The Biography of Faxian Can''''t be Used as the Evidence that Chinese were Called ″Qin People″: Correcting the Entry of ″Qin People″ in Cihai
《法显传》不能作域外称中国人为"秦人"的例证——《辞海》"秦人"条纠错

Some scholars think that the northern and western neighboring ethnic groups and nations had called Chinese "Qin People" up to Jin Dynasty. This point of view is typically expressed by entry of "Qin People" in Cihai, and the evidence for this point of view comes from The Biography of Faxian. However, through an intensive reading of The Biography of Faxian, it is found that the term was used very rigorously when Faxian mentioned China (or part of China, because there were several political powers in China at that time). In The Biography of Faxian, northern China was called Qin, namely, the Early and Late Qins of sixteen nations while southern China was called Jin, namely, the East Jin. As for the whole China, it was generally called Han, a term that derived from the Han dynasty prior to the period, but occasionally called the Middle Kingdom (Zhongguo). Qin was never used to refer to the whole China at that time in ancient Chinese books and records. The point of view expressed in Cihai may have resulted from some carelessness in interpreting the original The Biography of Faxian.