中國
ChineseEdit
middle; center; within middle; center; within; among; in; while (doing sth); during; China; Chinese; hit (the mark) |
country; state; nation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (中國) | 中 | 國 | |
| simp. (中国) | 中 | 国 | |
| anagram | 國中／国中 | ||
| Literally: “middle country; central country”. | |||
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
Earliest attested on the Western Zhou bronze vessel He zun. See Names of China#Zhongguo.
- 隹珷王既克大邑商，𠟭廷吿于天，曰：余𠀠宅𢆶𠁩或，自之辥民。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
- From: He zun inscription, translated by Pankenier (2013)
- Wéi Wǔwáng jì kè Dàyìshāng, zé tíng gào yú Tiān, yuē: yú qí zhái zī Zhōngguó, zì zhī yì mín. [Pinyin]
- When King Wu conquered the great city Shang, he then made reverent declarations to Heaven, saying: "Let me dwell in this, the central region, and from here govern the people."
Proper nounEdit
中國
- China (a country in Asia; capital: Beijing)
- 中國和平崛起／中国和平崛起 ― Zhōngguó hépíng juéqǐ ― China's peaceful rise
- 中國社會科學院／中国社会科学院 ― Zhōngguó shèhuìkēxuéyuàn ― the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
- 中國典籍英譯／中国典籍英译 ― Zhōngguó diǎnjí yīngyì ― English translations of Chinese classics
- 干涉中國內政／干涉中国内政 ― gānshè Zhōngguó nèizhèng ― to interfere in China's internal affairs
Usage notesEdit
This word referred to various states and regions throughout history:
- Western Zhou Dynasty [1046–771 BCE]:
- the region controlled by the Western Zhou Dynasty, covering the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi, as well as the basin between the Yellow River and the Luo River.
- Eastern Zhou Dynasty [770–221 BCE]:
- all of the upper reaches of the Yellow River.
- Since Qin Dynasty [221 BCE–1911 CE]:
- the land controlled by the imperial regime of the Central Plain - i.e. the ancestors of modern China.
- After the Xinhai Revolution [1911 CE]:
- After the founding of the People's Republic of China [1949 CE]:
SynonymsEdit
- (China):
Synonyms of 中國
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Derived termsEdit
Derived terms from 中國
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NounEdit
中國
- (Classical Chinese) royal court; imperial court; imperial household; imperial government
- (Classical Chinese) central part of a country (historically, commonly known as the capital city or the main region, where an emperor or other ruler resides)
- 惠此中國，以綏四方。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Huì cǐ zhōngguó, yǐ suí sìfāng. [Pinyin]
- Let us cherish this centre of the kingdom,
To secure the repose of the four quarters of it.
惠此中国，以绥四方。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
- (Classical Chinese) the Central Plain (area on the lower reaches of the Yellow River which formed the cradle of Chinese civilization)
- 吾聞中國之君子，明乎禮義而陋於知人心。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE
- Wú wén Zhōngguó zhī jūnzǐ, míng hū lǐyì ér lòu yú zhī rénxīn. [Pinyin]
- I have heard that the superior men of these Middle States understand the (subjects of) ceremony and righteousness, but are deplorably ignorant of the minds of men.
吾闻中国之君子，明乎礼义而陋于知人心。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
- (Classical Chinese) people of the Central Plain
SynonymsEdit
- (royal court):
Synonyms of 中國
- (central part of a country): (archaic) 國中／国中 (guózhōng)
- (the Central Plain): 中土 (Zhōngtǔ), 中原 (Zhōngyuán), 中州 (Zhōngzhōu)
DescendantsEdit
Others:
- → Bouyei: Zungyguef
- → English: Middle Kingdom (calque)
- → Finnish: Keskustan valtakunta (calque)
- → French: Empire du Milieu (calque)
- → German: Reich der Mitte (calque)
- → Hlai: Dongxgok (via Hainanese)
- → Indonesian: Tiongkok (via Hokkien)
- → Kyrgyz: Жуңго (Juŋgo)
- → Lü: ᦷᦋᧂᧈᦷᦅᧉ (tsong¹ko²)
- → Manchu: ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ
ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ (dulimbai gurun) (calque) - → Mongolian: ᠳᠤᠮᠳᠠᠳᠤ
ᠤᠯᠤᠰ (dumdadu ulus) (calque) - → Portuguese: Reino Médio, Reino do Meio (calque) (calque)
- → Sichuan Yi: ꍏꇩ (zho guop)
- → Tibetan: ཀྲུང་གོ (krung go)
- Dzongkha: ཀྲུང་ཀོ (krung ko)
- → Uyghur: جۇڭگو (junggo), Җуңго (Junggo) (Cyrillic)
- Wutunhua: zhungo
- → Zhuang: Cunghgoz, Cungguek
Etymology 2Edit
Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 中国 (Chūgoku), from Chinese 中國 (MC ʈɨuŋ kwək̚, “the central part of a country”).
Proper nounEdit
中國
- (～地方, ～地區) the Chūgoku region of Japan
- 這裡的中國是指日本的中國地方，即指本州西部的岡山、廣島、山口、島根、鳥取5縣。 [MSC, trad.]
- From: 2004, 于沛, 中国社会科学院世界历史研究所学术论文集（1964-2004）：古代中世纪卷[1]
- Zhèlǐ de Zhōngguó shì zhǐ Rìběn de Zhōngguó Dìfāng, jí zhǐ Běnzhōu xībù de Gāngshān, Guǎngdǎo, Shānkǒu, Dǎogēn, Niǎoqǔ 5 xiàn. [Pinyin]
- Here, 中國／中国 (Zhōngguó) refers to the Chūgoku region of Japan, or the five prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane, and Tottori that lay in the western region of Honshū.
这里的中国是指日本的中国地方，即指本州西部的冈山、广岛、山口、岛根、鸟取5县。 [MSC, simp.]
Etymology 3Edit
Semantic loan from Sanskrit मध्यदेशे m sg (madhyadeśe, locative, literally “in the Middle Country”) (Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā; see Karashima, 2010) or मध्येषु जनपदेषु m pl (madhyeṣu janapadeṣu, “in [the] central countries”) (Abhidharmakośakārikā); as opposed to the 邊地／边地 (biāndì, “borderlands; frontiers”), from Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit प्रत्यन्तिम (pratyantima) / प्रत्यन्त (pratyanta) or Pali paccantima. Cognate to the Pali majjhimesu janapadesu (locative, literally “in the middlemost countries”) in the text parallel to the Ekottara Āgama in the Pali Canon.
NounEdit
中國
- (Buddhism) "central countries"; lands with advanced civilization and other conditions helpful for teaching Buddhism
JapaneseEdit
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 中 | 國 |
| ちゅう Grade: 1 |
こく > ごく Jinmeiyō |
| on’yomi | |
| For pronunciation and definitions of 中國 – see the following entry. | ||||
| ||||
| (This term, 中國, is an alternative spelling of the above terms.) |
KoreanEdit
| Hanja in this term | |
|---|---|
| 中 | 國 |
Proper nounEdit
VietnameseEdit
| Hán tự in this term | |
|---|---|
| 中 | 國 |
Proper nounEdit
中國
- chữ Hán form of Trung Quốc (“China”).
ZhuangEdit
Proper nounEdit
中國