Talk:China in the Mahābhārata

India: History / Literature Mid‑importance

	India portal This redirect is within the scope of WikiProject India, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of India-related topics. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page.IndiaWikipedia:WikiProject IndiaTemplate:WikiProject IndiaIndia articles
Mid	This redirect has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.
	This redirect is supported by the Indian history workgroup (assessed as Low-importance).
	This redirect is supported by the Indian literature workgroup (assessed as Mid-importance).

Former countries

	This redirect is within the scope of WikiProject Former countries, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of defunct states and territories (and their subdivisions). If you would like to participate, please join the project.Former countriesWikipedia:WikiProject Former countriesTemplate:WikiProject Former countriesformer country articles
	This redirect has been marked as needing an infobox.

Hinduism Low‑importance

	Hinduism portal This redirect is within the scope of WikiProject Hinduism, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Hinduism on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.HinduismWikipedia:WikiProject HinduismTemplate:WikiProject HinduismHinduism articles
Low	This redirect has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

This article is based on a misunderstanding

The title and intro of this article are based on a misunderstanding. As far as etymology goes, it's true enough that the word "China" is derived from Cīna (चीन), which appears in the Mahābhārata. But the writers of the Mahābhārata were unlikely to have known anything about China. The relevant portions of the epic were composed in the 4th century BC and based, not on up-to-date geographic knowledge, but on legends that were already ancient at that time. Meanwhile, the Qin state was not prominent until the 4th century BC. The word Cīna was presumably reinterpreted centuries later when the importation of silk created a psychological need to explain where the material came from. Kauffner (talk) 03:17, 10 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Except for the "not prominent" bit, a-yep. — LlywelynII 08:59, 21 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Merge into Chinas

Proposed merge into Chinas, which handles the same material better and more comprehensively. Discuss at Chinas' talk page. — LlywelynII 08:59, 21 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Cnilep (talk) 02:06, 24 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]