Editing Names of China (section)

==== 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 {{zhi|c=宅茲中国|t=宅茲中國}}]]<!---𠁩 which is an ancient form of {{zhi|c=中}}, the other three characters are rebuses;--->
[[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 ''{{Transliteration|zh|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 [[He zun|He ''zun'']], a bronze vessel dating to 1038–{{circa|1000 BCE}}, during the early [[Western Zhou]] period. The phrase "{{Transliteration|zh|zhong guo}}" came into common usage in the [[Warring States period]] (475–221 BCE), when it referred to the "Central States", the states of the [[Yellow River]] Valley of the Zhou era, as distinguished from the tribal periphery.<ref>{{harvp|Esherick|2006|p=232–233}}</ref> In later periods, however, {{Transliteration|zh|Zhongguo}} was not used in this sense. Dynastic names were used for the state in [[Imperial China]], and concepts of the state aside from the ruling dynasty were little understood.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2015|p=191}} Rather, the country was called by the name of the dynasty, such as "[[Han dynasty|Han]]", "[[Tang dynasty|Tang]]", "[[Ming dynasty|Great Ming]]", "[[Qing dynasty|Great Qing]]", etc. Until the 19th century, when the globalizing world began to require a common legal language, there was no need for a fixed or unique name.<ref name="Zarrow ">{{cite book |last = Zarrow |first = Peter Gue |year = 2012 |title = After Empire: The Conceptual Transformation of the Chinese State, 1885–1924 |publisher = [[Stanford University Press]]| location = Stanford, California |isbn = 978-0-8047-7868-8 }}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=VJfbNnquT8EC&q=zhongguo p. 93-94] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411170214/https://books.google.com/books?id=VJfbNnquT8EC&q=zhongguo |date=2023-04-11 }}.</ref>

As early as the [[Spring and Autumn period]], ''{{Transliteration|zh|Zhongguo}}'' could be understood as either the domain of the capital or used to refer to the Chinese civilization {{zhi|c=諸夏|p=zhūxià|l=the [[Huaxia|various Xia]]|out=p}}<ref>''[[Zuo Zhuan]]'' "[https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E9%96%94%E5%85%AC#%E5%82%B3 Duke Min – 1st year – zhuan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429050735/https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E9%96%94%E5%85%AC#%E5%82%B3 |date=2022-04-29 }}" quote: "諸夏親暱不可棄也" translation: "The various Xia are close intimates and can not be abandoned"</ref><ref>[[Du Yu]], ''Chunqiu Zuozhuan – Collected Explanations'', "Vol. 4" [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=77348&page=136#%E8%AB%B8%E5%A4%8F p. 136 of 186] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511185015/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=77348&page=136#%E8%AB%B8%E5%A4%8F |date=2022-05-11 }}. quote: "諸夏中國也"</ref> or {{zhi|c=諸華|p=zhūhuá|l=various [[Huaxia|Hua]]|out=p}},<ref>''Zuozhuan'' "[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_4 Duke Xiang – 4th year – zhuan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429050735/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_4 |date=2022-04-29 }}" quote: "諸華必叛" translation: "The various Hua would surely revolt"</ref><ref>Du Yu, ''Chunqiu Zuozhuan – Collected Explanations'', "Vol. 15". [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=77350&page=102#%E8%AB%B8%E8%8F%AF p. 102 of 162] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511185018/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=77350&page=102#%E8%AB%B8%E8%8F%AF |date=2022-05-11 }} quote: "諸華中國"</ref> and the political and geographical domain that contained it, but [[Tianxia]] was the more common word for this idea. This developed into the usage of the Warring States period, when, other than the cultural community, it could be the geopolitical area of Chinese civilization as well, equivalent to [[Jiuzhou]]. In a more limited sense, it could also refer to the Central Plain or the states of [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]], [[Wei (state)|Wei]], and [[Han (Warring States)|Han]], etc., geographically central among the Warring States.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ban Wang |title=Chinese Visions of World Order: Tian, Culture and World Politics |pages=270–272}}</ref> Although ''{{Transliteration|zh|Zhongguo}}'' could be used before the [[Song dynasty]] period to mean the trans-dynastic Chinese culture or civilization to which Chinese people belonged, it was in the Song dynasty that writers used ''{{Transliteration|zh|Zhongguo}}'' as a term to describe the trans-dynastic entity with different dynastic names over time but having a set territory and defined by common ancestry, culture, and language.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tackett |first1=Nicolas |title=Origins of the Chinese Nation: Song China and the Forging of an East Asian World Order |date=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-19677-3 |pages=4, 161–2, 174, 194, 208, 280}}</ref>

The term ''{{Transliteration|zh|Zhongguo}}'' was used differently 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 ''{{Transliteration|zh|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 ''{{Transliteration|zh|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 ''{{Transliteration|zh|zhong}}'' ("center, central") and ''{{Transliteration|zh|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 {{Transliteration|zh|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 ''{{Transliteration|zh|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>]]

From the Qin to the Ming dynasty, literati discussed ''{{Transliteration|zh|Zhongguo}}'' as both a historical place or territory and as a culture. Writers of the Ming period in particular used the term as a political tool to express opposition to expansionist policies that incorporated foreigners into the empire.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=w68uObIhx9MC&pg=PA103 Jiang 2011], p. 103.</ref> In contrast, foreign conquerors typically avoided discussions of ''{{Transliteration|zh|Zhongguo}}'' and instead defined membership in their empires to include both Han and non-Han peoples.<ref>Peter K Bol, "Geography and Culture: Middle-Period Discourse on the Zhong Guo: The Central Country," (2009), 1, 26.</ref>