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{{Names of China}}
The '''names of China''' include the many contemporary and historical designations given in various languages for the East Asian country known as {{zhi|t={{linktext|中國}}|s={{linktext|中国}}|p=Zhōngguó|l=Central state, Middle kingdom|out=p}} in [[Standard Chinese]], a form based on the [[Beijing dialect]] of [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]].
The English name "China" was borrowed from Portuguese during the 16th century, and its direct cognates became common in the subsequent centuries in the West.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2015|p=191}} It is believed to be a borrowing from [[Middle Persian]], and some have traced it further back to the [[Sanskrit]] word {{lang|sa|चीन}} ({{transliteration|sa|cīna}}) for the nation. It is also thought that the ultimate source of the name China is the Chinese word {{zhi|c=秦|p=Qín|out=p}}, the name of the [[Qin dynasty]] that ultimately unified China after existing as a [[Qin (state)|state]] within the [[Zhou dynasty]] for many centuries prior. However, there are alternative suggestions for the etymology of this word.
Chinese names for China, aside from ''Zhongguo'', include {{zhi|t={{linktext|中華}}|s={{linktext|中华}}|l=central beauty|p=Zhōnghuá|out=p}}, {{zhi|t=華夏|s=华夏|p=Huáxià|l=beautiful grandness|out=p}}, {{zhi|c={{linktext|神州}}|p=Shénzhōu|l=divine state|out=p}} and {{zhi|c={{linktext|九州}}|p=Jiǔzhōu|l=nine states|out=p}}. While [[Zhonghua minzu|official notions of Chinese nationality]] do not make any particular reference to ethnicity, common names for the [[Han Chinese|largest ethnic group]] in China are {{zhi|t={{linktext|漢}}|s={{linktext|汉}}|p=Hàn|out=p}} and {{zhi|c={{linktext|唐}}|p=Táng|out=p}}. The [[People's Republic of China]] ({{zhi|p=Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó}}) and the [[Republic of China]] ({{zhi|p=Zhōnghuá Mínguó}}) are the official names of the two governments presently claiming sovereignty over "China". The term "[[mainland China]]" is used to refer to areas under the PRC's jurisdiction, either including or excluding [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]].
There are also names for China used around the world that are derived from the languages of ethnic groups other than [[Han Chinese]]: examples include "[[Cathay]]" from the [[Khitan language]], and {{transliteration|xgn|Tabgach}} from [[Tuoba]]. The realm ruled by the [[Emperor of China]] is also referred to as [[Chinese Empire]].
== Sinitic names ==
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=== Zhongguo ===
==== Pre-Qing ====
[[File:He Zun transcription.jpg|thumb|400px|[[He zun|He ''zun'']] rubbing and transcription; framed is the phrase {{zhi|c=宅𢆶𠁩或|p=zhái zī zhōngguó|l=inhabit this central state}}. The same phrase is written in [[traditional characters|traditional]] and [[simplified characters]] as
[[File:"Five stars rising in the East" armband.jpg|thumb|upright|right|The [["Five stars rising in the East" armband|brocade armband]] with the words "Five stars rising in the east, being a propitious sign for ''Zhongguo'' ({{zhi|t=中國}}), made during the Han dynasty]]
[[File:Nestorian-Stele-Budge-plate-X.jpg|thumb|upright|right|The [[Nestorian Stele]] {{zhi|c=大秦景教流行中國碑}} entitled "Stele to the propagation in China of the luminous religion of [[Daqin]]", was erected in 781, during the Tang dynasty]]
[[File:Hunminjeongum.jpg|thumb|upright|The most important Korean document, ''[[Hunminjeongeum]]'', dated 1446, where it compares [[Joseon]]'s speech to that of ''Zhongguo'' (''Middle Kingdom''), which was during the reign of Ming dynasty at the time. Korean and other neighbouring societies have addressed the various regimes and dynasties on the Chinese mainland at differing times as "Middle Kingdom"]]
{{zhi|c=中國|p=Zhōngguó|out=p}} is the most common [[Chinese language|Chinese]] name for China in modern times. The earliest appearance of this two-character term is on the bronze vessel [[He zun|He ''zun'']] (dating to 1038–{{circa|1000 BCE}}), during the early [[Western Zhou]] period. The phrase "zhong guo" came into common usage in the [[Warring States period]] (475–221 BCE), when it referred to the "Central States
As early as the [[Spring and Autumn period]], ''Zhongguo'' could be understood as either the domain of the capital or used to refer to the Chinese civilization
There were different usages of the term ''Zhongguo'' in every period. It could refer to the capital of the emperor to distinguish it from the capitals of his vassals, as in [[Western Zhou]]. It could refer to the states of the [[Central Plain (China)|Central Plain]] to distinguish them from states in the outer regions. The ''[[Classic of Poetry|Shi Jing]]'' defines ''Zhongguo'' as the capital region, setting it in opposition to the capital city.<ref>''Classic of Poetry'', "Major Hymns – [https://ctext.org/book-of-poetry/min-lu Min Lu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412135203/https://ctext.org/book-of-poetry/min-lu |date=2022-04-12 }}" quote: {{zhi|c=《惠此{{underline|中國}}、以綏四方。…… 惠此{{underline|京師}}、以綏四國 。}}
" Legge's translation: "Let us cherish this '''center of the kingdom''', to secure the repose of the four quarters of it. [...] Let us cherish this '''capital''', to secure the repose of the States in the four quarters."</ref><ref>[[Zhu Xi]] (publisher, 1100s), ''Collected Commentaries on the Classic of Poetry (詩經集傳)'' [https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&chapter=197338 "Juan A (卷阿)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412135200/https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&chapter=197338 |date=2022-04-12 }} [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=9218&page=68#%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E4%BA%AC%E5%B8%AB%E4%B9%9F%E5%9B%9B%E6%96%B9%E8%AB%B8%E5%A4%8F%E4%B9%9F%E4%BA%AC%E5%B8%AB%E8%AB%B8%E5%A4%8F%E4%B9%8B%E6%A0%B9%E6%9C%AC%E4%B9%9F p. 68 of 198] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412135202/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=9218&page=68#%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E4%BA%AC%E5%B8%AB%E4%B9%9F%E5%9B%9B%E6%96%B9%E8%AB%B8%E5%A4%8F%E4%B9%9F%E4%BA%AC%E5%B8%AB%E8%AB%B8%E5%A4%8F%E4%B9%8B%E6%A0%B9%E6%9C%AC%E4%B9%9F |date=2022-04-12 }} quote: "'''中國'''，'''京師'''也。四方，諸夏也。'''京師'''，諸夏之根本也。" translation: "The '''center of the kingdom''' means the '''capital'''. The 'four quarters' refer to the [[Huaxia]]. The '''capital''' is the root of the various Xia."</ref> During the [[Han dynasty]], three usages of ''Zhongguo'' were common. The ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' use ''Zhongguo'' to denote the capital<ref>''Shiji'', [https://ctext.org/shiji/wu-di-ben-ji "Annals of the Five Emperors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510220701/https://ctext.org/shiji/wu-di-ben-ji |date=2022-05-10 }} quote: "舜曰：「天也」，夫而後之'''中國'''踐天子位焉，是為帝舜。" translation: "Shun said, 'It is from Heaven.' Afterwards he went to the '''capital''', sat on the Imperial throne, and was styled Emperor Shun."</ref><ref>Pei Yin, ''Records of the Grand Historian – Collected Explanation'' [https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=386615#p7 Vol. 1] "劉熈曰……帝王所'''都'''為中故曰'''中國'''" translation: "Liu Xi said: [...] Wherever emperors and kings '''established their capitals''' is taken as the center; hence the appellation the '''central region'''"</ref> and also use the concepts ''zhong'' ("center, central") and ''zhongguo'' to indicate the center of civilization: "There are eight famous mountains in the world: three in [[Nanman|Man]] and [[Dongyi|Yi]] (the barbarian wilds), five in ''Zhōngguó''." ({{lang|zh|天下名山八，而三在蠻夷，五在中國。}})<ref>''Shiji'', [https://ctext.org/shiji/xiao-wu-ben-ji#n5101 "Annals of Emperor Xiaowu"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316215829/https://ctext.org/shiji/xiao-wu-ben-ji#n5101 |date=2022-03-16 }}</ref><ref>''Shiji'' [https://ctext.org/shiji/feng-chan-shu#n5786 "Treatise about the Feng Shan sacrifices"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316215831/https://ctext.org/shiji/feng-chan-shu#n5786 |date=2022-03-16 }}</ref> In this sense, the term ''Zhongguo'' is synonymous with {{zhi|p=Huáxià|t=華夏|s=华夏|out=p}} and {{zhi|p=Zhōnghuá|t=中華|s=中华|out=p}}, names of China that were first authentically attested in the [[Warring States period]]<ref>''Zuo zhuan'', [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E8%A5%84%E5%85%AC#%E5%82%B3_26 "Duke Xiang, year 26, zhuan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318183122/https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E8%A5%84%E5%85%AC#%E5%82%B3_26 |date=2022-03-18 }} text: "楚失華夏．" translation: "[[Chu (state)|Chu]] lost (the political allegiance of / the political influence over) the '''flourishing''' and '''grand''' (states)."</ref> and [[Jin dynasty (266-420)#Eastern Jin|Eastern Jin period]],<ref>[[Huan Wen]] (347 CE). "Memorial Recommending Qiao Yuanyan" (薦譙元彥表), quoted in [[Sun Sheng (Jin dynasty)|Sun Sheng]]'s ''Annals of Jin'' (晉陽秋) (now-lost), quoted in [[Pei Songzhi]]'s [[Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms|annotations]] to [[Chen Shou]], ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]'', [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E5%9C%8B%E5%BF%97/%E5%8D%B742#%E5%AD%AB_%E8%AD%99%E7%A7%80 "Biography of Qiao Xiu"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404033109/https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E5%9C%8B%E5%BF%97/%E5%8D%B742#%E5%AD%AB_%E8%AD%99%E7%A7%80 |date=2022-04-04 }} quote: "於時皇極遘道消之會，群黎蹈顛沛之艱，'''中華'''有顧瞻之哀，幽谷無遷喬之望。"</ref><ref>Farmer, J. Michael (2017) "Sanguo Zhi Fascicle 42: The Biography of Qiao Zhou", ''Early Medieval China'', '''23''', 22-41, p. 39. quote: "At this time, the imperial court has encountered a time of decline in the Way, the peasants have been trampled down by oppressive hardships, '''Zhonghua''' has the anguish of looking backward [toward the former capital at Luoyang], and the dark valley has no hope of moving upward." DOI: 10.1080/15299104.2017.1379725</ref> respectively.
[[File:Fourmont-Zhongguo-Guanhua.png|thumb|left|"Middle Kingdom's Common Speech" (''Medii Regni Communis Loquela'', {{zhi|c=中國官話|p=Zhongguo Guanhua}}), the frontispiece of an early Chinese grammar published by [[Étienne Fourmont]] in 1742<ref>{{cite web |last = Fourmont |first = Etienne |title = Linguae Sinarum Mandarinicae hieroglyphicae grammatica duplex, latinè, & cum characteribus Sinensium. Item Sinicorum Regiae Bibliothecae librorum catalogus… (A Chinese grammar published in 1742 in Paris) |url = http://www.liberlibri.com/coulet_fourmont.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120306015446/http://www.liberlibri.com/coulet_fourmont.htm |archive-date = 2012-03-06 }}</ref>]]
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''Zhongguo'' appeared in a formal international legal document for the first time during the Qing dynasty in the [[Treaty of Nerchinsk]], 1689. The term was then used in communications with other states and in treaties. The Manchu rulers [[Qing dynasty in Inner Asia|incorporated Inner Asian polities into their empire]], and [[Wei Yuan]], a statecraft scholar, distinguished the new territories from ''Zhongguo'', which he defined as the 17 provinces of "[[China proper]]" plus the Manchu homelands in the Northeast. By the late 19th century the term had emerged as a common name for the whole country. The empire was sometimes referred to as Great Qing but increasingly as ''Zhongguo'' (see the discussion below).<ref>{{harvp|Esherick|2006|pp=232–233}}</ref>
''Dulimbai Gurun'' is the [[Manchu language|Manchu]] name for China, with "Dulimbai" meaning "central" or "middle" and "Gurun" meaning "nation" or "state
[[File:滿蒙漢合璧教科書 (節錄).png|thumb|500px|Chapter ''China'' ({{zhi|t=中國}}) of "The Manchurian, Mongolian and Han Chinese Trilingual Textbook" ({{zhi|s=滿蒙漢三語合璧教科書}}) published during the Qing dynasty: ''"Our country China is located in [[East Asia]]... For 5000 years, culture flourished (in the land of China)... Since we are Chinese, how can we not love China."'']]
When the Qing [[Ten Great Campaigns#
The geography textbooks published in the late Qing period gave detailed descriptions of China's regional position and territorial space. They generally emphasized that China was a large country in Asia, but not the center of the world. For example, the "Elementary Chinese Geography Textbook" (蒙學中國地理教科書) published in 1905 described the boundaries of China's territory and neighboring countries as follows: "The western border of China is located in the center of Asia, bordering the (overseas) territories of [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] and [[Russian Empire|Russia]]. The terrain is humped, like a hat. So all mountains and rivers originate from here. To the east, it faces [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] across the [[East China Sea]]. To the south, it is adjacent to the [[South China Sea]], and borders [[French Indochina|French Annam]] and [[British rule in Burma|British Burma]]. To the southwest, it is separated from [[British Raj|British India]] by mountains. From the west to the north and the northeast, the three sides of China are all Russian territories. Only the southern border of the northeast is connected to [[Korean Empire|Korea]] across the [[Yalu River]]." It further stated that "There are about a dozen countries in Asia, but only China has a vast territory, a prosperous population, and dominates East Asia. It is a great and world-famous country."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.sohu.com/a/127415152_488316 | title = 地理书写与国家认同：清末地理教科书中的民族主义话语 | website = [[Sohu]] | access-date = June 9, 2024}}</ref>
The Qing enacted the first [[Chinese nationality law]] in 1909, which defined a Chinese national ({{zh|c=中國國籍|p=Zhōngguó Guójí|links=no}}) as any person born to a Chinese father. Children born to a Chinese mother inherited her nationality only if the father was [[statelessness|stateless]] or had unknown nationality status.<ref name="Shao5">{{cite journal |last=Shao |first=Dan |title=Chinese by Definition: Nationality Law, Jus Sanguinis, and State Succession, 1909–1980 |journal=Twentieth-Century China |year=2009 |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=4–28 |doi=10.1353/tcc.0.0019 |s2cid=201771890}}</ref> These regulations were enacted in response to a 1907 statute passed in [[The Netherlands]] that retroactively treated all Chinese born in the [[Dutch East Indies]] as Dutch citizens. ''[[Jus sanguinis]]'' was chosen to define Chinese nationality so that the Qing could counter foreign claims on [[overseas Chinese]] populations and maintain the perpetual allegiance of its subjects living abroad through paternal lineage.<ref name="Shao5" /> A Chinese word called ''xuètǒng'' ({{zhi|c=血統}}), which means "bloodline" as a literal translation, is used to explain the descent relationship that would characterize someone as being of Chinese descent and therefore eligible under the Qing laws and beyond, for Chinese citizenship.<ref name=Claytonp108>{{cite book |title=[[Sovereignty at the Edge: Macau & the Question of Chineseness]]|first=Cathryn H. |last=Clayton |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2alTUjb6SX8C&pg=PA108 108] |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |date=2010|isbn=978-0-674-03545-4 }}</ref>
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Elena Barabantseva also noted that the Manchu referred to all subjects of the Qing empire regardless of ethnicity as "Chinese" ({{Zhi|t={{linktext|中國|之|人}}|p=Zhōngguó zhī rén|l=China's person}}), and used the term ({{Zhi|t=中國|p=Zhōngguó}}) as a synonym for the entire Qing empire while using {{zhi|t={{linktext|漢人}}|p=Hànrén}}) to refer only to the core area of the empire, with the entire empire viewed as multiethnic.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=U3XFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT59 Barabantseva 2010], p. 20.</ref>
[[William T. Rowe]] wrote that the name "China" ({{zhi|t=中國|s=中華}}) was apparently understood to refer to the political realm of the [[Han Chinese]] during the [[Ming dynasty]], and this understanding persisted among the Han Chinese into the early Qing dynasty, and the understanding was also shared by [[Aisin Gioro]] rulers before the [[Ming–Qing transition]]. The Qing, however, "came to refer to their more expansive empire not only as the Great Qing but also, nearly interchangeably, as China" within a few decades of this development. Instead of the earlier (Ming) idea of an ethnic Han Chinese state, this new Qing China was a "self-consciously multi-ethnic state
[[Joseph W. Esherick]] noted that while the Qing Emperors governed frontier non-Han areas in a different, separate system under the [[Lifan Yuan|Lifanyuan]] and kept them separate from Han areas and administration, it was the Manchu Qing Emperors who expanded the definition of ''Zhongguo'' and made it "flexible" by using that term to refer to the entire Empire and using that term to other countries in diplomatic correspondence, while some Han Chinese subjects criticized their usage of the term and the Han literati [[Wei Yuan]] used ''Zhongguo'' only to refer to the seventeen provinces of China and three provinces of the east (Manchuria), excluding other frontier areas.<ref>{{harvp|Esherick|2006|p= 232}}</ref> Due to Qing using treaties clarifying the international borders of the Qing state, it was able to inculcate in the Chinese people a sense that China included areas such as Mongolia and Tibet due to education reforms in geography, which made it clear where the borders of the Qing state were, even if they didn't understand how the Chinese identity included Tibetans and Mongolians or what the connotations of being Chinese were.<ref>{{harvp|Esherick|2006|p= 251}}</ref> The English version of the 1842 [[Treaty of Nanking]] refers to "His Majesty the Emperor of China" while the Chinese refers both to "The Great Qing Emperor" (''Da Qing Huangdi'') and to ''Zhongguo'' as well. The 1858 [[Treaty of Tientsin]] has similar language.<ref name="Zarrow" />
In the late 19th century, the reformer [[Liang Qichao]] argued in a famous passage that "our greatest shame is that our country has no name. The names that people ordinarily think of, such as Xia, Han, or Tang, are all the titles of bygone dynasties." He argued that the other countries of the world "all boast of their own state names, such as England and France, the only exception being the Central States",<ref>Liang quoted in {{harvp|Esherick|2006|p=235}}, from Liang Qichao, "Zhongguo shi xulun" ''Yinbinshi heji'' 6:3 and in Lydia He Liu, ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making'' (Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard University Press]], 2004), pp. 77–78.</ref> and that the concept of ''tianxia'' had to be abandoned in favor of ''guojia'', that is, "nation
Before the signing of the [[Sino-Japanese Friendship and Trade Treaty]] in 1871, the first treaty between Qing China and the [[Empire of Japan]], Japanese representatives once raised objections to China's use of the term ''Zhongguo'' in the treaty (partly in response to China's earlier objections for the term ''Tennō'' or [[Emperor of Japan]] to be used in the treaty), declaring that the term ''Zhongguo'' was "meant to compare with the frontier areas of the country" and insisted that only "Great Qing" be used for the Qing in the Chinese version of the treaty. However, this was firmly rejected by the Qing representatives: "Our country China has been called ''Zhongguo'' for a long time since ancient times. We have signed treaties with various countries, and while ''Great Qing'' did appear in the first lines of such treaties, in the body of the treaties ''Zhongguo'' was always being used. There has never been a precedent for changing the country name" (我中華之稱中國，自上古迄今，由來已久。即與各國立約，首書寫大清國字樣，其條款內皆稱中國，從無寫改國號之例). The Chinese representatives believed that ''Zhongguo'' (China) as a country name equivalent to "Great Qing" could naturally be used internationally, which could not be changed. In the end, both sides agreed that while in the first lines "Great Qing" would be used, whether the Chinese text in the body of the treaty would use the term ''Zhongguo'' in the same manner as "Great Qing" would be up to China's discretion.<ref
[[File:Big Dragon stamps.jpg|thumb|right|Qing postal stamps released in 1878]]
Qing official Zhang Deyi once objected to the western European name "China" and said that China referred to itself as ''Zhonghua'' in response to a European who asked why Chinese used the term ''[[guizi]]'' to refer to all Europeans.<ref name="LIULiu2009">{{cite book |author1 = Lydia He. LIU |author2 = Lydia He Liu |title = The Clash of Empires: the invention of China in modern world making |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LkTO2_-XDa8C&pg=PA80 |date = 30 June 2009 |publisher = Harvard University Press |isbn = 978-0-674-04029-8 |pages=80–}}</ref> However, the Qing established [[legation]]s and [[consulate]]s known as the "Chinese Legation
==== Middle Kingdom ====
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{{Main|Huaxia}}
The name {{zhi|t=華夏|s=华夏|p=Huáxià|out=p}} is generally used as a [[sobriquet]] in Chinese text. Under traditional interpretations, it is the combination of two words which originally referred to the elegance of traditional Han attire and [[Li (Confucianism)|the Confucian concept of rites]].
* ''Hua,'' which means "flowery beauty" (i.e., having beauty of dress and personal adornment {{zhi|t=有服章之美，謂之華}}).
* ''Xia,'' which means greatness or grandeur (i.e., having greatness in social customs, courtesy, polite manners and rites/ceremony {{zhi|t=有禮儀之大，故稱夏}}).<ref>{{zhi|t=孔穎達《春秋左傳正義》：「中國有禮儀之大，故稱夏；有服章之美，謂之華。」}}</ref>
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=== Tianchao and Tianxia ===
{{Main|Celestial Empire|Tianxia}}
''Tianchao'' ({{lang|zh-Hant|{{linktext|天朝}}}}; {{zh|p=Tiāncháo}}), translated as 'heavenly dynasty' or 'Celestial Empire',<ref name="tianchao">{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Zhang |title=[[Never Forget National Humiliation|Never Forget National Humiliation: Historical Memory in Chinese Politics and Foreign Relations]] |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2014
The phrase ''Tianchao'' was first translated into English and French in the early 19th century, appearing in foreign publications and diplomatic correspondences,<ref name=mailt>{{cite web|url=https://mailtribune.com/archive/-celestial-origins-come-from-long-ago-in-chinese-history|title='Celestial' origins come from long ago in Chinese history|date=20 January 2011|access-date=25 November 2019|work=Mail Tribune|publisher=Rosebud Media LLC|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112014440/https://mailtribune.com/archive/-celestial-origins-come-from-long-ago-in-chinese-history|url-status=live}}</ref> with the translated phrase "Celestial Empire" occasionally used to refer to China. During this period, the term ''celestial'' was used by some to refer to the subjects of the Qing in a non-prejudicial manner,<ref name=mailt /> derived from the term "Celestial Empire". However, the term ''celestial'' was also used in a pejorative manner during the 19th century, in reference to Chinese immigrants in Australasia and North America.<ref name=mailt /> The translated phrase has largely fallen into disuse in the 20th century.
=== Jiangshan and Shanhe ===
The two names {{zhi|t=江山|p=Jiāngshān|out=p}} and {{zhi|t=山河|p=Shānhé|out=p}}, both literally 'rivers and mountains', quite similar in usage to ''Tianxia'', simply referring to the entire world, the most prominent features of which being rivers and mountains. The use of this term is also common as part of the idiom {{zhi|t=江山社稷|p=Jiāngshān shèjì|l=rivers and mountains, soil and grain|out=p}}, in a suggestion of the need to implement good governance.
=== Jiuzhou ===
{{Main|Jiuzhou}}
The name
=== Han ===
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}}
The name ''Han'' ({{zhi|t=漢|s=汉|p=Hàn}}) derives from the [[Han dynasty]] (206 BC–AD 220), which presided over China's first "golden age
During the [[Yuan dynasty]], subjects of the empire were divided into four classes: [[Mongols]], [[Semu]], Han, and "Southerns". Northern Chinese were called Han, which was considered to be the highest class of Chinese. This class, "Han," includes all ethnic groups in northern China, including [[Khitan people|Khitan]] and [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]] who have, for the most part, sinicized during the last two hundreds years. The name "Han" became popularly accepted.
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| order = st
| qn = Cộng hoà Nhân dân Trung Hoa
| chuhan = 共和人民中華 / 中華人民共和国
| kanji = 中華人民共和国
| romaji = Chūkajinminkyōwakoku
| hangul = 중화 인민 공화국
| hanja = 中華人民共和国
| rr = junghwa inmin gonghwagug
| mr = J'chung'hwa 'Inhin'min Goho'ng'hwa'ghu'huwhag
}}
The name '''New China''' has been frequently applied to China by the [[Chinese Communist Party]] as a positive political and social term contrasting pre-1949 China (the [[Proclamation of the People's Republic of China|establishment of the PRC]]) and the new name of the socialist state, '''Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó''' (in the older postal romanization, '''Chunghwa Jenmin Konghokuo),''' or the "People's Republic of China" in English, which was adapted from the CCP's short-lived [[Chinese Soviet Republic]] in 1931. This term is also sometimes used by writers outside of mainland China. The PRC was known to many in the West during the [[Cold War]] as "'''Communist China'''" or "Red China" to distinguish it from the [[Republic of China]] which is commonly called "Taiwan
=== Republic of China ===
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In 1912, China adopted its official name, '''Chunghwa Minkuo''' (rendered in pinyin '''Zhōnghuá Mínguó''') or in English as the "Republic of China", which has also sometimes been referred to as "[[History of the Republic of China|Republican China]]" or the "Republican Era" ({{lang|zh-Hant|民國時代}}), in contrast to the [[Qing dynasty]] it replaced, or as "'''[[Nationalist Government|Nationalist China]]'''", after the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party ([[Kuomintang]]). {{lang|zh-Hant|中華}} (''Chunghwa'') is a term that pertains to "China
Since the separation from mainland China in 1949 as a result of the [[Chinese Civil War]], the territory of the Republic of China has largely been confined to the island of Taiwan and some other small islands. Thus, the country is often simply referred to as simply "Taiwan", although this may not be perceived as politically neutral. Amid the hostile rhetoric of the [[Cold War]], the government and its supporters sometimes referred to themselves as "Free China" or "Liberal China
Taiwanese politician Mei Feng had criticised the official English name of the state, "Republic of China
== Names in non-Chinese records ==
Names used in the parts of Asia, especially East and Southeast Asia, are usually derived directly from words in one of the [[languages of China]]. Those languages belonging to a former dependency (tributary) or Chinese-influenced country have an especially similar pronunciation to that of Chinese. Those used in [[Indo-European languages]], however, have indirect names that came via other routes and may bear little resemblance to what is used in China.
===
{{Further|Chinas}}
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''Nikan'' ([[Manchu language|Manchu]]: {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠨᡳᡴᠠᠨ}}) was a Manchu ethnonym of unknown origin that referred specifically to the Han Chinese; the stem of this word was also conjugated as a verb, {{transliteration|mnc|nikara(-mbi)}}, which meant 'to speak the Chinese language'. Since ''Nikan'' was essentially an [[ethnonym]] and referred to a group of people rather than to a political body, the correct translation of "China" into Manchu is ''Nikan gurun'', 'country of the Han'.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} <!-- cf Pamela Crossley, [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~crossley/comments_1.html Note on Nikan] -->
This exonym for the Han Chinese is also used in the [[Daur language]], in which it appears as ''Niaken'' ({{IPA|[njakən]}} or {{IPA|[ɲakən]}}).<ref>Samuel E. Martin, ''Dagur Mongolian Grammar, Texts, and Lexicon'', Indiana University Publications Uralic and Altaic Series, Vol. 4, 1961</ref> As in the case of the Manchu language, the Daur word ''Niaken'' is essentially an ethnonym, and the proper way to refer to the country of the Han Chinese (i.e., "China" in a cultural sense) is ''Niaken gurun'', while ''niakendaaci-'' is a verb meaning "to talk in Chinese
=== Kara ===
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''[[Baiyue]]'' as "all the Yue" or "the hundred (i.e., myriad, various, or numerous) Yue," which was an ancient Chinese name for the societies of the regions that are now southern China.
The Japanese common noun ''tōmorokoshi'' ({{lang|ja|トウモロコシ}}, {{lang|ja|玉蜀黍}}), which refers to [[maize]], appears to contain an element cognate with the proper noun formerly used in reference to China. Although ''tōmorokoshi'' is traditionally written with Chinese characters that literally mean "jade [[Shu (state)|Shu]] [[proso millet|millet]]
=== Mangi ===
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The name for China in [[Chinese Sign Language]] is performed by trailing the tip of one's fingertip horizontally across the upper end of the chest, from the non-dominant side to the dominant one, and then vertically downwards.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=唐 |editor1-first=淑芬 |editor2-last=杨 |editor2-first=洋 |title=中国手语日常会话 |publisher=华夏出版社 |location=北京 |isbn=9787508038247 |page=88 |language=zh |chapter=VII、邮政|date=2006 }}</ref> Many [[sign languages]] have adopted the Chinese sign as a loanword; this includes [[American Sign Language]],<ref>{{cite web |title=China |url=https://www.signasl.org/sign/china |website=ASL Sign Language Dictionary |publisher=Princeton University |access-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110160627/https://www.signasl.org/sign/china |archive-date=10 January 2023}}</ref> in which this has happened across dialects, from Canada<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Bailey |editor1-first=Carole Sue |editor2-last=Dolby |editor2-first=Kathy |title=The Canadian Dictionary of ASL |publisher=University of Alberta Press, The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf |location=Edmonton, Alberta |isbn=0-88864-300-4 |page=lxxx |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_D_ZRFm_4EsC&dq=China&pg=PR80 |access-date=2 October 2023 |language=en |chapter=Geographic Place Names|date=27 June 2002 }}</ref> to California,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vicars |first1=William G. |title=CHINA |url=https://lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/c/china.htm |website=American Sign Language University |access-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529103207/https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/c/china.htm |archive-date=29 May 2023 |location=Sacramento, California |language=en}}</ref> replacing previous signs indicating East Asian people's typical [[epicanthic fold]], now considered offensive.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tennant |first1=Richard A. |last2=Gluszak Brown |first2=Marianne |title=The American Sign Language Handshape Dictionary |date=1998 |publisher=Clerc Books, Gallaudet University Press |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-1-56368-043-4 |pages=126, 311 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=27WtFCWcEucC&dq=China&pg=PA311 |access-date=2 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
Multiple other languages have borrowed the sign as well, with some modifications. In [[Estonian Sign Language]], the index finger moves diagonally to the non-dominant side instead of vertically downwards,<ref>{{cite web |title=🇺🇸 China 🇪🇪 Hiina |url=https://www.spreadthesign.com/en.us-to-et.ee/word/6350/hiina/?q=China |website=Spread the Sign |publisher=European Sign Language Center |access-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002150313/https://www.spreadthesign.com/en.us-to-et.ee/word/6350/hiina/?q=China |archive-date=2 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref> and in [[French Sign Language|French]]<ref>{{cite web |title=🇺🇸 China 🇫🇷 Chine |url=https://www.spreadthesign.com/en.us-to-fr.fr/word/6350/chine/?q=China |website=Spread the Sign |publisher=European Sign Language Center |access-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002150623/https://www.spreadthesign.com/en.us-to-fr.fr/word/6350/chine/?q=China |archive-date=2 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Israeli Sign Language]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=מנשה |first1=דבי |title=ארצות / מדינות העולם בשפת הסימנים הישראלית |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U27wgobKyiA&t=470s |website=YouTube |date=22 August 2020 |access-date=2 October 2023 |language=he}}</ref> the thumb is used instead. Some other languages use unrelated signs.<ref>{{cite web |title=🇺🇸 China |url=https://www.spreadthesign.com/en.us/word/6350/china |website=Spread the Sign |publisher=European Sign Language Center |access-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209115052/https://www.spreadthesign.com/en.us/word/6350/china/ |archive-date=9 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref> For example, in [[Hong Kong Sign Language]], the extended dominant index and middle fingers, held together, tap twice the non-dominant ones in the same handshape, palm downwards, in front of the signer's chest;<ref>{{cite web |title=China 中國 |url=https://www.sign-aip.net/sign-aip/en/home/detail.php?v_id=3109&vt=1 |website=LSD Visual Sign Language Dictionary |publisher=Sign Assisted Instruction Programme |language=en}}</ref> in [[Taiwanese Sign Language]], both hands are flat, with extended thumbs and other fingers held together and pointing sideways, palms towards the signer, move up and down together repeatedly in front of the signer's chest.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mainland China |url=https://twtsl.ccu.edu.tw/TSL//video/m/mainland_china.mp4 |website=TSL Online Dictionary |publisher=The Taiwan Center for Sign Linguistics, National Chung Cheng University |access-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002152354/https://twtsl.ccu.edu.tw/TSL//video/m/mainland_china.mp4 |archive-date=2 October 2023 }}</ref>
== See also ==
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{{refend}}
{{China topics}}
{{Asia topic|Name of}}
{{Countries and languages lists}}
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