Names for China
China is the English translation for Zhongguo (中國), derived from Portuguese in the 16th century, becoming popular in the mid 19th century. It is believed to come from Middle Persian, originating from the name for the state of Qin that later formed the Qin dynasty. Ultimately the origin of China remains unclear. Chinese names for China aside from Zhongguo (/) include Zhonghua (/), Huaxia (華夏/华夏), Shenzhou (神州) and Jiuzhou (九州). Han (/) and Tang () are common names given for the Chinese ethnicity. The People's Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) and Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Mínguó) are the official names for the two contemporary sovereign states currently claiming sovereignty over the traditional area of China. "Mainland China" is used to refer to areas under the jurisdiction by the PRC usually excluding Hong Kong and Macau.
There are also names for China based on ethnic groups other than the Han; examples include "Cathay" from the Khitan language and "Tabgach" from Tuoba.
Zhōngguó is the most common sinitic name for China in modern times. The first appearance of 中國 on an artifact was in the Western Zhou on a ritual vessel known as He zun. It is formed by combining the characters zhōng (中) meaning "central" or "middle," and guó (國/国), representing "state" or "states,"; in contemporary usage, "nation." Prior to the Qin unification of China "Zhongguo" referred to the "Central States"; the connotation was the primacy of a culturally distinct core area, centered on the Yellow River valley, as distinguished from the tribal periphery. In later periods, however, "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. Rather, the country was called by the name of the dynasty, such as "Han dynasty" (Hanchao 漢朝), "Tang dynasty" (Tangchao 唐朝), "The Great Ming" (Daming 大明), "The Great Qing" (Daqing 大清), as the case might be. Until the 19th century when the international system came to require a common legal language, there was no need for a fixed or unique name.
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