Zhongyuan

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Zhongyuan 中原 Central Plain
Map showing the province of Henan and two definitions of the Central Plain or Zhongyuan
Country	China

Zhongyuan (Chinese: 中原; pinyin: Zhōngyuán), the Central Plain(s), also known as Zhongtu (Chinese: 中土; pinyin: Zhōngtǔ, lit. 'central land') and Zhongzhou (Chinese: 中州; pinyin: Zhōngzhōu, lit. 'central region'), commonly refers to the part of the North China Plain surrounding the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River, centered on the region between Luoyang and Kaifeng.^[1] It has been perceived as the birthplace of the Chinese civilization.^[2] Historically, the Huaxia people viewed Zhongyuan as 'the center of the world'.^[3] Human activities in the Zhongyuan region can be traced back to the Palaeolithic period.^[4]

In prehistoric times, Huaxia, a confederation of tribes that later developed into the Han ethnicity, lived along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.^[5] The term 'Zhongguo' (Central State) was used to distinguish themselves from the Siyi tribes that were perceived as 'barbaric'.^[6] For a large part of Chinese history, Zhongyuan had been the political, economic, and cultural center of the Chinese civilization, as over 20 dynasties had located their capitals in this region.^[7]

In the modern concept, the term 'Central Plains Region' is used to define the Zhongyuan area. In a narrow sense, it refers to the present-day Henan Province in the central part of China. A broader interpretation of the Central Plains' measure would also include Henan’s neighborhood province, Shaanxi, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong, as well as the northern part of Anhui and the northwestern part of Jiangsu.^[8]