China

See also: china, chinâ, and čhína

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China

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China

A reconstruction of the extent of various Chinese realms since the Zhou.

Alternative forms

(area and state in East Asia): Chin (obsolete)
(female name): Chyna

Etymology

From Portuguese China,^[1]^[2] probably under influence from Old French Chin,^[3] from Persian ‎ (čin), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭‎ (Čīn, “China”), from Sanskrit चीन (cīna, “the Chinese; China”) of uncertain etymology. It is usually thought to be derived from Chinese 秦 (Qín) (sm Qín, mc d͡ziɪn, oc *zin, "Qin"), the westernmost ancient Chinese state,^[4]^[5]^[6], originally the name of a small county or fief in Gansu awarded to the Ying family circa 900 BC, who then adopted it as their surname. The pictograph 秦 portrays grinding grain, suggesting that Qin specialized in grain production, while surrounding areas raised horses and cattle. Other theories have been proposed, including derivation from 晉／晋 (jìn) (sm Jìn, mc t͡siɪn, oc *ʔsins, "Jin"), another important ancient state;^[7] 荊／荆 (jīng) (sm Jīng, mc kˠiæŋ, oc *keŋ, "Chu"), the southernmost ancient Chinese state;^[8] or Zina, the endonym of the people of the Yelang kingdom.^[8] See "Names of China" and "Chinas" at Wikipedia. As a female name, usually derived via china (“porcelain”) and china doll, ultimately from the same source.

Pronunciation

(UK, US) enPR: chī'nə, IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃaɪnə/, [ˈt͡ʃ(ʰ)aɪ̯nə]
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -aɪnə

Proper noun

China (usually uncountable, plural Chinas)

A nation or civilization occupying the country around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers in East Asia, taken as a whole under its various dynasties.
- 1555, Richard Eden translating Peter Martyr as The Decades of the Newe Worlde..., folio 230 verso:
  The great China, whose kyng is thought... the greatest prince in the worlde.
- 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:
  If he tells them to build a palace forty miles long, out of di'monds, and fill it full of chewing gum, or whatever you want, and fetch an emperor's daughter from China for you to marry, they've got to do it—and they've got to do it before sun-up next morning, too.
- 1987, Geoffrey Marston, “Abandonment of Territorial Claims: The Cases of Bouvet and Spratly Islands”, in The British Year Book of International Law 1986‎^[3], volume 57, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 356:
  The Commissioner General asked for Foreign Office guidance in view of his information about earlier events relating to the British claim. In reply, the Foreign Office, in a telegram dated 12 June 1956, pointed out that as there was now a territorial dispute involving the two Chinas, the Philippines and possibly Vietnam over the Nansha Islands the British vessel should ‘stay well clear’ of Spratly Island.
- 1998, George H. W. Bush & al., A World Transformed‎^[4], New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 93:
  After I was nominated to the vice-presidency, Ronald Reagan asked me to go to China to reassure Deng that, despite having mentioned it in a campaign speech, he did not believe in two Chinas, and that he would honor the Shanghai Communiqué—which declared, in effect, that there was but one China. Joined by his top foreign policy team, Deng listened carefully as I explained that Reagan’s statement had been taken out of context. Just as I was finishing, a door opened and a message was passed down the line of advisors until it reached Deng. On reading it, he looked puzzled and annoyed. “He did it again!” he announced. “Ronald Reagan has again referred to ‘two Chinas’ in a speech!” I talked fast and got out of there.
China has 5000 years of history.
The principal state in this country, including (historical) an empire under various dynasties and (since 1949) the People's Republic of China.
- 1971 December 6, "A Size-up of President Nixon: Interview with Mike Mansfield, Senate Democratic Leader", in US News & World Report, p. 61:
  'Only a Nixon' Could Go to China
- 2017, Donald J. Trump, speech at Make America Great Again Rally, Harrisburg, PA
  And I met with the President of China at great length in Florida, and we had long, long talks—hours and hours and hours.
China will be 73 years old this October 1.
Synonym of mainland China.
The gambling winnings were transferred from Macau to China.
(rare) A female given name.
- 2001, Susan Wittig Albert, chapter 1, in Bloodroot, Berkley Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 3:
  My name is China Bayles. I'm the owner of Thyme and Seasons and the co-owner, with Ruby Wilcox, of a new tearoom called Thyme for Tea.
- 2014, Neil D. A. Stewart, The Glasgow Coma Scale, Constable & Robinson, →ISBN, page 159:
  'What's her name, this girl?' The fight had hoarsened Lynne's voice, and the words came out strangely staccato - a wooden doll that had just learned to speak.
  'China,' he mumbled, feeling an obscure desire to invent a pseudonym for her.
  'What an interesting name.'
  Angus struck the table edge hard. 'Aw, don't gies it.'
  'I don't know what you mean. Or is it a nickname? Fragile, is she?'
An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Indiana, United States.
A town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States.
An unincorporated community in Howell County, Missouri, United States.
A hamlet in Delaware County, New York, United States.
A small city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States.
A municipality and town in Nuevo León, Mexico.

An 1844 map of China (i.e., the Qing Empire), including Taiwan, Mongolia, Korea, eastern Manchuria (now Russian), and Assam in India.
A 1932 map of the Far East, showing China (i.e., China proper) without Manchuria, Mongolia (i.e., Greater Mongolia), "Sinkiang", "Tibit", or Japanese Taiwan.
A map of the divisions of the Republic of China in 1944, from the American propaganda film Why We Fight: The Battle of China.
The CIA's 2008 map of China, showing the PRC's claim on Taiwan (but not the South China Sea) and India's claim on the PRC (but not China's on Arunachal Pradesh).
A 2002 map of the railways of China, showing the PRC and ROC's nine-dash claim in the South China Sea. Both Chinas also claim the "Diaoyu" Islands, currently administered as Japan's Senkakus.

Synonyms

(nation): Cathay (northern medieval China, archaic); Manji, Mangi (southern medieval China, archaic); Han (culture); Greater China (inclusive of Taiwan, non-Han autonomous regions, and the SARs but not always all Chinese claims); Chinkland (pejorative); Sinim (some religious contexts)
(state): Middle Kingdom; Celestial Kingdom, Flowery Kingdom (archaic)
(principal states at different periods): Xia, Shang, Zhou (kingdoms); Qin, Han, Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing (empires); Warring States, Three Kingdoms (regions); Republic of China or Chinese Republic, People's Republic of China or Chinese People's Republic

Derived terms

Related terms

Sino-

Descendants

→ Maori: Haina
→ Tokelauan: Haina

Translations

See China/translations § Proper noun.

Noun

China (countable and uncountable, plural Chinas)

(obsolete) A Chinese person.
(obsolete) Alternative form of cheyney: woollen stuff; items made or filled with cheyney.
Clipping of China rose: various flowers.
(botany, beverages) Clipping of China tea.
(rhyming slang) Alternative form of china: a mate, a friend.

References

^ Duarte Barbosa, Descrição das Terras da India Oriental..., c. 1516.
^ Garcia de Orta, Colóquios dos Simples e Drogas da India, 1563.
^ Marco Polo & al., Divisiment dou Monde, c. 1298.
^ Dr M. R. Singh (1972) Geographical Data in Early Puranas, pages 172
^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (2001), “cīna-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan] (in German), volume 3, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 191
^ Yule, Henry (2005) Cathay and the Way Thither‎^[1], →ISBN, pages 2–3
^ Zhengzhang, Shangfang (鄭張尚芳) (2006), “古译名勘原辨讹五例 [A Correction of the Erroneous Etymological Analyses of Five Ancient Translated Names]”, in 中国语文 (in Chinese), volume 315, →ISSN, pages 541–549
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 Wade Geoff (2009-05), “The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China'”, in Sino-Platonic Papers‎^[2], issue 188

“China, n.¹ and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2019.

Anagrams

Anich, Chain, Chian, chain