天王

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	king; Wang (proper name)
simp. and trad. (天王)		天	王

Etymology

Earliest extant attestation is in the Springs and Autumn Annals [c. 5th century BCE]:

• 秋，七月，天王使宰咺來歸惠公仲子之賵。 [MSC, trad.]

  ---

  秋，七月，天王使宰咺来归惠公仲子之赗。 [MSC, simp.]

  From: Spring and Autumn Annals, c. 5th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

  Qiū, qīyuè, tiānwáng shǐ zǎi Xuān lái guī Huìgōng Zhòngzǐ zhī fèng. [Pinyin]

  In autumn, in the seventh month, the Heaven-appointed king sent the [sub] administrator Xuan with a present of [two] carriages and their horses for the funerals of duke Hui and [his wife] the second-born Zi.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiānwáng

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄨㄤˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tin¹ wong⁴
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): thian-ông
• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ¹thi-waon

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiānwáng
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄨㄤˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tianwáng
    • Wade–Giles: tʻien¹-wang²
    • Yale: tyān-wáng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianwang
    • Palladius: тяньван (tjanʹvan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ wɑŋ³⁵/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 天亡 天王

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: tin¹ wong⁴
    • Yale: tīn wòhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tin¹ wong⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: tin¹ wong⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːn⁵⁵ wɔːŋ²¹/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 天王 天皇

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-ông
    • Tâi-lô: thian-ông
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tien'oong
    • IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² ɔŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ ɔŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² ɔŋ¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ ɔŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ ɔŋ²³/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ¹thi-waon
    • MiniDict: thi^平 waon
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹thi-hhuaan
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /tʰi⁵⁵ ɦuɑ̃²¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: then hjwang

Rime
Character	天	王
Reading #	1/1	1/2
Initial (聲)	透 (6)	云 (35)
Final (韻)	先 (85)	陽 (106)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	IV	III
Fanqie	他前切	雨方切
Baxter	then	hjwang
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/tʰen/	/ɦʉɐŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/tʰen/	/ɦʷiɐŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/tʰɛn/	/ɣiuɑŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/tʰɛn/	/ɦuaŋ/
Li Rong	/tʰen/	/ɣiuaŋ/
Wang Li	/tʰien/	/ɣĭwaŋ/
Bernard Karlgren	/tʰien/	/iwaŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tiān	wáng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	tin1	wong4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥ˤi[n]  ɢʷaŋ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*qʰl'iːn  ɢʷaŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	天	王
Reading #	1/2	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	tiān	wáng
Middle Chinese	‹ then ›	‹ hjwang ›
Old Chinese	/*l̥ˁi[n]/	/*ɢʷaŋ/
English	heaven	king
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	天	王
Reading #	1/1	1/2
No.	12387	12742
Phonetic component	天	王
Rime group	眞	陽
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	天	王
Old Chinese	/*qʰl'iːn/	/*ɢʷaŋ/

Noun

天王

1. (chiefly historical) the son of heaven; emperor

   • 天王使召武公，內史過，賜晉侯命。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     天王使召武公，内史过，赐晋侯命。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Tiānwáng shǐ Shào Wǔgōng, nèishǐ Guò, cì Jìnhóu mìng. [Pinyin]

     The Heaven-appointed king sent duke Wu of Shao, and Guo, the historiographer of the interior, to confer the symbol of his rank on the marquis of Jin.

   • 文、宣、靈宗，興鄜、密、上、下，用事四帝，而天王不匡，反致文、武胙。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     文、宣、灵宗，兴鄜、密、上、下，用事四帝，而天王不匡，反致文、武胙。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Yang Xiong, Fa Yan (Exemplary Sayings), 9 CE

     Wén, Xuān, Líng zōng, xìng Fū, Mì, Shàng, Xià, yòng shì sì dì, ér tiānwáng bù kuāng, fǎn zhì Wén, Wǔ zuò. [Pinyin]

     Dukes Wen, Xuan and Ling built temples at Fu, Mi, Shang and Xia to sacrifice to the Four Deities. The Son of Heaven did not rectify this, and to the contrary, wrongly made offerings to King Wen and King Wu.

   • 瀛海東南各一方，齊趨象闕拜天王。 [Vietnamese Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     From: 《朝鮮正使前以扇贈故云》 ("The Korean Envoy Previously Gifted Me a Fan, so I Reply"), by Lê Quý Đôn to Hong Gye-hui, 1760

     Doanh hải đông nam các nhất phương, tề xu tượng khuyết bái thiên vương. [Sino-Vietnamese]

     Each from the east and south of the vast oceans, we hurry together to the palace to pay respect to the sovereign.

2. Name for deities in the Chinese folk religion or some religions.
3. one who is extraordinary or excellent; king; master; superstar; idol

Usage notes

This term originally gained popularity during the Spring and Autumn Period in reference to the Zhou kings. Later on, the term 天子 (tiānzǐ) gradually gained more favor, even though 天子 (tiānzǐ) had been apparently attested earlier in Zhou dynasty's bronze inscriptions.

Derived terms

• 四大天王 (sìdàtiānwáng)
• 多聞天王／多闻天王 (Duōwén Tiānwáng, “Vaiśravaṇa”)
• 天王巨星
• 天王星 (Tiānwángxīng)
• 天王殿
• 天王老子
• 托塔天王
• 托塔李天王
• 童天王

 

See also

• 天皇 (tiānhuáng)

Proper noun

天王

1. (historical) Heavenly King (the title for Hong Xiuquan, the head of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom)
2. (～村) Tianwang (a village in Xinshi, Jingshan, Jingmen, Hubei, China)

Japanese

Etymology

Kanji in this term
天	王
てん Grade: 1	おう > のう Grade: 1
on’yomi

The ō reading for 王 changes to nō as an instance of renjō (連声).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) てんの​ー [tèńnóꜜò] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞nːo̞ː]

• Homophone: 天皇

Noun

天(てん)王(のう) • (tennō) ^{←てんわう (ten'wau)?}

1. (Buddhism) heavenly king