西海 (XīHǎi): Western Sea (classical poetic reference)

Meanings

1 Western Sea (classical poetic reference)
2 Qinghai Lake (historical name)
3 Yellow Sea (Korean term 서해)

Characters

西

Examples

古人称青海湖为西海。

Gǔrén chēng Qīnghǎi Hú wéi Xī Hǎi.

The ancients called Qinghai Lake the Western Sea.

《西游记》中的西海龙王。

«Xīyóujì» zhōng de Xī Hǎi Lóngwáng.

The Dragon King of the Western Sea in Journey to the West.

Tips

culture

西海 is one of the Four Seas (四海) of Chinese cosmology — north 北海, south 南海, east 东海, west 西海 — each ruled by a Dragon King (龙王). In 《西游记》, 西海龙王敖闰 is the father of the white dragon horse. Historically, 西海 was also used for Qinghai Lake (Han dynasty 西海郡) and in modern Korean Chinese as the name for the Yellow Sea.

memory

Remember the Four Seas as compass directions: 东海 (East China Sea), 南海 (South China Sea), 西海 (mythic/Qinghai), 北海 (Beihai Park in Beijing, also a Guangxi city).