They didn’t know the earth was round when they named their own country (a looooong time ago). They really thought it was the center of the universe and their kings were sent from heaven
Isn’t 国 more like land, country or kingdom? Image
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So less to do with being the centre of the world and more like the central region of a nation, broadly speaking. But also I’m not a native speaker so I’m not trying to argue against your observation, just looking for clarification.
gole@lemmy.zip 5 days ago
GandalftheBlack@feddit.org 5 days ago
I don’t doubt that, I’m just saying the name itself doesn’t imply the centre of the world
dubyakay@lemmy.ca 5 days ago
The kingdom itself the centre of the world.
ThrowawayPermanente@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
I’ve heard it referred to as The Middle Kingdom, so this makes sense