安敦

Chinese

		content; calm; still content; calm; still; quiet; to pacify; peace; how	kindhearted; place name
trad. (安敦)		安	敦
simp. #(安敦)		安	敦

Etymology

Unclear.

Generally believed to be a corrupted form of the name of one of the Antonines (Pulleyblank, 1999). According to the Hou Hanshu, in 166 CE an embassy from Rome supposedly arrived in China via what is now modern Vietnam:

至桓帝延熹九年，大秦王安敦遣使自日南徼外獻象牙、犀角、玳瑁 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

---

至桓帝延熹九年，大秦王安敦遣使自日南徼外献象牙、犀角、玳瑁 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of the Later Han, circa 5^th century CE

zhì Huándì Yán Xī jiǔ nián, Dàqín wáng Āndūn qiǎnshǐ zì Rìnán jiào wài xiàn xiàngyá, xījiǎo, dàimào [Pinyin]

In the ninth year of the Yanxi era of Emperor Huan of Han (166 C.E.), the king of Daqin (Rome) Andun sent an embassy from the frontiers of Rinan offering elephant tusks, rhinoceros horns, turtle shells […]

The exact identity of this figure is disputed and the details about the embassy reported in the Hou Hanshu are quite controversial. The hypothesis that the name Andun was referred to Antoninus Pius is often rejected by most historians, mainly because he died several years before 166 C.E. (Clements, 2014). Therefore, is generally believed to be one of his successors, most likely Marcus Aurelius (Baxter and Sagart, 2014).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Āndūn

  (Zhuyin): ㄢ ㄉㄨㄣ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): on¹ deon¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Āndūn
    • Zhuyin: ㄢ ㄉㄨㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Andun
    • Wade–Giles: An¹-tun¹
    • Yale: Ān-dwūn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Anduen
    • Palladius: Аньдунь (Anʹdunʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀän⁵⁵ tu̯ən⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: on¹ deon¹
    • Yale: ōn dēun
    • Cantonese Pinyin: on¹ doen¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: on¹ dên¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɔːn⁵⁵ tɵn⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: 'an twon

Rime
Character	安	敦
Reading #	1/1	2/4
Initial (聲)	影 (34)	端 (5)
Final (韻)	寒 (61)	魂 (55)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	烏寒切	都昆切
Baxter	'an	twon
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʔɑn/	/tuən/
Pan Wuyun	/ʔɑn/	/tuon/
Shao Rongfen	/ʔɑn/	/tuən/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʔan/	/twən/
Li Rong	/ʔɑn/	/tuən/
Wang Li	/ɑn/	/tuən/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʔɑn/	/tuən/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	ān	dūn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	on1	deon1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ʔ]ˤa[n]  tˤur/

  (Zhengzhang): /*qaːn  tuːn/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	安	敦
Reading #	1/3	2/3
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	ān	dūn
Middle Chinese	‹ 'an ›	‹ twon ›
Old Chinese	/*[ʔ]ˁa[n]/	/*tˁur/
English	peace(ful)	solid, thick
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	安	敦
Reading #	1/1	3/4
No.	11	2597
Phonetic component	安	敦
Rime group	元	文
Rime subdivision	1	2
Corresponding MC rime	安	敦
Old Chinese	/*qaːn/	/*tuːn/

Proper noun

安敦

1. The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
   1. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, Roman emperor (121–180 C.E.)