From a Chinese viewpoint, China (中国, Zhōngguó) is more than just a nation-state defined by borders.
It is a civilization with thousands of years of recorded history, a continuous cultural lineage that has influenced governance, philosophy, literature, art, language, and social norms.
This history grounds many Chinese in a profound sense of cultural continuity and ancestral connection. They see themselves as inheritors of traditions shaped by ancient dynasties, Confucian scholars, Daoist sages, Buddhist monks, poets, and philosophers.
Being “Chinese” often involves feeling part of a civilizational legacy that has survived upheavals—dynastic rises and falls, foreign invasions, internal reforms—while maintaining certain enduring cultural values.