Tianxia Under the Sea
China’s Quest for Maritime History
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6434876 |
|---|---|
| Authors | F-J Schmitz (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 212-232 |
| Publication date | 2024-10-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Current Chinese Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1868-1026 • E-ISSN: 1868-4874 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/18681026241283070 |
| OpenAlex | W4403614443 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 54 |
This article examines how the Chinese political and academic discourses have constructed a narrative of China as a peaceful maritime power and the role that underwater archaeology has played in narrating China's rise. The ancient Chinese concept of tianxia (天下) is a central part of the Chinese elites’ discourse on maritime policy. This concept, translated as “all under heaven,” forms part of China's effort to produce historical statecraft using textual sources and underwater archaeological artefacts. In this narrative, the historical figure of Zheng He became a prominent representative of China's peacefulness, refuting concerns regarding the purposes of a more assertive Chinese foreign policy. Studying tianxia under the sea thus contributes to forming a better understanding of the production of narratives respecting China's rise. In particular, underwater archaeology is highlighted as an authoritative source of evidence underpinning and reinforcing narratives of China as an ancient and peaceful maritime nation
China · Economics · Economy · Political science · Chinese history and philosophy · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Japanese History and Culture · Law
Archaeology and Social Memory
Geocultural Power
Forging the World
The regionalist paradigm in Chinese archaeology
China’s Rise as Eurasian Power
A (Long) Tale of Two Leaders
Lawships or warships? Coast guards as agents of (in)stability in the Pacific and South and East China Sea
Chinese Political Nostalgia and Xi Jinping's Dream of Great Rejuvenation
Admiral Zheng He and Southeast Asia
The Constructivist Challenge to Structural Realism
Chinese Global Orders
The “China Seas” in world history
From Positive to Negative Historical Statecraft
A Geocultural Power Competition in Unesco’s Silk Roads Project
Mnemonic Soft Power
Politics of Memory, Heritage, and Diversity in Modern China
Morality as Legitimacy under Xi Jinping
Whither Chinese IR? The Sinocentric subject and the paradox of Tianxia-ism
Power Shift' in East Asia? A Critical Reappraisal of Narratives on the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Incident in 2010
Looking Back to Look Forward
China’s Strategic Narratives in Global Governance Reform under Xi Jinping
The ‘Tianxia Trope’
Silk road diplomacy
Maritime China in Historical Perspective
Zheng He Remains in Africa
Zheng He’s Military Interventions in South Asia, 1405–1433
History, theory and the narrative turn in IR
China’s “World-Class Military” Ambitions
Everything under the heavens
Ancient routes, new dream
Chinese Archaeology Goes Abroad
Strategic Narratives
Theorizing practical geopolitical reasoning
Authenticity, antiquity and archaeology
Spanning Thousands of Miles and Years
The Geopolitics of China's Maritime Silk Road Initiative
Underwater cultural heritage and the disputed South China Sea
Maritime Archaeology and Underwater Cultural Heritage in the Disputed South China Sea
China's historical statecraft and the return of history
Circles of Steel, Castles of Vanity
Using the Past to Serve the Present
The impact of Zheng He's expeditions on Indian Ocean interactions
Alternative Archaeologies
Educated acquiescence
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |