Pei-kan

A form of Beigan — A rural township in Lienchiang County, Taiwan, in the Matsu Islands.

OriginMandarin 北竿 →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. alternativeAlternative form of Beigan (island)

    The major isls. include Pei-kan and Nan-kan (Mazu). Fishing is the main economic activity.

    1998, “Matsu”, in Saul B. Cohen, editor, The Columbia Gazetteer of the World, volume 2, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 1917, column 3
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    Ma-tsu hai-hsai (strait), situated between Ma-tsu shan and Pei-kan-tang tao, north-eastward, has a navigable width of nearly one mile between the reefs on either side.

    [1954, “China Sea Pilot”, in Great Britain Hydrographic Department, volume III, page 165

    The defense ministry in Taipeh, Nationalist capital of Formosa Island, said a fleet of 40 to 50 junks tried to put the landing force ashore on Pei Kan Tang in the Matsu Islands off the estuary of the Min River.

    [1954 September 30, “Reds Repulsed”, in The Lincoln Star, Home edition, volume 52, Lincoln, Nebraska, sourced from TAIPEH (INS), →OCLC, page 2, column 6

    South of Hang-chou Wan (Bay) below Shanghai, the China coastline changes from a smooth, flat topography to one of irregular, rocky promontories and numerous islands. Foochow, the Fugiu of Marco Polo, dates from the seventh century. Offshore the Ma-tsu Lieh-tao (Matsu and Pei-kan, or Changshu^([sic – meaning Changhsu]) Islands) are heavily fortified Nationalist strongholds.

    1970, Ken Fitzgerald, “Asia”, in The Space Age Photographic Atlas, Crown Publishers, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 196

    'We have successfully taken Pei-kan,' said Leung. 'Heavy shelling has been going for twenty minutes from Kinmen.

    2000, Humphrey Hawksley, Dragon Fire, Macmillan Publishers, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 315

Origin

  1. Mandarin北竿
  2. EnglishPei-kan

From Mandarin 北竿 (Běigān), Wade–Giles romanization: Pei³-kan¹.

More words from Mandarin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: Pei-kan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.