{"id":412,"date":"2020-10-19T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/?p=412"},"modified":"2026-01-05T01:20:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T09:20:24","slug":"zhongguo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2020\/10\/19\/zhongguo\/","title":{"rendered":"Zh\u014dnggu\u00f3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\nZh\u014dnggu\u00f3<\/span>\n(Zh\u014dng\u00b7gu\u00f3\nCentral \u00b7 Nation \u2192<\/span> [China | Chinese]<\/span>\n\u4e2d\u56fd\n\u4e2d\u570b<\/span>)<\/span> \u2190 Tap\/click to show\/hide the \u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n\n

\u201cZh\u014dnggu\u00f3<\/i><\/span> (Zh\u014dng\u00b7gu\u00f3 Central \u00b7 Nation \u2192<\/span> [China]<\/span> \u4e2d\u56fd \u4e2d\u570b<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d is commonly translated into English as \u201cMiddle Kingdom\u201d, which may suggest something in the middle, or middling, average, unremarkable. However, considering the history of the usage of the expression \u201cZh\u014dnggu\u00f3<\/i><\/span> (Zh\u014dng\u00b7gu\u00f3 Central \u00b7 Nation \u2192<\/span> [China]<\/span> \u4e2d\u56fd \u4e2d\u570b<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d, and considering how the people of China have historically viewed their nation, it would be more correct to translate \u201cZh\u014dnggu\u00f3<\/i><\/span> (Zh\u014dng\u00b7gu\u00f3 Central \u00b7 Nation \u2192<\/span> [China]<\/span> \u4e2d\u56fd \u4e2d\u570b<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d as \u201cCentral<\/em> Nation\u201d, the nation that\u2019s at the centre<\/em>, the heart, of the world that matters to them.<\/p>\n

According to Wikipedia<\/a>\u2019s summarizations, the earliest known appearance of the expression \u201cZh\u014dnggu\u00f3<\/i><\/span> (Zh\u014dng\u00b7gu\u00f3 Central \u00b7 Nation \u2192<\/span> [China]<\/span> \u4e2d\u56fd \u4e2d\u570b<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d was on the H\u00e9 Z\u016bn<\/em><\/a>[source]<\/a><\/sup>[source]<\/a><\/sup>, an ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel dating from the era of early Western Zhou (1046\u2013771 BCE).[source]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Here are some quotes from that Wikipedia article, with links to information about sources:<\/p>\n

The phrase \"zhong guo\" came into common usage in the Warring States period, when it referred to the \"Central States\"; the states of the Yellow River Valley of the Zhou era, as distinguished from the tribal periphery.[source]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There were different usages of the term \"Zhongguo\" in every period.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With the overthrow of the Qing in 1911, most Chinese dropped Shina<\/i> as foreign and demanded that even Japanese replace it with Zhonghua minguo<\/i> or simply Zhongguo<\/i>.[source]<\/a><\/sup> [The reformer] Liang went on to argue that the concept of tianxia<\/i> [Wikipedia article<\/a>] had to be abandoned in favor of guojia<\/i>, that is, \"nation,\" for which he accepted the term Zhongguo<\/i>.[source]<\/a><\/sup> After the founding of the Chinese Republic in 1912, Zhongguo<\/i> was also adopted as the abbreviation of Zhong<\/u>hua minguo<\/u><\/i>.[source]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\nThe English translation of Zhongyuan<\/i> as the \"Middle Kingdom\" entered European languages through the Portuguese in the 16th century and became popular in the mid-19th century. By the mid-20th century, the term was thoroughly entrenched in the English language, reflecting the Western view of China as the inward-looking Middle Kingdom, or more accurately, the Central Kingdom<\/i> or Central State<\/i>. Endymion Wilkinson points out that the Chinese were not unique in thinking of their country as central, although China was the only culture to use the concept for its name.[source]<\/a><\/sup>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In summary, while the exact meaning and borders of Zh\u014dnggu\u00f3<\/i><\/span> (Zh\u014dng\u00b7gu\u00f3 Central \u00b7 Nation \u2192<\/span> [China]<\/span> \u4e2d\u56fd \u4e2d\u570b<\/span>)<\/span> have varied thoughout China\u2019s history, overall, the people of China have long viewed their nation as central<\/em> to the world that they knew, or cared most about, to the point that \u201cChina was the only culture to use the concept for its name\u201d.<\/p>\n

The people of China considering their nation to be the centre of the world has historically been such a thing that there are several concepts related to this. E.g.:<\/p>\n