The scope of the word "China" has experienced an expansion process from small to large as the times go by. When "China" appeared in "Shangshu", it was just the name people in the Western Zhou Dynasty gave to the Guanzhong and Heluo areas where they lived; by the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou affiliated areas could also be called "China", and the meaning of "China" expanded. To the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River including various vassal states. With the expansion of the territories of the vassal states, "China" became the name of the entire territory of the states.
According to legend, the first dynasty in Chinese history was the Xia Dynasty. In ancient times, the ancestors in the Yellow River Basin called themselves "Huaxia", or simply "Hua" and "Xia". The word "Huaxia" was first seen in "Zuo Zhuan" in the 26th year of Duke Xiang (547 BC): "Chu lost Huaxia". Kong Yingda Shu of Tang Dynasty said: "Huaxia is China." In terms of literal meaning, the word "hua" means beautiful, and the word "xia" means grand. Together they are indeed a beautiful word. "Huaxia" refers to the princes of the Central Plains and is also the name of the predecessor of the Han people, so "Huaxia" is still another name for China.
1. An examination of the original meaning of the word "China"
The Huaxia people refer to their four bordering nations as barbarians, barbarians, Rong, and Di, and call themselves "China". The word "China" was first seen in Zhou Dynasty literature, and later had different meanings depending on the objects it refers to. Roughly speaking, there are the following six concepts: First, it refers to the capital (capital), such as the note in "The Book of Songs Minlao": "China, the capital". The second refers to the areas directly ruled by the emperor. For example, Zhuge Liang said to Sun Quan: "If the people of Wu and Yue can compete with China, it is better to eliminate them early." The third refers to the Central Plains region, such as "Historical Records: Biography of Dongyue": "Dongou invites the whole country to join China." The fourth refers to the domestic and inland areas, such as "Historical Records: The Chronicles of Emperor Wu": "There are eight famous mountains in the world, three of which are in barbarians and the fifth in China." The fifth refers to the area where the Xia people live, such as "The Analects of Confucius": "Zhuxia, China." Sixth refers to the country established by Huaxia or the Han people. Such titles often appear in "Historical Records" and "Hanshu". Therefore, since the Han Dynasty, people often refer to the Central Plains dynasty established by the Han people as "China". Because of this, when ethnic minorities took over the Central Plains, they called themselves "China". For example, the Northern Wei Dynasty established by the Xianbei people called themselves "China" and the Southern Dynasties were called "Daoyi". At the same time, although the Southern Dynasties established by the Han people moved away from the Central Plains, , still regarded themselves as "China" and called the Northern Dynasties "Suolu" and the Northern Wei Dynasty "Weilu". Another example is that in the Song Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty all called themselves "China" and did not recognize each other as "China".
2. An examination of the evolution of the regional concept of the term "China"
The scope of the term "China" has experienced an expansion from small to large with the passage of time process. When "China" appeared in "Shangshu", it was just the name people in the Western Zhou Dynasty gave to the Guanzhong and Heluo areas where they lived; by the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou affiliated areas could also be called "China", and the meaning of "China" expanded. To the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River including various vassal states. With the expansion of the territories of the vassal states, "China" became the name of the entire territory of the states. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, areas that are not part of the Yellow River Basin but are within the jurisdiction of the Central Plains Dynasty have been called "China", and the name "China" has finally become a common name for our country. Since the mid-19th century, "China" has become a special term referring to the entire territory of our country.
In fact, although the name "China" has a history of three thousand years of written records, it is only a regional concept. From the Xia, Shang, and Zhou until the end of the Qing Dynasty, no dynasty or regime has ever used it. "China" is the official country name. "China" officially became the name of the country after the Revolution of 1911. On New Year's Day, 1912, the Republic of China was established, known internationally as the Republic of China, or China ("China") for short. At this point, the name "China" became an official name with the concept of a modern country. The great People's Republic of China was established in 1949, and the concept of "China" was improved and enriched to the meaning it has today.
3. Examination of the aliases of the word "China"
In addition to the above-mentioned "Huaxia", the aliases of "China" also include "Zhonghua", "Kiuzhou" and "Sihai" , "Shenzhou" and other titles. "Zhonghua" originally referred to the Yellow River Basin area. The word "Zhonghua" first appeared in Pei's notes to "Three Kingdoms". With the expansion of territory, all places under the jurisdiction of the Central Plains Dynasty were collectively called "China", which generally referred to the whole country. A poem by Han Ganwu in the Tang Dynasty said: "The land of China ends in the border towns, and the foreign clouds come from the island." This has already contrasted "China" and "foreign countries". Therefore, "China" is also referred to as "Hua", and Chinese people living overseas are called "overseas Chinese".
The name "Jiuzhou" originated from the middle period of the Warring States Period. At that time, the countries were in disputes and wars were raging. People longed for unification, so the idea of ??dividing the Central Plains came into being. Therefore, "Yu Gong" included Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, Yang, Jing, Yu, Liang, Yong and Jiuzhou. Other ancient books such as "Erya·Shidi", "Zhouli·Zifang", "Lu Shi Chunqiu·Youshi Lan", etc. also have records of "Jiuzhou". Although the specific state names are different, they are all recorded as nine states. It was during the Eastern Han Dynasty that "state" officially became an administrative region. In later generations, the states were divided into more and more subdivided areas, and their jurisdictions became smaller and smaller, but the central area was roughly equivalent to the scope of the "Kyushu" during the Warring States Period. Therefore, "Jiuzhou" became the synonym for China and is still used today.
In ancient times, China was known as the "Four Seas", so named because it was surrounded by sea water on all four sides.
Zou Yan, a native of Qi during the Warring States Period, was inspired by overseas traffic and boldly proposed the theory of "Greater Nine States". He believes that the nine states in "Yu Gong" can only be counted as one state together, called "Chixian Shenzhou"; there are 9 states of the same size, but they are just small Jiuzhou surrounded by Bihai; such small Jiuzhou*** There are 9 of them, forming the Great Kyushu; the Great Kyushu is surrounded by the Great Yingzhou. Therefore, "Shenzhou" only accounts for one eighty-one percent of the world. Although the facts of later generations proved that this was just a hypothesis, the name "Shenzhou" has been used to this day.
4. An examination of the names of "China" in world culture
In ancient times, people from India, Greece, Rome and other countries respectfully called China Cina, Thin, and Sinae. Many developed countries almost all used the terms Cina, Thin, and Sinae. China is called China with nouns that sound close to each other. The Chinese transliterations are: China, Zhina, Zhina, Xini, Shenyang, etc. These are the foreign equivalents of the word "Qin", and some people think it comes from the pronunciation of "Si" in "Silk". Some people think it comes from "porcelain (china)" or "tea" in the Hokkien dialect.
Russia calls China "Khitan", which obviously has another origin. The Liao Dynasty established by the Khitan people had strong military force and controlled the entire Mongolian Plateau and its surrounding areas. It was invincible wherever the iron cavalry went. At that time, the Russians, who had just emerged in the Eastern European plains, first heard that the Khitan was the only one in the East, so they called China "Khitan", which they still use today.