evidence: The official name of the modern state is the "People's Republic of China" (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá rénmín gònghéguó). The shorter form is "China" (中国; 中國; Zhōngguó), from zhōng ('central') and guó ('state'), a term which developed under the Western Zhou dynasty in reference to its royal demesne.[p][q] It was used in official documents as an synonym for the state under the Qing.[28] The name Zhongguo is also translated as 'Middle Kingdom' in English.[29] China is sometimes referred to as "mainland China" or "the Mainland" when distinguishing it from the Republic of China or the PRC's Special Administrative Regions.[30][31][32][33]