Sino-Persian Relations - Etymological Exchange

Etymological Exchange

The transmission of knowledge and materials between the two cultures during ancient times can still be seen in the Persian roots in Chinese loan words. These words typically come from the dialects of the Elamites:

Chinese terms and their Persian roots
Term Chinese Pinyin Persian root Persian Romanization
Lion 獅/狮 shī شیر Shir
Alfalfa 苜蓿 mù-xǖ buksuk
Grapes 葡萄/蒲桃 pú táo budāwa or buda
Pomegranate (安)石榴 (ān) shí líu آرتساخ Arsak
Amber 琥珀 hǔpò کهربا keherba
Wolfberry 枸杞 gǒuqǐ گوجه gojeh
Suona 嗩吶 suǒnà سورنا sornā

Read more about this topic:  Sino-Persian Relations

Famous quotes containing the word exchange:

    I cannot say what poetry is; I know that our sufferings and our concentrated joy, our states of plunging far and dark and turning to come back to the world—so that the moment of intense turning seems still and universal—all are here, in a music like the music of our time, like the hero and like the anonymous forgotten; and there is an exchange here in which our lives are met, and created.
    Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980)