Ancient Chinese

Jaunoji kinų kalbos mokytoja iš Konfucijaus instituto nusistebėjo, kad lietuviai, palyginus su anglais, taip keistai jos šalį vadina - Kinija.

China

Etymology

 

From Persian چینی (čīnī, “Chinese; porcelain”), compound of چین (čīn, “China”) and the suffix ـی (-ī), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (čīn, “China”), ultimately from Sanskrit चीन (cīna).

Typically thought to be derived from the Qin (Wade-Giles: "Ch'in") Dynasty (秦朝), though some suggested Jin (Wade-Giles: "Chin") (晋) instead since in ancient Chinese "Qin" had a voiced initial consonant.

The Qin dynasty (Chinese: 秦朝; pinyin: Qín Cháo; IPA: [tɕʰǐn tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 206 BC. The dynasty was formed after the conquest of six other states by the state of Qin, and its founding emperor was known as Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin.

Qin dynasty, circa 210 BC.

The Terracotta Army or the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses" is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

Marble statue of Qin Shihuang located near his burial place.

Manoma, kad vakarietiškas Kinijos pavadinimas yra kilęs būtent nuo šio imperatoriaus vardo (Qin -> Kin-).

Neprasta mūsų atmintis...  

Among Indo-European languages, Lithuanian is extraordinarily conservative, retaining many archaic features otherwise found only in ancient languages such as Sanskrit or Ancient Greek.