Why is the earth called the earth? There is also a history in this.
There was no name for the earth in ancient China
In fact, ancient China never really realized that the earth was round, so there was no name similar to the earth. There are only some names that vaguely represent the world, such as Sihai and Tianxia.
Of course, the ancient Chinese did not have any idea that the earth was round. For example, during the Warring States Period, the "Huntian Theory" appeared in China. This theory has a bit of "the earth is round" concept. Zhang Heng, a scientist in the Eastern Han Dynasty who invented the seismograph, once said:
The sky wraps the earth, just like a shell wraps yellow.
(Illustration of the ancient Chinese "Huntian Theory")
It is likened to an eggshell wrapping an egg yolk. This is actually very similar to the atmosphere wrapping the earth as we know it in modern times. Similar, in fact it can be considered that he is implying that the earth is round. However, this theory was not mainstream in ancient China, and the mainstream understanding was still "the sky is round and the earth is round".
("The sky is round and the earth is round" is the mainstream understanding of the world in ancient China)
The origin of the word "earth"
Then the word earth in Chinese Where did it come from? Tracing its origins, it still comes from the vocabulary about the earth in Western languages. For example, "earth" in English. But in fact, although the word earth in Chinese is derived from translation, it still has a different meaning from the same word in Western languages. In English, the word "earth" actually means earth. Although it is also used to refer to the earth, it does not have the meaning of a sphere or a sphere. It is just a convention. Everyone knows that they step on what everyone in the world lives in. The object is called earth.
So many years ago, there were media reports that an American astronaut had a dialogue between heaven and earth with his family in space. He once said: "I saw that the earth is round." Translating this sentence into Chinese will make people feel very awkward. Why do you think it is round when it is already called the earth? In fact, the correct translation of this sentence is: I saw that the earth is round.
(The earth is really round)
Because the word earth in English does not have the concept of a ball, but only means "earth", so the astronaut only spoke when talking to his family He especially emphasized that he had indeed seen that the earth was round.
So strictly speaking, although the word earth is derived from translation, its meaning transcends the corresponding word in Western languages. This is mainly because the word "Earth" appeared in Chinese very late, less than a hundred years ago, and was first translated by some scientific and technological workers who were trying to popularize "the Earth is round" in China. The concept of "" was deliberately added to the concept of "ball" in the translation, and the "earth" was translated into the earth.