Post by galvatron prime on Aug 12, 2022 13:05:47 GMT
Many European countries still call China "Khitan". What is going on?
How do foreigners call China? This is a very interesting knowledge. Generally speaking, Western countries call China "China". This term was first introduced into the Western world from India. Some people say that it refers to "Qin", but the actual situation is difficult to verify. Ancient Greece and Rome called China "Sinae", which means "Silk Country"; Turkic-speaking countries called China "Chin", which has the same origin as "China". However, Eastern European countries such as Russia call China "Cathay", which means Khitan. Why do Russians call China "Khitan"?
1. The Concept of Chinese Identity in the Song Dynasty
The Khitan nationality was once a very strong nomadic nation in Chinese history. It originated in the Xiliao River Basin and belongs to the Donghu ethnic group. It was derived from the Xianbei tribe and is a relative of Mongolia. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan nationality established the Liao Kingdom based on the Liaohe River Basin and unified the Northeast and Mobei. So what is the relationship between the Khitan and China?
Judging from historical data, the Khitan is undoubtedly one of the ethnic groups in China. The first point is that the Khitan people originated in the West Liao River Basin, which now belongs to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, which is undoubtedly Chinese land; the second point is that the Khitan people call themselves the Liao Kingdom as the "Northern Dynasty" and the Northern Song Dynasty as the "Southern Dynasty". It is believed that everyone belongs to China. The third point is that in the history books compiled by the Khitan people, they think they are descendants of Yan and Huang. From this information, it can be seen that the Khitan people also think they belong to China.
. The spread of the concept of "China" in Xiliao
In 1125, the Liao State was destroyed by the Jin State. After that, some Khitan tribes moved west to the Western Regions under the leadership of Yelv Dashi and established the powerful Xiliao Empire. Xiliao continued to adopt the bureaucratic system of the Central Plains, establish reigns, and use Chinese characters as the official written language. The Western Liao Empire controlled the Uighurs of Xizhou in the Western Regions, controlled the Karahan Dynasty, and defeated the mighty Seljuk Empire army. From then on, the Central Asia region became famous. As Xiliao replaced the Karahan dynasty in the past and became more prosperous, the Arabs began to call Xiliao "Hala Khitan". The "Hala" here is also "Kala", which was black in ancient times. the meaning of.
The ancient nomads often distinguished ethnic groups by the color of their eyes. For example, the Turks had the characteristics of the Europa race, so they called themselves "Blue Turks", but the East Asian race Tie Le was called "Black Turks". The Karahan dynasty was established by the Uighurs in the Western Regions and inherited the term "black". Later, the Western Liao Dynasty was also added with a "black".
Therefore, in that era, the Middle East region generally began to call "China" as "Khitan", such as gunpowder as "Khitan flower", and tubular firearms as "Khitan musket", "Khitan rocket" and so on.
Yelu Dashi's deeds quickly spread to Europe. At that time, Europe was undergoing the "Crusade", and they continued to launch the so-called "jihad" against the Islamic world. When they heard that Islam had suffered a major failure in the East, Europeans' confidence greatly increased. They said: There is a mysterious priest King John in the Eastern world who is the defender of Christianity. Since then, peoples in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and other places have called China "Khitay".
The word "China" in "Marco Polo's Travels" that appeared in the Yuan Dynasty is "Cathay". In fact, the Mongolian people also call China the "Khitan", that is, the "Pagoda of Qi". Spanish Minister Claver went to Samarkand to meet Timur Khan in 1404. He recorded Timur's interview with the Ming Dynasty envoy in "The Envoy of Claviejo East". At that time, the Timurian Empire used the term "Khitan" to refer to China. As the Mongols conquered the Eastern European plains, they also spread the concept of "Khitan" to Eastern Europe. The Russians call the Mongols "Tatar", and China in the south of Tatar is called "Khitan". In fact, the concepts of Tatar (Mongolia), Khitan (China), and Manzi (Southern Song Dynasty) appeared as early as "Marco Polo's Travels".
Westerners' further understanding of "Khitan"
"Marco Polo's Travels" spread rapidly in the West, causing the "Golden Fever in the East". However, the place names in "Marco Polo's Travels" have a huge conflict with the eastern concept of the early understanding of the West. Marco Polo said it was "Khitan", but in the early times, the West called China "China" or "Chin". Now, Westerners don't know exactly what the relationship between "Cathay" and "China" is. Many Westerners think that "Cathay" and "China" are not the same place.
After the opening of the new route, many Western missionaries arrived in China and began to investigate Chinese place names. It wasn't until 1601 that the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci finally announced after a long period of investigation: Beijing is what Marco Polo said, "Khan Bali", and Khitan (Cathay) is China. In fact, Matteo Ricci's understanding is also limited, because "Khitan" is actually only the north of China and cannot refer to the whole country. Marco Polo referred to "China" asas "Khitan" because of the influence of the peoples of West Asia, which is a general error.
Since then, some Western countries continue to call China "Cathay", while others call it "China". In addition to Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, etc. call China "Khitan", but the spelling has changed. In English, "Khitan" is sometimes used to refer to "China". For example, Cathay Pacific is translated as "CathayPacific". Therefore, "Khitan" is still one of the main pronouns of China.
inf.news/en/history/5e37dedc9d4c81649e4f34792411dc86.html
How do foreigners call China? This is a very interesting knowledge. Generally speaking, Western countries call China "China". This term was first introduced into the Western world from India. Some people say that it refers to "Qin", but the actual situation is difficult to verify. Ancient Greece and Rome called China "Sinae", which means "Silk Country"; Turkic-speaking countries called China "Chin", which has the same origin as "China". However, Eastern European countries such as Russia call China "Cathay", which means Khitan. Why do Russians call China "Khitan"?
1. The Concept of Chinese Identity in the Song Dynasty
The Khitan nationality was once a very strong nomadic nation in Chinese history. It originated in the Xiliao River Basin and belongs to the Donghu ethnic group. It was derived from the Xianbei tribe and is a relative of Mongolia. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan nationality established the Liao Kingdom based on the Liaohe River Basin and unified the Northeast and Mobei. So what is the relationship between the Khitan and China?
Judging from historical data, the Khitan is undoubtedly one of the ethnic groups in China. The first point is that the Khitan people originated in the West Liao River Basin, which now belongs to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, which is undoubtedly Chinese land; the second point is that the Khitan people call themselves the Liao Kingdom as the "Northern Dynasty" and the Northern Song Dynasty as the "Southern Dynasty". It is believed that everyone belongs to China. The third point is that in the history books compiled by the Khitan people, they think they are descendants of Yan and Huang. From this information, it can be seen that the Khitan people also think they belong to China.
. The spread of the concept of "China" in Xiliao
In 1125, the Liao State was destroyed by the Jin State. After that, some Khitan tribes moved west to the Western Regions under the leadership of Yelv Dashi and established the powerful Xiliao Empire. Xiliao continued to adopt the bureaucratic system of the Central Plains, establish reigns, and use Chinese characters as the official written language. The Western Liao Empire controlled the Uighurs of Xizhou in the Western Regions, controlled the Karahan Dynasty, and defeated the mighty Seljuk Empire army. From then on, the Central Asia region became famous. As Xiliao replaced the Karahan dynasty in the past and became more prosperous, the Arabs began to call Xiliao "Hala Khitan". The "Hala" here is also "Kala", which was black in ancient times. the meaning of.
The ancient nomads often distinguished ethnic groups by the color of their eyes. For example, the Turks had the characteristics of the Europa race, so they called themselves "Blue Turks", but the East Asian race Tie Le was called "Black Turks". The Karahan dynasty was established by the Uighurs in the Western Regions and inherited the term "black". Later, the Western Liao Dynasty was also added with a "black".
Therefore, in that era, the Middle East region generally began to call "China" as "Khitan", such as gunpowder as "Khitan flower", and tubular firearms as "Khitan musket", "Khitan rocket" and so on.
Yelu Dashi's deeds quickly spread to Europe. At that time, Europe was undergoing the "Crusade", and they continued to launch the so-called "jihad" against the Islamic world. When they heard that Islam had suffered a major failure in the East, Europeans' confidence greatly increased. They said: There is a mysterious priest King John in the Eastern world who is the defender of Christianity. Since then, peoples in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and other places have called China "Khitay".
The word "China" in "Marco Polo's Travels" that appeared in the Yuan Dynasty is "Cathay". In fact, the Mongolian people also call China the "Khitan", that is, the "Pagoda of Qi". Spanish Minister Claver went to Samarkand to meet Timur Khan in 1404. He recorded Timur's interview with the Ming Dynasty envoy in "The Envoy of Claviejo East". At that time, the Timurian Empire used the term "Khitan" to refer to China. As the Mongols conquered the Eastern European plains, they also spread the concept of "Khitan" to Eastern Europe. The Russians call the Mongols "Tatar", and China in the south of Tatar is called "Khitan". In fact, the concepts of Tatar (Mongolia), Khitan (China), and Manzi (Southern Song Dynasty) appeared as early as "Marco Polo's Travels".
Westerners' further understanding of "Khitan"
"Marco Polo's Travels" spread rapidly in the West, causing the "Golden Fever in the East". However, the place names in "Marco Polo's Travels" have a huge conflict with the eastern concept of the early understanding of the West. Marco Polo said it was "Khitan", but in the early times, the West called China "China" or "Chin". Now, Westerners don't know exactly what the relationship between "Cathay" and "China" is. Many Westerners think that "Cathay" and "China" are not the same place.
After the opening of the new route, many Western missionaries arrived in China and began to investigate Chinese place names. It wasn't until 1601 that the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci finally announced after a long period of investigation: Beijing is what Marco Polo said, "Khan Bali", and Khitan (Cathay) is China. In fact, Matteo Ricci's understanding is also limited, because "Khitan" is actually only the north of China and cannot refer to the whole country. Marco Polo referred to "China" asas "Khitan" because of the influence of the peoples of West Asia, which is a general error.
Since then, some Western countries continue to call China "Cathay", while others call it "China". In addition to Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, etc. call China "Khitan", but the spelling has changed. In English, "Khitan" is sometimes used to refer to "China". For example, Cathay Pacific is translated as "CathayPacific". Therefore, "Khitan" is still one of the main pronouns of China.
inf.news/en/history/5e37dedc9d4c81649e4f34792411dc86.html