Quora问答：“China”这个名字的由来是什么?
What is the origin of the name "China"?
译文简介
网友：“China”一词源于马来语“Cina(中国)”一词。“Mandarin(普通话、古代中国官员)”一词也是如此，它起源于马来语“Menteri”。看，这两个词在那里并不是通用的。16世纪，葡萄牙探险家是最早到达中国的欧洲人之一......
正文翻译
What is the origin of the name "China"?
Quora问答：“China”这个名字的由来是什么?
Quora问答：“China”这个名字的由来是什么?
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Zhongguo is found in the documents of Zhou Dynasty, but the Zhong character represented a flag.
“中国”在周代文献中有记载，但“中”字代表一面旗帜。
商朝的国王召开会议，人民围着他参加，所以最普遍的意思是:中心的权力。
中国(CHINA)在《诗经》和《礼记》中都有两种不同的含义:
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B - Referring to the regions where the population of the HUAXIA ethnic group lived, and its states that extended along the Middle course of the Yellow River .
A - 作为国家首都
B - 指华夏民族人口聚集地，以及沿黄河中游延伸的国家。
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中国，是指位于中原的国家。中:中央，国:国家。
秦、汉以后，“中国”已经指的是整个国家。
“华”字来自汉族的祖先，他们称自己为华夏。“华”意味着华丽，“夏”意味着伟大。(中国有盛大的仪式，故称“夏”,它有漂亮的衣服，因此被称为“华”。)
汉族与羌、夷、狄、戎或苗等少数民族相互融合，最终形成了原始的华夏民族。到了秦、汉时期，“华夏”被“秦人”、“汉人”所取代——“秦人”、“汉人”是指这两个朝代的公民，即秦朝和汉朝——或是被唐朝的“唐人”取代。
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中国(China)的概念:近代的中华民族包括所有民族。
来源:esjobs。
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Kelly Erickson, Experience Designer. Research hound. Constantly curious.
I wanted to blurt out "from the Qin (pronounced chin) dynasty" without checking around, but I decided to get some help. Good thing, because it's a little more complex than I remembered:
The word "China" is derived from Cin (چین), a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo. The first recorded use in English dates from 1555. In early usage, "china" as a term for porcelain was spelled differently from the name of the country, the two words being derived from separate Persian words. Both these words are derived from the Sanskrit word Cīna (चीन), used as a name for China as early as AD 150.
There are various scholarly theories regarding the origin of this word. The traditional theory, proposed in the 17th century by Martino Martini, is that "China" is derived from "Qin" (秦, pronounced chin), the westernmost of the Chinese kingdoms during the Zhou Dynasty, or from the succeeding Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC). In the Hindu scxtures Mahābhārata (5th century BC) and Manusmṛti (Laws of Manu) (2nd century BC), the Sanskrit word Cīna (चीन) is used to refer to a country located in the Tibeto-Burman borderlands east of India. Another theory is that this word is derived from Yelang, an ancient kingdom in what is now Guizhou whose inhabitants referred to themselves as 'Zina'.
Kelly Erickson，体验设计师,研究猎犬,总是好奇。
我想脱口而出“China来自于秦朝(发音为chin)”，但我决定寻求一些帮助，这是好事，因为这比我记忆中要复杂一点:
“中国(China)”一词来源于Cin (چین)，这是马可波罗(Marco Polo)在欧洲流行起来的中国的波斯语名称。英语中第一次有记载的用法是在1555年。在早期的使用中，“中国”作为瓷器的一种说法与国家的名字拼写不同，这两个词来自不同的波斯语单词。这两个词都来自梵语单词Cīna (चीन)，早在公元150年就被用作中国的名字。
关于这个词的起源有各种各样的学术理论。马蒂诺·马蒂尼（Martino Martini）在17世纪提出的传统理论认为，“中国(China)”源自“秦”（chin，发音为chin），即周朝时期中国最西端的王国，或来自随后的秦朝（公元前221-206年）。在印度教经典Mahābhārata(《摩诃婆罗多》,公元前5世纪)和Manusmṛti(公元前2世纪的《摩奴法典》)中，梵文单词Cīna (चीन)被用来指代印度东部藏缅边境的一个国家。另一种说法是，这个词来自夜郎，一个古代王国，在今天的贵州，那里的居民自称“Zina”。
@Kelly Erickson
Really good answer. I was going to jump in with “Qin” too!
很好的答案，我也支持“秦(Qin)”这个说法!
@Kelly Erickson
the 秦 theory and the sanskrit theory should be the same thing because the qin dynasty existed around 2 bc and the word 秦 was pronounced as “zin” at that time. the pronunciation didnt turn into “chin/qin” until the recent 300-ish years (and it is only “qin/chin” in modern standard chinese (普通话) and northern mandarin dialects)
“秦”理论和“梵文”理论应该是一样的,因为秦朝存在于公元前2年左右，当时“秦”这个字的发音是“zin”。发音一直没有变化，直到近300年演变成“chin/qin”(只有在现代标准中文(普通话)和北方官话中才是“qin/chin”)
Yusrin Faidz Yusoff, Advocate & Solicitor (1997-present)
Yusrin Faidz Yusoff，辩护律师兼事物律师（1997年至今）
“China”一词源于马来语“Cina(中国)”一词。“Mandarin(普通话、古代中国官员)”一词也是如此，它起源于马来语“Menteri”。看，这两个词在那里并不是通用的。16世纪，葡萄牙探险家是最早到达中国的欧洲人之一。
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Their agents, guides and pilots were of Malay origin. At that time the Portuguese were simultaneously colonizing Malacca on the Malay peninsula. The Malays were useful guides to the Portuguese as they have been trading with mainland China since 300 BCE. See extract from Asiatic Journal 1827:
他们的代理人、向导和领航员都是马来人。当时，葡萄牙人同时在马来半岛的马六甲殖民。马来人对葡萄牙人来说是有用的向导，因为他们从公元前300年开始就与中国大陆进行贸易往来。参见《亚洲期刊1827》摘录:
(Source Credit: Bert Tan of Malaysian Heritage & History Club)
(资料来源:Bert Tan的马来西亚遗产与历史俱乐部)
葡萄牙人只是按照他们的马来向导告诉他们的去做。他们称这个国家为Cina/China，称他们会见的明朝官员为mandarim，mandarim这个词来自于马来语中的‘menteri’和在那之前的梵语中的‘mantrī’，这两个词的意思都是“大臣”或“顾问”。
@Yusrin Faidz Yusoff
Portuguese were not “among the first”, Portuguese explorers were the very first Europeans to trade with China. Formerly, everyone in Europe relied on the Ottoman Empire… little was know abou China and India, the first detailed reports and trade started with Portuguese… the rest is history
葡萄牙人不是“第一批”，葡萄牙探险家是最早与中国进行贸易的欧洲人。以前，每个欧洲人都依赖奥斯曼帝国……人们对中国和印度知之甚少，最早的详细报道和贸易始于葡萄牙……剩下的都成历史了。
Raven Tree, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2018-present)
The are many explanations about the source of China’s name. I list some below:
a) The porcelain, also named ‘china’, was transported into Europe hundred of years ago. Because of the popularity of china from China, so the English countries call my country as ‘China’;
b) In 19 century, Qing dynasty(清) ruled the whole country. The pronunciation of ‘Qing’ sounded like ‘China’.
c) Another source about ‘China’ originated in BC 2 century. A powerful nomad ethnicity built a strong country in the north of China. At that time, China was ruled by Qin Dynasty(秦) and Han Dynasty(汉) successively. The nomad people called China as ‘Qin’. The pronunciation of ‘Qin’ sounded like ‘China’. After many wars, they were defeated by Han and they ran away towards west. So, the ‘Qin’ was spread to symbolize China.
Raven Tree，香港理工大学(2018-至今)
关于中国名字的来源有很多解释。我列出一些如下:
a) 瓷器(porcelain)，也叫“瓷器(china)”，几百年前被运到欧洲。由于中国的瓷器(china)来自中国，所以英语国家称我的国家为“China(中国)”;
b) 在19世纪,清朝统治整个国家(清)。“Qing”的发音听起来像“China”。
c) 另一个关于“China”的来源起源于公元前2世纪。一个强大的游牧民族在中国北方建立了一个强大的国家。在那个时候,中国是由秦朝统治(秦)和汉代(汉)先后。游牧民族称中国为“秦”。“Qin”的发音听起来像“China”。经过多次战争，他们被汉朝打败，逃向西方。因此，“Qin”被传播开来代表中国。
Patrick Koh, Knows Asia, China and USA
Patrick Koh，了解亚洲、中国和美国
WHY “China”?
I once couldn’t sleep as a kid, when I learnt that being China is lixed to cold ‘ceramics’.
A stupid “Amazing - Do You Know!” book telling me ‘HOW the China nation got its name’.
I hated that instead of a majestic Dragon or a fearsome Tiger, a civilisation could take its inspiration from a piece of porcelain. LOL.
Perhaps a short Quora reply will help exorcise a childhood nightmare.
HERE!! BELOW has more to do with ‘China’ than the ceramic crockery fake story.
为什么叫“China”呢?
当我知道中国和冷冰冰的“瓷器”联系在一起的时候，我小时候睡不着觉。
愚蠢的《太棒了——你知道吗!》这本书告诉我‘中国的国名是怎么来的’。
我讨厌的是，一个文明可以从一件瓷器中获得灵感，而不是雄伟的龙或威猛的虎。哈哈
也许在Quora上简短的回答将有助于驱除童年的噩梦。
在这里! !下面更多的是关于“China”的起源，而不是关于瓷器的假故事。
This Bronze mold for minting banliang coins, Warring States period (475-221 BC), State of Qin. 5th century BC!!
And I will tell you why this is the key reason why China is called ‘China’!
这是战国时期(公元前475-221年)秦国铸造板梁钱币的青铜模具，公元前5世纪!!
我会告诉你为什么这是为什么中国被称为“China”的关键原因!
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下面是答案，至少是我最相信的答案。但名字是来源于秦国，而不是在5世纪左右给她取名字的秦朝!
But first why? Because there are a few possibilities.
Where does the name ‘China’ comes from?
1. Qin dynasty - Lu Lu/What is the origin of the name "China?
2. Ceramic - from a city “Jing de” Boyuan Guan/Origin of the name "China"
3. Ancient kingdom Zina in Guizhou, China 夜郎 (Yèláng).
5. etc…
但首先是为什么?因为有几种可能。
“China”这个名字从何而来?
1. 秦朝 - Lu Lu/What is the origin of the name "China?(Quora文章链接)
2. 瓷器 - 源自一个城市“景德镇”Boyuan Guan/“China”名字的起源
3. 在贵州的中国古代Zina王国,夜郎(Yèláng)。
4. 契丹帝国 - 是最西北方向、最强大的面对西方的帝国——Cathay——维基百科;这个词也曾经流行过，但现在似乎唯一可以接受的派生词是“Cathay”。
5. 等等说法……
Now here is what I think is the most important.
Where do we find the Earliest Exonym ‘China’?
Has to be Sanskrit of course.
TIME is very important which is seldom mentioned by many answers. I have great respect for Sanskrit being so OLD influenced most languages in one of my favorite country - India. Now why is this important?
Because to the west of the Qin state (started 897 BC), we have the India subcontinent. Guess what? Around 5th century BC. Qin indeed getting powerful, was minting coins. (By 221 BC Qin unified the Middle Kingdom).
AND those Qin coins corresponded nicely with the mention in Hindu scxtures of Mahābhārata (5th century BC).
Quora上有很多答案，大多数人会同意第一个答案(Qin)。
下面是我认为最重要的。
“China”这个词最早出现在哪里?
当然是梵文了。
时间是很重要的，很多答案很少提到它。在我最喜欢的国家之一——印度，梵语影响了大多数语言，我非常尊敬梵语。为什么这很重要呢?
因为在秦国的西部(公元前897年开始)有印度次大陆。你猜怎么着?大约公元前5世纪。秦始皇确实变得强大，并铸造钱币。(公元前221年，秦国统一了中国)。
这些秦币与印度经典《摩诃婆罗多》(公元前5世纪)中提到的非常吻合。
He stated that "China" is derived from "Qin" (秦, pronounced chin), the westernmost of the Chinese kingdoms during the Zhou Dynasty, or from the succeeding Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC).
(No, not ‘China’, I am referring to the name of the Italian, and he was a Priest).
让我们来问问马蒂诺·马蒂尼。
他说,“中国”来源于“Qin”(秦,发音为Chin),秦是周朝时期中国王国中最西端的一个，或者是从随后的秦朝（公元前221-206年）衍生出来的。
没人会在那个名字上面撒谎!
(不，不是“China”，我指的是那个意大利人的名字，他是个牧师)。
So the key evidence:
Hindu scxt of 5th century BC citing Cina.
The rise of Qin state and the minting of coins around then, and the Westernmost location of Qin facing west and India would be to most conclusive to me.
所以关键证据是:
公元前5世纪提及Cina（中国）的印度手稿。
在我看来，秦朝的崛起和钱币的铸造，以及秦朝面向西方和印度的最西端位置是最有说服力的。
From Sanskrit, we know that this influenced all Indian languages to use Cina in various forms. Likewise the Persians as Cin (چین), followed by all of Middle East, then the Greeks and the Romans (Latin, Sinae). And later the Italians, Portuguese. Now, South East Asians affected by Indianisation, including the Malays, likewise used ‘Cina’ too when the Portuguese first came for spices.
从梵语中，我们知道这影响了所有印度语言以各种形式使用Cina。同样的，波斯人是Cin (چین)，然后是整个中东，然后是希腊人和罗马人(拉丁语，Sinae)。后来是意大利人，葡萄牙人。现在，受印度化影响的东南亚人，包括马来人，在葡萄牙人第一次为香料而来也同样使用了“Cina”这个词。
But a very powerful state that produced the First Emperor who successfully united one of the great civilisation.
I think a kid would sleep better knowing that.
现在我知道这个名字的灵感不是来自易碎的瓷器。
而是一个非常强大的国家，诞生了第一位成功统一了一个伟大文明的皇帝。
我想知道这一点，孩子会睡得更好。
Kokwai Thong
@Patrick Koh
Nice bit of historical deduction. Perhaps you could add the idea of the central state which was the struggle between all those nation states during the Spring and Autumn period.
不错的历史演绎。也许你可以加上中央国家的概念，这是春秋时期所有民族国家之间的斗争。
Robert Slaby, IT Support at AT&T (2019-present)
As for the question why in English China is called China I don't think I can help you. But if you're interested in why did Chinese name their country as they did, I do know that.
China's name in Chinese is 中国 (Zhong guo). The second part of the name, 国 (guo) means country and it's quite often used in Chinese names for other countries as well e.g. 美国 (Mei guo) - America，泰国 (Tai guo) - Thailand, etc.
The first part of the word, 中 (Zhong) means center. That's because in the ages of dynasties and long before that, Chinese thought that they're the center of the world so they named named their country and it's people (Chinese-中国人 (Zhong guo ren) ) like that.
Robert Slaby, 美国电话电报公司IT支持(2019-至今)
至于为什么中国在英语中被称为China的问题，我想我帮不了你。但如果你想知道为什么中国人会这样称呼他们的国家，我知道。
中国的名字在中国是“中国”(Zhong guo)。国名第二部分,国(Guo)意味着国家，它经常在中文里用于其他国家名称，比如美国(Mei guo)——America,泰国(Tai guo)——Thailand,等等。
国名的第一个字,中(Zhong)意味着中心。这是因为在很久之前的朝代,中国人认为他们是世界的中心，所以他们把自己的国家和人民(Chinese-中国人(Zhong guo ren)像那样命名。
这听起来可能有点以自我为中心，但说实话，我确实认为中国曾经是世界的中心，现在仍然是，部分是。
Mohamed Iqbal
China is known as “Chung Guo” in Chinese,meaning,’the Middle Kingdom’! Ancient Chinese believed that China was located at the centre of the world,their Emperors were the gods,and the outsiders were the barbarians! That’s why,most Chinese emperors practiced a close door policy! There was a dynasty called,”Chin” ruled China. It’s emperor was Shih Huang-Ti,who built the Great Wall(he started the wall first,completed in stages by other emperors),and he burnt many books! The name China could be originated from this ‘Chin’ name!
China(中国)在汉语中被称为“Chung Guo”，意思是“中央王国”!古代中国人相信中国位于世界的中心，他们的皇帝是神，边远地区的人是野蛮人!这就是为什么大多数中国皇帝实行闭关锁国政策的原因!之前有一个叫“Chin”的朝代统治着中国，它的皇帝是秦始皇，他修建了长城(他首先开始修筑长城，其他皇帝分阶段完成)，他烧毁了很多书籍!“China”这个名字可能就是来源于“Chin”这个名字!
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Sun Guoxuan, Native Chinese, sometimes naïve.
“中国” means capital city in Old Chinese. After that it became the name of the whole country since it also means “central country”. And “华夏” is the name of Han ethnic group before the very long Han dynasty. It is expounded as “the beauty of clothes” and “the divinity of etiquette”. Ancient Chinese pick the first characters of each to name the nation as “中华”.
Sun Guoxuan, 土生土长的中国人，有时很天真
“中国”在古汉语中意思是首都，从那以后，它变成了整个国家的名字，因为它也意味着“中间的国家”。“华夏”之前汉朝很久之前汉族的名字，阐述为“服章之美”和“礼仪之大”。古代中国人从“中国”和“华夏”中各选第一个字命名自己的民族为”中华”。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
Na Young Kim, Former Undergraduate Microbiology Researcher
Since most of these people covered "China", I'll just toss in an interesting but random fact in there.
In Chinese, China is 中国 (zhong guo). 中 means "middle/center" and 国 means "country". They literally named themselves as the "middle/center country" because they believed themselves to be the center of the map. Pretty cool right?
Na Young Kim, 前微生物学本科研究员
因为大多数人都解释了“China”的由来，所以我就在这里随便说一个有趣的事实。
在汉语中,China是中国(zhong guo)。“中”意思是“中间/中心”，“国”意思是“国家”。字面上的意思是他们称自己为“中间的国家”，因为他们相信自己处于地图的中心。很酷吧?
Tong Zhou
You mean in Chinese, or English? In English, I think it’s because China used to be the original place of china and porcelain, that’s why it is called China. Similarly, the Roman and Ancient Greeks call China Serica, because it produces sericum (silk).
In Chinese, it means central country, because Chinese believe they are in the central of world, which is a common idea for countries in the ancient time. Like, Roma also believes it is the word center.
你是说在中文还是在英文中的意思?在英语中，我认为这是因为中国曾经是瓷器的发源地，这就是为什么它被称为China。同样，罗马人和古希腊人称中国为Serica(丝绒、丝绸)，因为中国生产sericum(丝绸)。
在汉语中，它的意思是中心的国家，因为中国人相信他们在世界的中心，这是古代国家的共同观念。比如，Roma（罗马）也认为它是中心的意思。
@Tong Zhou
Wrong! Plates and ceramics are called China because of the Country, not the other way around! The Chinese call it Zhongguo which means Central Country, which it is not, then again, that's their preference. As Far as I know, the country was unified under the Qin Dinasty, (Qin is pronounced “Chin" hence the name China)
错了!盘子和陶瓷制品之所以被称为china是因为这个国家的名字，而不是相反!中国人称它为“Zhongguo”，意思是“中心的国家”，但它不是中心的国家，这是他们的喜好。据我所知，秦朝统一了这个国家(Qin发音为Chin，因此得名China)。