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• 赤縣神州

Attested earliest inRecords of the Grand Historian (translation adapted from Tsai-fa Cheng et al., 1994):

• 以為儒者所謂中國者，於天下乃八十一分居其一分耳。中國名曰赤縣神州。赤縣神州內自有九州，禹之序九州是也，不得為州數。中國外如赤縣神州者九，乃所謂九州也。[Classical Chinese,trad.]

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  以为儒者所谓中国者，于天下乃八十一分居其一分耳。中国名曰赤县神州。赤县神州内自有九州，禹之序九州是也，不得为州数。中国外如赤县神州者九，乃所谓九州也。[Classical Chinese,simp.]

  From: TheRecords of the Grand Historian, bySima Qian,c. 91BCE

  Yǐwéi rúzhě suǒwèi Zhōngguó zhě, yú tiānxià nǎi bāshíyī fēnjū qí yī fēn ěr. Zhōngguó míng yuēChìxiàn Shénzhōu.Chìxiàn Shénzhōu nèi zì yǒu jiǔzhōu, yǔ zhī xù jiǔzhōu shì yě, bùdé wéi zhōu shù. Zhōngguó wài rúChìxiàn Shénzhōu zhě jiǔ, nǎi suǒwèi jiǔzhōu yě.[Pinyin]

  He (Zou Yan) thought that the Central Region which scholars spoke of occupied just one of the eighty-one parts of the world. The Central Region he called "the Sacred Township of the Red County." The "Sacred Township of the Red County" itself contained nine lands, the nine whichYu ordered, but these could not be counted as "lands." Outside the Central Region there were nine places like the "Sacred Township of the Red County" and these were what he called the "nine lands."

赤縣神州

1. (figurative)China;Central Plains

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