Zhina originated in India. China was called "chini" in ancient India, which is said to be a transliteration of "Qin". After China introduced Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures from India, he wanted to translate them into Chinese, so the monk translated chini into "zhina" according to transliteration. Ancient Rome, also an Indo-European language family, called China Sinoa. Later, China in English and Chine in French all came from this etymology.
"zhina", Portuguese, Dutch, German, China in English and Chinese in French all come from Sanskrit ci na-stha na, which has been recognized by academic circles. In ancient Greece, Rome and other countries, in addition to Serice, there are also Sin, Thin, or Sinai, Thin, which are homologous to zhina.
1, before the Meiji Restoration, few Japanese used the word "zhina" to address China. The common titles of China in Japanese books are Han, Han Tu, Tang Tu, Middle Earth and China, or China is called by the name of the corresponding dynasty, such as Sui. After the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese angrily said that China was "China among the four barbarians". In order to cultivate Yamato's sense of superiority, they changed their long-standing name for China to "zhina".