Kingly Thought - Odosusou

Japanese: 王土思想 - おうどしそう

The idea that all the land under the heavens is the territory of the emperor who has received the command of heaven, and that all the people who live in that land should be subject to the rule of the emperor. The idea of the king's land and the king's people. The elegant verse in the Book of Songs, "Under Pu Tian, there is nothing that is not the king's land; on the shores of the land, there is nothing that is not the king's subjects," is often cited as an example. This idea appeared in China during the period when the integration of small clans progressed and a lineage-based feudal system centered on a single king was established. With the establishment of a centralized state, this idea was linked to the idea of the four seas and the world, and came to be preached as a justification for the king's unified and exclusive rule.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

天の下にひろがる土地はすべて天の命を受けた帝王の領土であり，その土地に住む人民はことごとく帝王の支配を受くべきものとする思想。王土王民思想。《詩経》の小雅に見える〈溥天之下，王土に非ざる莫く，率土之浜，王臣に非ざる莫し〉という詩句は，その例としてしばしば引かれる。中国で，小氏族の統合が進み，一王を中心とする宗族（そうぞく）的封建制が成立する時代にあらわれたこの思想は，中央集権的な国家の成立とともに，四海･天下の観念と結びついて，王の一元的，排他的な支配を正当化するものとして説かれるようになった。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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