Meanings
alternative P'ing-yao
- A county of Jinzhong, Shanxi, China.
IN the Province of Xanſi, near to Pingiao, is a great Fall of Water, which makes ſuch a noiſe, that it is heard ſome miles diſtant.
[1669, John Nievhoff, translated by John Ogilby, An Embassy from the Eaſt-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China, London: John Macock, →OCLC, page 2364 more examples
The Japanese plans called for the occupation of Taiyüan by October 30th, and then they were to move southward along the Tungpu railway and occupy the whole province. They occupied Taiyüan on November 9th and occupied a few towns south and east of the city, including Pingyao. Their conduct in Pingyao was typical of their activities everywhere; they entered the city, beat in the doors with their rifles, entered and searched for money, valuables, food—and women. They looted the entire city—though most of the population had fled—and they raped and then carried off the young women for the use of their troops in Taiyüan. This story is told me by a foreigner who witnessed these scenes. But soon the Japanese began to retreat from Pingyao and from the other places they had occupied around Taiyüan.
1938, Agnes Smedley, China Fights Back: An American Woman With the Eighth Route Army, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, →OCLC, page 236In a raid conducted upon all British missions in Taiyuan and Pingyao, in Shansi, on July 10, the provincial police arrested 59 members of what they called the China Self-Sacrificing Salvation League, the “Asahi Shimbun” reported.
1939 August 16, “Japanese Arrest Two Canadians”, in North-China Herald, Shanghai, →OCLC, page 268, column 1A gas explosion inside a coal mine in northern China has killed 15 miners and left another nine injured, authorities said Tuesday. The blast occurred Monday afternoon at a mine operated by the local Feng Yan Group in Shanxi province’s Pingyao county. Rescue work was halted early Tuesday morning after everyone was accounted for.
2019 November 19, “15 killed, 9 injured in northern China coal mine explosion”, in AP News, archived from the original on 07 Sep 2022In addition to the mine closures, the floods disrupted rail service on several lines in Shanxi Province and caused part of the ancient city wall of Pingyao, one of China’s best-preserved medieval towns, to collapse.
2021 October 12, Amy Qin, Amy Chang Chien, “As Floods Ravage China, 13 Die After Bus Falls Off Bridge”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 Oct 2021
Origin
- Mandarin平遙 /平遥
- EnglishPingyao
From Mandarin 平遙 /平遥 (Píngyáo).
More words from Mandarin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 平遙 /平遥
- 平遙 /平遥 (Píngyáo)county
Japanese 平遥
- 平遥 (Heiyō)county
Cite this entry
Pingyao. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pingyao
“Pingyao.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pingyao. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pingyao,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pingyao.
Source: Pingyao on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.