Why is China called the "Celestial Empire"

When talking about China, this country is often called the Celestial Empire. At the same time, the inhabitants of this country are unlikely to understand what is at stake. They themselves use the term, which in translation is closest to the concept of "middle earth", that is, located somewhere in the middle. China is also called China in the Russian-speaking world and in some other countries. To understand why this is happening, it is necessary to make a small excursion into history.

The seventh emperor of the Western Han Empire, Wu—di, who ruled almost 2,000 years ago, is considered one of the most productive monarchs in the history of China. He significantly expanded the borders of the empire, and also made Confucianism the official religion. A great role in the recognition of this teaching was played by the court philosopher of the emperor Dong Zhongshu.

The scientist left behind many works in which he describes the history of the Han Empire and discusses politics and religion. He shows Emperor Wu-di himself as an intermediary between heaven and the population of the earth. According to the philosopher's beliefs, his ruler is the messenger of heaven and the ruler of everything that is under heaven.

The higher powers guided the emperor. They told him with the help of natural disasters — floods, earthquakes and hurricanes, how to govern the country. The task of the court scientists was to correctly interpret the signs of heaven. In this matter, the loyal Dong Zhongshu had no equal.

Since the emperor was considered the messenger of heaven and the ruler of everything below, it becomes clear why his empire was called the Celestial Empire. At the same time, the Chinese considered their ruler to be the center of the earth. Around him were nobles, officials, warriors and ordinary people. According to scientists of that time, all known and not yet discovered countries were also the possessions of the emperor. Including barbarians living far to the west.

After the appearance of the concept created by Dong Zhongshu, the idea was fixed in China for centuries that the definition of "celestial Empire" accurately shows the position of the Chinese in the world. Echoes of this were felt back in the 20th century. The famous Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen once said: "Everything under the sky belongs to the people." This means that the sky played an important role even in the ideology adopted relatively recently.