China

Where the name comes from

China came through Persian Chīn and Sanskrit Cīna; a link to the Qin state, which unified China in 221 BC, is widely suggested but debated.

First people

Farming villages grew along the Yellow and Yangtze rivers more than 8,000 years ago, and early dynasties and regional societies followed.¹

Known for

Imperial China is known for the Great Wall and for choosing officials through hard examinations on Confucian texts, a system that lasted until it was abolished in 1905.^2,3

Outside rule

China was never fully colonized, but after the Opium War of 1839–1842 Britain took Hong Kong, and other powers forced open its ports.⁴

The modern country

The last emperor fell in 1912, and the People’s Republic was founded in 1949; today’s China includes many language and ethnic communities.¹