Ussuri

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• enPR: o͝o-so͝orʹē

Proper noun

Ussuri

1. A river forming part of the border between Heilongjiang, China and Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai, Russia.
   • 1912 January, “Russo-Chinese Relations”, in The Edinburgh Review‎^[1], volume CCXV, →OCLC, page 198:

     This Nerchinsk Treaty, exacted literally at the cannon's mouth, was not only the first concluded between China and Russia, but the first between China and any foreign Power. It was essentially a boundary treaty, though free trade between the two countries was also provided for ; yet the Chinese made the fatal mistake of leaving the eastern frontier, beyond the line of the Ussuri, for future definition, their only excuse being ignorance of the country ; though the Ming Emperors Hun-wu (1368-98) and Yun-lo, in 1413, had sent expeditions to the lower Amoor ; built temples there ; and erected stone monuments, with inscriptions, that still exist.

   • 1980, Melvin Gurton, Byong-Moo Hwang, China under Threat: The Politics of Strategy and Diplomacy‎^[2], Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 210:

     In Beijing’s view, in the absence of an explicit treaty provision, the central line of the main channel—the Thalweg principle—provided a legal basis for delimiting the boundary in the two rivers. On this basis, Beijing claimed that 600 of the rivers’ 700 islands—including Zhenbao Island on the Ussuri River, just 180 miles southwest of an important Soviet city, Khabarovsk—belonged to the P.R.C.

   • 2005, Michael P. Colaresi, “Climbing the Wall: The Sino-American Rivalry”, in Scare Tactics: The Politics of International Rivalry‎^[3], Syracuse University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 202:

     In January 1969, Chinese and Soviet soldiers fought around Zhenbao Island in the Ussuri River.

   • 2011 March 1, Thomas Grove, “Analysis: Russia turns military gaze east to counter China”, in Mark Trevelyan, editor, Reuters‎^[4], archived from the original on 19 August 2017:

     In 2008 Moscow ceded 174 square km (67 square miles) of land to Beijing on their shared border along the Ussuri and Amur Rivers, where the two powers exchanged fire in 1969, leaving nearly 60 dead.

   • 2014 November 10, Andrew E. Kramer, “Gazprom Makes a New Gas Deal With China”, in The New York Times‎^[5], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2014-11-11, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS‎^[6]:

     Since the Ussuri River border skirmishes that marked the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, the Kremlin has perceived its long border with China as a security challenge as much as a commercial opportunity.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Ussuri.

Synonyms

• (from Mandarin Chinese) Wusuli, Wu-su-li

Derived terms

• Ussurian bullhead

Related terms

• Ussuriysk
• Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island

Translations

river

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 烏蘇里／乌苏里 (Wūsūlǐ)

• Japanese: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• Saul B. Cohen, editor (1998), “Ussuri”, in The Columbia Gazetteer of the World‎^[7], volume 3, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 3292, column 2
• “Ussuri”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• Ussuri, Wusuli, Wu-su-li at Google Ngram Viewer
• “Ussuri”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Ussuri”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Ussuri” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.