The word "China" is derived from Cin (چین), a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo. The first recorded use in English dates from 1555. In early usage, "china" as a term for porcelain was spelled differently from the name of the country, the two words being derived from separate Persian words. read more
Since 1949, China has been called Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo中华人民共和国, ‘The People’s Republic of China’, although in every day speech it is still called Zhongguo 中 国. You often come across zuguo 祖 国, ‘the motherland’, and wo guo, ‘my country’, as synonyms for China. read more