軒轅

Chinese

		covered carriage; pavilion	shafts of cart; yamen
trad. (軒轅)		軒	轅
simp. (轩辕)		轩	辕

Etymology

personal name, toponym

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “"Chariot Frame" < "axle & shafts" (Huainanzi, Major's 2010 translation, ch. 3, n. 11) seems to be a folk etymology”

tall gate

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Semantically related to 轅門／辕门 (yuánmén)?”

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xuānyuán
(Zhuyin): ㄒㄩㄢㄩㄢˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): hin¹ jyun⁴
Min Nan (POJ): hian-oân

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xuānyuán
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄩㄢㄩㄢˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: syuanyuán
  - Wade–Giles: hsüan¹-yüan²
  - Yale: sywān-ywán
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiuanyuan
  - Palladius: сюаньюань (sjuanʹjuanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕɥɛn⁵⁵ ɥɛn³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: hin¹ jyun⁴
  - Yale: hīn yùhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: hin¹ jyn⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: hin¹ yun⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hiːn⁵⁵ jyːn²¹/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hian-oân
  - Tâi-lô: hian-uân
  - Phofsit Daibuun: hien'oaan
  - IPA (Xiamen): /hiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² uan²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /hiɛn³³ uan²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /hiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² uan¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /hiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ uan²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ uan²³/

Middle Chinese: /hɨɐn ɦʉɐn/

Rime
Character	軒	轅
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	曉 (32)	云 (35)
Final (韻)	元 (65)	元 (66)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	虚言切	雨元切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/hɨɐn/	/ɦʉɐn/
Pan Wuyun	/hiɐn/	/ɦʷiɐn/
Shao Rongfen	/xiɐn/	/ɣiuɐn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/hɨan/	/ɦuan/
Li Rong	/xiɐn/	/ɣiuɐn/
Wang Li	/xĭɐn/	/ɣĭwɐn/
Bernard Karlgren	/xɨ̯ɐn/	/i̯wɐn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xiān	yuán
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hin¹	jyun⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*qʰa[r] [ɢ]ʷa[n]/
(Zhengzhang): /*qʰan ɢʷan/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	軒	轅
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xuān	yuán
Middle Chinese	‹ xjon ›	‹ hjwon ›
Old Chinese	/*qʰa[r]/	/*[ɢ]ʷa[n]/
English	nobleman"s carriage	carriage-pole
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	軒	轅
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	3641	16222
Phonetic component	干	袁
Rime group	元	元
Rime subdivision	1	1
Corresponding MC rime	軒	袁
Old Chinese	/*qʰan/	/*ɢʷan/

Noun

軒轅

(literary) tall gate
- 秦成，則高臺榭，美宮室，聽竽瑟之音，前有樓闕軒轅，後有長姣美人，國被秦患而不與其憂。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  秦成，则高台榭，美宫室，听竽瑟之音，前有楼阙轩辕，后有长姣美人，国被秦患而不与其忧。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
  Qín chéng, zé gāo táixiè, měi gōngshì, tīng yúsè zhī yīn, qián yǒu lóuquè xuānyuán, hòu yǒu chángjiāo měirén, guó bèi qín huàn ér bù yǔ qí yōu. [Pinyin]
  If Qin'd succeed, they'd surely [have] lofty steeples and beautiful palaces; they could listen to the sounds of flutes and zithers; they'd have high towers and tall gates at the front; they'd have fine, pretty, fair beauties in the back; their countries being imperiled by Qin still would not worry them at all.

Proper noun

軒轅

(mythology) Xuanyuan, said to be the given name of the legendary Yellow Emperor
(mythology) name of a hill
(mythology) name of a nation west of ancient China
(uranography) Xuanyuan, an asterism in the Chinese constellation of Star
a surname