Changan

See also: Chang'an and Ch'ang-an

English

Etymology

From Mandarin 長安／长安 (Cháng'ān); reinforced by Hanyu Pinyin but lacking the apostrophe required to show the correct characters involved. See 隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào) for more.

Proper noun

Changan

1. (historical, sometimes proscribed) Alternative form of Chang'an, former name of Xi'an, a former capital of China.
   • 1884 September-October, J. Edkins, “Tauism in the Tsʽin and Han Dynasties.”, in The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, volume XV, number 5, page 342:

     In the poems of the historian Pʽan Ku, who belong to the 1st century there are two celebrated for their description of the palaces of Changan and Loyang. He wrote the first of these in order to persuade the emperor not to allow the old imperial buildings at Changan to be destroyed.

   • 1891, E. Koch, “On two Stones with Chinese Inscriptions.”, in E. Delmar Morgan, transl., Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland‎^[1], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 452:

     The second line contains a reference to the eastern capital under the T’ang dynasty, viz. the town of Lo yang, near the present Ho nan fu, in the province of Ho-nan, as distinguished from Changan the chief town, otherwise known as Si ngan fu.¹

     ¹ Cf. Sin T’ang shu (New History of the T’ang Dynasty), Geographical summary. [Chang gan “ was probably the most celebrated city in Chinese history and the capital of several of the most potent dynasties.” But it is chiefly remarkable as the site of the discovery of the stone Christian monument dating from the eighth century, cf. Yule’s Marco Polo, second edition, vol. ii. p. 21. — M.

   • 1977 February 6, T.K. Yang, “Chopsticks look simple-but beginners may have trouble!”, in Free China Weekly‎^[2], volume XVIII, number 6, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2, column 5:

     On the streets of Changan, the capital city of the Han Dynasty, there were many pork shops, wine shops and restaurants selling cooked meats and drinks.

   • 2002, Charles Benn, “History”, in Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty‎^[3], Greenwood Press, →ISBN, →ISSN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 10:

     He also enjoyed unprecedented favor from the emperor, who appointed him to high-ranking offices, dubbed him prince (a privilege usually reserved for members of the imperial clan), had a mansion built for him in Changan, and granted him the right to mint coins. By 755 An became aware that Chief Minister Yang, a cousin of Yang Guifei, in Changan was plotting to remove him from power and began to fear that he was losing the emperor's favor.

2. (sometimes proscribed) Alternative form of Chang'an, a district and former county of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.
   • 1991 [1987], Zou Zongxu, translated by Susan Whitfield, The Land Within the Passes: A History of Xian‎^[4], Viking, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 68:

     The exact sites of Feng and Hao have yet to be verified, but seven pits containing chariots, horses and other Zhou burial objects were discovered at Fengxi, and a concentration of Western Zhou relics and tombs was found in the area of Doumen in Changan County on the east bank of the Feng River.

Futher reading

• Chang'an, Changan, Ch'ang-an at Google Ngram Viewer
• “Changan, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “Changan”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.