Chung-sha

A form of Zhongsha — A collection of areas in the South China Sea, including Macclesfield Bank, Scarborough Shoal, Truro Shoal, and other areas claimed by China (PRC) and Taiwan (ROC); some of these areas are claimed by the Philippines.

OriginMandarin 中沙 →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. alternativeAlternative form of Zhongsha.

    And finally, Macclesfield Bank (Chung-sha), one of the principal groups claimed by China, is actually a permanently submerged atoll.

    1982, Marwyn S. Samuels, “Introduction”, in Contest for the South China Sea, Methuen Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 3
    3 more examples

    Unlike the East China sea, which is devoid of islands, the South China sea is speckled with a vast number of islands and reefs. These are part of the Pratas group (Tung-sha) the Paracel (Hsi-sha Ch’ün-tao group), Macclesfield (Chung-sha bank), and the Spratly (Nan-sha group), all of which are claimed by the People's Republic of China.

    1964, Theodore Shabad, “CHINA SEA”, in Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 5, →OCLC, page 612, column 2

    ISLETS OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA The list includes only those features that are high-tide elevations.[…] MACCLESFIELD BANK / Chung-sha Ch'un-Tao / Middle Sand Islands / 15°50'N., 114°20'E. SCARBOROUGH SHOAL / Min-chu Chiao / / 15°08'N., 117°45'E. South Rock / / / 15°06'N., 117°46'E.

    1971 September 14, RDHodgson, TVMcIntyre, South China Sea: Up for Grabs, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, published 2012, archived from the original on 12 May 2024, page 17

    We have our troops, fishermen and administrative organs on the Hsi-sha and Chung-sha islands, which have been Chinese territory from time immemorial. I remember that while I was still a schoolboy, I read about the islands in the geography books. At that time, I never heard anyone say that those island were not China's.

    1979, “Problems with Socialist Countries”, in King C. Chen, editor, China and the Three Worlds: A Foreign Policy Reader, M.E. Sharpe, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 273

Origin

  1. Mandarin中沙
  2. EnglishChung-sha

From Mandarin 中沙 (Zhōngshā), Wade–Giles romanization: Chung¹-sha¹.

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Cite this entry
APA

Chung-sha. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chung-sha

MLA

“Chung-sha.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chung-sha. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chung-sha,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chung-sha.

Source: Chung-sha on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.