姑蘇

See also: 姑苏

Chinese

		phonetic
trad. (姑蘇)		姑	蘇
simp. (姑苏)		姑	苏

Etymology

From the nearby Mount Gusu, likely loaned phonetically from an earlier Wu placename. Variously attested as 姑胥 (OC *kaː sŋa) in later writings that referred to the Kingdom of Wu era, possibly with Tai links (Zhengzhang, 1991).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Gūsū

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨ ㄙㄨ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gu¹ sou¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Gūsū
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨ ㄙㄨ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Gusu
    • Wade–Giles: Ku¹-su¹
    • Yale: Gū-sū
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Gusu
    • Palladius: Гусу (Gusu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku⁵⁵ su⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gu¹ sou¹
    • Yale: gū sōu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gu¹ sou¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gu¹ sou¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuː⁵⁵ sou̯⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: ku su

Rime
Character	姑	蘇
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	模 (23)	模 (23)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	古胡切	素姑切
Baxter	ku	su
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kuo/	/suo/
Pan Wuyun	/kuo/	/suo/
Shao Rongfen	/ko/	/so/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kɔ/	/sɔ/
Li Rong	/ko/	/so/
Wang Li	/ku/	/su/
Bernard Karlgren	/kuo/	/suo/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gū	sū
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gu1	sou1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*kˤa  s-ŋˤa/

  (Zhengzhang): /*kaː  sŋaː/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	姑	蘇
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gū	sū
Middle Chinese	‹ ku ›	‹ su ›
Old Chinese	/*kˁa/	/*s-ŋˁa/
English	father"s sister	revive
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	姑	蘇
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	4212	15937
Phonetic component	古	魚
Rime group	魚	魚
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	孤	蘇
Old Chinese	/*kaː/	/*sŋaː/

Proper noun

姑蘇

1. (～城) (historical) The capital of the state of Wu during the Zhou dynasty; a former city located at the site of present-day Suzhou

   • 女以諫者為必用邪？吳子胥不磔姑蘇東門外乎！ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     女以谏者为必用邪？吴子胥不磔姑苏东门外乎！ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Xunzi, c. 3^rd century BCE

     Rǔ yǐ jiàn zhě wéi bì yòng yé? Wú Zǐxū bù zhé Gūsū dōngmén wài hū! [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (～區) Gusu, a district of modern Suzhou, established in 2012 and comprising the Old City and downtown
3. (～山) Mount Gusu, a mountain near Suzhou
4. (～臺) Gusu Tower, a tower on Mount Gusu believed to have been built by King Fuchai of Wu

   • 居軍三年，吳師自潰。吳王帥其賢良，與其重祿，以上姑蘇。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     居军三年，吴师自溃。吴王帅其贤良，与其重禄，以上姑苏。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Guoyu, circa 4^th century BCE

     Jū jūn sān nián, Wú shī zì kuì. Wú wáng shuài qí xiánliáng, yǔ qí zhònglù, yǐ shàng Gūsū. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

5. (by metonymy, literary) Suzhou itself

   • 姑蘇城外寒山寺，夜半鐘聲到客船。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     姑苏城外寒山寺，夜半钟声到客船。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 8th century, Zhang Ji, 楓橋夜泊 (A Night Mooring Near Maple Bridge), translation based on Witter Bynner's translation

     Gūsū chéng wài Hánshān Sì, yèbàn zhōngshēng dào kèchuán. [Pinyin]

     And I hear, from beyond Suzhou, from the temple on Cold Mountain,
     Ringing for me, here in my boat, the midnight bell.

Synonyms

• (Suzhou City): 蘇州／苏州 (Sūzhōu)

Derived terms

• 姑蘇島／姑苏岛 (Gūsūdǎo)
• 姑蘇臺／姑苏台
• 蘇州／苏州 (Sūzhōu, “Suzhou”)

 

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
姑	蘇

Proper noun

姑蘇

1. chữ Hán form of Cô Tô.