关键词: 3-6世纪, 中国与西方罗马世界, 历史与文明, 比较

Abstract: This paper gives an overall analysis on the structural differences in history and civilization between the West or the Roman world and China from the 3rd to 6th century. Although both had been in great difficulty of political turmoil, segmentation and challenges from new barbarian states and new religions, they had great difference in the history of that period behind the similar phenomenon. It is not incidental for the Chinese history and civilization to survive the crisis with a continual development, while for the West to fail with a discontinuity, which resulted from the differences between the West and China in political, ethnical and cultural structures. Firstly, in terms of political structure, a unified and centralized state based on the junxian system (system of prefectures and counties) came into being in the Qin dynasty (BC 221-BC 207) and enhanced in the Han dynasty (BC 202-AD 220), and the idea of dayitong was kept and developed by both the han and hu peoples in ancient China, who were combined into a stable unification of equal identity and legal status. Rome rulers continued the pattern of polis and its ideology even after it had grown into a great empire, a loose and unstable unification or confederation with diversified civitas or polities and laws with a long tradition of autonomy, therefore failing to inspire the barbarians to seek for the reunification after its disintegration. Secondly, from the viewpoint of ethical structure, China had a long and intimate relationship between the han and hu peoples, and just distinguished the yi from xia in light of culture and region. The hu peoples were deeply Sinolized, and they adopted and promoted the han system comprehensively, thus forming a co-ethnical identity with the han people. The Romans were made in relatively late touch with the barbarians, by distinguishing its residents from each other by legal status. Less Romanized and as independent foederati inside the Empire, the barbarians were considered as non-citizens but aliens who kept their own political system, government and law, which resulted in their separated ethnical identity. Thirdly, as far as cultural structure was concerned, China kept a compatible multi-belief pattern with Confucianism holding the central position of the state ideology, though challenged by the xuanxue, Daoism and Buddhism, which attached more attention to the inner or spiritual world of the people and supplemented the shortcomings of Confucianism. The hu people adapted to and inherited this pattern, sharing the cultural identity with the han people. In the West, the polytheistic belief system converted to monotheism. Polytheistic worships in Rome used to be important political activities and emphasized more on the welfare of state than the needs of individual's inner world, and it was substituted by Christianity, intolerant of and incompatible with polytheism. As the only lawful religion and state ideology, it took the function of the political activity. In the end, the barbarians converted to Christianity and the Romans deserting their traditional beliefs merged into a new cultural identity based on Christianity.

Key words: the 3rd to 6th century, Roman World and China, history and civilization, comparison