Quote:
Originally Posted by kentaki
I have always thought these names are weird, but the phrase "西出都" is a part of a very famous Chinese poem "長恨歌" by 白居易 (Bai Juyi).
From Japanese Wikipedia ( http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%95%...%A8%E6%AD%8C):
翠華搖搖行復止、西出都門百餘里
I am not going to translate the first part, but the latter part means "It is over 100 miles west of the capital gate."
Remember, these were supposedly grown by rich and noble people? Many of them were "cultured," and familiar with both Chinese and Japanese literature. This is a reason that direct translation may not work in many cases. Myself isn't all that cultured, and found this out after Googling.
As for "東出都," it is probably like a word play. "西出都" was found in Kyoto Prefecture, and "東出都" in Shiga Prefecture. Yes, these names are general reference to where they were found, but current translation for these sound bit surreal or even absurd. |
I love the work you've done researching the language we learn so much just from the name. Matt is another one of our researchers he posts good stuff as well. Tracy holds the knowledge as well and a beautiful collection of Neos. This place rocks with Neo info, enthusiasm and your collection will grow.
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