Historical geographical term used primarily before and during WWII to refer to the central region of China. The kanji 支那 is now widely regarded as a derogatory name for China, and this term is no longer used in modern Japanese except in historical discussions.
On pre-war maps, the notation 'Central China' can be seen.
In history class, we learned about the 'Central China Expeditionary Army'.
Modern geographical term for Central China, used in neutral contexts such as weather forecasts and economic reports.
Compound of 中 (naka, 'central') and 支那 (Shina, an old name for China derived from 'China' via Western languages). The term fell out of use after WWII due to the derogatory connotations of 支那.