Gusu Mountain
/ˈɡuːsuː ˈmaʊntən/noun
A historic mountain and place-name associated with Suzhou in Jiangsu, China.
Did you know?The characters 姑苏 literally resemble “aunt” and “perilla,” but scholars generally treat Gusu as an ancient place-name whose original meaning is uncertain rather than a literal phrase.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient China
Old Chinese
姑苏
“Gusu; an ancient place-name associated with the region of present-day Suzhou”
Warring States period
Chinese
姑苏山
“Gusu Mountain; the mountain name connected with the ancient Wu region”
Han Dynasty
Chinese
吴郡
“Wu Commandery, the administrative region encompassing the Gusu area”
Middle Chinese
Chinese
姑蘇
“The established historical form of the place-name, pronounced differently from modern Mandarin”
Modern Chinese
Mandarin
姑苏山 (Gūsū Shān)
“Gusu Mountain; 山 means “mountain””
Modern English
English
Gusu Mountain
“An English rendering of the Chinese geographical name”
Explore more surprising origins