Name of China
The literal English translation of the name "Zhongguo" (China) is “middle kingdom”. But through the course of history, the name has taken on many different meanings. It has been the source of great conflict.
How Did China Get its Name-Zhongguo？
The name “Zhongguo” was first used by the ancient Zhou dynasty. The Zhou people believed themselves to be the center of civilization.
Later, it came to be the name for the empire founded in the Yellow River Drainage areas and other empires set up by other ethnic groups in the Han Dynasty.
During the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the name “Zhongguo” became a propaganda weapon.
The Southern Dynasty honored itself by calling itself "Zhong Guo" and besmirched the Northern Dynasty by calling it "Wei Lu". Likewise, the Northern Dynasty also addressed itself as "Zhong Guo" whilst calling the Southern Dynasty "Dao Yi".
This controversy continued until later. The Liao, Northern Song, Jin, and Southern Song dynasties called themselves "Zhongguo".
Meanwhile, they refused to acknowledge the other empires as part of "Zhongguo". However, none of these dynasties, or any before them, actually changed their country names to "Zhongguo". They all retained their original names.
It was not until after the revolution of 1911 that " Zhongguo" was officially used as the abbreviation for the Republic of China.
Later, in 1949, it was officially used as the abbreviation of the People's Republic of China. Of course, is still the only "Zhongguo" (China) in the world.
Other Names for China
Throughout history, China has had many other names, and they include:
Shen Zhou – Shen Zhou means “divine land”. It originated during the Warring States period. At that time, it was believed that the world was divided into nine states and that one of these states was Shen Zhou. Shen Zhou was itself divided into nine regions.
Hua - People living in the Yellow River Drainage areas liked to call their empire "Hua". Hua means "prosperity". They believed they lived in the fertile land of a developed civilization with lasting prosperity.
Zhong Hua - Before the Qin Dynasty, the people Hua Xia normally called their empire "China". After the Qin Dynasty, the country developed with great ethnic diversity. This led to the use of another name "Zhong Hua Min Zu" (Chinese Nation).
In this instance, "Zhong" refers to China and "Hua" relates to the Hua Xia Nationality. Therefore, "Zhong Hua Min Zu" (Chinese Nation) is a general name for all the individual nations in China.
Xia – "Xia" translates as "big" in ancient parlance. It was first used during the time of the Emperor Da Yu of the Xia Dynasty as a name for China.
Hua Xia - In ancient times, the Hua Xia Nationality in the Yellow River Drainage area and the ethnic minorities living in the south and the north were under the reign of the Shang Dynasty. The Hua Xia Nationality was the major ethnic group at that time, so "Hua Xia" became another name for China.
Jiu Zhou (the nine prefectures) - China had nine prefectures in history. They were Shen Zhou, Ci Zhou, Rong Zhou, Zi Zhou, Yi Zhou, Tai Zhou, Ji Zhou, Bo Zhou, and Yang Zhou. Here "Jiu" and "Zhou" refer to nine and prefecture, respectively. Therefore, "Jiu Zhou" became the general name of China. But many other names like Jiu Yu, Jiu You, Jiu Tu, and Jiu Qu, etc. can also be generated in the same way.
Hai Nei - Ancient people believed that China was circled by the sea. Thus they called China "Hai Nei" as "Hai" refers to the sea and "Nei" means the central part of something.
Continue to Read: Imperial History of China