On the Generic Usage of Yi in Literary Sinitic

Abstract

While premodern China is known for its Sino-centrism that tended to regard all foreigners as uncivilized, it is widely believed that there is no Sinitic word denoting all aliens collectively. According to the Ru canon, Literary Sinitic appears to generalize outsiders as directional units instead. Recent proposals suggest that the term yi, primarily referring to foreign people in the east although its interpretation continues to be a subject of debate, can also serve to refer to all alien others in certain contexts. This research article reviews the scholarly debate and, more importantly, sheds light on references from the Han (202 BCE–220 CE) and Tang (618–907) periods that have been overlooked in the discussion primarily focused on pre-imperial texts. It indicates that the directional usage of yi was likely established only during the Warring States period (475/403–221 BCE) and that this did not prevent the word from being simultaneously generic in Literary Sinitic in Han and Tang times.