China china (Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó), officially the People's Republic of China

CHINA

China (Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC),^[k] is a country in East Asia. It is the world's second-most populous country with a population exceeding 1.4 billion. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land,^[l] tied with Russia as having the most of any country in the world. With an area of nearly 9.6 million square kilometres (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the world's third largest country by total land area.^[m] The country is divided into 22 provinces,^[n] five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two semi-autonomous special administrative regions. The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and largest financial center is Shanghai.
The region that is now China has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era. The earliest Chinese dynastic states, such as the Shang and the Zhou, emerged in the basin of the Yellow River before the late second millenium BCE. The eighth to third centuries BCE saw a breakdown in Zhou authority and significant conflict, as well as the emergence of Classical Chinese literature and philosophy. In 221 BCE, China was unified under an emperor, ushering in more than two millennia in which China was governed by one or more imperial dynasties, such as the Han, Tang, Ming and Qing. Some of China's most notable achievements, such as the invention of gunpowder and paper, the establishment of the Silk Road, and the building of the Great Wall, occurred during this period. The Chinese culture, including languages, traditions, architecture, philosophy and more, has heavily influenced East Asia during this imperial period.
In 1912, the Chinese monarchy was overthrown and the Republic of China established. The Republic saw consistent conflict for most of the mid-20th century, including a civil war between the Kuomintang government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which began in 1927, as well as the Second Sino-Japanese War that began in 1937 and continued until 1945, therefore becoming involved in World War II. The latter led to a temporary stop in the civil war and numerous Japanese atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre, which continue to influence China-Japan relations. In 1949, the CCP established control over China as the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan. Early communist rule saw two major projects: the Great Leap Forward, which resulted in a sharp economic decline and massive famine; and the Cultural Revolution, a movement to purge all non-communist elements of Chinese society that led to mass violence and persecution. Beginning in 1978, the Chinese government began economic reforms that moved the country away from planned economics, but political reforms were cut short by the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, which ended in a massacre. Despite the event, the economic reform continued to strengthen the nation's economy in the following decades while raising China's standard of living significantly.
China is a unitary one-party socialist republic led by the CCP. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a founding member of several multilateral and regional organizations such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road Fund, the New Development Bank, and the RCEP. It is also a member of the BRICS, the G20, APEC, and the East Asia Summit. China ranks poorly in measures of democracy, transparency, and human rights, including for press freedom, religious freedom, and ethnic equality. Making up around one-fifth of the world economy, China is the world's largest economy by GDP at purchasing power parity, the second-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the second-wealthiest country. The country is one of the fastest-growing major economies and is the world's largest manufacturer and exporter, as well as the second-largest importer. China is a nuclear-weapon state with the world's largest standing army by military personnel and the second-largest defense budget.
Etymology
Main article: Names of China
China (today's Guangdong), Mangi (inland of Xanton), and Cataio (inland of China and Chequan, and including the capital Cambalu, Xandu, and a marble bridge) are all shown as separate regions on this 1570 map by Abraham Ortelius.
The word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century; however, it was not a word used by the Chinese themselves during this period. Its origin has been traced through Portuguese, Malay, and Persian back to the Sanskrit word Cīna, used in ancient India.^[15] "China" appears in Richard Eden's 1555 translation^[o] of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa.^[p][15] Barbosa's usage was derived from Persian Chīn (چین), which was in turn derived from Sanskrit Cīna (चीन).^[20] Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata (5th century BCE) and the Laws of Manu (2nd century BCE).^[21] In 1655, Martino Martini suggested that the word China is derived ultimately from the name of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE).^[22][21] Although usage in Indian sources precedes this dynasty, this derivation is still given in various sources.^[23] The origin of the Sanskrit word is a matter of debate, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.^[15]
Alternative suggestions include the names for Yelang and the Jing or Chu state.^[21][24] The official name of the modern state is the "People's Republic of China" (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó). The shorter form is "China" Zhōngguó (中国; 中國) from zhōng ("central") and guó ("state"),^[q] a term which developed under the Western Zhou dynasty in reference to its royal demesne.^[r][s] It was then applied to the area around Luoyi (present-day Luoyang) during the Eastern Zhou and then to China's Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing.^[26] It was often used as a cultural concept to distinguish the Huaxia people from perceived "barbarians".^[26] The name Zhongguo is also translated as "Middle Kingdom" in English.^[29] China (PRC) is sometimes referred to as the Mainland when distinguishing the ROC from the PRC.^{[30][31][32][33]}
History
Main article: History of China
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Chinese history.