The famous Chinese economic miracle became one of the top news stories of the late 20th century. The event acquired sensational proportions also because the Chinese, the authors and performers of this phenomenon, are the largest nation. It makes up one fifth of the inhabitants of the entire planet.

The rapid economic and demographic growth of the People's Republic of China still surprises the whole world and makes us increasingly interested in this mysterious country. Its unique culture has very deep roots and occupies a very special place even among East Asian countries.

Where did the name “Celestial Empire” come from?

Exclusive right to heaven

Experts believe that the prerequisite for this is the somewhat isolated geographical location countries: on the one hand, China is separated from the whole world by mountain ranges, on the other, by the Yellow, East China and South China Seas. Residents of this territory for a long time didn't feel significant influence from outside. Perhaps only in the form of raids by nomads from the north.

It is not surprising that the ancient Chinese once considered themselves the center, the “navel” of the Earth, the only territory that is under the sky. They imagined the sky in the form of a round disk located exclusively above their place of residence. According to their beliefs, other people, strangers and barbarians, were deprived of this miracle of grace. Therefore, they called their lands the Celestial Country.

The name "Celestial Empire" in Chinese sounds like "TianXia". The word consists of two hieroglyphs - “Tian” (translated as “sky”, “day”, “light”) and “Xia” (translated as “bottom”, “foot”).

The very idea of ​​the cult of heaven was born during the period Bronze Age and belongs ancient people China - Han. The state founded by the Han was called “Shang” and was quite developed.

It revered ancestors and believed that the most worthy of them settled in heaven after death. From there they supervise life on earth and help their descendants. The Zhou tribe, which conquered these lands later, preserved the basic tradition of heaven worship, making only some adjustments.

Confucianism and the "Mandate of Heaven"

The very popular ancient Chinese philosophy of Confucianism, which is now very popular, relied on the same postulate of the chosenness and guiding role of heaven. The ruler was endowed with exclusive rights thanks to the so-called “mandate of heaven.”

The mandate belonged to the imperial family by right of inheritance and was supported by the ideas of virtue and justice. The ruler had to be guided by them in his decisions.

It is noteworthy that, according to this teaching, the ruling dynasty could lose power precisely because of the loss of virtue. For example, literary works that period is strongly emphasized positive traits clans that seized power, portraying them as heroes. Representatives of the overthrown dynasties were portrayed as individuals mired in immorality.

According to this idea of ​​celestial supervision, state building was organized in concentric circles, as on the disk of the sky. The center of the world and the entrance to heaven was located directly above the emperor's palace. Next were the circles of close nobles, then lower officials, then commoners.

The farthest from the center were all the other countries known to the ancient Chinese, the lands of strangers and savages. They were considered vassals of the ruler of the Celestial Empire.

Temple of Heaven in Beijing

The veneration of the sky as the highest abstract governing force carried over into the new era. Even the Temple of Heaven was built by the Ming Dynasty in the early 15th century. It is located on the territory of modern Beijing. The temple has a round shape, the tiles on its roof are covered with blue glaze, matching the color of the sky.

Architectural forms and their arrangement are full of symbolism: the number of columns, pillars and tiers correspond to the seasons, months, and the number of hours in a day. At the initiative of UNESCO, this temple is included in the list of objects world heritage humanity.

Why is China more often called China in the modern world?

Today almost all Western world To refer to this country, it uses the name China. European languages this toponym was inherited from Latin.

There are several versions of its origin:

1. China was called Cina (in English version- China, in Greek - Sinai (Sinae)) after the name of the ruling Qin dynasty (221-206 BC). The period of her dominance saw the flourishing of China's trade with ancient states. Presumably, Chinese merchants, since the times of the Great Silk Road, called themselves “Qin people.” In the records of that time they were recorded as representatives of Cina.

1. According to another theory, the name comes from the one that existed in this territory in 481-221 BC. e. kingdom of Jing.
2. There is also an opinion that in the 16th century AD this name was brought by the Russian traveler Afanasy Nikitin, who discovered in China highest quality porcelain. Porcelain also had the name China.

What other names does China have?

China is called the Celestial Country by poets and writers. Europeans and Americans call China, Slavic peoples- China. How many other names does this state have and what do the Chinese call themselves?

Russian name“China” comes from the name of the nomadic tribes “Khitan”. They inhabited the northern part of China. It was these that the conquerors of Siberia and the Far East were the first to encounter in the 17th and 18th centuries.

It is very rare and this is not official name like Huaxia. It is also depicted in two hieroglyphs. Hua means “lush”, “flourishing”, and “Xia” in this context is deciphered as the name of the ancient Chinese ruling dynasty, Xia.

By analogy with the “Celestial Empire,” the name “Zhong Guo” was born. It means "Midland". All the territories that did not have the highest patronage of heaven were located around Tian Xia. Accordingly, the favor of heaven concerned only the central, middle lands.

The modern official name of the state combines several historical options and sounds like this: the People's Republic of China (PRC), on English- People's Republic of China (PRC). The name “China” is used in everyday life, read as “zhong guo”, which means “middle state”.

Video: origin of Chinese names

When we have time to think, we begin to look for answers to seemingly simple questions. For example, why was China called “China” and not something else? A fifth of our entire planet lives in this densely populated state. As to why this country is named this way, there are several very interesting theories, each of which may well turn out to be true.

Historical theory

Previously, modern China was divided into two parts: northern and southern. In its northern part there was a state founded by the Kitami tribes, and it was called “Liao”. Southern part at that time belonged to the Mongols. Where the indigenous Liao tribes came from is not known for certain to this day. If you believe some sources, then they also owe their origin to the Mongols. But there is other information that they originated from the Tungus-Manchu tribes. Subsequently, residents of nearby states began to call it that northern territories- "China." In principle, this theory could be the answer to the question of why China was called "China". But how did this name come to us in Slavic speech? After all, the name of this country sounded completely differently in different dialects: Catai, Hetai, Khitan and China.

Etymological theory
In English, the name "China" appeared in the twelfth century and it was written like this: "Cathay" (now it is written differently - "China"). There is an interesting argument that China began to be called “China” after the Qin dynasty arose. And this word entered the Russian dictionary in the fifteenth century in the form it has now.

But it is worth recalling that only a small part of its territory was called “China,” and the name came to us after the Qin dynasty collapsed. In fact, not even all Chinese know why China was called "China". This means that we can confidently say that there is no specific meaning in this word; this sometimes occurs in the history of titles and names.

Why is China called "The Celestial Empire"
The country with the largest population in the world actually goes by several names. The Chinese themselves call their country “The Celestial Empire,” while citizens of other countries call it “China” or “China.” If we consider the word “Celestial Empire” itself, then in Chinese it consists of two hieroglyphs - “Tian” and “Xia”. The first in translation means “day”, “sky”, and the second is translated as “foot”, “bottom”. So something similar to “Celestial Empire” comes out. The Chinese have long worshiped the sky and firmly believe that only their country is protected by it. And other people do not have heaven.

China also has another name - “Zhong Guo” - “the path of the earth.” This philosophy is quite understandable, because no one really invaded China or sought to conquer it. Therefore, it is understandable why the Chinese consider their country to be the middle of the world. And so, while we are wondering why China was called “China,” the inhabitants of this country are rapidly developing and occupying niches in international trade markets. So maybe they are actually the main inhabitants of the Earth, despite the fact that civilization has reached them, infecting them with opium and the communist system?

The Celestial Empire - this is what poets call China, the Middle Kingdom - this is what China was called in ancient times, the country of socialism under construction - this country was called in the 70s of the last century, the country great prospects and hardworking people – that’s what they call China now!

First of all, this is due to the ancient religion, in which Heaven was considered the highest deity. Beijing has ancient temple Heaven, there the emperor consulted Heaven only in extremely difficult state situations. It was a gorgeous ceremony - it lasted two weeks, with the participation of many priests, officials and troops, more than 100 thousand people, not counting horses and war elephants.
Well, the entire huge country, led by Heaven, was naturally called the Celestial Empire.
The greatest power in Asia for its long history changed many names. The Chinese usually called their cultural universe Tianxia - the Celestial Empire, sometimes Syhai - “(countries between) the four seas.” The state was named after the reigning dynasty, whose name was chosen according to some ancient kingdom, chosen as a model (Tang - in honor of the inheritance of the mythical wise ruler Yao, Song - in honor of one of the most cultural kingdoms), or with special meaning: Yuan - Main, Min - Light, Qing - Pure. If we were talking about China as a country, in contrast to all other countries and regardless of who reigns, then they said: Zhongguo - Middle Country, Zhonghua - Middle Blooming, Huaxia - Blooming Xia (one of the oldest dynasties). The Chinese call themselves Zhongguoren - people of the Middle State, or Hanren - Han people, after the most famous dynasty of antiquity.
Celestial Empire (Chinese 天下, Pall. Tianxia) - Chinese term, which was used to designate the territory over which the power of the Chinese emperor extended.

Since the time of Dong Zhongshu, the emperor was considered in Confucian ideology as the representative of heaven on Earth. According to the Confucian worldview, the territory under his control was the entire celestial world. The main sanctuary of the imperial capital was called the Temple of Heaven.

Similar ideas about the local monarch as the ruler of "all that is under heaven" existed in Japan, as well as during some periods of history in Korea and Vietnam, since the proximity of strong Chinese states made it possible to control these countries sporadically, asserting at least the symbolic supremacy of the Chinese emperors .

In Russia this country is called China, in the west China, the Chinese call it Zhongguo and Tianxia, ​​the name Cathay is also known

What do the Chinese call their country?

中国

The Chinese have called their country Zhongguo - 中国 - Zhōngguó - Middle State - since ancient times. This name first appeared in Western Zhou (1045 BC - 770 BC) in Central Plain China, where a settlement began to form 4,000 years ago. More precisely, this means the center of the territory over which the emperor’s power extended - the Central Country.

At first, this was the name for the territory around the capital, then this was the name for the principalities of Western Zhou as opposed to other Chinese principalities, that is, 中国 meant a certain people, a nation. Then 中国 acquired more political meaning- already captured northern lands The nomadic tribes of China called themselves Zhongguo, although they were not actually Chinese.

Now this name is widely used both in the name of the state and in the nationality “Chinese”.

天下

Initially, this name - Tianxia - 天下 - tiānxià - Celestial Empire - referred to the Chinese people - the Han - as opposed to the rest of the world. This was during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). Subsequently it spread to the East Asian region.

Literally means "普天之下" - pǔtiānzhīxià - under the sky, the whole world, without implying geographical restrictions.

The diagram shows the Chinese order of things, which does not change with a change of power. In the center are the Chinese people themselves, led by the emperor, living in accordance with etiquette and law. Blue circle- these are foreign subjects - vassals or foreign monarchs who bring tribute to the emperor.

China

The word "China" comes from the Sanskrit word Cīna (चीन), which was translated into Persian as Chīn (چین), and most likely comes from the name of the Chinese Qin dynasty (221-206 BC), but more early period- when Qin was one of the westernmost principalities during the Zhou dynasty. Apparently this name was brought by Chinese merchants traveling along the Silk Road. The word Cīna is found in ancient Hindu scriptures, incl. in Mahabharata (5 BC).

The Romans wrote this word as Cina, which then became China.

China and Cathay

Our version of the name China actually comes from the name of a non-Chinese people. So then)

The Khitans or Chinese are a group of nomadic Manchu tribes who conquered Northern China in 907, forming their Liao dynasty there. The following conquerors also began to call these lands that way. This is where the name Cathay came from - the Flowering Country - this is how China was called by the peoples and tribes who lived between China and the Caspian Sea. It was from these peoples that Europeans adopted the name Cathay, from which the name China apparently came. So our “China” is not quite “Chinese”)). Until now, in the West you can find “Catay” as a poetic name for China.

Why "sinology"?

Why is the science of China and everything Chinese called sinology? Where did this word come from?

"Sinae" is a name for Southern China used by the Greeks and Romans along with "Cina" ("China"). Then the prefix sin- began to be used in relation to everything Chinese.

Piebald Horde. History of "ancient" China. Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

9.9. About the name "China". Why is modern China called China in Russian?

Probably, the name CHINA is closely related to the word SCYTHIA or SKITIA ( F-T transition due to the double reading of fita). No wonder it still exists in Moscow ancient name CHINA-TOWN. This is what our ancestors called the second belt of military fortifications around the Moscow Kremlin. Kitai-Gorod existed in Moscow until the 20th century. Its powerful walls were dismantled only at the beginning of this century, after 1917.

N.A. Morozov rightly noted that the name CHINA ITSELF was preserved ONLY IN RUSSIA, in Moscow. Of course, today we also call modern China “China,” but NOBODY CALLS it that except us. And the Chinese themselves DO NOT call themselves that. And in Russian, East Asian China began to be called “China” only after the 17th century. In the “Dictionary of the Russian Language of the 11th–17th centuries” the word CHINA as the name of the state is NOT present at all. Until the 18th century, the state of China in Rus' was called not “China”, but “THE KINGDOM OF BOGDOY”. Chinese Emperor were called BOGDIKHAN, and the Chinese were called “MANZY”.

The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron - a source of the 19th century - reports:

"The Great Empire of the Eastern and central Asia known among its inhabitants under names that HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON WITH EUROPEAN (CHINA, China, Chine) names. In official acts, it is usually named according to the nickname of the reigning dynasty (with the addition of the word dai - great; for example, under the current dynasty - Dai-ching-go...); then a whole series of literary and poetic names are used: Tian-xia (Celestial Empire), Si-hai ("4 seas" an echo of the ANCIENT CONCEPT that China is surrounded on ALL SIDES (! - Author) seas), Zhong-hua-guo (Middle Flowering State), Zhong-yuan (Middle Plain), etc. In conversation, the name Zhong-guo (Middle State) is usually used. The inhabitants of China call themselves ZHUN-GUO-ZHEN (people of the Middle State) or HAN-ZHEN (Han people...), and the inhabitants southern China, unlike the northern ones, are also called MAN-TZU... The Russian name of China COMES FROM THE NAME OF THE KHITAN DYNASTY”, article “China”.

It is extremely interesting that according to the ideas of the ancient Chinese, China was surrounded by seas FROM ALL SIDES. And, as we now understand, this is correct. Because " ancient china"- this is in fact the Great Russian Medieval Empire, the chronicles of which were brought to China by the Manjurs and subsequently formed the basis of the supposedly purely local ancient Chinese history. And the Great Empire was truly surrounded by seas on ALL SIDES. Because it occupied ALL EURASIA. But it cannot be said about modern China that it is surrounded by seas FROM ALL SIDES. This is simply not true.

As for another Chinese name for China - “MIDDLE EMPIRE” - it also suits modern China very poorly. Take a look at the map. What is modern China in the middle of? It is located not in the middle, but AT THE VERY EDGE of the Eurasian continent, in its southeastern corner. On the other hand, from medieval EUROPEAN geography we know that the CITY OF JERUSALEM used to be placed IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WORLD. The first maps were drawn like this - a circle with Jerusalem in the center. See our research on vintage geographical maps in the previous book of this series “Caliph Ivan”, chapter 5. But Jerusalem, also known as Troy, as we know, was located on the Bosphorus and was the capital of the ancient Roman kingdom, which collapsed in 1204, see our books “Forgotten Jerusalem” and “Beginning Horde Rus'". Therefore, most likely, the “originally Chinese” name “Middle Empire” is indeed a VERY OLD name. But not local Chinese, but brought to China on the pages of European chronicles. The Chinese removed it from there, took it for themselves and carefully preserved it.

In old European and Chinese documents, the KARA-CHINESE state pops up from time to time, it is also the state of Prester John. According to our reconstruction, this is Ancient Rus', which in the 14th century AD. e. expanded sharply due to victorious wars of conquest and turned into the Great = “Mongol” Empire. Moreover, it was called “Mongolia” by a foreigner, from the Greek “megalion”, great. The Russians themselves called their state the Russian kingdom or simply GREAT RUSSIA. A trace of this name remains to this day in the words Velikorossiya and Great Russians.

The Great Russian Medieval Empire had many names. Both internal and external. On different languages she was called by different names. Among them was apparently the name SCYTHIA or “CHINA”. These are just two different pronunciations of the same word. Maybe it was the name of only one of the parts Great Empire.

That is why Moscow still retains the old name KITAI-Gorod.

In general, CHINA IS AN OLD RUSSIAN WORD. Today it is no longer used, but until the 17th century it was common in our language.

According to the Dictionary of the Russian Language of the 11th–17th centuries, the word KITA means something braided, tied in a bun, in a braid, p. 141. In particular, KITA meant a braid, a tourniquet, a SULTAN OF FEATHERS. A 17th-century author writes: “The caps [the Janissaries] had WHALES,” p. 141. THUS, KITA MEANED A PART OF WARRIOR EQUIPMENT. The word KITA - with the same meaning - exists in other Slavic languages, for example, in Polish as KITA, p. 141.

Note that the word KITA subsequently meant part of military uniform, for example, Russian. HUSSARS wore WHALES - high plumes on their caps. The name “sultan”, which is common today, is a later name for the whale, which back in the 17th century was called in the old way - WHALES. What can be seen, for example, from the following words of a source of the second half of the 17th century: “The horse is riding, the saddle on it is HUSAR... the chaprak is sewn with gold, WHILE, the same feather,” p. 141. Here, when describing military equipment, “a whale from the same feather” is mentioned, in particular.

Even on the modern monument to Bogdan Khmelnitsky in Kyiv you can see KITU - a plume of feathers on a TURBAN. The tall sultan-KITU on a turban was worn by Turkish warriors, for example, the famous Janissaries.

From the book Empire - I [with illustrations] author

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On our planet we can name several countries that are continuations of the most ancient civilizations about which anything is known to modern man- this is Egypt, India, China. They are much older than the civilizations of the Mediterranean. In its almost 4,000-year history, the most large country East Asia has changed its name more than once. So why was China called China? We must immediately make a reservation that only Russians call it that way. Exoethnonyms in Russian are the terms “Chinese” and “Germans”. What is it? These are the names and definitions that do not coincide with the self-name of the people themselves. For the rest of the world, China is China, Hina or China.

Two most popular self-names

The Chinese do not call themselves Chinese either. But what do they call themselves, and what do the Chinese call China? The self-name of the Chinese is Han (95% of the population). This is the name of the largest nation that inhabited this country, which the inhabitants themselves at a certain period called Zhongguo or “Middle Empire”. These two self-names of the country and people are the most famous in the world. Han is the titular nation, and takes its name from the Han dynasty, during whose reign the ancient Chinese civilization flourished. The Han Dynasty, which took its name from the Hanshou River, which flows in central China, was replaced by the Qin Dynasty, whose rulers managed to unite by force the disparate kingdoms constantly at war with each other. And all this: both unification and economic prosperity - contributed to the growth of self-awareness of the Chinese and the emergence of a sense of themselves as a single nation.

Purely Russian name

There are several options why China was called China. But the most plausible and accepted by the majority as the main option is the one associated with the Khitan nomads. These “cruel knights of the steppes” conquered the country bordering them to the south in the 10th century. But not its entire territory, but only the northern part, where the dominance of the Liao state was established.

Neighbors called this either a Mongolian or a Tungus-Manchu tribe the Kitai, or the Karakitai, or the Khitans. In different languages, their state was pronounced differently: China, Khitai, Katai, Khitan. Somehow these names found their way into the Russian language. This is the most intelligible explanation why China was called China. And in the Russian language this name appeared only after the 17th century, and before that we called this country the Bogdoy kingdom.

All kinds of options

The word “China” itself was quite common in Russian. For example, the term “kita” was widely used, having a number of meanings: both a braided braid and part of a uniform. When explaining why China was called China, analogies are sometimes drawn with Scythia. In a word, there are many interpretations and assumptions, but the most acceptable, as noted above, is associated with the militant tribe of northern nomads, the Khitan. The name of this country, accepted throughout the world, which sounds in English as China, also has nothing to do with the self-name of China, but presumably comes from the term “Hin”.

Confucianism

There are other names for this country that raise questions. For example, why is China called the Celestial Empire? This too whole story, dating back to ancient times, to Confucianism. What is it?

This is an ethical, philosophical and socio-political teaching developed in the 6th century BC by Confucius (551-479 BC), which became the official religion of China and formed the basis for the structure of the state and society. Unchanged, it played a major role for 2,000 years.

Heaven's Henchman

To understand why China is called the Celestial Empire, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the basic tenets of Confucianism. The main one is: “The most important person on earth is the Chinese emperor.”

He is the ruler of the world, the messenger of heaven, and his court, of course, is the center of the universe. The Temple of Heaven is the central sanctuary of the city. In it, in difficult or important moments for the country, the emperor directly communicated with Heaven, so that it would suggest the right way out of the situation. According to some documents that have survived to this day, it was a magnificent, crowded spectacle that lasted up to two weeks.

Guarded and governed by Heaven itself

“The Celestial Empire” is the Chinese’s idea of ​​their place, of course, the first and most important place under all heaven. It was not difficult to think so in those days, because the inhabitants of this country thought about the existence huge world they learned behind the Chinese Wall only in connection with the visit of the legendary Marco Polo to their country in 1266. Just as he opened China to Europeans, so the Chinese learned that there were civilizations in the world no less ancient than them: the Mediterranean, India, Egypt. And even then, it was not the broad masses who found out about this, but selected people at the court of the mandarin.

And before his arrival, the medieval Chinese believed that their country was between heaven and earth, and the firmament covered only that part of it where the emperor, the messenger of Heaven, ruled - that’s why China is called the “Celestial Country” or Tianxia. What other name can there be for a country that is directly ruled by Heaven? Celestial Empire.

Lush names

But this name is not the last. The Chinese saw themselves as a quiet, God-fearing people living in a territory surrounded on one side by mountains, on the other by the sea, and on the third they were attacked by warlike and bloodthirsty nomads. And they are in the middle. What is the name of such a country? Naturally, the “Middle State”. Throughout the East they love florid speech, meaningful terms and names. Therefore, for some time China was called “The Country Building Socialism”, or “The Country of Great Prospects”, or “The Country of Hardworking People” - and all these unofficial, but understandable to everyone, names corresponded to the truth. But of course, one cannot ignore the official name that the country received after the 1949 revolution. “Zhonghua Zhenmin Gongheguo” or (literal translation) “The Middle Prosperous Country of General Harmony of the People.” In this title of Chinese people's republic All the great names of China of the past were taken into account.

Countless names

Of course, this is the largest and most important country East Asia, which radically changed the destinies of the whole world, giving it printing, paper, gunpowder, a compass and much more, which could take more than one page to list and describe, has changed its name more than once during its long history, and other countries have called it differently .

The following examples can be given. Song and Tang - this was the name of the country in honor of wise rulers or high culture, of which the state was proud. It was also called Qing. Which means “pure”, Ming is light, Yuan is main. Sometimes, regardless of who ruled the country, it was called besides the Middle Country (Zhongguo), the Middle Flowering Country (Zhonghua), or the Blooming Xia (Xia - oldest dynasty China). The ancient self-name of the Chinese, Huaxia, also came from it. In this word, the particle “xia” is already familiar to us, and “hua” is translated as “blooming”, “lush”, and simply “magnificent”. As we see, from time immemorial the inhabitants of the country treated themselves with due and justifiable reverence.

A country rediscovered by Europeans

This unique country, with its worldview, polished over centuries, with its wisdom, hard work and obedience, sometimes seems like another planet. What is another name for China? For centuries this amazing country often bore, as noted above, the names of the ruling dynasties. In addition, she was called Seres. This is for the dense ones medieval Europe Marco Polo discovered China, and the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean knew about this country as the final destination of the Silk Road. The term “Great Silk Road” was introduced only in 1877 by the German geographer Richthofen. Called differently, it was known in ancient times, then forgotten and restored in the Middle Ages. The caravan route connected the Mediterranean with East Asia from the 2nd century BC. This was facilitated by the aggressive campaigns of Alexander the Great. The year the first caravan was sent to Fergana is known - 121 BC. They brought mostly silk from China, but bronze mirrors were also in great demand. Yes, the caravans brought very little from China.

Other names

What was another name for China? In ancient times, when the Chinese believed that they were the main and almost the only ones on earth, except for a handful of barbarians created by Heaven specifically to irritate them, and the earth, as they rightly believed, was surrounded by water, they called their country Sihai, which means “surrounded by four seas,” that is, on four sides. Residents of central and northern Europe They call the country Kina or Hina. Due to such a variety of names for the country, what are the people of China called?

The Chinese also called themselves Zhongguozhen - from the name Zhongguo, that is, “inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom.” They also called themselves by the name of the most famous and great dynasty of China - Han - Han or Hanzhen. Usually the name of the inhabitants is derived from the name of their country. So, in Russia for a very long time the inhabitants of China have been called Chinese. Now this mysterious country, like the entire East, is becoming the most significant on the planet. Therefore, perhaps, very soon, as they say they call themselves, that’s how they will be called all over the world.