Place names in China

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Place names in China primarily refers to Han Chinese names, but also to those used by China's minorities.

Contents

Origins

In his study of place-names in China, J. E. Spencer notes that "although Chinese names indicate both domestic cultural and geographical influences, they almost never indicate cultural influence from other parts of the world", [1] a tendency that also appeared to be characteristic of Chinese place-names in Singapore. [2]

Tibetan, Mongolian, Uighur and tribal minorities of China's names are phonetically transcribed into Chinese. [3]

In Chinese grammar

Names for places in China, when referred to in Chinese contain a class identifier. In English this is often translated, while the rest of the name is not. The class identifier in Chinese is placed at the end, in English with the exceptions of mountains and lakes the identifier is placed at the end too. For names of lakes and mountains "X Lake" [4] / "Lake X" and "X Mountain" / "Mount X" both is used.

Some mountain ranges like Tian Shan are referred to English by the Chinese name. "Tian" means sky or heaven and "Shan" means mountain(s), so Tian Shan literally translates as the "Heaven Mountains".

List of class names

E = English, C = Chinese, P = Pinyin

GroupClass (E)Class (C)Class (P)Example (E)Example (P)
AdministrativeAutonomous Region自治区Zìzhìqū Tibet Autonomous Region Xīzàng Zìzhìqū
AdministrativeProvinceShěng Hebei Province Héběi Shěng
AdministrativeCounty县 / 縣-xian She County, Hebei Shè Xiàn
AdministrativeProvince (archaic)-zhou Guizhou
AdministrativeAutonomous county自治县Zìzhìxiàn Dachang Hui Autonomous County
AdministrativeCityShì Chengdu City Chéngdū Shì
AdministrativeDistrict Bincheng District Bīnchéng Qū
Administrative League Méng Alxa League Ālāshàn Méng
Administrative Autonomous banner 自治旗Zìzhìqí Evenk Autonomous Banner Èwēnkèzú Zìzhìqí
LandformMountains山脉 Ailao Mountains Āiláo Shān
LandformMountainShān Tianmu Mountain Tiānmù Shān
LandformPeakFeng
LandformIslandDǎo Liugong Island Liúgōng Dǎo
LandformPlateau草原Cǎoyuán Bashang Plateau Bàshàng Cǎoyuán
LandformPeninsula半岛Bàndǎo Shandong Peninsula Shāndōng Bàndǎo
LandformValley沟 (formally 峡) Insukati Valley
LandformPassGuān Kunlun Pass Kūnlún Guān
Landform Desert 沙漠Shāmò Taklamakan Desert Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò
Landform Gorge Xiá Wu Gorge Wū Xiá
Landform Basin 盆地Péndì Tarim Basin Tǎlǐmù Péndì
LandformCaveDòng Xianren Cave Xiānrén Dòng
LandformPlain平原Píngyuán Chengdu Plain Chéngdū Píngyuán
LandformRock磯/矶 Swallow Rock Yànzi Jī
Landform/WaterGlacier冰川bīngchuān Mingyong Glacier
Landform/WaterSpringQuán Baimai Spring Bǎimài Quán
Landform/WaterWaterfall瀑布Pùbù Hukou Waterfall Hǔkǒu Pùbù
Landform/WaterRiver Huai River Huái Hé
Landform/WaterRiverJiāng Chang River Cháng Jiāng
Landform/WaterLake Ayding Lake Àidīng Hú
Landform/WaterSea, X GulfHǎi Bohai Sea Bó Hăi
Landform/WaterBayWān Bohai Bay Bóhǎi Wān
Landform/WaterStrait海峡Hǎixiá Taiwan Strait
Landform/WaterReservoir水库Shuǐkù Jiangkou Reservoir Jiāngkǒu Shuǐkù
Landform/WaterHarbourGang Hong Kong Xiānggǎng

Directions

Chinese reckon five directions:

From the early concept of yin and yang (阴 and 阳), originally based upon exposure to the sun, many placenames also incorporate them. Old Luoyang was located on the north bank of the Luo. Old Hanyang was located on the north bank of the Han, while the eponymous county seat of Hanyin was located on the south bank. When a placename is derived from a mountain, however, these positions are reversed: the yang side is the mountain's south face and the yin side its north.

See also

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References

  1. Spencer, Joseph Earle (1941). Chinese Place Names and the Appreciation of Geographic Realities. p. 77.
  2. Yeoh, Brenda S. A. (2013). Contesting Space in Colonial Singapore: Power Relations and the Urban Built Environment. Singapore: Singapore University Press. p. 232. Archived from the original on 2018-02-10.
  3. Ryavec, Karl E. (1994). "Important New Sources for the Study of Tibetan Geography: An Analysis of a Recent Chinese County Place Name Index of Dzamthang in Eastern Tibet". Central Asiatic Journal. 38 (2): 222. JSTOR   41927981.
  4. "Lakes in China". Ministry of Water Resources. 2004-08-02. Archived from the original on 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2009-11-22.