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Main article: Wikipedia:Naming conventions These guidelines mainly deal with the systematic naming of Chinese-related articles. Please follow the conventions below. If you disagree with any of the conventions, please discuss in the talk page. Also
[edit] CharactersAny encyclopedia entries whose titles are Chinese proper names should include both the Chinese characters and the Hanyu Pinyin representation for their names in the first sentence. The article title itself is normally the pinyin representation with the tone marks omitted: "Mao Zedong", not "Máo Zédōng", unless another spelling is common (see below). [edit] RomanizationMain discussion: Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (Chinese)/Transcription of Chinese Romanization presents some difficult issues in that it is a highly political issue. The most often used romanization is pinyin. Though some may politicise the use of pinyin, it is the most common way of romanizing Mandarin Chinese words. In general, the titles of Chinese entries should be in Hanyu Pinyin (but without tone marks). Exceptions would include:
When an entry is not in pinyin form, a redirect to the article from the pinyin form could be helpful. [edit] ApostrophesApostrophes are crucial in both Hanyu Pinyin and Wade-Giles. In Wade-Giles, an apostrophe is a part of the syllable, while in Pinyin it serves as a syllable delimiter. The Library of Congress Guidelines give the following rules for using the apostrophe in Hanyu Pinyin:
The apostrophe is required wherever there might be ambiguity in word boundaries. Xī'ān (西安), for example, might be interpreted as a single syllable xiān (先) if the apostrophe and the tones were not present. Fǎn'gǎn (反感) on the other hand might be confused with fāng'àn (方案), therefore the need of the second rule. Note that not every n- followed by -g creates ambiguity, as in jiàn'guó (建国) where uo is not a legal syllable. Some people apply the apostrophe in these cases nevertheless, for the sake of clarity. Also, exceptions to this rule exist even when ambiguity is possible, especially in proper nouns, for example, Hénán (河南). The second rule is not a strict rule, so you might want to do a google test to determine which usage is more popular. [edit] HyphensIn pinyin, hyphens are rarely used, mainly in double duplications following the schema AABB: láilái-wǎngwǎng (simplified Chinese: 来来往往; traditional Chinese: 來來往往, go back and forth). Character sequences for words with a single meaning, often consisting of two characters, seldom three, are written without intervening hyphen or space. This also holds for compound words combining two words to one meaning: hǎifēng (simplified Chinese: 海风; traditional Chinese: 海風, sea breeze). Copied from talk page According to the Library of Congress Guidelines for Hanyu Pinyin:
[edit] Names of people[edit] General principleThe encyclopedia should reference the name more familiar to most English readers. For most historical figures this means that the encyclopedia entry should reference the Chinese name (romanized in Hanyu pinyin) rather than the English name, with a redirect from the English name. However, there are exceptions for figures whose English name is more familiar (such as Confucius) and for figures who were raised in non-Chinese societies and whose Chinese names are unfamiliar (such as Vera Wang and Maya Lin). [edit] Order of namesPersonal names in Chinese, unlike Western names, present the family/clan name first. Unlike other instances where this occurs, it is standard practice in English to also present the family name first (for example, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping). There is an exception for people whose Chinese name is familiar but with English ordering (for example, Wen Ho Lee). In this case, the primary entry should be under the English ordering with a redirect from the Chinese ordering. [edit] Romanization of namesChinese names should be written in Hanyu Pinyin unless there is a more common romanization used in English (for example, Chiang Kai-shek, Sun Yat-sen) or when the subject of the article is likely to prefer a non-pinyin romanization as is often the case with people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and overseas Chinese communities (for example, Lee Teng-hui, Tung Chee Hwa, Lee Kuan Yew). When using pinyin for a Chinese name, pinyin spacing and capitalization conventions should be used. This includes keeping the family name separate and the given name capitalized. Some given names have only one syllable (for example, Li Yong). Many have more than one syllable, but the different syllables are never indicated by spacing, hyphenization, or capitalization. There should be no space between the first and second syllables of a given name, (for example, Jiang Zemin). However, there are two exceptions to avoid ambiguity. Sometimes it is necessary to show whether the name has one syllable or two (e.g. xian can be xian or xi an). Sometimes it is necessary to show where the syllable break lies (e.g. jingao can be jing ao or jin gao). In both cases, the pinyin convention adds a ' symbol to resolve ambiguity, for example, jin'gao vs jing'ao. When using Wade-Giles, a hyphen should be put between the two syllables of a given name, and the second syllable should not be capitalised (for example, Lee Teng-hui, not Lee Teng Hui). [edit] Names of groupsThe main entry for a Chinese group should be under the name most familiar to English speakers. In some cases, this will be the translated name (for example, Communist Party of China). In other cases, this will be the transliterated name (Kuomintang and Falun Gong). When the name is transliterated, the name should use the spelling conventionally used by English speakers (for example, Kuomintang). Where this is not the pinyin transliteration there should be a redirect to the article from the pinyin name. When a group uses a translated name, the Chinese characters should always be included. For example, this is especially needed in the entry for President of the People's Republic of China because the name used for President (zhuxi) is not the standard term used for President. Similarly Chinese characters should be included for the Democratic Progressive Party because the standard term used for the party (min-jin-dang) is a contraction of the full name (min-zhu jin-bu dang). Characters should also be included for National People's Congress because there are a number of different Chinese terms to translate Congress, and the entry should identify which one is used. [edit] Names of emperorsThe general principle is to use the name which is most familiar to Chinese readers. This violates the Wikipedia principle that the name most familiar to English readers should be used, because English readers are not usually familiar with any of the emperors. Summary of principles used:
The above is a rough guide and there are many exceptions. See Table of Chinese monarchs for a complete list of all Chinese monarchs, and follow the conventions given there. Because these are reign names and not personal names, the correct phrasing for emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty is the "Kangxi Emperor" rather than "Emperor Kangxi". [edit] Place names
Mainland China place names should be in Hanyu Pinyin. Place names in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas (such as Singapore) should be romanized in whatever way is commonly used for those places. Same goes for non-Han Chinese place names. So use Hohhot, Kashgar, and Shigatse, not Huhehaote, Kashi and Rikaze. (呼和浩特、喀什、日喀则) These conventions are guidelines only, and there are examples of exceptions, so please use your discretion. As always, all discussion is welcome on the talk page. See also the following official guidelines for spelling Chinese place names in Hanyu Pinyin: http://202.205.177.129/moe-dept/yuxin/content/gfbz/scanning/gfhbz/gfbz11.htm [edit] Topographical
[edit] Jurisdictional[edit] Historical
[edit] Established translations elsewhereHere are some established translations, officially used in China or frequently employed in Sinology literature.
[edit] TransportationUse the common English name of an expressway, highway, railway, railway station, or airport, if it can be determined. Otherwise, follow these patterns: As expressways and railways follow the {abr.[1]abr.[2] Expressway/Railway} format, ex (Jingshi Expressway for 京石高速公路), use abbreviations of the first and second cities as one word, followed by Expressway/Railway, please use first capital letter format.
Major railways follow the same format:
As do major Highways:
National Highways that are numbered simply follow the format {China National Highway [number]}:
Railway Station articles should have the city's name (or in some cases the station's unique name— for example, 北京丰台火车站) followed by a direction if applicable (North, South etc.), then [Railway Station]:
Airport articles should have the city's name followed by the [airport's name] if applicable, followed by [International Airport] or [Airport] for domestic:
[edit] CultureFor the cuisine of China, use established terms that are understandable. Try to avoid abbreviations.
For the various Chinese operas or other performance arts, use an established translation, or, if that is not available (which is usual), use pinyin.
And as always, work individual articles out on a case by case basis rather than let these conventions constrain you! [edit] Language/dialect NPOV
In general, one should avoid using the term "Chinese" to be synonymous with the spoken Mandarin Chinese. The status of the various the various spoken varieties ("lects") of Chinese is disputed. Sociolinguistically, they can be considered dialects of a Chinese language, but they satisfy the criteria of being separate languages by most standards, including mutual intelligibility and differences in grammar, phonology, and vocabulary. Due to these differences, linguistic classifications, and for practical reasons, the primary branches of Chinese should be treated as de facto separate languages, for the purposes of classification, listing, categorization, and terminology.
Nonetheless, linguistic classifications do not necessarily correspond with social conceptions and traditional Chinese classifications, and considering all of Chinese as a single language is an important part of the cultural identity of many Chinese people. Therefore, for NPOV purposes, avoid explicitly naming them either languages or dialects. Simply use the name itself if there is no ambiguity. If there is, then use "xxx Chinese" or "xxx Min" when there's dispute over whether to call it a language or dialect—this includes all first-level divisions and the second-level divisions of Min. For lower-level varieties, use "xxx dialect" or "xxx Mandarin" etc.:
In such articles, mention should be made of the language/dialect controversy. The issues over identification of the varieties of Chinese should be mentioned in the first-level divisions. However, the existence of this controversy shouldn't preclude them from being named as de-facto languages. In the event a language name is also the name used to refer to the people (i.e. Shanghainese), the language should take precedence as the primary article name with a disambiguation page for the people. Common, established English names of Chinese languages are preferred over that of their pinyin romanization, especially if the language has a wide diaspora of speakers outside of mainland China. This applies to such languages as Hakka, Teochew, Hokkien, and Amoy. [edit] Political NPOV
Wikipedia is descriptive, not prescriptive. Text should treat the Republic of China as a sovereign state with equal status with the People's Republic of China. Text should not take a position on whether they are considered separate nations. Text should not imply that Taiwan is either a part of China or not a part of China. Text should not imply that Taiwan is a part of the People's Republic of China. Text should not imply that mainland China, Hong Kong, and/or Macau are part of the Republic of China. As a general rule of thumb, the official political terms "People's Republic of China" or "PRC" and "Republic of China" or "ROC" should be used in political contexts (that is, to describe the existing governments or regimes) rather than the imprecise and politically charged terms "China" and "Taiwan." For example, "Hu Jintao is the President of the People's Republic of China" is preferred over "Hu Jintao is the President of China." Likewise, one should write "one must be an ROC citizen to vote in the ROC presidential election" as opposed to "one must be a Taiwanese citizen to vote in the Taiwanese presidential election." Text should merely state the fact that Taiwan is governed by an independent government/state/regime called the "Republic of China" (however it is not necessary to use the term de facto when doing so as that might imply a POV that the term de jure does not also apply). When it is necessary to describe the political status of Taiwan, special note should be made of Taiwan's complex position. The term "Taiwan Province" can be offensive to some people in some contexts and should only be used when attributed to its source or referring specifically to the existing division under the ROC (for example, "James Soong was the only popularly elected governor of Taiwan Province"). For organizations and international events, such as the Olympic Games or APEC, official terms should be used. In the case of the Olympics, one refers to the Chinese Taipei team, instead of the "Taiwanese team" or the "ROC team." Special care should be taken to put these terms in context—the "China" team in the 1952 Olympics, for example, should not be called the "Chinese Taipei" team as the latter term did not exist. Generally following the established convention of alphabetizing countries under their common names, the Republic of China (i.e. Taiwan) should be alphabetized under "T" while the People's Republic of China should be alphabetized under "C". The former can be listed, depending on context, either as " [edit] Republic of China, Taiwan, and variations thereofFollowing is the consensus guide on when to use which term in reference to subjects related to the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Also note that there are potential landmines when using the term "Chinese." In particular, some find a distinction between "Chinese" and "Tibetans" or between "Chinese" and "Taiwanese" to be objectionable and the terms "Han Chinese"/"Tibetans" and "Mainland Chinese"/"Taiwanese" are more politically neutral and use will depend on the context. For example, "Mainland Chinese businessmen look forward to meeting their Taiwanese counterparts" is more accurate and acceptable than with the word "Mainland" left out. The term "Mainlander" poses some issues. It is sometimes ambiguous whether this is referring to a resident of Mainland China or a member of the group that fled with the KMT to Taiwan in 1949. In referring to the latter group, the name is mildly objectionable when used in English and strongly objectionable when translated literally in Chinese. Preferred unambiguous names for the two groups are "Mainland Chinese" and "Wàishěngrén". [edit] JiedushiThe office of jiedushi was originated in mid-Tang Dynasty, and gradually grew in usage. Originating out of the military command structure of Tang border forces, the use of the office spread to the rest of the realm and remained as an important office with both military and civil responsibilities until the early Song Dynasty. In general, when discussing the office of jiedushi, except in the article about the office itself:
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