Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.5, 2014

 

'Huanei' and 'Huawai' in the Tang Dynasty

 

 

 

 

(Abstract)

 

 

 

Wang Yikang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Huawai (化外 foreign areas) and Huanei (化内domestic areas) in Tang Code can be distinguished from each other on the basis of political territory. Huanei areas cover the inland regions and the surrounding barbarian states under Tang’s jurisdiction, which was within Tang’s territory. Huanei and Huawai, therefore, refer to areas within and outside the borders of the Tang empire respectively, corresponding to “domestic” and “foreign” in modern laws. By introducing the concept of Huawai, the Tang Code distinguishes Tang’s political territory from its sphere of cultural influence; while the concept Huanei gives the multi-ethnic Tang empire or China a definite scope in the sense of national sovereignty.