The name of any country in the world has its own unique cultural and historical significance, and China is no exception. In 1949, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, "China", as the abbreviation of the People's Republic of China, was known by all countries in the world.
With the development of the times, China's international influence is also constantly improving, no matter which country you go to, you can find the figure of "China".
As a Chinese, do you know why China is called "China"? Wouldn't it be a little embarrassing if you didn't even know the origin of the name of the motherland.
The name of China
When asked about the origin of the word "China", many people may think that it was only after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 that the mainland adopted China as its official name. In fact, "China" has been the name of the mainland since ancient times, and has existed for more than 3,000 years.
The word "China" first appeared in the first official history book, Shang Shu, which wrote:
"The emperor paid the Chinese people to the territory of Yue Yue to the first king"
It means that the ruler of the Zhou Dynasty, under the command of heaven, was sent by heaven to help the people of the Zhou Dynasty build a strong country, so the title "China" originated in the Zhou Dynasty and passed down to the world.
Perhaps someone here will say that a sentence in the history books alone is not enough to prove that the word "China" originated in the Zhou Dynasty, and it is likely that it is just a coincidence of the author's words.
However, in 1963, a national treasure unearthed in Jiacun Town, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, can also prove that the word "China" originated in the Zhou Dynasty.
One day in June 1963, when it happened to be raining heavily, a farmer named Chen Dui in Jia Village found a pile of shining things in his yard.
When Chen Dui came closer, he saw that it was a pile of bronze artifacts, although Chen Dui did not know what these bronze artifacts were, but he knew that it was not a bad thing buried in the ground, so he collected these bronze artifacts at home.
The following year, when Chen Dui left, he sold the bronze artifact to the waste collector, and after several circulations, a cadre of the Baoji City Museum discovered the treasure, and he sent the bronze artifact to the museum unscathed, and named the bronze artifact "He Zun" under the research of experts.
On He Zun, we can see many inscriptions about the Zhou Dynasty, among which is written the phrase "Zhai Zi China, from the beggars of the people", which means that I will live in the center of the world - China, and rule the people of Li.
It can be seen that whether it is "China" in the history books or "China" in He Zun, it refers to the central place of Chinese national rule.
Of course, at this time, "China" was still only a concept, most of the time, "China" refers to the center of the geographical location, and the people did not call themselves Chinese.
Specific China
With the change of dynasties, the Chinese nation entered a stage of prosperous development. During the period of Emperor Wudi of Han, the Han people defeated the ethnic minorities in the north, and since then the Han people have been prestigious, and "China" at this time has become a proxy for the Han regime, with ethnic and regional characteristics.
In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the mainland's national power entered a heyday, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is in the center of all the world's countries, and "China" at this time refers to a whole country and the people it rules.
The Yuan Dynasty, as one of the few regimes established by ethnic minorities in Chinese history, in order to demonstrate the spirit of inclusiveness, called the regimes established by both Han and minority people as Chinese dynasties. Since then, "China" has become an orthodox and powerful concept.
However, in the thousands of years of feudal dynastic rule, "China" has never been used as an official name, and successive dynasties still mainly use their own national names, and the people only call themselves people of the country.
Formal use
It was not until after the Xinhai Revolution, when the Republic of China was founded, that the name "China" was officially formed.
With the continuous awakening of the people's national consciousness, "China" has become the consensus in everyone's hearts, and the people have begun to call themselves Chinese, and China has stood on the world stage for the first time.
After the founding of New China, the name "China" was widely recognized internationally, and "China" became the official name of the mainland.
It is not only the abbreviation of the People's Republic of China, but also carries the 5,000-year-old history and culture of the Chinese nation, is a kind of national and cultural self-confidence, and has extremely profound significance for the mainland.
Today, China has become the backbone of our 1.4 billion people, and the people living on this land are deeply proud and proud to be a Chinese.
The name of China has not changed after thousands of years, and the continuation of the word "China", that is, the inheritance of Chinese culture, has extremely profound historical significance.