Historically, China has gone through many dynasties, so the image displayed in foreign exchanges has also changed. For example, during the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Empire was the most developed, most powerful and most advanced country in the world, and so far we always have to add a "Sheng" word in front of the Tang Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty is the image of the sunset in our hearts, and in many ways it has lagged behind the world.
However, the influence of dynasties like the Han and Tang dynasties that flourished for a time still continues to this day, for example, the name "Han" is related to the Han Dynasty, and the "Tang people" are regarded as Chinese is related to the Tang Dynasty. In ancient times, there was no such developed communication technology as it is now, and it was easy to misunderstand in the process of mutual understanding.
After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, Central Asia, West Asia and Eastern Europe regarded the Liao Dynasty (Khitan) as China, which led to the current russian and Greek languages calling China "Khitan", which is a great misunderstanding. If people from the countries of Central Asia and Eastern Europe had visited China at that time, they would have known that the Liao Dynasty had not completed its unification and could not represent the whole of China.
As a Chinese name in the eyes of foreigners, the origin of "Khitan" is relatively clear, but there are some Chinese national names in foreign history books that make people wonder, such as "peach blossom stone". The peach blossom stone mentioned here is not an ornamental stone, but the name of the most "small fresh" in ancient China, the Names of the Turkic Tribes of Central Asia, the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Arab World for China or Chinese.
In the eyes of modern people, the Chinese form of "peach blossom stone" naturally has no sense of domineering, but there is a sense of ancient fiction, beauty is beauty, but it is not as good as qin, Han, Tang and other words can make people think of the glory of ancient China. In Chinese foreign and literary and historical sources, peach blossom stones can be "Tamgadi", "Timghaj", "Tangas", etc., and it is obvious that they come from the same etymology.
The "Journey to the West of the Changchun True People" records that in 1219 AD, Qiu Chuji took Yin Zhiping, Li Zhichang and other disciples to the west to see Genghis Khan in Central Asia, and when passing through the city of Alima, he saw that the local "farmers also decided to irrigate the fields, but the natives took water from bottles and returned home". ”
The "peach blossom stone" here refers to the Han people, the ancient Han culture is advanced, the level of handicraft is naturally very high, and many foreign peoples learn Han culture. Qiu Zhiji lived in the Southern Song Dynasty, when the ancient Chinese title of "peach blossom stone" had been widely circulated, so that everyone was accustomed to it, and the first appearance of the Chinese translation of "peach blossom stone" was in the "Journey to the West of Changchun Zhenren".
According to modern scholars, the earliest appearance of "peach blossom stone" in ancient documents was in the "Memorabilia of Emperor Morris" written by the Eastern Roman historian Xi Mokata in the early 7th century AD. At that time, China was in the last year of the Sui Dynasty, so it can be seen that "peach blossom stone" as an ancient Chinese title should at least be before the Sui Dynasty.
Modern scholars believe that the name "Peach Blossom Stone" may be derived from the "Tuoba" transliteration (the Xianbei Tuoba clan once established the Northern Wei Dynasty in northern China and was strong for a while); it may also come from the "Han" transliteration and the "Tang family" transliteration, but from the timeline, the connection between "Peach Blossom Stone" and the Tang Dynasty should be small.
Until now, modern scholars have not been able to give a clear answer to how "peach blossom stone" has become a "Chinese" title in various language exchanges and communications, and the views of all parties have been debated endlessly. But the Chinese people are probably reluctant to accept such a name, after all, it sounds beautiful and beautiful, but it lacks a bit of historical charm.