The official name of the modern state

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”),[p] a term which developed

under the Western Zhou dynasty in reference to its royal demesne.[q] 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.[36]

It was often used as a cultural concept to distinguish the Huaxia people from perceived “barbarians”.[36] The name Zhongguo is also translated as “Middle Kingdom” in English.[38] China (PRC) is sometimes referred to as the Mainland when distinguishing the ROC from the PRC.[39][40][41][42]