- Cathay is an English name for the country in east Asia more commonly known as China.
- The Romans referred to China as Seres.
China
- China is considered to be one of the six Cradles of Civilisation and was famous in the Ancient World for its Silk.
Other names for China
- ‘Serica’ (‘of silk’)
- Serica to the Romans, and its inhabitants were the Seres (the inhabitants of the land of silk).
- ‘Empire of Heaven’
- Or ‘Celestial Empire’, from the Chinese ‘Tian Chao’. The Emperors were considered to be the sons of Heaven, and born with the Divine Right to Rule.
- ‘Middle Kingdom’
- From the Chinese ‘Zhong Guo’, because Ancient China was considered to be the centre (Middle) of the Earth.
- ‘Cathay’
- From the Chinese ‘Huaxia’.
- Possibly derived from ‘Hua’, which was the first Dynasty and ‘Xia’ which means Great, ‘Huaxia’ meant Great First Dynasty’.
China