Wiktionary

中華

See also: 中华

Chinese

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middle; center flowery; flourishing; magnificent
trad. (中華) 中 華
simp. (中华) 中 华
anagram 華中／华中
 
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Etymology

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So named because the first ancient Chinese settlements were around the Yellow River, which was considered to be the center, and because the culture was considered to be magnificent and flourishing.

First attested in Huan Wen's memorial recommending Qiao Xiu (dated [347 CE]), quoted in Sun Sheng's lost Annals of Jin (晉陽秋) [4th century] and later quoted in Pei Songzhi's Annotations [early 5th century] to Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms [late 3rd century] (translation by Farmer, 2017[1]).

於時皇極遘道消之會，群黎蹈顛沛之艱，中華有顧瞻之哀，幽谷無遷喬之望。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
于时皇极遘道消之会，群黎蹈颠沛之艰，中华有顾瞻之哀，幽谷无迁乔之望。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
From: Pei Songzhi, Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms, circa 5th century CE
Yú shí huángjí gòu dàoxiāo zhī huì, qúnlí dǎo diānpèi zhī jiān, zhōnghuá yǒu gùzhān zhī āi, yōugǔ wú qiānqiáo zhī wàng. [Pinyin]
At this time, the imperial court has encountered a time of decline in the Way, the peasants have been trampled down by oppressive hardships, Zhonghua has the anguish of looking backward [toward the former capital at Luoyang], and the dark valley has no hope of moving upward.

Pei himself uses 中華 when annotating Chen's "Biography of Zhuge Liang"

若使游步中華，騁其龍光，豈夫多士所能沈翳哉！ [Literary Chinese, trad.]
若使游步中华，骋其龙光，岂夫多士所能沈翳哉！ [Literary Chinese, simp.]
From: Pei Songzhi, Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms, circa 5th century CE
Ruò shǐ yóubù Zhōnghuá, chěng qí lóngguāng, qǐ fú duōshì suǒ néng chényì zāi! [Pinyin]
If [Zhuge Liang] [were] allowed to roam Zhonghua and give free rein to his dragon's brilliance, how could [its] literati's abilities drown and obscure him?

Pronunciation

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Rime
Character 中 華
Reading # 1/2 1/3
Initial (聲) 知 (9) 匣 (33)
Final (韻) 東 (2) 麻 (99)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Closed
Division (等) III II
Fanqie 陟弓切 戸花切
Baxter trjuwng hwae
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ʈɨuŋ/ /ɦˠua/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ʈiuŋ/ /ɦʷᵚa/
Shao
Rongfen 		/ȶiuŋ/ /ɣua/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ʈuwŋ/ /ɦwaɨ/
Li
Rong 		/ȶiuŋ/ /ɣua/
Wang
Li 		/ȶĭuŋ/ /ɣwa/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/ȶi̯uŋ/ /ɣwa/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		zhōng huá
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		zung1 waa4
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 中 華
Reading # 1/2 2/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		zhōng huá
Middle
Chinese 		‹ trjuwng › ‹ hwæ ›
Old
Chinese 		/*truŋ/ /*N-qʷʰˁra/
English center flower (v.); flowery (adj.)

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 中 華
Reading # 1/2 2/3
No. 17407 5312
Phonetic
component 		中 華
Rime
group 		終 魚
Rime
subdivision 		0 0
Corresponding
MC rime 		中 華
Old
Chinese 		/*tuŋ/ /*ɡʷraː/
Notes 說文於聲

Proper noun

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中華

  1. (formal, poetic, exalted) China (the civilization of China; nowadays, the nation of the Chinese people)
    振興中華／振兴中华  ―  zhènxīng Zhōnghuá  ―  to revitalize China
    中華名小吃／中华名小吃  ―  Zhōnghuá míngxiǎochī  ―  famous Chinese snack
    中華文化／中华文化  ―  Zhōnghuá wénhuà  ―  Chinese culture
    中華文明／中华文明  ―  Zhōnghuá wénmíng  ―  Chinese civilization
    中華世紀壇／中华世纪坛  ―  Zhōnghuá shìjì tán  ―  China Millennium Monument
  2. (～里) An urban village in Songshan district, Taipei, Taiwan
  3. Short for 中華臺北／中华台北 (Zhōnghuá Táiběi, “Chinese Taipei”).
    中華隊／中华队  ―  Zhōnghuá duì  ―  Team Chinese Tapei

Usage notes

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  • In traditional East Asian thought, 華／华 (Huá) or 中華／中华 (Zhōnghuá), often translated as "Chinese", has a philosophical connotation of civilizedness and decorous behavior that transcends a strictly ethnic definition. This is in opposition to "foreigners" or "barbarians", 夷 (yí) or 夷狄 (yídí), whose cultures are uncivilized and lacking in proper morality. Therefore, in certain contexts, other nations of the East Asian cultural sphere could refer to themselves as 中華／中华 (Zhōnghuá) in the sense that they were civilized people following the classical traditions first established in Ancient China, without meaning that they saw themselves as Chinese in an ethnic sense.
  • Although also used in the formal names of both the Republic and People's Republic of China, the term carries a somewhat broader sense than 中國／中国 (Zhōngguó, “state of China”) and connotes something like the "nation of the Chinese people" or "land of the Chinese culture".

Synonyms

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  • (China):

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (中華):

Others:

References

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  1. ^ Farmer, J. Michael (2017) "Sanguo Zhi Fascicle 42: The Biography of Qiao Zhou", Early Medieval China, 23, 22-41, p. 39
  2. ^ Huan Wen "Memorial", translated by Choo J. C. Jessey in "Return To The North? The Debate On Moving The Capital Back To Luoyang" in Schwartz, Campany, Lu & Choo (eds.) (2014) Early Medieval China: A Sourcebook. Columbia University Press. pp. 17-31

Japanese

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Kanji in this term
中 華
ちゅう
Grade: 1 		か
Grade: S
on'yomi

Pronunciation

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Noun

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中(ちゅう)華(か) • (chūka) 

  1. (Internet slang) product that is made by Chinese company

Adjective

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中(ちゅう)華(か) • (chūka) 

  1. (Internet slang) made by Chinese company

Proper noun

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中(ちゅう)華(か) • (Chūka) 

  1. (usually in compounds) China, Chinese (adjective)
  2. Short for 中華料理 (chūka ryōri, “Chinese cuisine”); Chinese
    今晩(こんばん)中華(ちゅうか)するか
    konban chūka suru ka
    Are we having Chinese food tonight?

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

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Hanja in this term
中華

Proper noun

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中華 • (junghwa) (hangeul 중화)

  1. hanja form? of 중화 (“China”)

Vietnamese

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chữ Hán Nôm in this term
中華

Proper noun

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中華

  1. chữ Hán form of Trung Hoa (“China”).
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