Aww come on china let us in No
Come on… you won’t let me in, you won’t let the Mongols in, won’t let the Jehovah’s
witnesses in… come on let us in…
No ---INTRO----
China truly is a land of many names – but the main name for china in Chinese is Zhongguo
(中國/中国).
Chinese names for China, aside from Zhongguo, include the following: Zhonghua (中華/中华),
Huaxia (華夏/华夏), Shenzhou (神州) and Jiuzhou (九州).
while Han (漢/汉) and Tang (唐) are common names given to the Chinese ethnicity.
The first appearance of Zhongguo on an artefact was in the Western Zhou on a ritual vessel
known as He zun.
The word was formed by combining the characters zhōng (中) meaning "central" or "middle,"
and guó (國/国), representing "state" or "states,"; in contemporary usage, "nation."
And this is why china is sometimes known as the middle kingdom in English.
the name came from a time before china’s unification under the Qin dynasty when china’s
cultural centre was found in the central Yellow River valley.
And throughout the history of china this name changed its meaning continually and could
mean anything from the central Chinese territories to the capital of the emperor.
But by the late 19th century the term had emerged as a common name for the whole country
thanks to the Qing dynasty.
At this point you might be asking; if Zhongguo is the Chinese name for china, where did china
come from?
Well for to find out we have to go back to the 16th century.
English, most Indo-European languages, and many others use various forms of the name
"China" and the prefix "Sino-" or "Sin-" from the Latin Sina.
Sīnae was an ancient Greek and Roman name for some people who dwelt south of the Seres
(Serica) in the eastern extremity of the inhabitable world.
Europeans had knowledge of a country known as Thina or Sina from late BC
The English name for "China" itself is derived from Middle Persian (Chīnī چین).
The modern word "China" originated with Portuguese explorers of the 16th century.
It was first recorded in 1516 in the journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa.
The journal was translated and published in England in 1555
"China" and its related terms are derived from the society known as Qin, a state that
existed on the furthest west of China since the 9th century BC, and which later unified
China to form the Qin Dynasty
This is still the most commonly held theory, although many other suggestions have also
been proposed.
And you can see how modern names for china in various languages come from this name
So, to wrap things up: China is called Zhongguo in Chinese
Its name means middle kingdom Chinas name in Europe likely comes from qin
china And the Portuguese started the trend!
If your language has any different or strange names for china, why not let us know? and
there will be more what’s in a word coming soon so stay tuned.
Thanks to everyone who translates the show!