Qin Shihuang, as the only emperor throughout the ages, took the name "Zhonghua" to mean that the world is huge and he is the only one to dominate, in order to reflect the power of the Ninth Five-Year Plan.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, wars broke out frequently all year round, and all life in the Central Plains was devastated. It was not until Qin's victory that the seven countries were unified into one country. In order to celebrate the reunification, Yingzheng called the Heluo area of ??the Central Plains "China". The Heluo area is the area where the two rivers, the Yellow River and the Luo River, are located, that is, the Xianyang area where Qin Shihuang made his capital.
In ancient times, people lacked knowledge of geography and believed that the sky was round and the ground was square. The surrounding countries were relatively backward and considered barbaric lands. Therefore, they believed that they were the center of the world. So the place where you are is called "middle". Moreover, in the past, we have always paid attention to the golden mean, which is the foundation of governing the country, so the word "中" has been quoted.
In ancient times, people were quite superstitious, so they always believed that there were dragon veins. Xianyang was the capital because of its good feng shui. Qin Shihuang believed that he was a descendant of the dragon clan, and all his people were descendants of the dragon. The word "中" also means that the imperial capital at that time was in the middle of the dragon vein.
In the oracle bone inscriptions, the meaning of the word "hua" is very noble and holy. In the Zhou Dynasty, all the princes who followed the Zhou rites and observed the rites and teachings were called Zhuxia, and the two were collectively called Huaxia, which meant a land of etiquette and corresponded to the foreign Hu people. Later, the word "Hua" came to mean Central Plains, and then the words "Hua" and "Xia" began to be used interchangeably. "Hua" meant "Xia", so "Zhonghua" was also called "Zhongxia".
Some early classics in my country often refer to the vassal states in the Central Plains as Chinese or Xia people, and some vassal states are also called Zhuhua or Zhuxia, so "Hua" and "Xia" are used in the national nature and the The cultural meaning is basically the same, and China and Huaxia also have similar meanings, so it is natural to merge the two into "China".
Extended information
The "Zhong" refers to the Heluo area in the Central Plains, that is, the Henan area (He, Yellow River; Luo, Luoshui, Luoyang). Because it is among the four directions, it is called China to distinguish it from the other four directions (in ancient times, "China" and "Central Plains" were synonymous). Later, with the historical evolution and integration, everything that belongs to the category of Chinese culture belongs to China.
The word "Hua" refers to the origin of the Huaxu family (located to the west of Huashan, today's Huaxu Town, Lantian, Xi'an City). "Liezi Huangdi" records that Hua Xu gave birth to a boy named "Fuxi" and a girl named "Nuwa". Fuxi and Nuwa gave birth to a son, Shaodian. "Guoyu·Jinyu" records: "In the past, Shaodian married a family member, and gave birth to Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan. Therefore, Hua Xu was the ancestor of Yan and Huang.?
The term "Zhonghua" is mentioned in "Lüshu" Explanation: Zhonghua refers to China. The person is taught by the king and belongs to China. The clothes are majestic, the customs are filial, and the body is etiquette. Therefore, it means that all administrative divisions and cultural systems are derived from China. It’s called China
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