古代早期的中国南海与西海的地理概念

四海是对中国周边海湖和地区的称谓,早期的四海没有确指海域,只是泛指和对举而言。受地理形势和人们认识的限制,春秋越国所临海既可称“东海”,又可作“南海”;秦以后,“南海”主要指今我国南海以及其南的东南亚、太平洋印尼至澳大利亚以及印度洋的海域。而早期的“西海”所指地域也多难考求,后人们认识扩大,“西海”指代我国西部和西域各湖泊不一。

The Geographical Concepts of the Southern Sea and Western Sea in Ancient China

The seas, lakes and areas surrounding China was called the Four Seas. In ancient times, the Four Seas did not indicate certain sea areas but a general name and was used as a parallel citation. Restricted by the geographical situation and people's knowledge, the sea near the Yue state in the Spring and Autumn Period was either called the Eastern Sea or the Southern Sea. After the Qin Dynasty, the Southern Sea mainly represented the modern Southern Sea of China and the wide sea area to its south. The bound of the so-called Western Sea in early times is hard to define now, and as the people's knowledge enlarged, it was believed that the Western Sea represented the lakes in the Western Regions and western China.