What is the passport requirement for a Chinese Visa?

I have been told that your passport needs to have been valid for 6 months before travel. I believe it only needs to be valid for another 6 months (i.e. not expire until) after your return home. It seems to me ridiculous that you would need to have held a passport for at least 6 months before you can travel, or apply for a visa, as this would preclude urgent unexpected travel. But none of the comments I've read in "googled" sites are very clear in their statements: they say things like "passport must be valid at least 6 months", which to me is ambiguous. Could you please clarify?