Middle Kingdom (China)
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Middle Kingdom (China)
The names of China include the many contemporary and historical appellations given in various languages for the East Asian country known as ''Zhōngguó'' (/, "middle country") in its national language, Standard Mandarin. China, the name in English for the country, was derived from Portuguese in the 16th century, and became common usage in the West in the subsequent centuries. It is believed to be a borrowing from Middle Persian, and some have traced it further back to Sanskrit. It is also thought that the ultimate source of the name China is the Chinese word "Qin" (), the name of the Qin dynasty, dynasty that unified China but also existed as a Qin (state), state for many centuries prior. There are, however, other alternative suggestions for the origin of the word. Chinese names for China, aside from ''Zhongguo'', include ''Zhonghua minzu, Zhōnghuá'' (/, "central beauty"), ''Huaxia, Huáxià'' (/, "beautiful grandness"), ''Shénzhōu'' (, "divine state") and ''Jiǔzhōu'' (, ...
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China (Chinese Characters)
China (), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and Borders of China, borders fourteen countries by land, the List of countries and territories by land borders, most of any country in the world, tied with Russia. Covering an area of approximately , it is the world's third List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country by total land area. The country consists of 22 provinces of China, provinces, five autonomous regions of China, autonomous regions, four direct-administered municipalities of China, municipalities, and two special administrative regions of China, Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the List of cities in China by population, most populous ...
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Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. By convention, the territories that fall outside of the Chinese mainland include: * Hong Kong, a quasi-dependent territory under PRC rule that is officially designated a " Special Administrative Region of the PRC" (formerly a British colony) * Macau, a quasi-dependent territory under PRC rule that is officially designated a "Special Administrative Region of the PRC" (formerly a Portuguese colony) * Territories ruled by the Republic of China (ROC, commonly referred to as Taiwan), including the island of Taiwan, the Penghu (Pescadores) islands in the Taiwan Strait, and the islands Kinmen, Matsu, and Wuqiu (Kinmen) offshore of Fujian. Overseas Chinese, especially Malaysian Chinese and Chinese Singaporeans, use this term to describe p ...
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Warring States Period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin's wars of unification, Qin wars of conquest that saw the annexation of all other contender states, which ultimately led to the Qin (state), Qin state's victory in 221 BC as the first unified History of China#Imperial China, Chinese empire, known as the Qin dynasty. Although different scholars point toward different dates ranging from 481 BC to 403 BC as the true beginning of the Warring States, Sima Qian's choice of 475 BC is the most often cited. The Warring States era also overlaps with the second half of the Eastern Zhou Period, Eastern Zhou dynasty, though the Chinese sovereign, known as the king of Zhou, ruled merely as a figurehead and served as a backdrop against the machinations of the warring states. The "Warring St ...
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Western Zhou
The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong nomads sacked its capital Haojing and killed King You of Zhou in 771 BC. The Western Zhou early state was successful for about seventy-five years and then slowly lost power. The former Shang lands were divided into hereditary fiefs which became increasingly independent of the king. In 771 BC, the Zhou were driven out of the Wei River valley; afterwards real power was in the hands of the king's nominal vassals. Civil war Few records survive from this early period and accounts from the Western Zhou period cover little beyond a list of kings with uncertain dates. King Wu died two or three years after the conquest. Because his son, King Cheng of Zhou was young, his brother, the Duke of Zhou Ji Dan assisted the young and inexperienced king as re ...
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He Zun
The He ''zun'' () is an ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel of the ''zun'' shape.Xinhuanet.com.Xinhuanet.com." ''何尊.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-01. It dates from the era of Western Zhou (1046–771 BC), specifically the early years of the dynasty, and is famous as the oldest artifact with the written characters meaning "Middle Kingdom" — : "China" — in a bronze inscription on the container.big5.7qiji.com.China's 7 wonders (中國七大奇蹟)" ''何尊.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-01. Today it is in the Baoji Bronzeware Museum in Shaanxi. Dimension and significance The vessel, dating to the 5th year of the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, is 38.8cm tall, 28.8cm in diameter and weighs 14.6kg. Inside the container, at the base, it contains 12 rows of 122 inscribed Chinese characters. Of the 122 characters, 119 are identified while 3 are unknown. The inscription contains the phrase 宅𢆶𠁩或 () inscribed in early Zhou form, structurally different to the modern form of the cha ...
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Chinese Language
Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the world's population) speak a variety of Chinese as their first language. Chinese languages form the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages family. The spoken varieties of Chinese are usually considered by native speakers to be variants of a single language. However, their lack of mutual intelligibility means they are sometimes considered separate languages in a family. Investigation of the historical relationships among the varieties of Chinese is ongoing. Currently, most classifications posit 7 to 13 main regional groups based on phonetic developments from Middle Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin (with about 800 million speakers, or 66%), followed by Min (75 million, e.g. Southern Min), Wu (74 million, e.g. Shangh ...
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Hunminjeongum
''Hunminjeong'eum'' () is a document describing an entirely new and native script for the Korean language. The script was initially named after the publication but later came to be known as hangul. Originally containing 28 characters, it was created so that the common people illiterate in hanja (Chinese characters) could accurately and easily read and write the Korean language. Four letters among the 28 were discarded over time. The original spelling of the title was 훈〮민져ᇰ〮ᅙᅳᆷ ''Húnminjyéongeum'' (in North Korean version ''Húnminjyéonghʼeum''). The Hunminjeongeum was announced in Volume 102 of the ''Annals of King Sejong'', and its formal supposed publication date, October 9, 1446, is now Hangul Day in South Korea. The Annals place its invention to the 25th year of Sejong's reign, corresponding to 1443–1444. UNESCO included the 1446 manuscript publishing the Hunminjeongeum in the Memory of the World Programme. History Before Hangul, the Korean alphabe ...
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"Five Stars Rising In The East" Armband
The "Five stars rising in the East" armband ( zh, t=「五星出東方利中國」護膊) is an Eastern Han (25–220 AD) to Western Jin (265–316 AD) era Sichuan embroidery, Sichuan brocade armband embroidered with the phrase "", meaning "simultaneous appearance of five stars in the eastern sky is a propitious sign for the 'Names of China#Middle Kingdom, Middle Kingdom'", or "Five stars rising in the East, being a propitious sign for the Middle Kingdom".Sina.com.Sina.com" ''五星出東方利中國.'' Retrieved on 2010-06-04.Big5.china.com.cn." ''尼雅“五星出東方利中國”錦是蜀錦.'' Retrieved on 2010-06-01. Another cloth of the same pattern was found later and has the words "put down South Qiang" (討南羌). In 2002, they were designated one of the List of Chinese cultural relics forbidden to be exhibited abroad, cultural relics forbidden to be exhibited abroad.Wenbao.net.Chinese cultural heritage protection official web list" ''五星出东方.'' Retrieved on 201 ...
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He Zun Transcription
He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in Ukrainian * Hebrew language (ISO 639-1 code: he) Places * He County, Anhui, China * He River, or Hejiang (贺江), a tributary of the Xi River in Guangxi and Guangdong * Hebei, abbreviated as ''HE'', a province of China (Guobiao abbreviation HE) * Hesse, abbreviated as ''HE'', a state of Germany People * He (surname), Chinese surname, sometimes transcribed Hé or Ho; includes a list of notable individuals so named * Zheng He (1371–1433), Chinese admiral * He (和) and He (合), collectively known as 和合二仙 ('' He-He er xian'', "Two immortals He"), two Taoist immortals known as the "Immortals of Harmony and Unity" * Immortal Woman He, or He Xiangu, one of the Eight Immortals of Taoism Arts, entertainment, and media * "He" (sh ...
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Tuoba
The Tuoba (reconstructed Middle Chinese pronunciation: *''tʰak-bɛt''), also known as the Taugast or Tabgach ( otk, 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲 ''Tabγač''), was a Xianbei clan in Imperial China.Wei Shou. '' Book of Wei''. Vol. 1 During the Sixteen Kingdoms period in northern China, the Tuoba clan established and ruled the dynastic state of Dai from 310 to 376. In 386, the Tuoba clan restored Dai, only to rename the dynasty "Wei" (known retroactively in Chinese historiography as the " Northern Wei") in the same year. The Northern Wei was a powerful dynasty that unified northern China after the Sixteen Kingdoms period and became increasingly sinicized. As a result, from 496, the name "Tuoba" disappeared by an edict of the Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, who adopted the Han surname of Yuan (). After the Northern Wei split into the Eastern Wei and Western Wei in 535, the Western Wei briefly restored the Tuoba name in 554. A branch of the Tanguts originally bore the surname Tuoba, but th ...
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Khitan Language
Khitan or Kitan ( in large script or in small, ''Khitai''; , ''Qìdānyǔ''), also known as Liao, is a now-extinct language once spoken in Northeast Asia by the Khitan people (4th to 13th century). It was the official language of the Liao Empire (907–1125) and the Qara Khitai (1124–1218). Classification Khitan appears to have been related to the Mongolic languages; Juha Janhunen states, conception is gaining support that Khitan was a language in some respects radically different from the historically known Mongolic languages. If this view proves to be correct, Khitan is, indeed, best classified as a Para-Mongolic language." Alexander Vovin (2017) argues that Khitan has several Koreanic loanwords. Since both of the Korean Goryeo dynasty and Khitan Liao dynasty claimed to be successors of Goguryeo, it is possible that the Koreanic words in Khitan were borrowed from the language of Goguryeo. Script Khitan was written using two mutually exclusive writing systems known as th ...
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