中土 (zhōng tǔ) — Central Plains; China (in historical, literary, or Buddhist contexts)

Definition

Historical or literary name for the Central Plains — i.e. China proper, as opposed to frontier regions. Common in classical writing and Buddhist texts (e.g. 南赡部洲).

noun
Central PlainsChina (in historical, literary, or Buddhist contexts)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 中土。
    Táng dài de zhōng tǔ wén huà duì zhōu biān guó jiā yǐng xiǎng shēn yuǎn.
    The culture of the Central Plains during the Tang Dynasty had a profound influence on neighboring countries.
  • 中土赡。
    Fó jīng zhōng cháng bǎ zhōng tǔ chēng wéi nán shàn bù zhōu de yí bù fen.
    In Buddhist scriptures, the Central Plains (China) is often referred to as part of Jambudvīpa.
  • 中土。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō de bèi jǐng shè dìng zài zhōng tǔ de luàn shì zhī zhōng.
    The novel is set in a time of chaos in the Central Plains.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

中zhōngmiddle
土tǔland

中 means middle and 土 means land, naming the central land.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →

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