The official name of the modern state is the "People's Republic of China" (). The shorter form is "China" '''' () from '''' ("central") and '''' ("state"), a term which developed under the Western Zhou dynasty in reference to its royal demesne. It was then applied to the area around Luoyi (present-day Luoyang) during the Eastern Zhou and then to China's Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing. It was often used as a cultural concept to distinguish the Huaxia people from perceived "barbarians". The name ''Zhongguo'' is also translated as  in English. China (PRC) is sometimes referred to as the Mainland when distinguishing the ROC from the PRC.