Xian

See also: xī'àn, xian, xián, xiàn, xiān, xiǎn, Xi'an, Xī'ān, and xī'ān

English

Etymology 1

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Chinese 西安 (Xī'ān, “Western Peace”), without syllable-dividing mark (隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào)).

Proper noun

Xian

1. (sometimes proscribed) Alternative form of Xi'an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi, in central China.
   • 1986 June 16, “CHINESE TOMB FOUND TO BE VICTIM OF GRAVE ROBBERS”, in The New York Times‎^[3], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 May 2015, B, page 10‎^[4]:

     "Archeologists drew almost a complete blank in their search of the inner tomb," the official New China News Agency said Saturday in a report of excavations at the tomb site, thought to be between 2,200 and 2,800 years old. The site is in Fengxiang County of Shaanxi Province, about 90 miles west of the ancient Yellow River capital of Xian.

   • 1990, Ronald Reagan, An American Life‎^[5], Pocket Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 371:

     Next came several more days of sightseeing that included a few opportunities to observe the changes going on in China, as well as a fascinating look into its past. We flew to Xian, the ancient capital of China, then drove almost ninety minutes to the tomb of China's first emperor and the site where archaeologists had unearthed hundreds of life-size terra-cotta figures of soldiers standing in ranks, complete with horses and chariots, to guard the tomb. "They know there are more than 7,000 [terra-cotta soldiers] that haven't been uncovered yet," I wrote that evening in my diary: "It is an unforgettable experience. This—plus the drive past villages surrounded by endless wheat fields dotted here and there with burial mounds and relics of China's ancient past—made for a day we'll long remember."

   • 2000 December 6, Mark Landler, “Could Terra-Cotta Warriors Be a Trojan Horse?”, in The New York Times‎^[6], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 March 2023, World, page 2‎^[7]:

     A fervent believer in an afterlife, Qin Shihuang ordered his tomb to be guarded by 8,000 terra-cotta statues. This grandiose resting place was accidentally disinterred in 1976 by farmers digging a well in the ancient capital, Xian, during a drought.
     Dr. Huang broached the idea of a terra-cotta exhibit on a trip to Shanxi Province, where Xian is located, three years ago.

   • 2003 April 13, New York Board of Regents, quotee, “Pop Quiz; Third Rock From the Sun”, in The New York Times‎^[8], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2009-04-14, EDUCATION‎^[9]:

     3. One reason for the growth and success of ninth-century cities like Baghdad, Constantinople and Ch'ang-an (Xian) was that they . . .
     a. were part of the Roman Empire
     b. tolerated religious diversity
     c. traded only with people from their immediate region
     d. were located on major trade routes

   • 2010, John James Kennedy, “Rural China: Reform and Resistance”, in William A. Joseph, editor, Politics in China: An Introduction‎^[10], Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 227:

     According to the 2000 Census for Shaanxi province, Hu county near the provincial capital of Xian municipality has over 250,000 residents, while the geographically larger, but more remote Ganquan county has only 30,000.

   • 2014, Lu Hsiu-lien, Ashley Esarey, My Fight for a New Taiwan‎^[11], University of Washington Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 266:

     Lien Chan had a PhD from the University of Chicago and was the heir to a vast family fortune. Born in Xian, China, in the 1940s, he never developed a feel for Taiwan’s common people.

   • 2018 February 23, Lucas Peterson, “Xian Offers Terracotta Warriors, Stunning Food and Plenty of Bargains”, in New York Times‎^[12], archived from the original on 23 February 2018:

     But Xian, the north-central Chinese city whose name means “western peace,” is much more than its collection of warriors. It’s one of the oldest cities in China: It has seen the likes of Marco Polo during his Silk Road journey, and been home to Buddhist sutras brought from India by Xuanzang, a monk whose journey inspired one of the greatest works of Chinese literature, “Journey to the West.” Xian was also one of the first Chinese cities introduced to Islam, and its Muslim Quarter, located in the city center, is now one of the city’s most thriving tourist areas.

   • 2018 August 18, Windy Li, “Heartaches, headaches and hukou: how China’s bureaucracy tangled people in red tape”, in South China Morning Post‎^[13], archived from the original on 2018-08-18, People & Culture‎^[14]:

     A man living in a newly constructed building in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, was unable to obtain a birth registration form for his pregnant wife because no district was officially assigned to the building.

   • 2022 January 5, Didi Tang, “Chinese swap possessions for food in lockdown city”, in The Times‎^[15], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 January 2022, Coronavirus‎^[16]:

     “I traded half a bottle of chilli pepper for six packs of instant noodles, one courgette and two carrots,” one Xian resident wrote on Weibo, the social media platform. Xian has become the largest Chinese city to be hit with draconian restrictions since the pandemic first broke out in Wuhan and prompted Beijing to seal off that city for 76 days in early 2020.
     Authorities locked down Xian on December 22 and ordered its residents to stay home after a cluster of coronavirus cases. Two hundred and fifty-five case were thought to have been recorded — tiny in comparison to outbreaks overseas. Across China today, there were 91 cases identified, including a further 35 in Xian.

   • 2022 March 21, “Chinese Boeing jet crashes in mountains with 132 on board, no sign of survivors”, in Reuters‎^[17], archived from the original on 21 March 2022:

     In 1994 a China Northwest Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 flying from Xian to Guangzhou crashed, killing all 160 on board in China's worst-ever air disaster, according to Aviation Safety Network.

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

Usage notes

Xian can be considered a misspelling of Xi'an. In theory, a syllable-dividing mark (隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào)) should be added before a non-initial syllable beginning with a, o, or e. Hence, Xian could only ever refer to a word made up of the single syllable xian (cf. xian) since a word made up of xi and an would be spelled as Xi'an (cf. Xi'an). In practice, syllable-dividing marks are often added or omitted at will.

Further reading

• “Xian, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “Xian”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Xian” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Chinese 咸 (Xián).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃiæn/, /ʃiɛn/

Proper noun

Xian (plural Xians)

1. A surname from Chinese.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Xian is the 38050^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 583 individuals. Xian is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (97.6%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Xian”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

Etymology 3

From X as a stand-in for Ancient Greek Χ (Kh) as an initial representing Χριστος (Khristos, “Christ, the Anointed One”), q.v. In present use, a modern coinage after the model of Xmas.

Alternative forms

• xian
• Xtian

Pronunciation

• like Christian
• Homophone: Christian

Noun

Xian (plural Xians)

1. (sometimes derogatory or offensive) Abbreviation of Christian.

Adjective

Xian (not comparable)

1. (sometimes derogatory or offensive) Abbreviation of Christian.

Usage notes

Although there is nothing offensive in the derivation of the term itself, its informal nature and use among skeptics and atheists sometimes makes the form seem dismissive or offensive to Christians.

Related terms

• Xianity, Xtianity
• Xmas

 

References

• What does 'xian' mean?

Anagrams

• Axin, Naxi, axin