中华
zhōnghuá · HSK 6
the Chinese nation
🇨🇳🐉 中 center + 华 splendid = the splendid center, China's name for itself
华 originally meant flowering or magnificent. Combined with 中 (middle/center), it forms the poetic self-designation: the magnificent civilization at the center. The full formal name 中华人民共和国 starts with these two characters.
中 — vertical stroke 丨 through enclosure 口
Pictograph of a banner or pole piercing the center of a target or territory, depicting the idea of 'middle' or 'center'. The horizontal frame represents boundaries, and the vertical line marks the central axis. The meaning extended from spatial center to 'middle, central, China' (中国, the Middle Kingdom).