what is The middle kingdom of china

what is The middle kingdom of china ?

A quick look at how China got the name 'Middle Kingdom'.
China is one of the oldest cultures in the entire world with a rich history that dates back for thousands of years.

Throughout the last 5000 years, China has been known by many different names but the most traditional name that China has used to refer to itself is Zhonggou which means Middle Kingdom (or sometimes translated as Central Kingdom).

Middle Kingdom
A literal translation of the term "Zhongguo" is "middle kingdom". Some Western writers use the translation "central kingdom" to imply that China has a deeply rooted self-centered psychology as the center of the universe. Endymion Wilkinson denies that the Chinese were unique in thinking of their country as central, although China was the only culture to use the concept for their name. Regarding the accuracy of the translation, Professor Chen Jian writes: "I believe that 'Central Kingdom' is a more accurate translation for 'Zhong Guo' (China) than 'Middle Kingdom'. The term 'Middle Kingdom' does not imply that China is superior to other peoples and nations around it — China just happens to be located in the middle geographically; the term 'Central Kingdom', however, implies that China is superior to any other people and nation 'under the heaven' and that it thus occupies a 'central' position in the known universe.

The name China is recorded in English from the mid 16th century. It is of uncertain origin; it is thought to come from Middle Persian, but ultimately may have originated as the name for the Qin state that later formed the Qin dynasty. In Chinese, common names for China include Zhongguo (中國/中国) and Zhonghua (中華/中华), while Han (漢/汉) and Tang (唐) are common names given for the Chinese ethnicity. Other names include Huaxia (華夏/华夏), Shenzhou (神州) and Jiuzhou (九州). The People's Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) and Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Mínguó) are the official names for the two contemporary sovereign states currently claiming sovereignty over the traditional area of China. "Mainland China" is used to refer to areas under the jurisdiction by the PRC usually excluding Hong Kong and Macau.

If you want to know more.
See :http://learn-shaolinkungfu.com/