The names of geographical objects in China mainly come from the formants of the Chinese language , along with them there are toponyms based on formants from the languages of the national minorities of China .
Content
Origin
As the American researcher of geographical names J. Spencer noted, “although Chinese names show internal cultural and geographical influences, they almost never show that they have been culturally influenced from other parts of the world” [1] , which is also characteristic of toponyms of Chinese origin in Singapore [2] .
Toponyms based on formants of Tibetan, Mongolian, Uigur origin, as well as formants from languages of other national minorities of China are phonetically transcribed in Chinese [3] .
The structure of toponyms in Chinese grammar
In Chinese, toponyms include a class identifier for a geographic object . The class identifier in Chinese is placed at the end of the toponym. Moreover, the names of lakes and mountains can be written in two ways: “X Lake” [4] / “Lake X” and “X Mountain” / “Mountain X”.
The names of some mountain ranges, such as the Tien Shan , contain the formant shan (“mountains”), so the Tien Shan literally translates as “Heavenly Mountains”.
List of Place Classes
R = Russian, C = Chinese, P = Pinyin
| Category | Class (R) | Class (C) | Class (P) | Example (R) | Example (P) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative unit | Autonomous region | 自治区 | Zìzhìqū | Tibet Autonomous Region | Xīzàng Zìzhìqū |
| Administrative unit | Provinces | 省 | Shěng | hebei province | Héběi Shěng |
| Administrative unit | County | 县 / 縣 | -xian | Shexian County | Shè Xiàn |
| Administrative unit | Historical province | 州 | -zhou | Guizhou | |
| Administrative unit | Autonomous County | 自治县 | Zìzhìxiàn | Dachan-Hui Autonomous County | |
| Administrative unit | City | 市 | Shì | chengdu city | Chéngdū Shì |
| Administrative unit | City subordination area | 区 | Qū | Bincheng City Subordination District | Bīnchéng Qū |
| Administrative unit | Aymak | 盟 | Meng | Aymak Alashan | Ālāshàn Méng |
| Administrative unit | Khoshun | 自治旗 | Zìzhìqí | Evenki Autonomous Khoshun | Ēwēnkèzú Zìzhìqí |
| Relief shape | Mountain range | 山脉 | Mountains | Āiláo Shān | |
| Relief shape | Mountain | 山 | Shān | Mount | Tiānmù Shān |
| Relief shape | Peak | 峰 | Feng | ||
| Relief shape | Isle | 岛 | Doo | Island | Liúgōng Dǎo |
| Relief shape | Plateau | 草原 | Cǎoyuán | Bashan Plateau | Bàshàng Cǎoyuán |
| Landform | Peninsula | 半岛 | bàn dǎo | Shandong peninsula | Shāndōng bàn dǎo |
| Relief shape | Valley | 沟 (formally 峡) | Insukati Valley | ||
| Relief shape | Pass | 关 | Guān | Pass | Kūnlún guān |
| Relief shape | Desert | 沙漠 | Shāmò | Takla Makan Desert | Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò |
| Relief shape | Canyon | 峡 | Xiá | Gorge | Wū xiá |
| Relief shape | Hollow | 盆地 | Pendì | Tarim Basin | Tǎlǐmù Péndì |
| Relief shape | Cave | 洞 | Dòng | Cave | Xiānrén Dòng |
| Relief shape | Plain | 平原 | Píngyuán | Plain of | Chéngdū Píngyuán |
| Relief shape | Rock | 磯 / 矶 | Jī | Crag | Yànzi Jī |
| Water object | Glacier | 冰川 | bīnchuān | Glacier | |
| Water body | Spring | 泉 | Quán | source | Bǎi Mài Quán |
| Water object | Waterfall | 瀑布 | Pù bù | Hukou Waterfall | Hǔ Kǒu Pù Bù |
| Water object | River | 河 | He | Huaihe River | Huái Hé |
| Water object | River | 江 | Jiāng | Yangtze River | Yangtze River (Cháng Jiāng) |
| Water body | Lake | 湖 | Hú | Aydinköl Lake | Àidīng Hú |
| Water body | Sea bay | Hǎi | Bohaiwan bay | Bó hai | |
| Water body | Bay | 灣 | Wān | Dalianwan Bay | Dàlián wān |
| Water body | Strait | 海峡 | hǎixiá | Strait of taiwan | |
| Water body | Reservoir | 水库 | Shuǐkù | Jiāngkǒu Shuǐkù | |
| Water body | Harbor | 港 | Gang | Hong Kong | Xiānggǎng |
Side of the World
The Chinese considered five areas:
- East: 东, “Dong” - for example, Guangdong (广东), “Eastern part of space”;
- West: 西, "Xi" - for example, Xi'an (西安), "Western calm region";
- South: 南, “Nan” - for example, Hainan (海南), “South of the sea”;
- North: 北, “Bay” - for example, Beijing (北京), “Northern Capital”;
- Central / Secondary: 中, "Zhong" - for example, Hanzhong (汉中), "the middle course of the Hanshui River."
The concepts of Yin and Yang (阴 and 阳) from ancient Chinese philosophy also left a mark in the formation of Chinese toponymy. For example, the Luoyang city district is located on the north bank of the Lo river, the Hanyang city district is located on the north bank of the Hanjiang river, and the Hanyin district is on its south bank. However, if toponyms with formants -in and -yan originate from the names of the mountains, these positions change to the opposite: the “yang” side is the southern side of the mountain, and the “yin” side is the northern one.
Notes
- ↑ Spencer, Joseph Earle. Chinese Place Names and Appreciation of Geographic Realities. - 1941. - p. 77.
- ↑ Yeoh, Brenda SA Contesting Space in Colonial Singapore: Power Relations and the Urban Built Environment . - 2013 .-- P. 232.
- ↑ Ryavec, Karl E. Important New Sources for the Study of Tibetan Geography: An Analysis of a Recent Chinese County Place Name Index of Dzamthang in Eastern Tibet // English. Central Asiatic Journal : journal. - 1994. - Vol. 38 , no. 2 - P. 222 .
- ↑ http://www.mwr.gov.cn/english1/20040802/38171.asp - Ministry of Water Resources