Changsha
/tʂʰɑ̌ŋ ʂɑ́/noun
Changsha is the capital of Hunan Province in south-central China.
Did you know?The Mawangdui tombs near Changsha yielded remarkably preserved Han-dynasty silk manuscripts, including early medical, cosmological, and Daoist writings.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese
Old Chinese
長沙
“The characters were associated with the ideas “long” and “sand,” though the place-name’s original geographic reference is not completely certain.”
Warring States period
Chinese
長沙
“Changsha appears as an established regional place-name in early Chinese historical geography.”
2nd Century BCE
Han Chinese
長沙國
“The Kingdom of Changsha, a Han imperial vassal state, was established in the region.”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
長沙
“The name was pronounced approximately as a form of “jang sra,” reflecting the historical development of the Chinese characters.”
20th Century
Mandarin Chinese
长沙
“The traditional characters were simplified to 长沙 in mainland China.”
Modern English
English
Changsha
“Changsha became the standard English romanization for the modern Chinese city.”
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