(Redirected from China in world languages)The different usages and 'names of
China' in world
languages are generally consistent with how knowledge of
China's existence first reached each
culture.
Research is too inconclusive to make any definite assertion of the origins of the names of China in non-Chinese records.
Sinitic names
In modern China, the term ''Zhongguo'' is used to refer to all of
China, including
China proper (including
Taiwan),
Manchuria,
Inner Mongolia,
Xinjiang,
Tibet. By contrast, ''
Han'' refers to the
Han Chinese ethnic group, who are mostly concentrated in China proper,
Manchuria, and only parts of the other three regions. There is no general Chinese term for just China proper, or just the territories inhabited by
Han Chinese.
''Zhonghua'' is a more literary term used synonymously with ''Zhongguo''; it appears in the official names of both the
People's Republic of China and the
Republic of China. ''Tang'' is used synonymously with ''Han'' among southern Chinese, though some restrict the term further to refer to just
Cantonese or some other south Chinese language group.
Zhongguo
China is called '''Zhongguo''' (also Romanized as Chung-kuo or Jhongguo) in Mandarin Chinese. The term can be literally translated into English as "'Central Kingdom'" or "'Central Country'" , the less accurate translations are "Middle Country" and "Middle Kingdom". Scholar Chen Jian states:
: "I believe that 'Central Kingdom' is a more accurate translation for 'Zhong Guo' (China) than 'Middle Kingdom'. The term 'Middle Kingdom' does not imply that China is superior to other peoples and nations around it u2014 China just happens to be located in the middle geographically; the term 'Central Kingom', however, implies that China is superior to any other people and nation 'under the heaven' and that it thus occupies a 'central' position in the known universe."
[1]
Renowed sinologist Boyé Lafayeete De Mente states
:"A more accurate translation of Zhong Guo is "Middle Country," and to be still more precise, "Central Country," with "central" being the key word... Whoever it was that first began calling the country Zhong Guo was using the word "central" in the sense of "heart," "main," or the place where everything starts, and from where everything is controlled."
[2]
The term has not been used consistently throughout
Chinese history, and has carried varying cultural and political connotations. During the
Spring and Autumn Period, it was used only to describe the states politically descended from the
Western Zhou Dynasty, in the
Yellow River (Huang He) valley, to the exclusion of states such as the
Chu along the
Yangtze River and the
Qin to the west.
However, by the time of the
Han Dynasty, the states of Chu, Qin and others had linked themselves to the politics of ''Zhongguo'' and were already considered integral parts of a newer ''Zhongguo''. This usage of ''Zhongguo'' has been translated into English as "the Central States."
During the
Han Dynasty and before, ''Zhongguo'' had three distinctive meanings:
# The area around the capital or imperial domain. The ''
Book of Poetry'' explicitly gives this definition.
# Territories under the direct control of the "central" authorities. The ''
Records of the Grand Historian'' states: "Eight mountains are famed in the empire. Three are with the Man and Yi barbarians. Five are in ''Zhongguo''."
# The area now called the
North China Plain. The ''
Records of Three Kingdoms'' records the following monologue: "If we can lead the host of
Wu and
Yue (the kingdoms in areas of present-day
Shanghai, southern
Jiangsu and northern
Zhejiang) to oppose ''Zhongguo'', then we should break off relations with them soon." In this sense, the term ''Zhongguo'' is synonymous with ''Hua'' (华 or 華) and ''Xia'' (夏), and distinct from the Wu and Yue peoples living around the
Yangtze River Delta.
During the period of division after the fall of the Han Dynasty, the term ''Zhongguo'' was subjected to transformation as a result of the surge of nomadic peoples from the northern frontier. This was reinforced after the loss of the Yellow River valley, the cradle of Chinese civilization, to these peoples. For example, the Xianbei called their
Northern Wei regime ''Zhongguo'', contrasting it with the
Southern Dynasties, which they called the ''Yi'' (夷), meaning "barbarian". The southern dynasties, for their part, recently exiled from the north, called the Northern Wei ''Lu'' (虜), meaning "criminal" or "prisoner". In this way ''Zhongguo'' came to represent political legitimacy. It was used in this manner from the tenth century onwards by the competing dynasties of
Liao,
Jin and
Song. The term ''Zhongguo'' came to be related to geographic, cultural and political identity and less to ethnic origin.
''Zhongguo'' quickly came to include areas farther south, as the cultural and political unit (not yet a "nation" in the modern sense) spread to include the
Yangtze River and
Pearl River systems. By the
Tang Dynasty it included
barbarian regimes such as the
Xianbei and
Xiongnu.
The Republic of China, when it controlled mainland China, and later, the People's Republic of China, have used ''Zhongguo'' to mean all the territories and peoples within their political control. Thus it is asserted that all 56 officially recognized ethnic groups are ''Zhongguoren'' (中国人 or 中國人), or ''Zhongguo'' people, though such claims remain politically controversial, especially when ''Zhongguo'' refers to the PRC.
When western missionaries arrived in China in the 19th century, they translated ''Zhongguo'' as "the Middle Kingdom" on the notion that the Chinese traditionally positioned the
Emperor of China at the center of the world, conceiving of concentric rings that extend from the cultural center to barbaric borderlands. This notion was widely accepted in
Japan,
Korea, and
Vietnam, and to some degree in other countries. This word can be traced back as early as the
Zhou dynasty; however, the actual use of this term only became popularized during the modern age in both
China and other
East Asian nations.
★
Chinese: Zhōngguó, Jhongguó (中國； 中国)
★
Japanese: Chūgoku (中国; ちゅうごく)
★
Korean: Jungguk, Chungguk (중국; 中國)
★
Indonesian: Tiongkok (from the
Min-nan name for China)
★
Manchu: Dulimbai gurun
★
Mongol: Dumdadu ulus (Думдад улс)
★
Tibetan: Krung-go (ཀྲུང་གོ་)
★
Uighur: Junggo (جۇڭگو)
★
Vietnamese: Trung Quốc
★
Zhuang: Cunghgoz (older orthography: Cungƅgoƨ)
Zhonghua
This means ''Middle Prosperity'' (中華/中华
pinyin: Zhōnghuá;
Tongyong Pinyin: Jhonghuá) in
Mandarin and originally referred to the culturally rich land of
Henan. In Chinese it is used today only in certain compounds (e.g., 中华文化 "
Chinese culture") or for poetic effect, and carries a positive connotation, unlike ''Zhongguo'', which is neutral.
★
Japanese: Chūka (中華; ちゅうか)
★
Korean: Junghwa, Chunghwa (중화; 中華)
★
Indonesian: Tionghua (from the
Min-nan counterpart)
★
Vietnamese: Trung Hoa
Overseas Chinese are referred to as ''huaqiao'' (華僑 or 华侨), literally "Chinese overseas", or ''huayi'' (華裔 or 华裔), literally "Chinese descendant" (i.e., Chinese children born overseas).
Han
The name ''Han'' (漢/汉
pinyin: hàn) comes from the
Han Dynasty, who presided over
China's first golden age. During the
Sixteen Kingdoms and
Southern and Northern Dynasties periods, various non-Chinese ethnic groups invaded from the north and conquered areas of North China, which they held for several centuries. It was during this period that people began to use the term "Han" to refer to the natives of North China, who (unlike the invaders) were the descendants of the subjects of the
Han Dynasty.
During the Yuan Dynasty Mongolian ruler divided people into four classes: Mongolians, "Color-eyeds", Hans, and "Southerns". Northern Chinese were called Han, which was considered to be the highest class of Chinese. The name "Han" became popularly accepted.
During the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu rulers also used the name Han to distinguish the local Chinese from the Manchus. When the Republic was set up, the Han became the name of a nationality within China.
Today the term
Han Chinese is used by the
People's Republic of China to refer to the most populous of the 56
officially recognized ethnic groups of China. The "Han Chinese" are simply referred to as "Chinese" by some outside of China, especially among advocates of independence for non-Han regions.
Tang
The name ''Tang'' (唐
pinyin: táng, Cantonese: tong4) comes from the
Tang Dynasty, who presided over
China's second golden age. It was during the Tang Dynasty that South China was finally and fully
Sinicized; hence it is usually South Chinese who refer to themselves as "Tang". For example,
Chinatowns worldwide are usually dominantly
Cantonese; they are hence referred to generally as ''Tong-yan-gaai'' (唐人街
pinyin: tángrénjiē), or "''Street of Tang People''", while China is called Tong-saan (唐山), or "Tang Mountain".
Cantonese people may also use ''Tang'' to refer exclusively to Cantonese themselves.
Huaxia
Main articles: Huaxia
The name ''Huaxia'' (华夏
pinyin: huáxià) is the combination of two words:
★ ''Hua'' which means prosper.
★ ''Xia'' which could mean the
Xia dynasty or grandiose.
This word has been widely used to refer to the
Huang He river valley, by analogy with Zhonghua, which means "middle prosper", before ''Han'' became popular.
Tianxia
Main articles: All under heaven
''Tianxia'' (天下
pinyin: Tiānxià) literally means "
under heaven". This term is usually used in the context of
civil wars or periods of division, in which whoever ends up reunifying China is said to have ruled ''Tianxia'', or everything under heaven. This fits with the traditional Chinese theory of rulership in which the emperor was nominally the political leader of the entire world and not merely the leader of a nation-state within the world.
Jiangshan
''Jiangshan'' (江山
pinyin: Jiāngshān) literally means "Rivers and mountains". This term is quite similar in usage to Tianxia, and simply refers to the entire world, and here the most prominent features of which being rivers and mountains. Use of this term is also common as part of the phrase "designing rivers and mountains" meaning maintaining and improving government and policy in the world.
Jiuzhou
Main articles: Jiuzhou
The name ''Jiuzhou'' (九州
pinyin: jiǔ zhōu) means "nine states." The word originated during the middle of
Warring States Period of China. During that time, the
Huang He river region was divided into nine geographical regions; thus this name was coined. (Consult
Zhou for more information.) However, in present-day usage, "Jiuzhou" more frequently appears as the Chinese rendition of "
Kyūshū", the name of one of the islands that comprise Japan.
Shenzhou
This name means ''Divine Land'' (神州
pinyin Shénzhōu) and comes from the same period as Jiuzhou. It was thought that the world was divided into nine major states, one of which is Shenzhou, which is in turn divided into nine smaller states, one of which is Jiuzhou mentioned above.
Sihai
This name, ''Four Seas'' (四海
pinyin sìhǎi), is sometimes used to refer to China. At other times it simply means "the country". It came from the ancient notion that land was surrounded by sea in all four directions.
Dalu
''Dalu'' (大陸
pinyin: dà lù), is literally translated as "Big Land". It is often used to refer to
Mainland China in a political context; Dalu encompasses the area predominantly under communist control. The areas of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are excluded from this term.
Official names
People's Republic of China
The name 'New China' has been frequently applied to
China by the
Communist Party of China as a positive political and social term contrasting China before
1949 (the establishment of the PRC) and the new socialist state. This term is also sometimes used by writers outside 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 on Taiwan (once called "Nationalist China" or "Free China"). In some contexts, particularly in economics, trade, and sports, "China" is often used to refer to
mainland China to the exclusion of
Hong Kong,
Macau,
and
Republic of China on Taiwan.
The official name of the
People's Republic of China in various official languages and scripts.
★
Simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国 (
pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) - Official language and script, used in
Mainland China
★
Traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國 (
pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó,
Jyutping: zung1 waa4 jan4 man4 gung6 wo4 gwok3) - Official in
Hong Kong and
Macau
★
English: People's Republic of China - Official in
Hong Kong.
★
Kazakh: جۇڭحۋا حالىق رەسپۋبليكاسى (pronounced ) - Used in
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
★
Korean: 중화 인민 공화국 (Junghwa Inmin Gonghwaguk) - Used in
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
★
Mongolian:
- Official in
Inner Mongolia; Бүгд Найрамдах Хятад Ард Улс - Official in
Mongolia
★
Portuguese: República Popular da China - Official in
Macau
★
Tibetan: ཀྲུང་ཧྭ་མི་དམངས་སྤྱི་མཐུན་རྒྱལ་ཁབ (krung hwa mi dmangs spyi mthun rgyal khab) - Official in
Tibet
★
Uyghur: جۇڭخۇا خەلق جۇمھۇرىيىت (Jungxua Xelq Jumhuriyiti) - Official in
Xinjiang
★
Zhuang: Cunghvaz Yinzminz Gunghozgoz - Official in
Guangxi
Other languages:
★
Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী চীন Gônoprojantontri Chin (People's Republic of China) or গণচীন Gônochin (People's China)
★
Estonian: Hiina Rahvavabariik
★
Finnish: Kiinan kansantasavalta
★
French:République populaire de Chine
★
German: Volksrepublik China
★
Greek: Λαϊκή Δημοκρατία της Κίνας
★
Hungarian: Kínai Népköztársaság
★
Indonesian language: Republik Rakyat Tiongkok (also for commonly use Republik Rakyat Cina)
★
Polish: Chińska Republika Ludowa (abbreviation: ChRL)
★
Spanish: República Popular China
★
Vietnamese: Cộng Hòa Nhân Dân Trung Hoa
Republic of China
Since its founding in 1912, the
Republic of China has sometimes been referred to as 'Republican China', in contrast to the
empire it replaced, or as 'Nationalist China', after the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party, or the
Kuomintang. It has also been referred to as the 'Chinese Republic'. Since the separation from the mainland since 1949 due to the
Chinese Civil War, the territory of the Republic of China has largely been confined to the island of
Taiwan and a few other small islands. Thus, the country is often informally referred to as simply 'Taiwan'. Amid the hostile rhetoric of the
Cold War, the government sometimes referred to itself as ''Free China'', in contrast to the communist-controlled mainland.
The official name of the
Republic of China in various languages
★
Traditional Chinese 中華民國 (
Tongyong Pinyin: JhōngHuá MínGuó)
★
Bengali চীন প্রজাতন্ত্র Chin Projatôntro, or তাইউয়ান Taiuan
★
Polish: Republika Chińska lub Tajwan
Names in Non-Chinese records
Names used in the rest of
Asia, especially
East and
Southeast Asia, are usually derived directly from words in a
language of China learned through the land-route. Those languages belonging to a former dependency (tributary) or Chinese-influenced country have a pronunciation especially similar pronunciation to that of Chinese. Those used in
European languages, however, have indirect names that came via the sea-route and bear little resemblance to what is used in China.
First appeared Before C.E.
Chin
From
Sanskrit ''Cin'' (चीन IPA: ), this name possibly derives from the name of the
Qin Empire (
3rd century BC) or
Jìn Dynasty (265-420).
The mention of the
Chinas in ancient
Sanskrit literature, both in the ''
Laws of Manu'' and in the ''
Mahabhārata'', has often been supposed to prove the application of the name before the predominance of the Qin Dynasty. Most likely, the name came from the Kingdom of
Qin, which had existed on the western part of China for several centuries before it conquered the rest of China to established the
Qin Dynasty.
However, it is also said that the coupling of that name with the
Daradas, still surviving as the people of
Dardistan, on the
Indus River, may suggest the possibility that those names 'Cin' and 'China' were a kindred race of mountaineers, whose name as
Shinas remains applied to a branch of the
Dard people.
Marco Polo described China specifically as ''Chin'', which is the word used in
Persian, the main ''
lingua franca'' on his route through the
Silk Road. Barbosa (1516) and
Garcia de Orta (1563) mentioned ''China''.
★
Albanian: Kinë (IPA )
★
Amharic: Chayna (from English)
★
Azeri: Çin (IPA )
★
Astur-Leonese: Xina
★
Basque: Txina (IPA )
★
Bangla/Bengali: Chin (চীন IPA: )
★
Bosnian: Kina
★
Catalan: Xina (IPA )
★
Croatian: Kina
★
Czech: Čína (
IPA )
★
Danish: Kina
★
Dutch: China
★
English: China (
IPA )
★
Esperanto: Ĉinujo or Ĉinio or Ĥinujo
★
Estonian: Hiina
★
Filipino (
Tagalog): Tsina
★
Finnish: Kiina
★
French: Chine (IPA )
★
Georgian: ჩინეთი (IPA )
★
German: China (IPA , in some southern dialects also )
★
Greek: Κίνα (Kína)
★
Hindi: Chīn चीन (IPA )
★
Hungarian: Kína (IPA )
★
Icelandic: Kína
★
Indonesian: Cina (IPA )
★
Interlingua: China
★
Irish: An tSín (IPA )
★
Italian: Cina (IPA )
★
Japanese: Shina (支那) — considered offensive in China, now largely obsolete in Japan and avoided out of deference to China (the
Sino-Japanese name, ''Chūgoku'', is used instead); See
Shina (word) and
kotobagari.
★
Korean: Jin, Chin
★
Lithuanian: Kinija
★
Malayalam: Cheenan/Cheenathi
★
Norwegian: Kina
★
Pahlavi: Čīnī
★
Persian: Chin چين (IPA )
★
Polish: Chiny (IPA )
★
Portuguese: China (IPA )
★
Romanian: China (IPA )
★
Serbian: Кина (IPA )
★
Slovak: Čína (IPA )
★
Spanish: China (IPA )
★
Swedish: Kina (IPA )
★
Tamil: Cheenaa
★
Thai: Jiin (จีน)
★
Turkish: Çin (IPA )
★
Urdu: Čīn چين (IPA )
★
Welsh: Tsieina
Seres (Σηρες)
Main articles: Seres
''Seres'' ''(Σηρες)'' was the ancient
Greek and
Roman name for the northwestern part of China and its inhabitants. It meant "of silk," or "land where silk comes from." The name is thought to derive from the Chinese word for silk, "''si''" (
Traditional Chinese: 絲;
Simplified Chinese: 丝;
pinyin: sī). It is itself at the origin of the
Latin for silk, "''serica''". See the main article
Seres for more details.
Ser
An earlier usage than ''Sin'', possibly related.
★
Greek:
Seres, Serikos
★
Latin: Serica
This may be a
back formation from ''serikos'' (''σηρικος''), "made of
silk", from ''sêr'' (''σηρ''), "silkworm," in which case ''Seres'' is "the land where silk comes from."
Sin
A name possibly of origin separate from "''Chin''"
★
Hebrew: Sin (סִין)
★
Arabic: in صين
★
English (prefix of adjectives): Sino- (i.e. Sino-American), Sinitic (the Chinese language family).
★
Latin: Sinæ
This name is mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible in Genesis 10:17, where it is said that the Sinites are descendants of
Canaan, the son of
Ham. This is taken by some to indicate the Chinese.
It probably came to Europe through the Arabs, who made the China of the farther east into ''Sin'', and perhaps sometimes into ''Thin''. Hence the Thin of the author of the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, who appears to be the first extant writer to employ the name in this form; hence also the Sinæ and Thinae of
Ptolemy.
Some denied that Ptolemy's Sinæ really represented the Chinese. But if we compare the statement of
Marcianus of Heraclea (a condenser of Ptolemy), when he tells us that the "nations of the Sinae lie at the extremity of the habitable world, and adjoin the eastern
Terra Incognita," with that of
Cosmas Indicopleustes, who says, in speaking of ''Tzinista'', a name understood as referring to China, that "beyond this there is neither habitation nor navigation", it seems probable that the same region is meant by both. Ptolemy's misrendering of the
Indian Sea as a closed basin—i.e., placing the Chinese coast along its eastern boundary—should not necessarily be seen as a counterargument, as also he described what is unmistakably India with similarly erroneous geography. Most scholars still believe Sinæ is China.
Sinae
''Sinae'' was an ancient Greek and Roman name for some people who dwelt south of the
Seres in the eastern extremity of the inhabitable world. References to the Sinae include mention of a city that the ancients called "the metropolis of the Sinae," the identity of which is unknown to modern scholars. Although the name ''Sinae'' appears to be derived from the same etymological source as the Latin prefixes ''Sino-'' and ''Sin-'', which are traditionally used to refer to China and the Chinese, there is some controversy as to the ultimate origin of these terms, as their use in historical texts of classical antiquity in the West appears to antedate the emergence of the
Qin Dynasty and its empire, the name of which has often been cited as the source of Latin ''Sino-'' and ''Sin-''.
First appeared After C.E
China
English and many other languages use various forms of the name "China" and the
prefix "Sino-" or "Sin-". These forms are thought to be probably derived from the name of the
Qin Dynasty that first unified the country (221–206 BCE).
[3] The Qin Dynasty unified the written language in China and gave the supreme ruler of China the title of "Emperor" instead of "King," thus the subsequent
Silk Road traders might have identified themselves by that name.
The term "China" can also be used to refer to:
★ the modern state known as the
People's Republic of China (PRC);
★ "Mainland China" (中国大陆 or 中國大陸, ''Zhōngguó Dàlù'' in Mandarin), which is the territory of the PRC minus the two
special administrative regions of
Hong Kong and
Macau;
★ "
China proper", a term used to refer to the historical heartlands of China without peripheral areas like
Manchuria,
Inner Mongolia,
Tibet, and
Xinjiang
In economic contexts, "
Greater China" (大中华地区 or 大中華地區, ''dà Zhōnghhuá dìqū'') is a neutral and non-political way to refer to
Mainland China,
Hong Kong,
Macau and sometimes
Taiwan. "Taiwan" often refers to the
Republic of China.
Sinologists usually use "Chinese" in a more restricted sense, akin to the classical usage of ''Zhongguo'', to the
Han ethnic group, which makes up the bulk of the population in China and of the
overseas Chinese.
Kina
"Kina" is used to refer to China in North Europe now and the pronunciation is //. This name still comes from the
Qin Dynasty. In Swedish(svenska), Kinesiska means Chinese(汉语), the language used in Kina.
Cathay
Main articles: Cathay
This group of names derives from
Khitan, an ethnic group that originated in
Manchuria and conquered Northern China. Due to long domination of Northern China by these non-Chinese conquerors, it was considered by northwestern people as the land of the Khitan. In
English and in several other European languages, the name "Cathay" became widely used for all of China largely as a result of translations of the adventures of
Marco Polo, which used this word for northern China.
★
Bulgarian: Китай
★
Classical Mongolian: Kitad
★
English: Cathay
★
Kazan Tatar: Qıtay
★
Medieval Latin: Cataya, Kitai
★
Mongolian: Хятад (''Hyatad'')
★
Buryat: Хитад (Chitad)
★
Portuguese: Catai
★
Russian: Китай (''Kitai'')
★
Slovene: Kitajska (IPA )
★
Turkmen: Hitaý
★
Ukrainian: Kytai (Китай)
★
Uygur: Hyty
There is no evidence that either in the 13th or 14th century, Cathayans, ''i.e.'' Chinese, travelled officially to
Europe, but it is possible that some did, in unofficial capacity, at least in the 13th century. For, during the campaigns of
Hulagu (the grandson of
Genghis Khan) in
Persia (
1256-
65), and the reigns of his successors, Chinese
engineers were employed on the banks of the
Tigris, and Chinese
astrologers and
physicians could be consulted at
Tabriz. Many
diplomatic communications passed between the Hulaguid
Ilkhans and the
Christian princes. The former, as the great khan's liegemen, still received from him their
seals of state; and two of their letters which survive in the archives of
France exhibit the vermilion impressions of those seals in
Chinese characters -- perhaps affording the earliest specimen of those characters which reached western Europe.
Tabgach
"
Tabgach" came from the metatheses of "
Tuoba" (
★ takbat), a dominant tribe of the
Xianbei. It referred to Northern China, which was dominated by half-Xianbei, half-Chinese people.
★
Byzantine Greek: Taugats
★
Orhon Kok-Turk: Tabgach (variations Tamgach)
Nikan
Manchu: ''Nikan'' was a Manchu ethnonym of unknown origin that referred specifically to the ethnic group known in English as the
Han Chinese; the stem of this word was also conjugated as a verb, ''nikara(-mbi)'', and used to mean "to speak the
Chinese language." Since ''Nikan'' was essentially an
ethnonym and referred to a group of people (i.e., a
nation) rather than to a political body (i.e., a
state), the correct translation of "China" into the Manchu language is ''Nikan gurun'', literally the "Nikan state" or "country of the Nikans" (i.e., country of the Hans).
Kara
Japanese: Kara (から; variously written in
kanji as 唐 or 漢). An identical name was used by the ancient and medieval Japanese to refer to the country that is now known as
Korea, and many Japanese historians and linguists believe that the word "Kara" referring to China and/or Korea may have derived from a
metonymic extension of the appellation of the ancient city-states of
Gaya.
The Japanese word ''
karate'' (空手, lit. "empty hand"), referring to a form of
martial arts, was earlier also written as 唐手 (lit. "Chinese hand") in respect of its supposedly Chinese origin.
Morokoshi
Japanese: Morokoshi (もろこし; variously written in
kanji as 唐 or 唐土). This obsolete Japanese name for China is believed to have derived from a
''kun'' reading of the Chinese compound 諸越 ''Zhūyuè'' or 百越
Bǎiyuè, literally meaning "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'' (トウモロコシ, 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 millet," the etymology of the Japanese word appears to go back to "
Tang morokoshi," in which "morokoshi" was the obsolete Japanese name for China as well as the Japanese word for
sorghum, which seems to have been introduced into Japan from China.
Mangi
From Chinese ''Manzi'' (southern barbarians). The division of
North China and South China under the
Jinn Dynasty and
Song Dynasty weakened the dogma that China should be unified, and it was common for a time to call the politically disparate North and South by different names. While Northern China was called
Cathay, Southern China was referred to as Mangi. Manzi often appears in documents of the Mongol
Yuan Dynasty. The Mongols also called Southern Chinese "Nangkiyas" or "Nangkiyad", and considered them ethnically distinct from North Chinese. As Marco Polo used it, the word "Manzi" reached the Western world as "Mangi". While the Chinese themselves see Mangi as derogatory sense, and never used as self-appellation.
★
Chinese: Manzi (蠻子)
★
Latin: Mangi
References
1. ''Mao's China and the Cold War''. UNC Press. ISBN 0-8078-4932-4
2. The Chinese Have a Word for It." McGraw-Hill Professional ISBN 0658010786 / 9780658010781
3. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed (AHD4). Boston and New York, Houghton-Mifflin, 2000, entries ''china, Qin, Sino-''.
See also
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Chinese romanization
★
List of country name etymologies
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Names of Japan
★
Names of Korea
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