Karate was not invented in China. Rather, it has its origins in the island of Okinawa in Japan. The word "Karate" means the "empty hand" or the "Chinese hand."
Karate it has been given this name because it involves a rapid use of hands and legs in an extreme close combat. It was sometime in the sixteenth century that Chinese Kung Fu fighters experimented around with their styles and formulated the "te" technique ("Te" means hand). The art grew in China and evolved from a very rough and simple fighting style into a hard, close-combat style.