The country names before the Spring and Autumn Period are basically derived from the names of tribes and tribal alliances, from the original hexagrams of the founders, and from the surnames of Han, Zhao and Wei in the Warring States Period.
After that, the titles of all previous dynasties, including the Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms and Sixteen Kingdoms in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, were mostly traced back to the titles of vassal states in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
The meanings of specific country names are as follows:
1/ Summer:
It is said that Yu was divined because he called his regime "Xia". According to the records of historians, the son of Yu was called "Xia" only after he moved westward to Daxia (Fenyue area in the south of Shanxi).
2/ Quotient:
According to legend, Qi, the ancestor of Shang (now south of Shangqiu, Henan), helped Yu to control water, and was divined by Shang, who later called him a tribe (or tribe). When the soup goes out, it is in the name of "Shang". After Pan Geng moved to Yin (now northwest of Anyang, Henan Province), it was also called Yin or Yin Shang.
3/ week:
When the Zhou tribe arrived at Qi's father, they moved to Joo Won? (now Qishan, Shaanxi). After the Yin Dynasty was destroyed, Zhou was taken as the name of the dynasty. At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, its capital was established in Gao (now southwest of Shaanxi), and then it was moved from Pingdong to Luoyi (now Luoyang, Henan). Because it is in the east of Gaozhi, it is called "Western Zhou" and "Eastern Zhou".
4/ Qin:
According to historical records, this is an ancient tribe, whose leader is Zhou's horse-raising friend, who was named "Won" by Zhou, and was given a small piece of land (now Tianshui County, Gansu Province, nicknamed Longxiyu). Later, Xiang saved Zhou Yougong and was made a vassal. Qin Shihuang unified the six countries and established the State of Qin.
5/ Korea:
Xiang Yu named Liu Bang Hanwang. Later, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and unified China, which was called "Han". Chang 'an was the capital of the early Han Dynasty, and Luoyang was the capital of the later Han Dynasty. Therefore, there are "Western Han Dynasty" and "Eastern Han Dynasty" in the capital, and "pre-Han Dynasty" and "post-Han Dynasty" in time.
6/ Wei:
Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty once conferred titles on Cao Cao as "Duke Wei" and "Wang Wei", and Cao Pi was called "Wei" after the Han Dynasty. Cao was given a title by the royal family and was also called "Cao Wei" in history.
7/ Shu:
Liu Bei took Sichuan as his activity area, and Shu refers to Sichuan, which his regime helped to call "Shu". Also known as "Shu Han" in history. Chinese refers to the continuation of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Liu Bei's country name is "Han" to show orthodoxy. Did not claim to be comfortable. Later generations, different from the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty, were called by the territory they occupied in Sichuan. Habit has been with you for a long time.
8/ Wu:
Sun Quan lives in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In history, when Wu was founded, Cao Wei named Sun Quan as "King of Wu", so it was called "Sun Wu" in history. Because it is located in the East, it is also called "Soochow".
9/ kg:
Si Mazhao forced the Wei Emperor to make him the Duke of Jin, and after the demise of Shu, he became the King of Jin. Later, his son Siyan inherited his title, forcing Wei Emperor to abdicate and stand on his own feet as emperor, with the title of "Jin".
10/ ear:
Yang Zhong, the father of Yang Jian, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, was once named "the successor to the country" by the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Later, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty also adopted this kind of divinatory image, which was called "following the DPRK". He thinks that the meaning of "go with you" may be changed to "follow", which is ominous.
1 1/ Tang:
Li Hu, the grandfather of Tang Gaozu Tang Gaozu, was named "Duke of Tang" together with Zhou Yougong, and the title was passed to Tang Gaozu. After Taiyuan started fighting, Li Yuan claimed to be the "King of the Tang Dynasty" and later abandoned Yang Sui to build the Tang Dynasty.
12/ Liao:
Liao was originally named "Qidan", but it was changed to "Liao" because it lived in the upper reaches of Liaohe River.
13/ Song:
After Emperor Gong of the Later Zhou Dynasty succeeded to the throne, he was appointed as our ambassador to Germany, and was transferred back to Songzhou (now Shangqiu, Henan Province) by the Germans. Zhao Kuangyin was appointed as our ambassador to Songzhou. Therefore, after the mutiny, Chen Qiao made his fortune in Songzhou and was named "Song".
14/ Xixia:
Tuoba Sigong occupied Zhou Xia (now Hengshan County, Shaanxi Province) and was named after Zhou Xia when the People's Republic of China was founded, which was called "Daxia". Because in the west, the Song people called it "Xixia".
15/ gold:
Jinducheng is located in Ning, Jing Hui (now south of Acheng, Heilongjiang Province). According to legend, its aquatic products are gold, and the word "gold" means "tiger".
16/ yuan:
According to the history of the Yuan Dynasty, the naming of Yuan was decided by Kublai Khan of Yuan Shizu. It is the "Yuan" in the sentence "Great Gan Yuan" in the Book of Changes, which means great and first. However, some people think it is related to Mongolian customs and totems, while others think it is related to Buddhism. The full name of the country name of the Yuan Dynasty is "Dayuan", meaning "Dayi Gan Yuan", which was suggested by Han Chinese officials. Different from Dahan and Datang, it is a part of the title itself. Usually "Yuan" is an abbreviation.
17/ Ming:
Zhu Yuanzhang was one of the insurgents at the end of Yuan Dynasty, which was developed on the basis of inheriting Guo Zixing, and Guo Zixing belonged to An Baili School. The White Lotus Sect declared that "darkness is about to pass, and light is coming" to inspire people to oppose the rule of the dark Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, it is also called the Illuminati. Han called him "Wang Ming" (his son called him "Wang Xiaoming"), which reflected his purpose. Zhu Yuanzhang not only once believed in religion, but also admitted that he was a member of the rebel army (once deputy marshal Zuo). After Zhu Yuanzhang came to power, the title of the country was "Ming". The name of Ming is also "Daming". First, it comes from Zoroastrianism. Secondly, it means inheriting "Wang Xiaoming" Han Liner. "Ming" is an abbreviation
18/ Qing:
Manchu is a branch of Jurchen nationality. The Jurchen nationality established the Jin State in the Northern Song Dynasty. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Jurchen forces regained their strength and rebuilt the State of Jin (the later Jin Dynasty). In order to expand outward, the late Jin Dynasty severed its vassal relationship with the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of Qing Dynasty changed "Nuzhen" to "Manchuria" and "Jin" to "Qing". In the Song Dynasty, Jurchen was controlled by the Khitans. His generation pointed out that the word "Liao" means "wrought iron" in the Khitan language, so it was named "Jin", which means it is stronger than iron and can overwhelm "Liao". The reason why "Jin" was changed to "Qing" was because Manchuria rebelled against the Ming Dynasty at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Because "fire" was the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, water can overcome fire, so Huang Taiji changed Nuzhen to "Manchuria" and "Jin" to "Qing".