1. According to Ni Hao!, one of the most one of the most commonly used textbooks for teaching Chinese in New Zealand schools. 'the Chinese considered China to be the centre of the world and called China Zhongguo - the Central Kingdom'. This is like saying that Central Park in New York is so called because the Americans believe thay live in the centre of the world
In fact, China was called the 'middle kingdom' because Chinese civilisation and culture, which began in the 'middle' reaches of the Yellow River, was initially surrounded on all four sides by non-Chinese cultures, and then developed and flourished later in the 'central' plain. Moreover, it was only an informal name, for the words 'Zhongguo' never appeared as part of any official name for China until after the fall of the Empire in 1911.
2. Hanyu, another commonly used Chinese language textbook in New Zealand schools, says: 'The Chinese believed their country was a unique land of civilisation surrounded on all sides by 'barbarians'.
In fact, the Chinese had a different name for each of the various ethnic groups that surrounded them. It was in only the nineteenth century, that the official interpreter for the East India Company, Robert Morrison, decided to translate one of these names by 'barbarian', and ever since, later translators have translated the names of all the other ethnic groups by 'barbarian' as well! By translating the many Chinese names of different ethnic groups by one and the same English word 'barbarian', English-speakers were able to convince themselves and others that the Chinese called everyone else 'barbarians', and make their interpretations of Chinese past and present behaviour accordingly.
This is very convenient for those of us, who have been brought up in the Western tradition, becauseit enables us to laugh at the Chinese, and condemn them, for not behaving like us, or for not showing enough interest in the languages, literature, history, philosophy or religion of the West.
And yet, at the same time, we
remain quite oblivious of our own feelings of cultural
superiority,
which make us refuse to learn anything about their
language and culture, while proffering them all kinds of advice
on how they should act and behave.
Go to top of this page, previous page
back to site contents email.
This page last revised: 8 December, 2000