Qiantang

See also: qiāntáng and Qiántáng

English

Alternative forms

• Ch‘ien-t‘ang, Ch'ien-t'ang (Wade–Giles)

Etymology

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 錢塘／钱塘 (Qiántáng), named for the dyke constructed on the river by Qian Liu, ruler of Wuyue, one of the Ten Kingdoms that succeeded the Tang dynasty.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃiˌænˈtæŋ/

Proper noun

Qiantang

1. A river in China, flowing north and east through Zhejiang into Hangzhou Bay.
   • [1669, John Nievhoff, translated by John Ogilby, An Embassy from the Eaſt-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China‎^[1], London: John Macock, →OCLC, page 238:

     In the Province of Chekiang, near the chief City of Hangcheu, runs a River, which in regard of its courſe, is called ſometimes Che, at other times Cientang, and in ſome places Cingan.]

   • 1985 December 22, Roy Reed, “HERE COMES THE SEVERN BORE”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 May 2015, Section 10, page 23‎^[3]:

     The Severn has England's best bore, but it is less impressive than some others. North America has a spectacular one on the Petitcodiac River in New Brunswick. India has several. The Amazon has one. The greatest of all is said to be on the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, China.

   • [1967, Lyn Harrington, “Sui—"The Son of a Talented Father Shows Talent"”, in The Grand Canal of China‎^[4], Rand McNally & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 27:

     The prince had the two old canals of the Wu kings widened, deepened, and lined with rock. Then he extended the canal around Tai Hu, and south to the Chientang River.]

   • 2002, R. Keith Schoppa, Song Full of Tears: Nine Centuries of Chinese Life at Xiang Lake‎^[5], Westview Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 3:

     To the west and beyond the lake to the south was the broad river the Qiantang, at its widest almost two miles across, at its narrowest, at least half a mile.

   • 2017 April 20, Gerri Marmer, “D.C. community and cultural events, April 20-27, 2017”, in The Washington Post‎^[6], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 April 2017, Social Issues‎^[7]:

     “Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean” Author, surfer and sailor Jonathan White discusses his book, in which he recounts being under Arctic ice with an Inuit elder, hunting for mussels in the dark cavities left behind at low tide, a race with the “Silver Dragon,” a 25-foot tidal bore that surges 80 miles up the Qiantang River, and interviewing monks who live in a tide-wreathed monastery on Mont Saint-Michel, France.

2. (historical) A former name of Hangzhou, China.

Translations

river

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 錢塘／钱塘 (zh) (Qiántáng)

• Marathi: छिएनठांग f (chienṭhāṅga)

Further reading

• Qiantang, Ch'ien-t'ang, Chien-tang, Chientang at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.