ǐ zi , ▁and ▁similar ▁to ▁R ì bě n ▁gu ǐ zi ▁above . ▁( Note ▁that ▁whereas ▁the ▁term ▁ 東 洋 ▁has ▁the ▁literal ▁meaning ▁of ▁" Ori ent " ▁in ▁the ▁Japanese ▁language , ▁the ▁characters ▁themselves ▁mean ▁" e astern ▁ocean ", ▁and ▁it ▁refers ▁to ▁Japan ▁exclus ively ▁in ▁modern ▁Chinese ▁usage — since ▁Japan ▁is ▁the ▁country ▁which ▁lies ▁in ▁the ▁ocean ▁east ▁of ▁China .) ▁ ▁W ō ▁( <0xE5> <0x80> <0xAD> ) ▁— ▁This ▁was ▁an ▁ancient ▁Chinese ▁name ▁for ▁Japan , ▁but ▁was ▁also ▁adopted ▁by ▁the ▁Japanese . ▁Today , ▁its ▁usage ▁in ▁Chinese ▁is ▁usually ▁intended ▁to ▁give ▁a ▁negative ▁con notation ▁( see ▁W ō k ò u ▁below ). ▁The ▁character ▁is ▁said ▁to ▁also ▁mean ▁" d war f ", ▁although ▁that ▁meaning ▁was ▁not ▁apparent ▁when ▁the ▁name ▁was ▁first ▁used . ▁See ▁Wa ▁( J apan ). ▁ ▁W ō k ò u ▁( <0xE5> <0x80> <0xAD> <0xE5> <0xAF> <0x87> ) ▁— ▁Origin ally ▁referred ▁to ▁Japanese ▁pir ates ▁and ▁armed ▁sea ▁mer ch ants ▁who ▁ra ided ▁the ▁Chinese ▁coast line ▁during ▁the ▁M ing ▁D ynast y ▁( see ▁W ok ou ). ▁The ▁term ▁was ▁adopted ▁during ▁the ▁Second ▁S ino - J apan ese ▁War ▁to ▁refer ▁to ▁inv ading ▁Japanese ▁forces , ▁( similar ly ▁to ▁Germ ans ▁being ▁called ▁H uns ). ▁The ▁word ▁is ▁today ▁sometimes ▁used ▁to ▁refer ▁to ▁all ▁Japanese ▁people ▁in ▁extremely ▁negative ▁context s .