Tianzhu (India)
| Tianzhu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | Thiên Trúc | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 천축 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanja | Thiên Trúc | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | Thiên Trúc | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hiragana | てんじく | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| HistoricalChinese exonyms |
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Tianzhuis the historical Chinesename for India.
Tianzhu was also referred to asWutianzhu(Năm ngày Trúc,literal meaning is "Five Indias" ), because there were five geographical regions in theIndian subcontinentknown to the Chinese:Central,Eastern,Western,Northern,andSouthern India.[1]
Etymology
[edit]Originally pronounced asl̥induk[2]or*qʰl'iːn tuɡThiên TrúcinOld Chinese,it comes from the Chinese transliteration of unattested Old Persian diminutive *Hinduka-, which is from attested𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁h-i-du-u-š(Hindu),[3]which is itself derived from the Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš, the etymon also ofSanskritSindhu,the native name of theIndus River.Persians travelling in northwest India (present-day PakistaniSindhandPunjab) named the subcontinent after the river around the 6th century BC.[4]Tianzhuis just one of several Chinese transliterations of Sindhu.Yuāndú[5](Thân độcOCn̥i[ŋ][d]ˤuk) appears inSima Qian'sRecords of the Grand HistorianandTiandu(Thiên đốc) is used in theBook of the Later Han.[6]Yintejia(Ấn đặc già) comes from the KucheanIndaka,another transliteration ofHindu.[4]The western terms of Hindu and India also ultimately derive from the same Persian concept.
Extent
[edit]A detailed account of Tianzhu is given in the "Xiyu Zhuan" (Record of the Western Regions) in theHou Hanshucompiled byFan Ye(398–445):
"The state of Tianzhu: Also, named Yuandu, it lies several thousand li southeast ofYuezhi.Its customs are the same as those of Yuezhi, and it is low, damp, and very hot. It borders a large river. The inhabitants ride on elephants in warfare; they are weaker than the Yuezhi. They practise the way of Futu [theBuddha], [and therefore] it has become a custom [among them] not to kill or attack [others]. From west of the states Yuezhi andGaofu,and south until the Western Sea, and east until the state ofPanqi,all is the territory of Yuandu. Yuandu has several hundred separate towns, with a governor, and separate states which can be numbered in the tens, each with its own king. Although there are small differences among them, they all come under the general name of Yuandu, and at this time all are subject to Yuezhi. Yuezhi have killed their kings and established a general in order to rule over their people. The land produces elephants, rhinoceros, tortoise shell, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin. It communicates to the west withDa Qin[theRoman Empire], and [so] has the exotica of Da Qin.[7]"
Other languages
[edit]In Japan,Tianzhuwas pronounced asTenjiku.It is used in such works as the Japanese translation ofJourney to the West.
In Korea,Tianzhuwas pronounced asCheonchuk.It is used inWang ocheonchukguk jeon(An Account of Travel to the Five Indian Kingdoms), a travelogue by the 8th century Buddhist monkHyechofrom the Korean Kingdom ofSilla.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Cheung 2014,p. 179.
- ^Arjuna."“Thân độc” “Thân” tự nên như thế nào đọc? ".Biết chăng.
- ^""Trúc" cơ bản tin tức ".Cổ kim văn tự tổng thể.
- ^abCheung 2014,p. 181.
- ^"Từ ngữ" thân độc "Giải thích".Hán điển zdic.net.
- ^Taishan, Yu. (2014).Cina and the Mediterranean World in Ancient Times.Muzeul Brăilei Ed. Istros. p. 73.ISBN9789732724262.OCLC884445990.
- ^An anthology of Chinese discourse on translation.Cheung, Martha P. Y. Manchester, U.K. 3 June 2014. p. 77.ISBN9781317639282.OCLC881183919.
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