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Zhongguo,Chinese names of China
The official name of China changed with each dynasty. The common name is Zhōngguó (中國 in traditional Chinese or 中国 in simplified Chinese). This translates as “central nation” or (traditionally) as “middle kingdom”.
The name Zhōngguó first appeared in the Classic of History (6th century BC), and was used to refer to the late Zhou Dynasty, as they believed that they were the “center of civilization,” while peoples in the four cardinals were called Eastern Yi, Southern Man, Western Rong and Northern Di respectively. Some texts imply that “Zhōngguó” was originally meant to refer to the capital of the sovereign, to differ from the capital of his vassals. The use of “Zhōngguó” implied a claim of political legitimacy, and “Zhōngguó” was often used by states who saw themselves as the sole legitimate successor to previous Chinese dynasties; for example, in the era of the Southern Song Dynasty, both the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song state claimed to be “Zhōngguó.”
China,English names of Zhongguo
The first recorded use of the word “China” is dated 1555.It is derived from Cin, a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo.In early usage, “china” as a term for porcelain was spelled differently than the name of the country, the two words being derived from separate Persian words.Both these words and the Sanskrit word for China are ultimately derived from the Chinese word Qín, the name of the dynasty that ruled China from 221 to 206 B.C.
China has one of the world’s oldest civilizations and has the oldest continuous civilization. It has archaeological evidence dating back over 5,000 years. China was one of the largest and most advanced civilizations for most of the last two millenia; until the 1850s when it missed the industrial revolution. Subsequently, imperialism, wars and civil wars damaged the country and its economy for most of the twentieth century. In the 1970s, economic reforms transformed the country and made it one of the major economic powers once again.China is viewed as the source of many major inventions.It has also one of the world’s oldest written language systems.
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