China is called 中国 (zhōngguó) in Chinese.
中(zhōng): middle
国 (guó): state
中国 (zhōngguó): Middle Kingdom
Maybe the map below will help us explain why China is called the Middle Kingdom.
Here is an excerpt from the article where I found the above map:
“The map is similar to many present-day Chinese world maps in that it positions at the centre of the map China (which used self-confidently to refer to itself as the “Middle Kingdom”), and not Europe.”
One theory, among few others, says that China is called the Middle Kingdom because its rulers believed that China is in the center of the world as shown in the map above.
But why is the United States called 美国 (měiguó)?
美(měi): beautiful
国(guó): state
Did the early Chinese know about the Western World, and the "far" West of the Americas? Cool stuff.
ReplyDeleteWell, most Chinese people do consider America as a “美”国。
ReplyDeleteIt can be a beautiful place... if you visit the right places :)
ReplyDeleteDo most countries have a different name in Chinese like "Beautiful State" or are some countries just Chinese sounding versions of the country name-- like Nepal or Botswana?
Lets thank the chinese for coming up with such a kind and meaningful name to the USA.
ReplyDeleteActually most of the countries have Chinese sounding versions of the country name. I am planning to have more posts on country names in the future.
ReplyDelete最初美洲的译法是亚美利坚,非洲是亚非利加,而简称只能选择第二个音节.否则就无法区分两个洲.
ReplyDelete而且作为国名，还需要汉字意义比较好.像德国,法国,等等(当初德国被日本写作"鲁国",他们非常愤慨.说，鲁以为着粗鲁),
所以美国的译名是这样来的.
why America called 美国 in chinese
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