Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1900-10-26
OUR PLANETS CENTER:
Their Country-Never CaA
1t China.

The many various names gwen y
the Chinese to their country, the M
ton, and individuals are extremely
curious and interesting, says Lon
don paper. The western custom OF
giving one or two names only shows,
to the celestial way of thinking,
grievous lack of imagination. The
Chinaman has long list of words
to denote his country. and goes so
far as to make a new one for every
new dynasty. The word China is
never used by them. Its origin is
not quite certain, but it may be as
sumed that it dates from the etime
(about $50 B: CO. when the family
of Tsin rose into power. Their prov
ince was the one most frequently
visited by strangers, and, since it was
called by the name of the reighfng
family, it is plausible supposition
that the word Tsin, or Chin, came to
be used by neighbors to denote the
whole empire. The Chinese them
selves have many names for their
country. 'T'in-Chow." which is
translated into 1.-THE Celestial En-
pre-" is a poetic and uncommon title.
''Hen-Hia" is an old term, and means
Beneath the sky. e.. the whole
world. A similar name is s.Sz Hail
j. e., "All Within the Four Seas"
But by far the most common des-
ignation is Chung Kwoh," 1.-THE Mid
die Kingdom This name dates, in
all probability, from 100 B. C. or
earlier. The secret of its popularity
is not far to seek. Originally the term
| was used to denote the province of
Honan, which is well in the center
of China. Then, as the family reign
ing in that province increased i'm
power, they gave the old name to the
whole country. 1t became popular be-
cause, even more than the ancient
Greeks and Romans. the Chinese de-
spise the outside world. The Mid
die Kingdom meant the center of the
earth, and it may be added in proof
of this feeling that even now maps
| may be found in China which make the
celestial empire occupy almost the
whole of the globe, with little dots
for England, Germany and America.
"Cathay" is a Persian name for China,
and is comparatively modern. 1t is
derived from Kitah, or Kitan, who
rlued the north of the empire in the
tenth century A. d. It is interest.
ing to note that the Russians still
call China Khitai.
The term Chung Kwoh JIM" mean
ing men of the Middle Kingdom"
| is used frequently to denote the Chi
nese themselves. It was customary,
however, to call the people after the
| name of the reigning dynasty. The
| title "Han-Jin'' and "Hantse" Omen
| of Ham, or 'Sons of Ham, is another
common name. 1t has latterly been
adopted by a famous-or, rather, in
famous secret society, the object Of
which is to restore the ancient dynas-
| ty. The latter of these two terms
| carries with it the idea of courage,
| and is proportionately esteemed.
| ''Tang-Jin," or ''Sons of Tang" one
| of the most celebrated of the imperial
| houses of China. is also common.
The present Using dynasty has
never been able to impose its name
on the people, sign of the enduring
hatred of the nation for their Tartar
conquerors. ''Ta Using Kdoh." or
Great, Pure Kingdom is used Of
| ficially to designate the country, but
is never hyphenated with the suffix
"jin" to denote the people. The Chi
nese also call themselves ''the Black
Haired Race" and the more educated
insist on the term Men of the Middle
Flowery Kingdom" the word flewery
denoting polish in speech and smano
ner.