Meanings
- historicalA geographic region of Central Asia, west of ancient China's Jade Gate along the Silk Road; sometimes including parts of the Indian subcontinent.
1 more example
From the historical point of view, trade and expansion in this period began as a reaction to the barbarian threat of the Hsiung-nu on the northern and northwestern frontiers, and ended not only in the inclusion of various barbarian groups into the empire, such as the Southern Hsiung-nu, the Ch’iang, the Wu-huan, and the Southwestern barbarians, but also in the Sinicization of them to greater and lesser degrees. In between, China also expanded to the Western Regions and Central Asia, and even established trading relations, directly or indirectly, with countries farther west.
1967, Ying-shih Yü, “Introduction: The Problem and Its Origins”, in Trade and Expansion in Han China: A Study in the Structure of Sino-Barbarian Economic Relations, University of California Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 2
Origin
- Chinese西域
- EnglishWestern Regions
Calque of Chinese 西域 (Xīyù).
More words from Chinese
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 西域
- 西域 (Xīyù)Central Asia
French Régions de l'Ouest
- Régions de l'OuestCentral Asia
Spanish Regiones del Oeste, Regiones Occidentales
- Regiones del OesteCentral Asia
- Regiones OccidentalesCentral Asia
Cite this entry
Western Regions. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Western%20Regions
“Western Regions.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Western%20Regions. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Western Regions,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Western%20Regions.
Source: Western Regions on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.