicity Department of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee. It shows that with the continuous awakening of Guizhous self-consciousness， Guizhous rich intellectual and cultural characteristics have been understood， generalized， and expressed in a more profound and accurate manner， symbolizing Guizhous self-consciousness of cultural subjectivity. From the perspective of the journey of Guizhous self-consciousness alone， this is the first time in the history of Guizhou that it has escaped from the distinction between Han Chinese and barbarians and the centralist perspective of Central Plains academic learning focused on its civilizing mission， while it has also escaped from the perspective of scientism that has pervaded academic circles since modern times， thus giving full affirmation to the culture and academic learning of the Qian region as a whole. As a result， the colorful cultures and customs of the indigenous ethnic minorities in Guizhou as well as their written classics and living oral classics， which have always been hidden in intellectual history， are now presented as subjects in their own right. As an organic part of Guizhous regional culture， the academic thought of the Central Plains that spread in Guizhou， including Confucianism， Buddhism， and Daoism， can also display the distinctive characteristics of the Qian region through their Guizhou-style expressions in the context of “Colorful Guizhou.”

In terms of the intellectual history of the Qian region， “Colorful Guizhou” explores the characteristics of Guizhous cultural diversity and unity， and summarizes the essentialities of regional geographical space， ethnic groups， and intellectual culture with diverse forms yet a unified deep structure. At the same time， it also presents a modest and tolerant cultural character based on cultural self-consciousness and self-confidence.

The Humanistic Spirit and Values of Guizhou [26]

In the broad sense， culture includes four levels： physical culture， institutional culture， behavioral culture， and psychological culture. Among these， psychological culture， as the core part of culture， refers to such aspects as values， aesthetic taste， and modes of thought， which have formed through the extended practices of human society and conscious activities. If we compare this with the journey of Guizhous self-consciousness， it is not difficult to find that the Qian regions self-consciousness of geographical space in the Ming dynasty was precisely an understanding of Guizhous physical culture， the Qian peoples sense of identity and their cultural self-consciousness as represented by the Association of Qian Learning can be said to be an understanding of Guizhous institutional culture， while the self-consciousness of cultural subjectivity in “Colorful Guizhou” can be interpreted as an understanding of Guizhous behavioral culture.

To explore the psychological culture of Guizhou， that is， the task at the level of values， one may start with the proposal of Guizhous humanistic spirit. In January 2016， the then Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee， Chen Miner 陳敏爾， first put forward the concept of the “humanistic spirit of Guizhou” and the content of “the unity of Heaven and humanity and of knowledge and action” at the Guizhou Provincial Conference of Publicity Department Directors. Subsequently， a heated discussion on the humanistic spirit of Guizhou began in the province and it attracted wide attention from academic circles inside and outside Guizhou. Wu Genyou 吳根友， a professor of the School of Philosophy at Wuhan University， noted，

The humanistic spirit of Guizhou based on the core of two Chinese philosophical propositions， that is， “the unity of Heaven and humanity” and “the unity of knowledge and action，” gives these new interpretations that fit the temporal and regional qualities of the contemporary trends of Chinas social development， showing that the Guizhou people have found an ingenious historical junction between tradition and modernity.

Unlike scholars from outside Guizhou who explore the spirit of the Guizhou people from a traditional or modern perspective， Ma Yongbin 麻勇斌， a local scholar， pays more attention to the originality and locality of Guizhous humanistic spirit. He noted，

The humanistic spirit of Guizhou is an accumulation of the philosophical thought， intellectual wisdom and empirical concepts that have been formed by each ethnic group in Guizhou in their process of adjustment to the living environment and historical changes， into which they have constantly absorbed the new substrates of outstanding civilizations. “The unity of Heaven and humanity and of knowledge and action” is， by far， the most condensed and precise summary of the humanistic spirit of Guizhou.

Obviously， no matter how one interprets and understands the humanistic spirit of Guizhou and its content， this proposal of great significance as part of intellectual history， which has touched upon the deepest layer of Guizhous culture—psychological culture. Therefore， the proposal can be said to be a sign of Guizhous self-consciousness of humanistic values. In this respect， we can conclude that the introduction of the humanistic spirit of Guizhou marks the completion of Guizhous basic self-consciousness， and peoples understanding of Guizhou culture has moved to the deepest realm of spiritual value. From this perspective， the unity of Heaven and humanity in Guizhous humanistic spirit represents the relationship between Heaven and humanity on the Guizhou plateau， which is not only the root cause of Guizhous diverse geographical space and its multi-ethnic and multi-cultural quality， but also the common essence of such plurality and diversity. The unity of knowledge and action in Guizhous humanistic spirit， on the other hand， signifies the relationship between people in Guizhou， that is， people from different ethnic groups getting along with each other according to their shared moral conscience， with each displaying its own colorful customs and unique culture. In addition， it also means people of all ethnic groups getting along with themselves thanks to their own good nature， self-awareness and self-consciousness.

In conclusion， the humanistic spirit of Guizhou points directly to the reflection and revelation of the spiritual essence and value of Guizhous regional culture， and has become a key to unlocking the treasure-store of Guizhous regional knowledge system and spiritual world. This provides spiritual guidance for the disciplinary construction of Qian Learning： Qian Learning is a regional discipline that explores and promotes the humanistic spirit of Guizhou while at the same time serving Guizhous modernization and development. It also provides a methodology for developing the discipline of Qian Learning： to use the methodology and tools for analysis and interpretation that are used by the humanities， and starting with that spirit， to trace it back to the life and intellectual world of Guizhou， in hope of serving the forward-looking Guizhou people and contributing to cultivating a new Guizhou people with a promising future.

Translated by Zhu Yihua