Jinling
/ˈdʒɪn.lɪŋ/; Mandarin /tɕín.lǐŋ/noun
A historical name for Nanjing, a major city in eastern China.
Did you know?Jinling was the name of Nanjing during several dynastic periods, and the city’s association with imperial capitals helped give the name a powerful aura in Chinese poetry and history.
Etymological Timeline
3rd century BCE
Chinese
金陵 (Jīnlíng)
““Golden Mound” or “Golden Hill”; an early name associated with the area of present-day Nanjing”
229 CE
Chinese
建业 (Jiànyè)
““Establishing achievement”; the name adopted when Sun Quan made the city a capital”
317 CE
Chinese
建康 (Jiànkāng)
““Establishing well-being”; a later name for the southern capital”
10th–13th centuries
Chinese
金陵 (Jīnlíng)
“Jinling; a revived historical name for the city”
14th century
Chinese
应天府 (Yìngtiānfǔ)
““Prefecture responding to Heaven”; the Ming-era name for Nanjing”
Modern English
English
Jinling
“A historical, literary, and cultural name for Nanjing”
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