Place names in China
Place names in China primarily refers to Han Chinese names, but also to those used by China's minorities.
Origins
Spencer (1941) views that Han Chinese place names indicate both domestic cultural and geographical influences, but rarely and cultural influence from other parts of the world.[1] This tendency appeared to be characteristic not only of Chinese place- names in Singapore: 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.77...[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
| Group | Class (E) | Class (C) | Class (P) | Example (E) | Example (P) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative | Autonomous Region | 自治区 | Zìzhìqū | Tibet Autonomous Region | Xīzàng Zìzhìqū |
| Administrative | Province | 省 | Shěng | Hebei Province | Héběi Shěng |
| Administrative | County | 县 | Pan County | ||
| Administrative | 州 | -zhou | Tongzhou | ||
| Administrative | 縣 | -xian | (Tung-hsien historic) | ||
| Administrative | Autonomous county | 自治县 | Zìzhìxiàn | Dachang Hui Autonomous County | |
| Administrative | City | 市 | Shì | Chengdu City | Chéngdū Shì |
| Administrative | District | 区 | Qū | Bincheng District | Bīnchéng Qū |
| Administrative | League | 盟 | Méng | Alxa League | Ālāshàn Méng |
| Administrative | Autonomous banner | 自治旗 | Zìzhìqí | Evenk Autonomous Banner | Èwēnkèzú Zìzhìqí |
| Landform | Mountains | 山脉 | Ailao Mountains | Āiláo Shān | |
| Landform | Mountain | 山 | Shān | Tianmu Mountain | Tiānmù Shān |
| Landform | Peak | 峰 | Feng | ||
| Landform | Hill | .. | see List of hills in Hangzhou | ||
| Landform | Island | 岛 | Dǎo | Liugong Island | Liúgōng Dǎo |
| Landform | Plateau | 草原 | Cǎoyuán | Bashang Plateau | Bàshàng Cǎoyuán |
| Landform | Peninsula | 半岛 | bàn dǎo | Shandong Peninsula | Shāndōng bàn dǎo |
| Landform | Valley | 沟 (formally 峡) | Insukati Valley | ||
| Landform | Pass | 关 | Guān | Kunlun Pass | Kūnlún Guān |
| Landform | Desert | 沙漠 | Shāmò | Taklamakan Desert | Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò |
| Landform | Gorge | 峡 | Xiá | Wu Gorge | Wū Xiá |
| Landform | Beach | ||||
| Landform | Basin | 盆地 | Péndì | Tarim Basin | Tǎlǐmù Péndì |
| Landform | Cave | 洞 | Dòng | Xianren Cave | Xiānrén Dòng |
| Landform | Plain | 平原 | Píngyuán | Chengdu Plain | Chéngdū Píngyuán |
| Landform/Water | Glacier | 冰川 | bīnchuān | Mingyong Glacier | |
| Landform/Water | Spring | 泉 | Quán | Baimai Spring | Bǎi Mài Quán |
| Landform/Water | Waterfall | 瀑布 | Pù Bù | Hukou Waterfall | Hǔ Kǒu Pù Bù |
| Landform/Water | River | 河 | Hé | Huai River | Huái Hé |
| Landform/Water | River | 江 | Jiāng | Chang River | Cháng Jiāng |
| Landform/Water | Lake | 湖 | Hú | Ayding Lake | Àidīng Hú |
| Landform/Water | Sea, X Gulf | Hǎi | Bohai Sea | Bó Hăi | |
| Landform/Water | Bay | 灣 | Wān | Bohai Bay | Bóhǎi Wān |
| Landform/Water | Strait | 海峡 | hǎixiá | Taiwan Strait | |
| Landform/Water | Reservoir | 水库 | Zhelin Reservoir |
Directions
- East: 东, Dong - e.g. Guangdong (广东), "Expanse East"
- West: 西, Xi – e.g. Xi'an (西安), "Western Peace"
- South: 南, Nan – e.g. Hainan (海南), "South of the Sea"
- North: 北, Bei – e.g. Beijing (北京), "Northern Capital"
References
- ↑ Brenda S. A. Yeoh Contesting Space in Colonial Singapore- 2003 Page 232
- ↑ Joseph Earle Spencer -Chinese Place Names and the Appreciation of Geographic Realities 1941
- ↑ Central Asiatic Journal: - Volumes 38-39 1994 - Page 222 "A confusing aspect of the Chinese character renderings of Tibetan (as well as Mongolian and Uighur) place names concerns how particular characters are chosen to phonetically transcribe specific Tibetan letters."
- ↑ http://www.mwr.gov.cn/english1/20040802/38171.asp - Ministry of Water Resources