裡海

Chinese

 
inside; within; in
inside; within; in; lining of clothing
ocean; sea
trad. (裡海/裏海) /
simp. (里海)
Literally: “internal sea”.

Etymology

Literally "inland sea" or "inland lake", attested in the book 《海國聞見錄》 (An Account of Seas and Lands) by the 18th-century Qing naval officer Chen Lunjiong (陳倫烱).

裏海東北西北俄羅斯西鹿西南白頭大海不通出海裏海 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
里海东北西北俄罗斯西鹿西南白头大海不通出海里海 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: 陳倫烱 (1730) “小西洋記”, in 海國聞見錄 (in Chinese), volume 1, published 1793, page 29
Lǐhǎi zhě, zhū guó huán ér rào zhī: dōngběi Xìmìlǐyě, xīběi Éluósī, dōng Sānmǎ'ěrdān, xī Rělùrěyě, xīnán Dōng Duō'ěrqí, nán Bāoshè Dà Báitóu. Nèi zhù dàhǎi, bùtōng hǎi zhào; qí shuǐ wéi cóng Bāoshè chūhǎi, gù wéi Lǐhǎi. [Pinyin]
The Inland Sea is surrounded by the following nations. To the northeast, Siberia; northwest, Russia; east, Samarkand; west, Georgia; southwest, East Turkey; and the south, Pars the Greater White-Turbans. It is a great inland sea into which rivers flow, and it is separated from the maritime routes. Its water only drains into the ocean from Pars. For this it is called the Inland Sea.

Chen's account contained numerous anachronisms and inaccuracies such as the supposed drainage from Persia. Nevertheless, later Chinese geographers such as Wei Yuan (魏源) and He Qiutao (何秋濤) quoted extensively from Chen. He Qiutao correctly identified the lake as truly endorheic.

Pronunciation


Proper noun

裡海

  1. Caspian Sea

Derived terms

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