Middle Kingdom

China's historical name

Middle Kingdom refers most often to China, translating a Chinese term (Zhongguo) expressing the traditional view of China as the civilized center of the world.

In Egyptology, the Middle Kingdom denotes the era of reunification and cultural flourishing roughly 2000–1700 BCE, between the Old and New Kingdoms.

The term appears in fantasy literature for realms positioned between others—Tolkien's Middle-earth draws on this sense.

Egypt

pharaoh

Ancient Egyptian ruler

  • ThebesAncient city, two locations
  • LuxorEgyptian city of ruins
  • AmunTheban king of gods

Nile · pyramids · hieroglyphics · mummification · Osiris · Isis · Anubis · Ra · Tutankhamun · Memphis

China

Beijing

China's seat of government

Silk Road · Terracotta Army · Mandarin · Confucius · Taoism · Han · Xi Jinping · Mao Zedong · Cantonese · Sichuan

Tolkien

Gondor

Rivendell · Mirkwood · Númenor · Silmarillion · Sauron · Morgoth · Tolkien · fantasy realm

Categories
Opposites
Egyptian historical periodization

Middle KingdomOld Kingdom

Early Egyptian dynastic period

Chinese self-conception vs. periphery

Middle Kingdomforeign lands

Nations beyond one's own

tributary states · borderlands

geographical/cosmological position

Middle Kingdomextremity

Outermost part or limit

celestial realm · underworld

Family

middle, kingdom, midway, middling, middles, midlife, midsize, midi, middy

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