QA问答：我发现中国人称印度为“Yindu”而不是印度人称呼的“巴拉特”，为什么，能让他们改吗？AS回答：以前他们叫你们“身毒”，现在的名字已经很好了。网友恶搞“你从哪里来的？”
Why do the Chinese call India “Yìndù” and not “Bhaarat” as it is designated by those from India?
译文简介
网友：古印度在中国古代文献中有很多记载，名字也有很多。“印度”是用得比较多的一个，所以一直流传至今，成为正式名称。我先简单介绍一下中国古代印度的名称：1.身毒, 辛头, 信度, 贤豆
正文翻译
@Aya Shawn
Living in Singapore, professional investorJan 23
Ancient India has many records in ancient Chinese documents
There are also many names
"Yindu" is the one that is used more often, so it has been passed down to this day and has become the official name.
Let me give a brief introduction to the names of India in ancient China:
1. Shendu, xintou, xindu, xiandou
古印度在中国古代文献中有很多记载
名字也有很多
“印度”是用得比较多的一个，所以一直流传至今，成为正式名称。
我先简单介绍一下中国古代印度的名称：
1.身毒, 辛头, 信度, 贤豆
These names mainly appear in documents before the Tang Empire, the most common of which is "shendu")
They are basically transliterations of ancient Sanskrit, and due to the clutter of ancient spoken languages, many versions appeared when they were recorded into Chinese. But their pronunciation is similar.
Actually it is Sanskrit Sindhu
The earliest name Shendu appears in "Historical Records of Dayuan", 100 BC.
At this time India was recorded as a piece of the Western world, but not a country.
The meaning of Shendu in Chinese characters. Its approximate meaning is: the body is poisonous.
这些名称主要出现在唐帝国之前的文献中，其中最常见的是“身毒”）
它们基本上是古梵文的音译，由于古代口语的杂乱，在转换成汉语时出现了很多版本。但他们的发音很相似。
其实是梵文Sindhu的音译
身毒这个名字最早出现在公元前100年的《大宛史记》中。
此时印度被记录为西方世界的一部分，而不是一个单独国家。
身毒在汉字中的意思。它的大概意思是：身体有毒。
They are basically transliterations of ancient Sanskrit, and due to the clutter of ancient spoken languages, many versions appeared when they were recorded into Chinese. But their pronunciation is similar.
Actually it is Sanskrit Sindhu
The earliest name Shendu appears in "Historical Records of Dayuan", 100 BC.
At this time India was recorded as a piece of the Western world, but not a country.
The meaning of Shendu in Chinese characters. Its approximate meaning is: the body is poisonous.
这些名称主要出现在唐帝国之前的文献中，其中最常见的是“身毒”）
它们基本上是古梵文的音译，由于古代口语的杂乱，在转换成汉语时出现了很多版本。但他们的发音很相似。
其实是梵文Sindhu的音译
身毒这个名字最早出现在公元前100年的《大宛史记》中。
此时印度被记录为西方世界的一部分，而不是一个单独国家。
身毒在汉字中的意思。它的大概意思是：身体有毒。
2. Guishuang
In documents from the Eastern Han Dynasty, India is sometimes recorded as Guishuang, which is actually the Chinese name of the Kushan Empire. At that time, most of northern India was controlled by the Kushan Empire. Chinese traders used this name to record the land
Kushan, if in Chinese characters, its approximate meaning is: expensive frost
2. 贵霜
在东汉时期的文献中，印度有时被记载为贵霜，这实际上是贵霜帝国的中文名称。当时印度北部大部分地区都被贵霜帝国控制。中国商人用这个名字来记录这片土地
贵霜，如果用汉字的话，它的大概意思是：昂贵的冰霜
In documents from the Eastern Han Dynasty, India is sometimes recorded as Guishuang, which is actually the Chinese name of the Kushan Empire. At that time, most of northern India was controlled by the Kushan Empire. Chinese traders used this name to record the land
Kushan, if in Chinese characters, its approximate meaning is: expensive frost
2. 贵霜
在东汉时期的文献中，印度有时被记载为贵霜，这实际上是贵霜帝国的中文名称。当时印度北部大部分地区都被贵霜帝国控制。中国商人用这个名字来记录这片土地
贵霜，如果用汉字的话，它的大概意思是：昂贵的冰霜
3. Tianzhu
The Tang Empire's official name for India. In the famous ancient Chinese novel "Journey to the West", the content of the story is that Tang Monk and the Monkey King went through tests and finally went to Tianzhu to obtain Buddhist scxtures.
The name first appeared in "Book of the Later Han: Biography of the Western Regions" in 500 AD
Tianzhu is actually still the transliteration of Sindhu, but because there are too many pronunciations, the similarity is very low.
Tianzhu, in Chinese characters, its approximate meaning is: musical instrument of the sky
3.天竺
唐帝国对印度的正式名称。中国古代著名小说《西游记》中，故事内容是唐僧与孙悟空历尽考验，最终前往天竺取经。
这个名字最早出现在公元500年的《后汉书·西域传》中
天竺其实还是Sindhu的音译，但是因为发音改变太多，相似度很低。
天竺，在汉字中，其大致意思是：天上的乐器
The Tang Empire's official name for India. In the famous ancient Chinese novel "Journey to the West", the content of the story is that Tang Monk and the Monkey King went through tests and finally went to Tianzhu to obtain Buddhist scxtures.
The name first appeared in "Book of the Later Han: Biography of the Western Regions" in 500 AD
Tianzhu is actually still the transliteration of Sindhu, but because there are too many pronunciations, the similarity is very low.
Tianzhu, in Chinese characters, its approximate meaning is: musical instrument of the sky
3.天竺
唐帝国对印度的正式名称。中国古代著名小说《西游记》中，故事内容是唐僧与孙悟空历尽考验，最终前往天竺取经。
这个名字最早出现在公元500年的《后汉书·西域传》中
天竺其实还是Sindhu的音译，但是因为发音改变太多，相似度很低。
天竺，在汉字中，其大致意思是：天上的乐器
4.Yindu
In the late Tang Empire, the famous monk and explorer Xuanzang traveled to India twice. And wrote the famous "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty"
This is a very important document，The history of the ancient Maurya Dynasty in India was basically discovered based on the records in this book.
The line of Xuanzang traveled to India
In this book, he believes that the name "Tianzhu" has been deformed, and the previous names were relatively confusing. Therefore, after communicating with local people, he believed that the more accurate pronunciation should be "Yindu". This name has been used ever since and has not changed again.
India, which is difficult to translate in Chinese characters, may be understood as: printed ruler, or my Chinese is not good enough, you can correct me.
4.印度
唐朝时期，著名的高僧、探险家玄奘两次到访印度。并写下了著名的《大唐西域记》
这是一本非常重要的文献，印度古孔雀王朝的历史基本上就是根据这本书的记载而发现的。
上图为玄奘前往印度的路线
在这本书中，他认为“天竺”这个名字已经变形了，而且以前的名字都比较混乱。因此，在与当地人交流后，他认为更准确的发音应该是“印度”。这个名字一直沿用至今，没有再变过。
印度这个汉字词很难翻译，可能会理解为：印刷的尺子，或者我的中文不够好，读者可以指正我。
In the late Tang Empire, the famous monk and explorer Xuanzang traveled to India twice. And wrote the famous "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty"
This is a very important document，The history of the ancient Maurya Dynasty in India was basically discovered based on the records in this book.
The line of Xuanzang traveled to India
In this book, he believes that the name "Tianzhu" has been deformed, and the previous names were relatively confusing. Therefore, after communicating with local people, he believed that the more accurate pronunciation should be "Yindu". This name has been used ever since and has not changed again.
India, which is difficult to translate in Chinese characters, may be understood as: printed ruler, or my Chinese is not good enough, you can correct me.
4.印度
唐朝时期，著名的高僧、探险家玄奘两次到访印度。并写下了著名的《大唐西域记》
这是一本非常重要的文献，印度古孔雀王朝的历史基本上就是根据这本书的记载而发现的。
上图为玄奘前往印度的路线
在这本书中，他认为“天竺”这个名字已经变形了，而且以前的名字都比较混乱。因此，在与当地人交流后，他认为更准确的发音应该是“印度”。这个名字一直沿用至今，没有再变过。
印度这个汉字词很难翻译，可能会理解为：印刷的尺子，或者我的中文不够好，读者可以指正我。
There are also some strange terms in China, all of which are related to ancient India. In fact, they do not come from India.
For example: Guinea pig, also called Tianzhu mouse in China
For example: geranium, called Tianzhu sunflower in China
中国还有一些奇怪的术语，都与古印度有关。事实上，他们并非来自印度。
例如：荷兰猪，在中国也称为天竺鼠
例如：geranium，中国称为天竺葵
For example: Guinea pig, also called Tianzhu mouse in China
For example: geranium, called Tianzhu sunflower in China
中国还有一些奇怪的术语，都与古印度有关。事实上，他们并非来自印度。
例如：荷兰猪，在中国也称为天竺鼠
例如：geranium，中国称为天竺葵
评论翻译
很赞 ( 23 )
收藏
I wonder if Hindu was pronounced into “Yindu”? Close enough, isn’t it?
我想知道Hindu是否发音为“Yindu”？足够接近了，不是吗？
That is exactly what it is. There is no surprise in it. Yindu, Sindhu, Hindu, Hindoo, etc
事实就是如此。这并不奇怪。印度教、辛德胡、印度教、印度教等
Nope. Complete nonsense.
没有。完全是废话。
Absolutely not. The Chinese monks who came to India didn't even know if there was a river name yintu through which the region got it's name. Read about the monk he wrote. It's on google as well. It was actually Yintu, which meant “Moon”.
全错。来到印度的中国僧人甚至不知道该地区是否有一条河流叫做Yintu而得名。阅读他所写的有关僧人的故事。谷歌上也有。它实际上是“Yintu”，意思是“月亮”。
I miss reading those Journey to the West comic books by Tsai Chih-Chung and Asiapac. It had quite the impact on me as a kid.
我怀念蔡志忠和亚太的西游漫画。它对我小时候的影响相当大。
Frankly I do not think Chinese care. If Hindu people want Chinese (and other countries and people) to start calling their country as “Bharat” instead of India, then just clearly and formally let China and the whole world know. China will oblige. Bharat or India, it really does not matter much for us.
坦白说，我不认为中国人在乎。如果印度教徒希望中国（以及其他国家和人民）开始称他们的国家为“Bharat”而不是印度，那么就明确、正式地让中国和全世界知道。中国将履行义务。巴拉特或印度，对我们来说确实没有多大关系。
Buddhism came from India and nobody can deny that. Sanskrit had long been practiced by Chinese monks. If you you look at some gods around Buddha you would seen gods look like Indian instead of Chinese.
佛教起源于印度，这一点无人能否认。中国僧侣长期以来一直练习梵文。如果你观察佛陀周围的一些神，你会发现神看起来像印度人而不是中国人。
All religions will be localized, Jesus is from the Middle East, but you will see Christ with blonde hair and blue eyes in Europe, and Christ with an East Asian face in Korea. Most Buddha statues in China have East Asian faces and have nothing to do with Indians.
所有宗教都会本地化，耶稣来自中东，但在欧洲你会看到金发蓝眼的基督，在韩国你会看到长着东亚面孔的基督。中国的佛像大多是东亚人的面孔，与印度人无关。
Not all religion localized. In Islam, because it is prohibited to draw God and the prophet, you won’t find any localization.
并非所有宗教都有本地化。在伊斯兰教中，因为禁止画上帝和先知，所以你找不到任何本土化的地方。
Localization is not just a change in the appearance of the statue. For example, as a mosque in a place of worship, the architectural styles vary greatly in different regions, which is a phenomenon of localization.
本土化不仅仅是雕像外观的改变。比如清真寺作为礼拜场所，不同地区的建筑风格差异很大，就是一种本土化的现象。
Sanskrit came from the central Asian steppes. So did the vedic culture that is a precursor to Hinduism. There are some nationalists in India today who are dead set against this but it's been demonstrated scientifically by over 100 academics from around the world, including from India.
梵文来自中亚草原。作为印度教先驱的吠陀文化也是如此。今天印度有一些民族主义者坚决反对这一点，但这一点已经得到了包括印度在内的世界各地100多名学者的科学证明。
Proto indo European came from outside India,vedic culture and Sanskrit were developed in India.
原始印欧语来自印度以外，吠陀文化和梵语是在印度发展起来的。
Everyone comes from Africa.
每个人都来自非洲。
If Chinese don't call Bharat, then we can call China poisonous ass
如果中国人不把印度叫做巴拉特，那么我们可以把中国叫做屁股有毒
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
The meaning of these Chinese characters is irrelevant in this case, as this is a direct vocal tanslataion.
这些汉字的含义在这种情况下是无关紧要的，因为这是直接的语音翻译。
I was actually going to ask about that because it seemed like the conclusion was that it was phonetic translations.
That being said, it did make me think how interesting and oddly funny it is that a word in your own language that probably just means ‘home of these people/religion’ or ‘land of this river’ means “the body is poison” in their language.
“Where do you come from?”
“the body is poison”
”get out of my country and stay out!”
我其实想问这个，因为结论似乎是音译。
话虽这么说，这确实让我觉得这是多么有趣和奇怪的有趣，在你自己的语言中，一个词可能只意味着“这些人/宗教的家园”或“这条河的土地”，用他们的语言在英语中居然意味着“身体是毒药”。
“你从哪里来的？”
“身体是毒药”
“滚出我的国家，呆在外面！”
“may be understood as: printed ruler, or my Chinese is not good enough, you can correct me.”
“Yindu”（印度）：If two Chinese characters are used alone, they have meaning. When these two Chinese characters are combined together, it becomes an exclusive noun. Just borrowing their pronunciation. There is no other meaning.
“Tianzhu”（天竺） is also
“可以理解为：印刷的尺子，或者我的中文不够好，你可以纠正我。”
“Yindu”（印度）：两个汉字单独使用就有意义。当这两个汉字组合在一起时，它就成为一个专有名词。只是借用了他们的发音。没有其他意义。
“Tianzhu”（天竺）也是这样
Really interesting answer, thanks, all new to me.
非常有趣的答案，谢谢，对我来说都是新知识。
I find the Chinese way of calling it even funnier. The Russians called them Kitay (Khitan), the enemy empire of the Chinese. China is also inspired by this. Imagine being called by your enemy's name.
我发现中国人的称呼方式更有趣。俄罗斯人称他们为Kitay（契丹），是中国人的敌人帝国。中国也从中受到启发。想象一下自己被叫成敌人的名字。
The history of the Liao Dynasty is part of Chinese history. It was the enemy of the Han regime at that time, not the enemy of the Chinese people in today's broad sense. Don't get the concept wrong.
Since the Golden Horde was the overlord of Europe for a long time from the 13th to the 15th century, and the Mongols called northern China Khitan, which later generally referred to China, Europeans were deeply aware of the power of the Golden Horde, so the Slavs who emerged during this period The Khitan-speaking ethnic groups and the Turkic-speaking ethnic groups all use Khitan as the pronoun of the Central Plains regime. There are still more than a dozen countries that call China "Khitan": Slavic-speaking countries (Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, etc.) call China "Kitai" (sound: Kitai); Turkic-speaking countries (countries in Central Asia) call China "Kitai" Kaitay”, “Kathay”, “Hatay”, “Katay”;
West Asian countries (Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.) call China "Katay" and "Khatay".
辽朝历史是中国历史的一部分 是当时汉族政权的敌人,不是现在广义中国人的敌人,别搞错了概念
由于金帐汗国自13世纪至15世纪长期是欧洲的霸主，而蒙古人称中国北方为契丹，后该词泛指中国，欧洲人深感金帐汗国的强大，所以在此期间兴起的斯拉夫语族和突厥语族诸民族均以契丹为中原政权的代名词。现在仍有十几个国家将中国称为“契丹”：斯拉夫语国家（俄罗斯、乌克兰、保加利亚等）称中国为“Китай”（音：Kitai）；突厥语国家（中亚各国）称中国为“Kaitay”、“Kathay”、“Hatay”、“Katay”；
西亚国家（伊朗、阿富汗、伊拉克等）称中国为“Katay”、“Khatay”。
In the book "天咫偶聞" (Random Observations Beyond the Horizon) by Qing Dynasty's Zhenjun, quoting from "西斎偶得" (Casual Finds in the Western Studio) by the Mongolian scholar Boming during the Qianlong period: "The Mongols call China '契塔特,' and the Westerners call China '吉代,' both are transliterations of '契丹.'"
清真君所著《天涯偶闻》中，引乾隆年间蒙古学者伯明的《西斎偶得》：“蒙古人\\\\西方人称中国为“契塔特”，西方人称中国为“吉代”，都是“契丹”的音译。
@DAVID
Yes we are definitely not Khitans. Its funny how Russians call Chinese Khitans.
是的，我们绝对不是契丹人。俄罗斯人如何称呼中国契丹人，这很有趣。
Isn't 神都 the city of the gods?
神都不是众神之城吗？
神都means 洛阳，shendu for india is 身毒, or something like that
神都是指的洛阳，印度是身毒, 发音听起来很像
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
@Yang Guo
Not “神都”, but “身毒(body poison”、“身度(body measurements）”、“申毒(stretch posion)”.
不是神都，而是身毒。他们的发音都一样。
I am quite sure the ancient Chinese would not use such words on a foreign nation.
我确信古代中国人不会用这样的词来形容外国。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
They did, as all these transliterations were found in ancient documents and scxtures.
他们这样做了，因为所有这些音译都可以在古代文献和经文中找到。
Did a quick search myself. OMG. You are right!
我自己快速搜索了一下。我的天啊。你是对的！
So, you're surprised, right?
LOL.
In fact, the Chinese 2,200 years ago believed that India was a place with low terrain, extremely humid air, and extremely hot summers. It is recorded in Chinese character as "卑湿暑热".
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
Therefore, India was translated as "body poison", which happened to be in line with the understanding of the Chinese at that time.
In addition, India today is actually still poisonous.
After all, feces, garbage, rotting corpses, and bacteria are full of the entire Ganges river system.
Local people in India may think that viruses in the water are not a problem, and they use Ganges water to bathe, brush their teeth, and drink.
But for the Chinese, it is f*** toooooooooo poisonous.
所以，你很惊讶，对吧？
哈哈。
事实上，2200年前的中国人就认为印度是一个地势低洼、空气极其潮湿、夏季极其炎热的地方。汉字记载为“卑暑热”。
这样的地方对于中国人（尤其是当时首都地区的人）来说是“有毒的”。
因此，印度被译为“身体有毒”，正好符合当时中国人的理解。
另外，今天的印度其实还是有毒的。
毕竟，粪便、垃圾、腐烂的尸体、细菌，充斥着整个恒河水系。
印度当地人可能认为水中的病毒不是问题，他们用恒河水洗澡、刷牙、喝水。
但对于中国人来说，它太有毒了。
Yes, and Russia was previously translated as 罗刹国 or country of the devil.
是的，俄罗斯以前被翻译为罗刹国或魔鬼之国。
Very interesting, thanks for this post!
非常有趣，感谢这篇文章！
are there any record in any of the India Dynasty of similar travels by Indian Researchers./Scholars , adoption of Chinese Science, Medicines…etc
Similar contacts via the Oceans like China had to India on their visits to Africa, Cholas in particular had direct contacts with a number of todays ASEAN Regions, with the Indonesia and Cambodian Temples being the most obvious ones, but no obvious China contacts???
在任何印度王朝的记录中是否有印度研究者/学者进行类似一样旅行的记录，譬如采纳中国的科学、药物等等？
类似于中国访问非洲时对印度的海洋联系，尤其是乌鲁兰查拉的直接联系，今天与许多东盟地区的联系，其中印度尼西亚和柬埔寨的寺庙最为明显，但为什么没有明显和中国的联系？
thankfully its not bindoos
幸好它不是病毒
Do you perhaps means gupta Empire? anyway even gupta Empire was not discovered because of xuanzang,rather nalanda University was
您可能指的是笈多帝国吗？无论如何，连笈多帝国都没有因为玄奘而被发现，而那烂陀大学却被发现了。
How are you even supposed to say Bharat anyways in the Chinese language? Ba ra or Ba la?
无论如何，你应该如何用中文说“Bharat”？巴热还是巴拉？
What a stupid question. Its what they call in their own language. Like wise in India China is called “चीन" ( Cheen)in Hindi.
多么愚蠢的问题啊。这是他们用自己的语言所说的。同样，在印度，中国在印地语中被称为“चीन”（Cheen）。
I always wonder about many traditions and inventions in both countries before AD, seems to correlate, and I suspect there was deeper collaboration between encient scholars from India and China, as many older scxtures were burnt by various Mughal invasions like library of Nalanda university, the oldest one in world, I’m curious if any of scxtures from various Chinese dynasties mention of that? I meant not the trade though.
我总是想知道公元之前两国的许多传统和发明，似乎是相关的，我怀疑印度和中国的古代学者之间有更深层次的合作，因为许多古老的经文被莫卧儿的各种入侵所烧毁，比如那烂陀大学的图书馆，世界上最古老的一个，我很好奇中国各个朝代的经文是否提到过这一点？但我指的不是贸易。