Persian roots in Chinese loan words
The transmission of knowledge and materials between cultures during ancient times can be seen in modern language. A sampling of loanwords from Sino-Persian_relations:
- say (toxngbut), lion, first mentioned in the Book of Han [1st century CE]
- bogsiog, alfalfa, borrowed from a Central Asian language during the Han Dynasty
- phøtøo, grape, borrowed from Bactrian *bādāwa (“wine”) [130 BCE]
- siaqliuu, pomegranate, brought to Han dynasty China by Zhang Qian from the Arsacid Empire (安石) in Irania
- hofpheg, amber, prob. borrowed from a language in Central Asia during the Han dynasty