江东 (jiāng dōng) — Jiangdong, the region east of the lower Yangtze River (mainly historical, also used poetically)

Definition

江东 (Jiāngdōng) is a historical-geographical name for the region east of the lower Yangtze River, strongly associated with the Sun Wu kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period. Today it is a cultural/literary concept, not an administrative unit.

noun
Jiangdong, the region east of the lower Yangtze River (mainly historical, also used poetically)

Examples

  • ，江东，。
    Sān guó shí qī, sūn wú zhèng quán yǐ jiāng dōng wèi gēn jù dì, bú duàn kuò zhāng shì lì.
    During the Three Kingdoms period, the Sun Wu regime used Jiangdong as its base and continuously expanded its power.
  • “江东”。
    Dù mù de shī jù "jiāng dōng zǐ dì duō cái jùn" cháng bèi yòng lái xíng róng jiāng nán rén cái bèi chū.
    Du Mu's verse 'The youths of Jiangdong are talented and handsome' is often quoted to describe the abundance of talent in the Jiangnan region.
  • “江东”，。
    Rú jīn suǒ wèi de "jiāng dōng" yǐ jīng bú shì xíng zhèng qū huà, ér shì yí gè lì shǐ dì lǐ gài niàn.
    Today's so-called 'Jiangdong' is no longer an administrative division, but a historical-geographical concept.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

江jiāngriver
东dōngeast

江 is the river and 东 the east side, naming the region east of the Yangtze.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng江jiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

江 puts 氵, the water side, beside 工, which gives a sound; the water part points to its river meaning.

Open 江 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 东 →

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