Slender West Lake

English

The Bridge of the Twenty-Fours at Slender West Lake in Yangzhou

Etymology

Calque from Chinese 瘦西湖 (Shòuxīhú, literally “Skinny West Lake”), the adjective distinguishing it from West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

Proper noun

Slender West Lake

1. A lake in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China.
   • 1993 June, Louis Cha, “The Deer and the Cauldron—Two Chapters from a Novel by Louis Cha”, in John Minford, transl., edited by Geremie Barmé, East Asian History, number 5, Australian National University, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 55:

     'Slender' West Lake lies on the western outskirts of Yangzhou. In the early years of the Manchu Emperor Kangxi, the area beside the lake, known as the Alley of Chiming Jade, was famed for its high concentration of houses of pleasure, and for the beauty of its singsong-girls (whose skills extended to a great deal more than bel canto).

   • 2011 May 23, Royston Chan, Chris Buckley, Ben Blanchard, “North Korea's Kim tours east China, economic ties in focus”, in Jonathan Thatcher, editor, Reuters‎^[1], archived from the original on 17 May 2021, World News‎^[2]:

     Police also closed off the Slender West Lake, Yangzhou’s main tourist attraction, in the morning. It was unclear why.

   • 2018 June 4, Steven Lee Myers, “How to Catch a Killer in China: Another Chinese Crime Novel Goes Global”, in The New York Times‎^[3], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 June 2018, Profile‎^[4]:

     Yangzhou, where Mr. Zhou grew up, is renowned for its literary history, especially a 9th century poet, Du Mu. One poem lamenting the whereabouts of a friend is so well known that Mr. Zhou’s colleagues recited it in unison during an excursion to Slender West Lake, a World Heritage Site in the city.

Synonyms

• West Lake (inexact); Shouxihu

Related terms

• See West Lake

Translations

lake

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 瘦西湖 (Shòuxīhú)

Further reading

• Slender West Lake, Shouxihu at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.