Dictionary

Tian Shan en · PROPN

Pronunciation

• tyěnʹ shänʹ
• /ˌtjɛn ˈʃɑːn/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanisation of Mandarin 天山 (Tiān Shān), from Uyghur تەڭرىتاغ (tengritagh, literally “Mountains of God (Tengri)”) (Tengri Tagh).

Meanings

1. A mountain range in Central Asia.
   • We have descended Tian Shan and entered the Taklamakan Desert, a barren landscape painted in ecru—no shrubs, no grass, only waves upon waves of naked ridges the color of buff, the highest few spotted with white specks of snow. 2009, Y.J. Zhu, “Taklamakan Desert Moon Ride”, in Lucy McCauley, editor, The Best Women's Travel Writing 2009: True Stories from Around the World (Travelers' Tales), →ISBN, →ISSN, →OCLC, →OL, page 154:
   • The excavation of the KaraDjigach site, in the Chu-Valley within the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, in August 1886. 2022 June 16, Dave Kindy, “DNA evidence reveals where the Black Death began”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2022, RETROPOLIS:
   • During my inspection of counties in Changchi Prefecture last September, I came to realize that the irrigation of the Sinkiang farmland depended mainly on the melted snow of the Tienshan Mountains. [1978 July 11 [1978 July 8], “Leading Cadres Must Accept Criticism and Supervision From the Masses”, in Daily Report: People's Republic of China, volume I, number 133, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, sourced from Urumchi Sinkiang Regional Service, translation of original by Wang Feng (in Mandarin), →ISSN, →OCLC, National Affairs, page E 15:
   • WHEN in 1892, on a journey into Central Asia, I first made acquaintance with a small portion of the Central Tian-Shan, I received, even by a mere flying visit, abiding impressions of its magnificent mountain chains. [1905, Gottfried Merzbacher, The Central Tian-Shan Mountains 1902-1903, London: John Murray, →OCLC, →OL, page 1:
   • Warm letters and precious gifts came pouring in to the construction site from all parts of the country. Among the gifts were saw-wort seeds gathered from the Tienshan Mountains by workers in Singkiang^([sic – meaning Sinkiang]), chingko barley from emancipated serfs in Tibet, earth from people in quake-stricken Tangshan who were rebuilding their homes, water and sand from the Taiwan Straits from P.L.A. men on the Fukien frontline, colour pebbles from Yuhuatai, Nanking, milky quartz from the Kunlun Mountains, camellias from Tali, Yunnan, azaleas from Kangting, Szechuan, earth from the Chingkang Mountains, Kiangsi, water from Nanniwan, Shensi, etc. They embodied the profound proletarian feelings of the people of all nationalities for Chairman Mao. [1977 September, “The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall Successfully Completed”, in China Pictorial, Peking: China Pictorial, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10:
   • Next they turned against Ma Chung-ying and drove him back to the T'ienshan mountains. But the Red Russian forces when pursuing him received a severe check at a well-known pass, called Tapancheng, where Ma had strongly entrenched himself with about 500 men. [1935 March 20 [1935 March 10], “ANOTHER CHINESE LOSS IN SINKIANG”, in North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette, volume CXCIV, number 3528, Shanghai, sourced from Peiping, →OCLC, page 448, column 2:

Forms

Hyponyms

Karatau

Synonyms

Tengri Tagh (from Uyghur)

Translations (34)

pt Tian-Shan (mountain range) · ky Ала-Тоо (mountain range) · uk Тянь-Шань (mountain range) · ru Тянь-Шань (mountain range) · otk 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃 (mountain range) · ky Теңир-Тоо (mountain range) · ko 톈산 (mountain range) · yue 天山 (mountain range) · tr Tanrı Dağları (mountain range) · kk Алатау (mountain range) · kk Тәңіртау (mountain range) · hu Tien-san (mountain range) · ug Тәңри тағ (mountain range) · ug تەڭرىتاغ (mountain range) · cmn 天山 (mountain range) · bn তিয়ান সান (mountain range) · nan-hbl 天山 (mountain range) · uz Tangritogʻ (mountain range) · xal Теңгр уул (mountain range) · ja 天山 (mountain range) · tg Тиён Шон (mountain range) · hi टीएन शान (mountain range) · pt Tian Shan (mountain range) · pl Tienszan (mountain range) · mn Тэнгэр уул (mountain range) · fi Tienšan (mountain range) · vi Thiên Sơn (mountain range) · cs Ťan-šan (mountain range) · uz Tyan-Shan (mountain range) · ug تىيانشان (mountain range) · mk Тјеншан (mountain range) · dng Тянсан (mountain range) · pl Tien-szan (mountain range) · ur تیان شان (mountain range)