Names of China
The name China is recorded in English from the mid 16th century. It is of uncertain origin; it is thought to come from Middle Persian, but ultimately may have originated as the name for the Qin state that later formed the Qin dynasty. In Chinese, common names for China include Zhongguo (/) and Zhonghua (/), while Han (/) and Tang () are common names given for the Chinese ethnicity. Other names include Huaxia (華夏/华夏), Shenzhou (神州) and Jiuzhou (九州). 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" based on the Khitan and "Tabgach" based on the Tuoba.
Zhongguo is the most common sinitic name for China. The first character zhōng (中) means "central" or "middle," while guó (國/国) means "state" or "states," and in modern times, "nation." In ancient usage, the term referred to the "Central States" of the period before the unification of the empire; the connotation was the primacy of a culturally distinct core area, centered on the Yellow River valley, as distinguished from the tribes of the periphery. In later periods, however, Zhongguo was not used in this sense; rather, the country was called by the name of the dynasty, such as "The Great Ming," "The Great Qing," as the case might be. Until the 19th century, however, 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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