Home > China Feature |
Origin of the Name of Zhongguo
In ancient China,Guo referred to city or state.Zhonguo (now it means China) meant the central city or the central state. According to historical books, Zhongguo had five connotations: fist, the capital city; second, the state ruled by the emperor; third, the Central Plains; fourth, the upland region and last, the region dwelled by Han and Xia nationalities.
Since the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), people often referred the state established by the Han nationality as Zhongguo; however, other nationalities also call their own states as Zhongguo. Neither of them would acknowledge other Zhongguo.
Strictly speaking, Zhongguo in ancient times was an adjective rather than a proper noun. None reigning dynasties tookZhongguoas their name, and they all had their own titles.
After the 1911 Revolution (the Chinese bourgeois democratic revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen which overthrew the Qing Dynasty), Zhongguo was taken as the shortened form of Republic of China. And in 1949, Zhongguo became the shortened form of the People's Republic of China.
Now, the only one Zhongguo in the world is thePeople's Republic of China with its capital in Beijing.
Art
moreThe 13th China Shanghai Internati...
On the evening in Shanghai, lights glittering warmly in front of n...
Beijing Traditional Music Festiva...
Enchanting sounds and melodies of Chinese instruments fascinated the...
13th Shanghai International Arts ...
The 13th China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF) kicks of...
Custom
moreWeb Dictionary
Martial Arts
Wuxia, a Popular Culture for Most Chinese-Speaki...
Wuxia (武侠) is a broad genre of Chinese fiction that concerns its...
Bruce Lee
There’s a new biopic of martial arts expert Bruce Lee ahead of us....
Wudang Martial Arts
Wudang Wushu is one of the key schools of Chinese martial arts. ...