Celestial Empire
English
Etymology
From the term Son of Heaven used to describe the Emperor of China, extended to cover his empire.
Proper noun
the Celestial Empire
- Empire of China
- 1912, Smith, Arthur Henderson, “Uplifting Leaders”, in The Uplift of China, OCLC 1203455, page 117:
- Had it not been for the casual discovery in the year 1625 of a deeply buried black marble tablet near Hsi-an containing nearly 1,700 Chinese characters, and a long list of names of priests in Syriac, the fact that such a sect rooted itself in the Celestial Empire would never have been believed, as indeed after the tablet was unearthed it was for a long time discredited.
- 1991, Mullin, Chris, The Year of the Fire Monkey (Fiction), London: Chatto & Windus, →ISBN, OCLC 26471461, page 252:
- LIKE THE MANDARINS of old, the rulers of China live behind high walls. When they emerge, which they rarely do, they travel in cars with rear windows curtained like sedan chairs.
They live in the Chung Nan Hai, a walled park adjacent to the Forbidden City from where ancient dynasties ruled the Celestial Empire.
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Synonyms
- Cathay
- China
- Empire of China
Derived terms
- celestial (a person from the Celestial Empire)
Translations
Empire of China
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