Western Regions - Xi-yu; Hsi-yü

Japanese: 西域 - せいいき（英語表記）Xi-yu; Hsi-yü

A general term used by the ancient Chinese to refer to the countries in the west of China. Originally it referred to East Turkistan, but was expanded to include West Turkistan and even Western Asia. The first clear record of the countries in the west of China was in the Dayuan section of the Records of the Grand Historian, but the term "Western Regions" does not appear there. The term "Western Regions" first appeared in the Book of Han, where the "Western Regions" section was created to describe the countries in the west. This section describes the geography of the Western Regions as "great mountains from north to south, a river in the middle, over six thousand li from east to west, and over one thousand li from north to south," so it is clear that it refers to the Tarim Basin, that is, East Turkistan. However, the "Western Regions" section in the Book of Han describes not only the countries of East Turkistan, but also countries such as West Turkistan, India, and Iran. Later, several official histories of China included the "Western Regions" section, but all of them have the same geographical scope as the "Book of Han." However, in modern times, the West is sometimes referred to as the "Western Regions."

Western Regions

Please see the "Western Regions" page.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

古代中国人が中国の西方にある国々を呼んだ総称。本来は東トルキスタンをさしたが，拡張されて西トルキスタン，さらに西アジアをもいう。中国の西方の国々が記録のうえに明確に現れたのは『史記』の大宛伝が最初であるが，ここには西域の語はみえない。『漢書』にいたって初めて西域の語が現れ，西方の国々のことを記した西域伝がつくられた。この西域伝では西域の地理について「南北に大山あり，中央に川あり，東西六千余里，南北千余里」と述べているので，タリム盆地，すなわち東トルキスタンをさしていることは明らかである。しかし，『漢書』西域伝には東トルキスタンの国々ばかりでなく，西トルキスタン，インド，イランなどの国々についても記されている。その後，中国歴代の正史のいくつかは西域伝を載せているが，その地理的範囲はすべて『漢書』と同じである。ただし近代では西洋を西域といったこともある。