Ancient Chinese envisioned the earth as a square surrounded by the sea on all four sides, with zhongguo signifying the central country within that landmass.

古代中国人将地球想象成四面环海的正方形，而“中国”指的是这片陆地中央的国家。

Just look at the Chinese name for China, zhongguo, which literally means " middle kingdom" and originates from a mythological construct described in a 4th century B.C. text, the " Classic of Mountains and Seas."

只要看看中国的名称“中国”，字面上意为“中央的国家”，源自公元前4世纪的神话文本《山海经》中的一个构想。