襄陽

See also: 襄阳

Chinese

		assist	positive (electric.); sun; male
trad. (襄陽)		襄	陽
simp. (襄阳)		襄	阳

Etymology

Surprisingly unclear.

襄 (xiāng) is speculated to imply "tall and prone to floods", which is recorded in the Book of Documents. The city precincts received chronic floods up until the 1930's.

The term 陽／阳 (yáng, “sunny”) is typically used to refer to establishments on the north bank of a river or the south side of a mountain. Xiangyang is, however, situated north of Mount Hua and on the south bank of the Han River. The settlement north of the Han is Fancheng).

Several theories have been proposed, though very little geographical evidence has been found for any of them. Some include:

• The Han River may have flowed south of Xiangyang, hence the modern-day bend just east of the city
• There was a small river called the Xiang that used to flow south of the city
• There was a "Mount Xiang" in the past that was north of Xiangyang

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Xiāngyáng

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄤ ㄧㄤˊ

• Eastern Min (BUC): Siŏng-iòng
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): Siong-iông
• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹shian-yan

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Xiāngyáng
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄤ ㄧㄤˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Siangyáng
    • Wade–Giles: Hsiang¹-yang²
    • Yale: Syāng-yáng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Shiangyang
    • Palladius: Сянъян (Sjanʺjan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ jɑŋ³⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: Siŏng-iòng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /suoŋ⁵⁵ ^(Ø-)ŋyoŋ⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siong-iông
    • Tâi-lô: Siong-iông
    • Phofsit Daibuun: siong'ioong
    • IPA (Xiamen): /siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² iɔŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /siɔŋ³³ iɔŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² iɔŋ¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ iɔŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ iɔŋ²³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹shian-yan
    • MiniDict: shian^平 yan
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹xian-hhian
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɕiã⁵⁵ ɦiã²¹/

Proper noun

襄陽

1. (～市) Xiangyang (a prefecture-level city in Hubei, China)
2. (～區) (historical) Xiangyang (a district of Xiangfan, Hubei, China)
3. (～郡) Yangyang (a county of Gangwon Province, South Korea)

Synonyms

• 襄樊 (Xiāngfán)

Descendants

• → English: Xiangyang, Siangyang, Siang-yang, Hsiang-yang