What Is a Country, Anyway?

Country. State. Nation. English has three different words for three closely related but distinct concepts. Chinese makes do with a single character, 國, pronounced "guo."

And historically "guo" has been applied to very different entities: The various Warring States were called "guo," as were fiefdoms and duchies contained within the empire, as were distant foreign countries like Persia.

Moreover, particularly in connection with the controversial contemporary question of what is and isn't part of China, it's worth remembering that large swathes of what is now considered China were for centuries their own "guo" of one sort or another. The ancient kingdom of Minyue, for example, occupied more or less present Fujian Province for centuries. And even now memories of its past independence remain as folklore.

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