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Chinese names
The official name of China changed with each dynasty. The common name is Zhōngguó (中國 in traditional Chinese or
中国 in simplified Chinese). This translates traditionally as "Middle Kingdom," or as "central country."
The name Zhōngguó first appeared in the Classic of History (6th
century BC), and was used to refer to the late Zhou Dynasty, as they believed that they were the "center of civilization," while peoples in the four cardinals were called Eastern Yi, Southern Man, Western
Rong and Northern Di respectively. Some texts imply that "Zhōngguó" was originally meant to refer to the capital of the sovereign, to differ from the capital of his vassals. The use of
"Zhōngguó" implied a claim of political legitimacy, and "Zhōngguó" was often used by states who saw themselves as the sole legitimate successor to previous Chinese dynasties; for
example, in the era of the Southern Song Dynasty, both the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song state claimed to be "Zhōngguó."
Zhōngguó came to official use as an abbreviation for the
Republic of China (Zhonghua Minguo) after the government's establishment in 1912. Since the People's Republic of China, established in 1949, now controls the great majority of the area encompassed within the
traditional concept of "China", the People's Republic is the political unit most commonly identified with the abbreviated name Zhōngguó, with the Republic of China nowadays known commonly as
"Taiwan".
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