Huangmei
/ˌhwɑːŋˈmeɪ/noun
Huangmei is a county in Hubei, China, and the name associated with the Huangmei style of Chinese folk opera.
Did you know?Although Huangmei opera bears the county’s name, the modern theatrical form developed largely in neighboring Anhui after performers carried the tradition beyond Hubei.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese, c. 1st millennium BCE
Old Chinese
黃梅 (*N-kʷˤaŋ mˤə)
“The compound meant “yellow plum”; the individual reconstructions are conventional scholarly approximations.”
Middle Chinese, c. 6th–10th centuries
Middle Chinese
Hwang-mej
“A pronunciation corresponding broadly to “yellow plum,” preserved in the Chinese character compound 黃梅.”
Tang–Song period, 7th–13th centuries
Chinese
黃梅
“A place-name referring to Huangmei in present-day Hubei, historically associated with the cultivation or naming of yellow plums.”
Ming–Qing periods, 14th–19th centuries
Late Imperial Chinese
黃梅調
““Huangmei tune” or “Huangmei style,” a label connected with regional folk singing and theatrical performance.”
20th century
Mandarin Chinese
Huángméi
“The modern Mandarin pronunciation of 黃梅; Huangmei opera became widely known through popular theater and film.”
Modern English
English
Huangmei
“An English romanization used for the Chinese place-name and for Huangmei opera or related cultural traditions.”