Since the earliest collection of Chinese writings, the Chinese language has given the bear 20 different names, such as "huāxióng" ( "spotted bear") and "zhúxióng" ( "bamboo bear"). The most popular names in China today are "dàxióngmāo" ( literally "giant bear cat"), or simply "xióngmāo" ( "bear cat"). The name "xióngmāo" ( "bear cat") was originally used to describe the red panda ("Ailurus fulgens"), but since the giant panda was thought to be closely related to the red panda, "dàxióngmāo" () was named relatively.