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China has many contemporary and historical designations given in various languages for the East Asian country known as中国;中國;Zhōngguó ('Central State' or 'Middle Kingdom') inStandard Chinese, a form based on theBeijing dialect ofMandarin.
The English name "China" was borrowed from Portuguese during the 16th century, and its direct cognates became common in the subsequent centuries in the West.[2] It is believed to be a borrowing fromMiddle Persian, and some have traced it further back to theSanskrit wordचीन (cīna) for the nation. It is also thought that the ultimate source of the name China is the Chinese wordQín (秦), the name of theQin dynasty that ultimately unified China after existing as astate within theZhou dynasty for many centuries prior. However, there are alternative suggestions for the etymology of this word.
Chinese names for China, aside fromZhongguo, includeZhōnghuá (中华;中華; 'central beauty'),Huáxià (华夏;華夏; 'beautiful grandness'),Shénzhōu (神州; 'divine state') andJiǔzhōu (九州; 'nine states'). Whileofficial notions of Chinese nationality do not make any particular reference to ethnicity, common names for thelargest ethnic group in China areHàn (汉;漢) andTáng (唐). ThePeople's Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) and theRepublic of China (Zhōnghuá Mínguó) are the official names of the two governments presently claiming sovereignty over "China". The term "mainland China" refers to areas under the PRC's jurisdiction, either including or excludingHong Kong andMacau.
There are also names for China used around the world that are derived from the languages of ethnic groups other thanHan Chinese: examples include "Cathay" from theKhitan language, andTabgach fromTuoba. The realm ruled by theEmperor of China is also referred to asChinese Empire.
Zhōngguó (中國) is the most commonChinese name for China in modern times. The earliest appearance of this two-character term is on theHezun, a bronze vessel dating to 1038–c. 1000 BCE, during the earlyWestern Zhou period. The phrase "zhong guo" came into common usage in theWarring States period (475–221 BCE), when it referred to the "Central States", the states of theYellow River Valley of the Zhou era, as distinguished from the tribal periphery.[3] In later periods, however,Zhongguo was not used in this sense. Dynastic names were used for the state inImperial China, and concepts of the state aside from the ruling dynasty were little understood.[2] Rather, the country was called by the name of the dynasty, such as "Han", "Tang", "Great Ming", "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.[4]
As early as theSpring and Autumn period,Zhongguo could be understood as either the domain of the capital or used to refer to the Chinese civilizationzhūxià (諸夏; 'thevarious Xia')[5][6] orzhūhuá (諸華; 'variousHua'),[7][8] and the political and geographical domain that contained it, butTianxia 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 toJiuzhou. In a more limited sense, it could also refer to the Central Plain or the states ofZhao,Wei, andHan, etc., geographically central among the Warring States.[9] AlthoughZhongguo could be used before theSong dynasty period to mean the trans-dynastic Chinese culture or civilization to which Chinese people belonged, it was in the Song dynasty that writers usedZhongguo 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.[10]
The termZhongguo 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 inWestern Zhou. It could refer to the states of theCentral Plain to distinguish them from states in the outer regions. TheShi Jing definesZhongguo as the capital region, setting it in opposition to the capital city.[11][12] During theHan dynasty, three usages ofZhongguo were common. TheRecords of the Grand Historian useZhongguo to denote the capital[13][14] and also use the conceptszhong ("center, central") andzhongguo to indicate the center of civilization: "There are eight famous mountains in the world: three inMan andYi (the barbarian wilds), five inZhōngguó." (天下名山八，而三在蠻夷，五在中國。)[15][16] In this sense, the termZhongguo is synonymous withHuáxià (华夏;華夏) andZhōnghuá (中华;中華), names of China that were first authentically attested in theWarring States period[17] andEastern Jin period,[18][19] respectively.
From the Qin to the Ming dynasty, literati discussedZhongguo 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.[20] In contrast, foreign conquerors typically avoided discussions ofZhongguo and instead defined membership in their empires to include both Han and non-Han peoples.[21]
Zhongguo appeared in a formal international legal document for the first time during the Qing dynasty in theTreaty of Nerchinsk, 1689. The term was then used in communications with other states and in treaties. The Manchu rulersincorporated Inner Asian polities into their empire, andWei Yuan, a statecraft scholar, distinguished the new territories fromZhongguo, which he defined as the 17 provinces of "China proper" plus the Manchu homelands in the Northeast. By the late 19th century, the term had emerged as a common name for the whole country. The empire was sometimes referred to as Great Qing but increasingly asZhongguo.[22]
Dulimbai Gurun is theManchu name for China, with "Dulimbai" meaning "central" or "middle" and "Gurun" meaning "nation" or "state".[23][24][25] The historian Zhao Gang writes that "not long after the collapse of the Ming, China became the equivalent of Great Qing (Da Qing)—another official title of the Qing state," and "Qing and China became interchangeable official titles, and the latter often appeared as a substitute for the former in official documents."[26] The Qing dynasty referred to their realm as "Dulimbai Gurun" in Manchu. The Qing equated the lands of the Qing realm (including present-dayManchuria, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Tibet, and other areas) with "China" in both the Chinese and Manchu languages, defining China as amulti-ethnic state, rejecting the idea that China only meant Han areas; both Han and non-Han peoples were part of "China". Officials used "China" (though not exclusively) in official documents, international treaties, and foreign affairs, and the "Chinese language"Dulimbai gurun i bithe referred to Chinese, Manchu, and Mongol languages, and the term "Chinese people" (中國人;Zhōngguórén;Dulimbai gurun i niyalma) referred to all Han, Manchus, and Mongol subjects of the Qing.[27] Ming loyalist Han literati held to defining the old Ming borders as China and using "foreigner" to describeminorities under Qing rule such as the Mongols and Tibetans, as part of their anti-Qing ideology.[28]
When the Qingconquered Dzungaria in 1759, they proclaimed that the new land was absorbed intoDulimbai Gurun in a Manchu language memorial.[29][30][31] The Qing expounded on their ideology that they were bringing together the "outer" non-Han Chinese, like the Tibetans, Inner, Eastern, and Oirat Mongols, together with the "inner" Han Chinese, into "one family", united in the Qing state, showing that the diverse subjects of the Qing were all part of one family. The Qing used the phrase "Zhōngwài yījiā" (中外一家; 'China and other [countries] as one family') or "Nèiwài yījiā" (內外一家; 'Interior and exterior as one family'), to convey this idea of "unification" of the different peoples.[32] A Manchu-language version of a treaty with the Russian Empire concerning criminal jurisdiction over bandits called people from the Qing "people of the Central Kingdom (Dulimbai Gurun)".[33][34][35][36] In the Manchu officialTulisen's Manchu languageaccount of his meeting with theTorghut Mongol leaderAyuki Khan, it was mentioned that while the Torghuts were unlike the Russians, the "people of the Central Kingdom" (dulimba-i gurun/中國;Zhōngguó) were like the Torghut Mongols, and the "people of the Central Kingdom" referred to the Manchus.[37]
The geography textbooks published in the late Qing period gave detailed descriptions of China's regional position and territorial space. They generally emphasized that China was a large country in Asia but not the center of the world. For example, the "Elementary Chinese Geography Textbook" (蒙學中國地理教科書) published in 1905 described the boundaries of China's territory and neighboring countries as follows: "The western border of China is located in the center of Asia, bordering the (overseas) territories ofBritain andRussia. The terrain is humped, like a hat. So all mountains and rivers originate from here. To the east, it facesJapan across theEast China Sea. To the south, it is adjacent to theSouth China Sea, and bordersFrench Annam andBritish Burma. To the southwest, it is separated fromBritish India by mountains. From the west to the north and the northeast, the three sides of China are all Russian territories. Only the southern border of the northeast is connected toKorea across theYalu River." It further stated that "There are about a dozen countries in Asia, but only China has a vast territory, a prosperous population, and dominates East Asia. It is a great and world-famous country."[39]
The Qing enacted the firstChinese nationality law in 1909, which defined a Chinese national (Chinese:中國國籍; pinyin:Zhōngguó Guójí) as any person born to a Chinese father. Children born to a Chinese mother inherited her nationality only if the father wasstateless or had unknown nationality status.[40] These regulations were enacted in response to a 1907 statute passed inThe Netherlands that retroactively treated all Chinese born in theDutch East Indies as Dutch citizens.Jus sanguinis was chosen to define Chinese nationality so that the Qing could counter foreign claims onoverseas Chinese populations and maintain the perpetual allegiance of its subjects living abroad through paternal lineage.[40] A Chinese word calledxuètǒng (血統), which means "bloodline" as a literal translation, is used to explain the descent relationship that would characterize someone as being of Chinese descent and therefore eligible under the Qing laws and beyond, for Chinese citizenship.[41]
Mark Elliott noted that it was under the Qing that "China" transformed into a definition of referring to lands where the "state claimed sovereignty" rather than only theCentral Plains area and its people by the end of the 18th century.[42]
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Elena Barabantseva also noted that the Manchu referred to all subjects of the Qing empire regardless of ethnicity as "Chinese" (中國之人;Zhōngguó zhī rén; 'people of China'), and used the term (中國;Zhōngguó) as a synonym for the entire Qing empire while usingHànrén (漢人) to refer only to the core area of the empire, with the entire empire viewed as multiethnic.[43]
William T. Rowe wrote that the name "China" (中華;中國) was apparently understood to refer to the political realm of theHan Chinese during theMing dynasty, that this understanding persisted among the Han Chinese into the early Qing dynasty, and that the understanding was also shared byAisin Gioro rulers before theMing–Qing transition. The Qing, however, "came to refer to their more expansive empire not only as the Great Qing but also, nearly interchangeably, as China" within a few decades of this development. Instead of the earlier (Ming) idea of an ethnic Han Chinese state, this new Qing China was a "self-consciously multi-ethnic state". Han Chinese scholars had some time to adapt this, but by the 19th century, the notion of China as amultinational state with new, significantly extended borders had become the standard terminology for Han Chinese writers. Rowe noted that "these were the origins of the China we know today.". He added that while the early Qing rulers viewed themselves as multi-hatted emperors who ruled several nationalities "separately but simultaneously", by the mid-19th century, the Qing Empire had become part of a European-style community of sovereign states and entered into a series of treaties with the West, and such treaties and documents consistently referred to Qing rulers as the "Emperor of China" and his administration as the "Government of China".[44]
Joseph W. Esherick noted that while the Qing Emperors governed frontier non-Han areas in a different, separate system under theLifanyuan and kept them separate from Han areas and administration, it was the Manchu Qing Emperors who expanded the definition ofZhongguo and made it "flexible" by using that term to refer to the entire Empire and using that term to other countries in diplomatic correspondence, while some Han Chinese subjects criticized their usage of the term and the Han literatiWei Yuan usedZhongguo only to refer to the seventeen provinces of China and three manchurian provinces of the east, excluding other frontier areas.[45] Due to the Qing usage of treaties clarifying the international borders of the Qing state, they were able to inculcate in the Chinese people a sense that China included areas such as Mongolia and Tibet by education reforms in geography, which made it clear where the borders of the Qing state were, even if the populace didn't understand how the Chinese identity included Tibetans and Mongolians or what the connotations of being Chinese were.[46] The English version of the 1842Treaty of Nanking refers to "His Majesty the Emperor of China" while the Chinese refers both to "The Great Qing Emperor" (Da Qing Huangdi) and toZhongguo as well. The 1858Treaty of Tientsin contains similar language.[4]
In the late 19th century, the reformerLiang Qichao argued in a famous passage that "our greatest shame is that our country has no name. The names that people ordinarily think of, such as Xia, Han, or Tang, are all the titles of bygone dynasties." He argued that the other countries of the world "all boast of their own state names, such as England and France, the only exception being the Central States",[47] and that the concept oftianxia had to be abandoned in favor ofguojia, that is, "nation", for which he accepted the termZhongguo.[48] On the other hand, American Protestant missionaryJohn Livingstone Nevius, who had been in China for 40 years, wrote in his 1868 book that the most common name which the Chinese used in speaking of their country wasZhongguo, followed byZhonghuaguo (中華國) and other names such asTianchao (天朝) and the particular title of the reigning dynasty.[49][50] Also, the Chinese geography textbook published in 1907 stated that "Chinese citizens call their countryZhongguo orZhonghua", and noted that China (Zhongguo) was one of the few independent monarchical countries in the whole Asia at that time, along with countries like Japan.[51] The Japanese term "Shina" was once proposed by some as a basically neutral Western-influenced equivalent for "China". But after the founding of theRepublic of China in 1912,Zhongguo was also adopted as the abbreviation ofZhonghua minguo,[52] and most Chinese consideredShina foreign and demanded that even the Japanese replace it withZhonghua minguo, or simplyZhongguo.[53]
Before the signing of theSino-Japanese Friendship and Trade Treaty in 1871, the first treaty between Qing China and theEmpire of Japan, Japanese representatives once raised objections to China's use of the termZhongguo in the treaty, partly in response to China's earlier objections for the termTennō orEmperor of Japan to be used in the treaty, declaring that the termZhongguo was "meant to compare with the frontier areas of the country" and insisted that only "Great Qing" be used for the Qing in the Chinese version of the treaty. However, this was firmly rejected by the Qing representatives: "Our country China has been calledZhongguo for a long time since ancient times. We have signed treaties with various countries, and whileGreat Qing did appear in the first lines of such treaties, in the body of the treatiesZhongguo was always being used. There has never been a precedent for changing the country name" (我中華之稱中國，自上古迄今，由來已久。即與各國立約，首書寫大清國字樣，其條款內皆稱中國，從無寫改國號之例). The Chinese representatives believed thatZhongguo as a country name equivalent to "Great Qing" could naturally be used internationally, which could not be changed. In the end, both sides agreed that while in the first lines "Great Qing" would be used, whether the Chinese text in the body of the treaty would use the termZhongguo in the same manner as "Great Qing" would be up to China's discretion.[50][54]
Qing official Zhang Deyi once objected to the western European name "China" and said that China referred to itself asZhonghua.[55] However, the Qing establishedlegations andconsulates known as the "Chinese Legation", "Imperial Consulate of China", "Imperial Chinese Consulate (General)" or similar names invarious countries with diplomatic relations, such as the United Kingdom and United States. Both English and Chinese terms, such as "China" and "Zhongguo", were frequently used by Qing legations and consulates there to refer to the Qing state during their diplomatic correspondences with foreign states.[56] Moreover, the English name "China" was also used domestically by the Qing, such as in its officially released stamps since Qing set up a modern postal system in 1878. Thepostage stamps (known as大龍郵票 in Chinese) had a design of a large dragon in the centre, surrounded by a boxed frame with a bilingual inscription of "CHINA" (corresponding to the Great Qing Empire in Chinese) and the local denomination "CANDARINS".[57]
During the late Qing dynasty, various textbooks with the name "Chinese history" (中國歷史) had emerged by the early 20th century. For example, the late Qing textbook "Chinese History of the Present Dynasty" published in 1910 stated that "the history of our present dynasty is part of the history of China, that is, the most recent history in its whole history. China was founded as a country5,000 years ago and has the longest history in the world. And its culture is the best among all the Eastern countries since ancient times. Its territory covers about 90% of East Asia, and its rise and fall can affect the general trend of the countries in Asia...".[50][58] After theMay Fourth Movement in 1919, educated students began to spread the concept ofZhonghua, which represented the people, including55 minority ethnic groups and the Han Chinese, with a single culture identifying themselves as "Chinese". The Republic of China and the People's Republic of China both usedZhonghua in their official names. Thus,Zhongguo became the common name for both governments andZhōngguó rén (中国人;中國人) for their citizens.Overseas Chinese are referred to ashuáqiáo (华侨;華僑; 'Chinese overseas'), orhuáyì (华裔;華裔; 'Chinese descendants'), i.e. Chinese children born overseas.
The English translation ofZhongyuan as the "Middle Kingdom" entered European languages through the Portuguese in the 16th century and became popular in the mid-19th century. By the 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" or"Central State". 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.[59] However, the termZhongguo was not initially used as a name for China. It did not have the same meaning throughout the course of history, (see above).[60]
During the 19th century, China was alternatively, although less commonly, referred to in the west as the "Middle Flowery Kingdom",[61] "Central Flowery Kingdom",[62] or "Central Flowery State",[63] translated fromZhōnghuáguó (中华国;中華國),[64] or simply the "Flowery Kingdom",[65] translated fromHuáguó (华国;華國).[66][67] However, some have since argued that such a translation (fairly commonly seen at that time) was perhaps caused by misunderstanding theHuá (华;華) that means "China" (or "magnificent, splendid") for theHuā (花) that means "flower".[68][69]
The nameHuáxià (华夏;華夏) is generally used as asobriquet in Chinese text. Under traditional interpretations, it is the combination of two words that originally referred to the elegance of traditional Han attire andthe Confucian concept of rites.
In the original sense,Huaxia refers to a confederation of tribes—living along the Yellow River—who were the ancestors of what later became the Han ethnic group in China.[citation needed] During the Warring States (475–221 BCE), the self-awareness of theHuaxia identity developed and took hold in ancient China.
Zhonghua minzu is a term meaning "Chinese nation" in the sense of a multi-ethnic national identity. Though originally rejected by the PRC[citation needed], it has been used officially since the 1980s for nationalist politics.
Tianchao (天朝;pinyin:Tiāncháo), translated as 'heavenly dynasty' or 'Celestial Empire',[71] andTianxia (天下;pinyin:Tiānxià) translated as 'All under heaven', have both been used to refer to China. These terms were usually used in the context of civil wars or periods of division, with the termTianchao evoking the idea that the realm's ruling dynasty was appointed by heaven,[71] or that whoever ends up reunifying China is said to have ruledTianxia, or everything under heaven. This fits with the traditional Chinese theory of rulership, in which the emperor was nominally the political leader of the entire world and not merely the leader of a nation-state within the world. Historically, the term was connected to the laterZhou dynasty (c. 1046–256 BCE), especially theSpring and Autumn period (eighth to fourth century BCE) and theWarring States period (from there to 221 BCE, when China was reunified by Qin). The phraseTianchao continues to see use on Chinese internet discussion boards, in reference to China.[71]
The phraseTianchao was first translated into English and French in the early 19th century, appearing in foreign publications and diplomatic correspondences,[72] with the translated phrase "Celestial Empire" occasionally used to refer to China. During this period, the termcelestial was used by some to refer to the subjects of the Qing in a non-prejudicial manner,[72] derived from the term "Celestial Empire". However, the termcelestial was also used in a pejorative manner during the 19th century, in reference to Chinese immigrants in Australasia and North America.[72] The translated phrase has largely fallen into disuse in the 20th century.
The two namesJiāngshān (江山) andShānhé (山河), both literally 'rivers and mountains', quite similar in usage toTianxia, simply referring to the entire world, the most prominent features of which being rivers and mountains. The use of this term is also common as part of the idiomJiāngshān shèjì (江山社稷; 'rivers and mountains', 'soil and grain'), in a suggestion of the need to implement good governance.
The namejiǔ zhōu (九州) means 'nine provinces'. Widely used in pre-modern Chinese text, the word originated during the middle of the Warring States period. During that time, theYellow River region was divided into nine geographical regions. Some people also attribute this word to the mythical hero and kingYu the Great, who, in the legend, divided China into nine provinces during his reign.
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| Traditional Chinese | 漢 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 汉 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Hàn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese alphabet | Hán | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 漢 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The nameHan (汉;漢;Hàn) derives from theHan dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), which presided over China's first "golden age".. The Han dynasty collapsed in 220 and was followed by a long period of disorder, including theThree Kingdoms,Sixteen Kingdoms, andSouthern and Northern dynasties. During these periods, various non-Han ethnic groups established various dynasties in northern China. People began to use the termHan to refer to the natives of North China, who, unlike the minorities, were the descendants of the subjects of the Han dynasty.
During theYuan dynasty, subjects of the empire were divided into four classes:Mongols,Semu, Han, and "Southerners". Northern Chinese were calledHan, which was considered to be the highest class of Chinese. This class,Han, includes all ethnic groups in northern China, includingKhitan andJurchen who have, for the most part, sinicized during the last two hundreds years. The nameHan became popularly accepted during this time.
During the Qing, the Manchu rulers also used the nameHan to distinguish the natives of theCentral Plains from the Manchus. After the fall of the Qing government, the Han became the name of a nationality within China. Today, the term "Han persons", often rendered in English as "Han Chinese", is used by the People's Republic of China to refer to the most populous of the 56officially recognized ethnic groups in China.
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| Chinese | 唐 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Táng | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese alphabet | Đường | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 唐 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The nameTang (唐;Táng) comes from theTang dynasty (618–907) that presided over China's second golden age. It was during the Tang dynasty that South China was finally and fullysinicized.Tang would become synonymous with China in Southern China, and it is usually Southern Chinese who refer to themselves as "People of Tang" (唐人,pinyin:Tángrén).[73] For example, the sinicization and rapid development ofGuangdong during the Tang period would lead the Cantonese to refer to themselves asTong-yan (唐人) in Cantonese, while China is calledTong-saan (唐山; pinyin:Tángshān;lit. 'Tang Mountain').[74]Chinatowns worldwide, often dominated by Southern Chinese, also became referred to asTang People's Street (唐人街, Cantonese: Tong-yan-gaai; pinyin:Tángrénjiē). The Cantonese termTongsan (Tang mountain) is recorded inOld Malay as one of the local terms for China, along with the Sanskrit-derivedCina. It is still used in Malaysia today, usually in a derogatory sense.
Among Taiwanese,Tang mountain (Min-Nan:Tng-soa) has been used, for example, in the saying, "has Tangshan father, no Tangshan mother" (有唐山公，無唐山媽;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Ū Tn̂g-soaⁿ kong, bô Tn̂g-soaⁿ má).[75][76] This refers to how the Han people crossing theTaiwan Strait in the 17th and 18th centuries were mostly men, and that many of their offspring would be through intermarriage withTaiwanese aborigine women.
InRyukyuan,karate was originally calledtii (手, hand) orkaratii (唐手, Tang hand) because唐ぬ國too-nu-kuku orkara-nu-kuku (唐ぬ國) was a commonRyukyuan name for China; it was changed tokarate (空手, open hand) to appeal to Japanese people after theFirst Sino-Japanese War.
Zhu Yu, who wrote during the Northern Song dynasty, noted that the name "Han" was first used by the northwestern 'barbarians' to refer to China, while the name "Tang" was first used by the southeastern 'barbarians' to refer to China, and these terms subsequently influenced the local Chinese terminology.[77] During the Mongol invasions of Japan, the Japanese distinguished between the "Han" of northern China, who, like the Mongols and Koreans, were not to be taken prisoner, and the Newly Submitted Army of southern China, whom they called "Tang", who would be enslaved instead.[78]
Dàlù (大陸/大陆;pinyin:dàlù), literally "big continent" or "mainland" in this context, is used as a short form ofZhōnggúo Dàlù (中國大陸/中国大陆, mainland China), excluding (depending on the context) Hong Kong,Macau, or Taiwan. This term is used in official contexts on both the mainland and Taiwan when referring to the mainland as opposed to Taiwan. In certain contexts, it is equivalent to the termNeidi (内地;pinyin:nèidì, literally "the inner land"). WhileNeidi generally refers to the interior as opposed to a particular coastal or border location, or the coastal or border regions generally, it is used in Hong Kong specifically to mean mainland China, excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.Increasingly, it is also being used in an official context within mainland China[citation needed], for example, in reference to the separate judicial and customs jurisdictions of mainland China on the one hand and Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan on the other.
The termNeidi is also often used in Xinjiang and Tibet to distinguish the eastern provinces of China from the minority-populated, autonomous regions of the west.
| People's Republic of China | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 "People's Republic of China" insimplified (top) andtraditional (bottom) Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中华人民共和国 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中華人民共和國 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tibetan name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tibetan | ཀྲུང་ཧྭ་མི་དམངས་སྤྱི མཐུན་རྒྱལ་ཁབ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | Cộng hoà Nhân dân Trung Hoa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 共和人民中華 / 中華人民共和國 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thai name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thai | สาธารณรัฐประชาชนจีน | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zhuang name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zhuang | Cunghvaz Yinzminz Gunghozgoz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 중화 인민 공화국 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanja | 中華人民共和國 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mongolian name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Бүгд Найрамдах Дундад Ард Улс | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mongolian script | ᠪᠦᠭᠦᠳᠡ ᠨᠠᠶᠢᠷᠠᠮᠳᠠᠬᠤ ᠳᠤᠮᠳᠠᠳᠤ ᠠᠷᠠᠳ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 中華人民共和国 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Uyghur name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Uyghur | جۇڭخۇا خەلق جۇمھۇرىيىتى | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Manchu name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manchu script | ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ ᠨᡳᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠᡳᡵᡤᡝᠨ ᡤᡠᠨᡥᡝ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Romanization | Dulimbai niyalmairgen gunghe' gurun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In 1949, China adopted its official name,Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó (in the older postal romanization,Chunghwa Jenmin Konghokuo), or the "People's Republic of China" in English, which was adapted from theChinese Communist Party's short-livedChinese Soviet Republic in 1931. While originally, it was proposed at thePreparatory Committee of the New Political Consultative Conference to called the newly established state as the "People's Democratic Republic of China" (中华人民民主共和国), this was later shortened to just the "People's Republic of China".[79] The nameNew China has been frequently applied to China by theChinese Communist Party as a positive political and social term contrasting pre-1949 China (theestablishment of the PRC) and the PRC. This term is also sometimes used by writers outside of mainland China. The PRC was known to many in the West during theCold War as "Communist China" or "Red China" to distinguish it from theRepublic of China which is commonly called "Taiwan", "Nationalist China", or "Free China". In some contexts, particularly in economics, trade, and sports, "China" is often used to refer to mainland China to the exclusion of Hong Kong,Macau andTaiwan.
| Republic of China | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.svg) "Republic of China" inTraditional (top) andSimplified (bottom) Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中華民國 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中华民国 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Postal | Chunghwa Minkuo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Central State People's Country | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese Taipei | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中華臺北or 中華台北 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中华台北 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 臺澎金馬 個別關稅領域 or 台澎金馬 個別關稅領域 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 台澎金马 个别关税领域 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Taiwan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 臺灣or台灣 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 台湾 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Postal | Taiwan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Terraced Bay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portuguese:(Ilha) Formosa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 福爾摩沙 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 福尔摩沙 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | beautiful island | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Republic of Taiwan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 臺灣民國or台灣民國 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 台湾民国 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Postal | Taiwan Minkuo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tibetan name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tibetan | ཀྲུང་ཧྭ་དམངས་གཙོའི། ་རྒྱལ་ཁབ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | Trung Hoa Dân Quốc | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 中華民國 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zhuang name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zhuang | Cunghvaz Minzgoz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 중화민국 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanja | 中華民國 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mongolian name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Дундад Иргэн Улс | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mongolian script | ᠳᠤᠮᠳᠠᠳᠤ ᠢᠷᠭᠡᠨ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 中華民国 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kana | ちゅうかみんこく | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Uyghur name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Uyghur | جۇڭخۇا مىنگو | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Manchu name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manchu script | ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ ᡳᡵᡤᡝᠨ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Romanization | Dulimbai irgen' Gurun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In 1912, China adopted its official name,Chunghwa Minkuo (rendered in pinyinZhōnghuá Mínguó) or in English as the "Republic of China", which has also sometimes been referred to as "Republican China" or the "Republican Era" (民國時代), in contrast to theQing dynasty it replaced, or as "Nationalist China", after the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang).中華 (Chunghwa) is a term that pertains to "China", while民國 (Minkuo), literally "People's State" or "Peopledom", stands for "republic".[80][81] The name stems from the party manifesto ofTongmenghui in 1905, which says the four goals of the Chinese revolution were "to expel the Manchu rulers, to reviveChunghwa, to establish a Republic, and to distribute land equally among the people. The convener of Tongmenghui and Chinese revolutionary leaderSun Yat-sen proposed the nameChunghwa Minkuo as the assumed name of the new country when the revolution succeeded.
Since the separation from mainland China in 1949 as a result of theChinese Civil War, the territory of the Republic of China has largely been confined to the island of Taiwan and some other small islands. Thus, the country is often simply referred to as simply "Taiwan", although this may not be perceived as politically neutral. Amid the hostile rhetoric of theCold War, the government and its supporters sometimes referred to themselves as "Free China" or "Liberal China", in contrast to the People's Republic of China, which was historically called the "Bandit-occupied Area" (匪區) by the ROC. In addition, the ROC, due to pressure from the PRC, uses the name "Chinese Taipei" (中華台北) whenever it participates in international forums or most sporting events such as theOlympic Games.
Taiwanese politician Mei Feng had criticised the official English name of the state, "Republic of China", for failing to translate the Chinese characterMin (Chinese:民; English: people) according to Sun Yat-sen's original interpretations. According to him, the name should instead be translated as "the People's Republic of China", which confuses with the current official name of China under communist control.[82] To avoid confusion, theDPP administration underChen Shui-ban began to add "Taiwan" next to the nation's official name in 2005.[83]
Names used in other parts of Asia, especially East and Southeast Asia, are usually derived directly from words in one of thelanguages of China. Those languages belonging to a former tributary or Chinese-influenced country have an especially similar pronunciation to that of Chinese. Those used inIndo-European languages, however, have indirect names that came via other routes and may bear little resemblance to what is used in China.
English, mostIndo-European languages, and many others use various forms of the nameChina and theprefix "Sino-" or "Sin-" from the LatinSina.[84][85] Europeans had knowledge of a country known in Greek asThina orSina from the early period;[86] thePeriplus of the Erythraean Sea from perhaps the first century AD recorded a country known asThin (θίν).[87] The English name "China" itself is derived fromMiddle Persian (Chīnچین). The modern word was first used in Europe by Portuguese explorers of the 16th century – it was first recorded in 1516 in the journal of the Portuguese explorerDuarte Barbosa.[88][89] The journal was translated and published in England in 1555.[90]
The traditional etymology, proposed in the 17th century byMartin Martini and supported by later scholars such asPaul Pelliot andBerthold Laufer, is that the word "China" and its related terms are ultimately derived from the polity known asQin that unified China to form the Qin dynasty (Old Chinese:*dzin) in the 3rd century BC, but existed as a state in west China since the 9th century BC.[86][91][92] This is still the most commonly held theory, although the etymology is still a matter of debate according to theOxford English Dictionary,[93] and many other suggestions have been mooted.[94][95]
The existence of the wordCīnacode: san promoted to code: sa in ancient Indian texts was noted by the Sanskrit scholarHermann Jacobi who pointed out its use in the Book 2 ofArthashastra with reference to silk and woven cloth produced by the country ofCīnacode: san promoted to code: sa, although textual analysis suggests that Book 2 may not have been written long before 150 AD.[96] The word is also found in other Sanskrit texts such as theMahābhārata and theLaws of Manu.[97] The IndologistPatrick Olivelle argued that the wordCīnacode: san promoted to code: sa may not have been known in India before the first century BC, nevertheless he agreed that it probably referred to Qin but thought that the word itself was derived from a Central Asian language.[98] Some Chinese and Indian scholars argued for the state ofJing (荆, another name forChu) as the likely origin of the name.[95] Another suggestion, made by Geoff Wade, is that theCīnāhcode: san promoted to code: sa in Sanskrit texts refers to an ancient kingdom centered in present-dayGuizhou, calledYelang, in the south Tibeto-Burman highlands.[97] The inhabitants referred to themselves asZina according to Wade.[99]
The termChina can also be used to refer to:
In economic contexts, "Greater China" (大中华地区;大中華地區;Dà Zhōnghuá dìqū) is intended to be a neutral and non-political way to refer to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Sinologists usually use "Chinese" in a more restricted sense, akin to the classical usage ofZhongguo, to the Han ethnic group, which makes up the bulk of the population in China and of the overseas Chinese.
Sēres (Σῆρες) was theAncient Greek and Roman name for the northwestern part of China and its inhabitants. It meant "of silk", or "land where silk comes from". The name is thought to derive from the Chinese word for silk,丝;絲;sī;Middle Chinesesɨ,Old Chinese*slɯ, perZhengzhang). It is itself at the origin of the Latin for "silk",sērica.
This may be aback formation fromsērikos (σηρικός), "made of silk", fromsēr (σήρ), "silkworm", in which caseSēres is "the land where silk comes from".
Sīnae was an ancient Greek and Roman name for some people who dwelt south of Serica in the eastern extremity of the habitable world. References to the Sinae include mention of a city that the Romans calledSēra Mētropolis, which may be modernChang'an. The Latin prefixSino- as well as words such asSinica, which are traditionally used to refer to China, came fromSīnae.[100] It is generally thought thatChīna,Sīna andThīna are variants that ultimately derived from "Qin", the western Zhou-era state that eventually founded the Qin dynasty.[87] There are other opinions on its etymology.Henry Yule thought that this term may have come to Europe through the Arabs, who made the China of the farther east intoSin, and perhaps sometimes intoThin.[101] Hence theThin of the author of thePeriplus of the Erythraean Sea, who appears to be the first extant writer to employ the name in this form; hence also theSinae andThinae ofPtolemy.[86][87]
Some denied that Ptolemy'sSinae really represented the Chinese as Ptolemy called the countrySērice and the capitalSēra, but regarded them as distinct fromSīnae.[87][102]Marcian of Heraclea reported that the "nations of the Sinae lie at the extremity of the habitable world, and adjoin the easternTerra incognita". The 6th centuryCosmas Indicopleustes refers to a "country of silk" calledTzinista, which is understood as referring to China, beyond which "there is neither navigation nor any land to inhabit".[103] It seems probable that the same region is meant by both. According toHenry Yule, Ptolemy's misrendering of theIndian Sea as a closed basin meant that Ptolemy must also have misplaced the Chinese coast, leading to the misconception of Serica and Sina as separate countries.[101]
In theHebrew Bible, there is a mention of the faraway country "Sinim" in theBook of Isaiah 49:12 which some had assumed to be a reference to China.[87][104] In Genesis 10:17, a tribes called the "Sinites" were said to be the descendants ofCanaan, the son ofHam, but they are usually considered to be a different people, probably from the northern part ofLebanon.[105][106]
These names derive from theKhitan people that originated inManchuria and conquered parts of northern China during the early 10th century to form theLiao dynasty, and dominated Central Asia during the 12th century as theKara Khitan Khanate. Due to the long period of political relevance, the nameKhitan become associated with China. Muslim historians referred to the Kara Khitan state asKhitay orKhitai; they may have adopted this form ofKhitan via theUyghurs ofQocho, in whose language the final-n or-ń became-y.[107] The name was then introduced to medieval and early modern Europe through Islamic and Russian sources.[108] In English and in several other European languages, the name "Cathay" was used in the translations of the adventures ofMarco Polo, which used this word for northern China. Words related to Khitay are still used in manyTurkic andSlavic languages to refer to China. However, its use by Turkic speakers within China, such as the Uyghurs, is considered pejorative by the Chinese authority who tried to ban it.[108]
There is no evidence that either in the 13th or 14th century, Cathayans,i.e. Chinese, travelled officially to Europe, but it is possible that some did, in unofficial capacities, at least in the 13th century. During the campaigns ofHulagu (the grandson ofGenghis Khan) inPersia (1256–65), and the reigns of his successors, Chinese engineers were employed on the banks of theTigris, and Chinese astrologers and physicians could be consulted. Many diplomatic communications passed between the HulaguidIlkhans and Christian princes. The former, as the great khan's liegemen, still received from him theirseals of state; and two of their letters which survive in the archives of France exhibit the vermilion impressions of those seals inChinese characters—perhaps affording the earliest specimen of those characters to reach western Europe.
The wordTabgach came from the metatheses ofTuoba (*t'akbat), a dominant tribe of theXianbei and the surname of theNorthern Wei emperors in the 5th century before sinicisation. It referred to Northern China, which was dominated by part-Xianbei, part-Han people.
This name is re-translated back into Chinese asTaohuashi (Chinese:桃花石;pinyin:táohuā shí).[109] This name has been used in China in recent years to promote ethnic unity.[110][111]
In the works ofByzantine HistorianTheophylact Simocatta, written in the early 7th Century,Tang China was referred to asTaugast (Byzantine Greek: Ταυγάστ).[112] This name is likely related to Tabgach.[112]
Nikan (Manchu:ᠨᡳᡴᠠᠨ) was a Manchu ethnonym of unknown origin that referred specifically to the Han Chinese; the stem of this word was also conjugated as a verb,nikara(-mbi), which meant 'to speak the Chinese language'. SinceNikan was essentially anethnonym and referred to a group of people rather than to a political body, the correct translation of "China" into Manchu isNikan gurun, 'country of the Han'.[citation needed]
This exonym for the Han Chinese is also used in theDaur language, in which it appears asNiaken ([njakən] or[ɲakən]).[113] As in the case of the Manchu language, the Daur wordNiaken is essentially an ethnonym, and the proper way to refer to the country of the Han Chinese (i.e., "China" in a cultural sense) isNiaken gurun, whileniakendaaci is a verb meaning "to talk in Chinese".
Japanese:Kara (から; variously written as唐 or漢). An identical name was used by the ancient and medieval Japanese to refer to the country that is now known asKorea, and many Japanese historians and linguists believe that the wordKara referring to China and/or Korea may have derived from ametonymic extension of the appellation of the ancient city-states ofGaya.
The Japanese wordkarate (空手, lit. "empty hand") is derived from theOkinawan wordkaratii (唐手, lit. "Chinese/Asian/foreign hand/trick/means/method/style") and refers to Okinawan martial arts; the character forkara was changed to remove the connotation of the style originating in China.[114]
Japanese:Morokoshi (もろこし; variously written as唐 or唐土). This obsolete Japanese name for China is believed to have derived from akun'yomi reading of the Chinese compound諸越Zhūyuè or百越Baiyue as "all the Yue" or "the hundred (i.e., myriad, various, or numerous) Yue," which was an ancient Chinese name for the societies of the regions that are now southern China.
The Japanese common nountōmorokoshi (トウモロコシ,玉蜀黍), which refers tomaize, appears to contain an element cognate with the proper noun formerly used in reference to China. Althoughtōmorokoshi is traditionally written with Chinese characters that literally mean "jadeShumillet", the etymology of the Japanese word appears to go back to "Tangmorokoshi", in whichmorokoshi was the obsolete Japanese name for China as well as the Japanese word forsorghum, which seems to have been introduced into Japan from China.
From ChineseManzi (蠻子, southern barbarians). The division of north and south China under theJin dynasty andSong dynasty weakened the idea of a unified China, and it was common for non-Han peoples to refer to the politically disparate North and South by different names for some time. While Northern China was calledCathay, Southern China was referred to as Mangi.Manzi often appears in documents of the Mongol-ledYuan dynasty as a disparaging term for Southern China. The Mongols also called Southern ChineseNangkiyas orNangkiyad, and considered them ethnically distinct from North Chinese. The wordManzi reached the Western world asMangi (as used by Marco Polo), which is a name commonly found on medieval maps. The Chinese themselves consideredManzi to be derogatory and never used it as a self-appellation.[115][116] Some early scholars believedMangi to be a corruption of the PersianMachin (ماچين) and ArabicMāṣīn (ماصين), which may be a mistake as these two forms are derived from the SanskritMaha Chin meaning Great China.[117]
In some[which?] Philippine languages,Sungsong orSungsung was a historical and archaic name for China.[118][119] InTiruray, the name meant specificallyHong Kong.[120] The name comes fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian *suŋsuŋ, which meant "to go against wind or current". Its application to China in Philippine languages presumably is connected with sailing problems in reaching mainland China from the Philippines.[121]
The name for China inChinese Sign Language is performed by trailing the tip of one's fingertip horizontally across the upper end of the chest, from the non-dominant side to the dominant one, and then vertically downwards.[122] Manysign languages have adopted the Chinese sign as a loanword; this includesAmerican Sign Language,[123] in which this has happened across dialects, from Canada[124] to California,[125] replacing previous signs indicating East Asian people's typicalepicanthic fold, now considered offensive.[126]
Multiple other languages have borrowed the sign as well, with some modifications. InEstonian Sign Language, the index finger moves diagonally to the non-dominant side instead of vertically downwards,[127] and inFrench[128] andIsraeli Sign Language,[129] the thumb is used instead. Some other languages use unrelated signs.[130] For example, inHong Kong Sign Language, the extended dominant index and middle fingers, held together, tap twice the non-dominant ones in the same handshape, palm downwards, in front of the signer's chest;[131] inTaiwanese Sign Language, both hands are flat, with extended thumbs and other fingers held together and pointing sideways, palms towards the signer, move up and down together repeatedly in front of the signer's chest.[132]
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)台總統府公共事務室陳文宗上周六（7月30日）表示，外界人士易把中華民國（Republic of China），誤認為對岸的中國，造成困擾和不便。公共事務室指出，為了明確區別，決定自周六起於中文繁體、簡體的總統府網站中，在「中華民國」之後，以括弧加注「臺灣」。[Chen Wen-tsong, Public Affairs Office of Taiwan's Presidential Office, stated last Saturday (30 July) that outsiders tend to mistake the Chung-hua Min-kuo (Republic of China) for China on the other side, causing trouble and inconvenience. The Public Affairs Office pointed out that in order to clarify the distinction, it was decided to add "Taiwan" in brackets after "Republic of China" on the website of the Presidential Palace in traditional and simplified Chinese starting from Saturday.]
分立如南北朝，都自诩中华正统；对峙如宋辽夏金，都被称为"桃花石"；统一如秦汉、隋唐、元明清，更是"六合同风，九州共贯"。
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