Tianzhu (India)

Tianzhu
Chinese name
Chinese天竺
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyintiānzhú
Wu
RomanizationThi-tsoq
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingTin1-zuk1
Southern Min
Hokkien POJThian-tiok
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinesetʰen ʈɨuk̚
Old Chinese
Zhengzhang*qʰl'iːn tuɡ
Korean name
Hangul천축
Hanja天竺
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationcheonchuk
Japanese name
Kanji天竺
Hiraganaてんじく
Transcriptions
Romanizationtenjiku

Tianzhu is the historical Chinese name for India.

Tianzhu was also referred to as Wutianzhu (五天竺, literal meaning is "Five Indias"), because there were five geographical regions in the Indian subcontinent known to the Chinese: Central, Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern India.[1]

  1. ^ Cheung 2014, p. 179.