The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-07-19
CHINESE NAMES.
TFrom the Detroit Tribune.l

rFrom the Detroit Tribune.1
We are reading just now of many Chi
nese districts, towns and rivers Many
of these geographical names doubtless
appear repellant and unpronounceable
to all except a few persons who are
familiar with them. But if we had a
better acquaintance with these names
and knew their meaning they would be
found to be full of interest. They are
often condensed descriptions of the
place or feature to which they are ap-
piled. They are far more instinct with
life than many geographical names in
other countries.
Suppose we had never heard of Shang
hal, for example, but knew the meaning
of the two words composing the name
We would know at once that the City
Near the Sea" must apply to a seaport.
Yun-ho means 1.-THE River of Transpor-
tation," and we naturally infer that the
| waterway thus designated must be
commercially important. Yun-ho, in
fact, is the Chinese name of the Grand
canal, which plays SO large a part in
freight service of east China.
However many syllables there may be
in Chinese place name, it is composed
of as many words as there are syllables,
for all Chinese words are monosyllables
If we know the meaning of even one
of the words in a geographical name it
helps to convey a definite idea The
words no and kiang, for example, both
mean river" and when we see them on
a map we know they refer to a river
or stream. Many of the names of rivers
are descriptive of them. Hoang-ho, for
example, means yellow river" TSin-
kiang means ''Clear rover Observe
how definite is the idea expressed in
the name of each of the three rivers
which converge upon Canton. One
of them is the Si-kiang, or "West
river" another the Pe-kiang, or
North river the third is the Tung
kiang, or East river" The names of
these rivers tell the direction from
which they come. They help to simplify
the study of geography of that part of
China When they unite they form the
Chu-kiang, or Pearl river" The Chi
nese named their largest river in the
north the Hoang-ho, because it cuts its
bed through yellow soil from which it
derives it's color. The yellow flood it
yours into the sea colors that part of
the ocean yellow, and hence the Chi
nese call the sea Hoang-hai, or Yellow
sea.
The Chinese unite the words in a
name so that they form one word, just
as we write Newtown Hartford or
Deerfield. Sometimes we unite the
words in a Chinese name and some
times we separate them. but there is no
reason, for example, why we should
write Tien-Tsin when we do not write
Picking. Each of these names is COM
posed of two words Pc means north"
and king means 1.-The capital or the
kings household" and thus Picking
means the northern capital. Tien means
heavenly and Tsin means place,
and thus the name of the largest city
in northwest China means Heavenly
place''-a name it has borne for many
centuries. When Marco Polo visited
the city in the thirteenth century he
translated its name into "Citta Celeste.
Many Chinese names we see in the
newspapers and do not even attempt to
pronounce would give us as much in
forTna ton, if we could translate them,
as a long sentence might do Hankow,
for example, is the name of a very i'm
portant city on. the Yang-tse-K iang.
There are only six letters in the name,
and yet any Chinese boy would know
from the two short words composing
it that it is the name of the town
standing at the 'kow'' mouth of
river named the Han. The Han is the
greatest tributary of the Yang-tse-
Kiang and plays a most important
part in the commercial life of that
teening valley, and the city built on
the spot where the Han mingles it's
waters with the Yang-tse is Hankow,
t. e.. the town at the mouth of the
Han.
The word Yang means ocean" tse
means son. and the name Yang-tse-
Kiang, which the Chinese applied ages
ago to their greatest river, shows that
they did not mean to depreciate it's i'm
portance. Some writers say the early
Chinese believed their largest river con-
tributed more water to the making of
the ocean than any other stream in the
world and so. in the name of the river
they conveyed the idea that the ocean