My research project investigates the drastically new interpretations of Confucian Classics in the last phase of imperial China. These interpretations responded to major historical changes from the middle Qing Dynasty onwards, and constituted a period I tentatively name as “new antiquity”. When looking for contemporary understanding of the Qing dynasty’s expansion in the Northwest, scholars often pay attention to the historical and geographical studies that emerged in the Daoguang period. What is under-explored, however, is the interaction between territorial expansion and interpretations of the Classics in the Qing. My recent research looks into interpretations of the Book of Documents (Shangshu), the Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), and Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu gongyang zhuan), and discusses the influence of territorial changes on them. One of the most notable examples is the “Tribute of Yu” chapter in Shangshu, that outlines the boundary of China. The Qing’s vast expansion made it difficult to reconcile the difference between the classical definition of the Chinese world and the territorial reality of the Eurasian empire. On the other hand, the Qing’s territorial gain also produced a cultural optimism, under which scholars compared the achievements of the present dynasty to ideals depicted in the Classics. Liang Qichao, for example, praised the rule of Qing as a lesser version of the era of great peace (taiping shi) depicted in the Chunqiu gongyang zhuan. Such optimism also led to a shift of focus from the Tribute of Yu to the imaginary realm of Yao, an earlier sage king depicted in the Classics. In addition, the late Qing pursuit of loftier political and social ideas, I argue, also transformed the Chinese historical consciousness and sense of time, and eventually brought fundamental changes in the understanding of not only the Classics but also other ancient texts.