Swatow

English

Banknote of the National Industrial Bank of China, Swatow Branch (1920)

Etymology

From the Postal Romanization of Teochew 汕頭／汕头 (suan1 tao5).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /swɑːˈtaʊ/

Proper noun

Swatow

1. (dated) Shantou (a prefecture-level city in Guangdong, China)
   • [1862 [1859], John E. Ward, “Proclamation of JOHN E. WARD announcing exchange of ratifications of Treaty”, in Treaties between the United States of America and China, Japan Lewchew and Siam, Acts of Congress, and the Attorney-General's Opinion, with the Decrees and Regulations Issued for the Guidance of U.S. Consular Courts in China‎^[2], Hongkong, →OCLC, page 22:

     The ports of Cháu-chau or Swatau, in the province of Kwangtung, and Taiwan on Formosa in the province of Fuhkien, will be opened to American commerce, and for Americans to reside with their families, on and after the first day of January, 1860.]

   • 1902, J. Campbell Gibson, Mission Problems and Mission Methods in South China‎^[3], 2nd edition, Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier, page 56:

     This was much too plain speaking for the Imperial devotee, and Han Yü was sentenced to death. On the remonstrance of his fellow-ministers this sentence was commuted, and he was banished under the guise of an appointment to the post of governor of what was then the barbarous region near Swatow. Here he taught the barbarous people, and is still remembered as their greatest benefactor. His expulsion from the demon of ignorance is symbolised in a legend of his expulsion from the rivers of a huge crocodile. The remonstrance which he addressed to it, which is to be found among his works, is a curious combination of solemnity and humour.

   • 1920, Irving National Bank, Trading with the Far East: How to Sell in the Orient: Policies: Methods: Advertising: Credits: Financing: Documents: Deliveries‎^[4], 2nd edition, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, page 265:

     Bangkok is twenty-five miles from the mouth of the River Menam Chow Phya. The usual route to the city is from Singapore, by steamer or rail, though several shipping lines carry cargo direct. There are also steamship connections with Hong Kong, direct or via Swatow, a coastal service between Bangkok and the ports of French Indo-China, and occasional sailings to Java.

   • 1938, Robert Berkov, Strong Man of China: The Story of Chiang Kai-shek‎^[5], Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, page 46:

     With Waichow subdued and the enemy troops in the entire area surrendering or in headlong flight, Chiang struck at another malcontent general and captured the coastal city of Swatow.

   • 1977 May 15, “Political executions scare mainlanders”, in Free China Weekly‎^[6], volume XVIII, number 19, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3:

     A "public trial" at the "people’s park" in Swatow, Kwantung^{[sic – meaning Kwangtung]} on April 5, the anniversary of the Tienanmen riots in Peiping, was followed by execution of 11 citizens.

   • 2015, Stephen Harding, Last to Die : A Defeated Empire, A Forgotten Mission, and the Last American Killed in World War II‎^[7], Da Capo Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 25:

     There were none, and the only evidence of hostile action was some inaccurate anti-aircraft fire far below the F-7B as it made landfall just south of the first target, the port at Swatow.

   • 2015, Brian C. Bernards, Writing the South Seas: Imagining the Nanyang in Chinese and Southeast Asian Postcolonial Literature‎^[8], University of Washington Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 180:

     The extant scholarship on Sinophone Thai literature attributes the uniqueness of such works as Stormy Yaowarat Road to three aspects of their evocation of Teochew: their use of the Chaoyang-Swatow (Chaoshan) dialect of Teochew (particularly in the spoken dialogues of the text), their depiction of specific Teochew cultural practices like the regions' unique opera (ngiu) and tea ceremony (gongfu cha), and their emphasis on Teochew cultural and linguistic cultivation and preservation-an emphasis woven into the theme of the narratives.

   • 2018, Diana Danxia Zheng, Jia! The Food of Swatow and the Teochew Diaspora‎^[9], →ISBN, →OCLC‎^[10]:

     My family in Swatow prepares this using a fresh fish and just a few pantry staples as part of a quick meal.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Swatow.

Further reading

• “Swatow”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Swatow, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “Swatow”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Swatow”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Swatow” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.