{{Short description|Historical East Asian name for the India and the Indian subcontinent}} {{Chinese|c=天竺|p=tiānzhú|poj=Thian-tiok|j=Tin<sup>1</sup>-zuk<sup>1</sup>|wuu=Thi-tsoq|oc=*qʰl'iːn tuɡ|mc=tʰen ʈɨuk̚|oc-zz=*qʰl'iːn tuɡ|kanji=天竺|romaji=tenjiku|hanja=天竺|hiragana=てんじく|hangul=천축|rr=cheonchuk}} {{Wiktionary|天竺}} {{Historical Chinese exonyms}} '''''Tianzhu''''' ({{zh|c=天竺|p=Tiānzhú}}) is a historical Chinese name for India and broadly the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=“天竺”字的解释 {{!}} 汉典 |url=https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%A4%A9%E7%AB%BA |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=www.zdic.net |language=zh-cn}}</ref> {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Tian}} ({{Zh-no-labels|c=天|p=tiān}}) means "heaven", and {{tlit|zh|pinyin|zhu}} ({{Zh-no-labels|c=竺|p=zhú}}) means "bamboo" in Chinese.<ref>{{Cite web | title=竺 - Dong Chinese dictionary | url=https://www.dong-chinese.com/wiki/%E7%AB%BA | access-date=2025-08-18 | website=www.dong-chinese.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=Chinese character 竺 zhu2 du3 - meaning, pinyin, strokes, translation and more | url=http://hanzidb.org/character/%E7%AB%BA | access-date=2025-08-18 | website=hanzidb.org}}</ref>
''Tianzhu'' was also referred to as {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Wu Tianzhu}} ({{Zh-no-labels|c=五天竺|l=Five Indias|p=Wǔ Tiānzhú}}), because there were five geographical regions on the Indian subcontinent known to the Chinese: Central, Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western India.{{sfn|Cheung|2014|p=179}}
== Etymology == Originally pronounced as '''{{tlit|och|l̥induk}}'''<ref>{{Cite web|script-title=zh:「身毒」的「身」字该怎样读？|url=https://www.zhihu.com/question/19565738|website=知乎|author=Arjuna}}</ref> or '''{{tlit|och|*qʰl'iːn tuɡ}}''' (天竺) in Old Chinese, it comes from the Chinese transliteration of unattested Old Persian diminutive {{tlit|peo|*Hinduka-}}, which is from attested {{lang|peo|𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁}} {{tlit|peo|h-i-du-u-š}} ('''Hindu'''),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccamc.co/cjkv.php?cjkv=%E7%AB%BA|script-title=zh:竺"的基本信息|website=古今文字集成}}</ref> which is itself derived from the Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš, the etymon also of Sanskrit {{tlit|sa|Sindhu}}, the native name of the Indus River. Persians travelling in northwest India named the subcontinent after the river around the 6th century BC.{{sfn|Cheung|2014|p=181}} {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Tianzhu}} is just one of several Chinese transliterations of Sindhu. {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Yuandu}}<ref>{{cite web|script-title=zh:词语"身毒"的解释|url=http://www.zdic.net/c/b/ef/245967.htm|website=汉典 zdic.net}}</ref> ({{Old Chinese|n̥i[ŋ][d]ˤuk|{{Linktext|身毒}}|Yuāndú}}) appears in Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand Historian'' and {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Tiandu}} ({{Zh-no-labels|t=天篤|p=Tiāndǔ}}) is used in the ''Book of the Later Han''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cina and the Mediterranean World in Ancient Times|last=Taishan, Yu.|date=2014|publisher=Muzeul Brăilei Ed. Istros|isbn=9789732724262|pages=73|oclc=884445990}}</ref> {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Yintejia}} ({{Zh-no-labels|c=印特伽|p=Yìntèjiā}}) comes from the Kuchean {{tlit|txb|Indaka}}, another transliteration of ''Hindu''.{{sfn|Cheung|2014|p=181}} The western terms of Hindu and India also ultimately derive from the same Persian concept.
== Extent ==
A detailed account of Tianzhu is given in the "Xiyu Zhuan" (Record of the Western Regions) in the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Hou Hanshu}} compiled by Fan Ye (398–445):
{{Quote|"The state of Tianzhu: Also, named Yuandu, it lies several thousand li southeast of Yuezhi. Its customs are the same as those of Yuezhi, and it is low, damp, and very hot. It borders a large river. The inhabitants ride on elephants in warfare; they are weaker than the Yuezhi. They practise the way of Futu {{bracket|the Buddha}}, {{bracket|and therefore}} it has become a custom {{bracket|among them}} not to kill or attack {{bracket|others}}. From west of the states Yuezhi and Gaofu, and south until the Western Sea, and east until the state of Panqi, all is the territory of Yuandu. Yuandu has several hundred separate towns, with a governor, and separate states which can be numbered in the tens, each with its own king. Although there are small differences among them, they all come under the general name of Yuandu, and at this time all are subject to Yuezhi. Yuezhi have killed their kings and established a general in order to rule over their people. The land produces elephants, rhinoceros, tortoise shell, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin. It communicates to the west with Da Qin {{bracket|the Roman Empire}}, and {{bracket|so}} has the exotica of Da Qin.<ref>{{Cite book|title=An anthology of Chinese discourse on translation|others=Cheung, Martha P. Y.|date = 3 June 2014|isbn=9781317639282|location=Manchester, U.K.|pages=77|oclc=881183919 |ref={{sfnref|Cheung|2014}} }}</ref>"|sign=|source=}}
== Other languages ==
In Japan, ''Tianzhu'' ({{lang|ja|天竺}}) is pronounced as {{tlit|ja|Tenjiku}}. It is used in such works as the Japanese translation of ''Journey to the West''.
In Korea, ''Tianzhu'' ({{lang|ko|天竺}}) is pronounced as {{tlit|ko|Cheonchuk}}. It is used in ''Wang ocheonchukguk jeon'' (An Account of Travel to the Five Indian Kingdoms), a travelogue by the 8th century Buddhist monk Hyecho from the Korean kingdom of Silla.
==See also== * Names for India
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Japanese historical terms Category:Historical Chinese exonyms Category:History of the foreign relations of Japan Category:History of the foreign relations of China Category:Names of places in Asia Category:Historical geography of India Category:Toponyms for India