Foochow

English

Etymology

From the Postal Romanization of Mandarin 福州 (Fúzhōu). Doublet of Hokchiu.

Proper noun

Foochow

(US) Dated form of Fuzhou.
- 1875 January 21, “Summary of News”, in North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette‎^[1], volume XIV, number 402, Shanghai, →OCLC, page 47, column 2; republished as “SHANGHAI”, in London and China Telegraph‎^[2], volume XVII, number 601, 1875 March 8, →OCLC, page 186, columns 1, 2:
  The steamer Lee Yuen, when about 30 miles from Foochow, abreast of Fuhyan, on her passage from this port to Foochow, carried away the lignum vitæ bush in the stern tube. She was beached for one tide under the lee of Matsu Island, for temporary repairs, and then proceeded to Foochow, where she has gone into dock.
- 1890 February 28, W. S. Wetmore, “RECOLLECTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA IN THE FIFTIES.”, in North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette‎^[3], volume XLIV, number 1178, Shanghai, →OCLC, page 256, column 1; republished as Recollections of Life in the Far East‎^[4], 1894, →OCLC, page 32:
  In the spring of 1857, I, with several friends, left Hongkong for Shanghai, viâ Foochow, in the small coasting steamer Antelope. No noteworthy incident occurred until after leaving Foochow when, as we were enjoying our after dinner coffee and cigars, and by chance discussing the question of thirteen sitting down at table that had occurred at a dinner at which one of the party had shortly before been present, a violent thump and tremulous motion of the vessel announced the unpleasant fact that we had struck upon something. We rushed on deck and found the steamer hard and fast on a reef near Matsu Island. Fortunately the day was fine and there was no sea on.
- 1896, Charles J. H Halcombee, The Mystic Flowery Land: A Personal Narrative‎^[5], London: Luzac & Co., page 110:
  He told me of a place on the mainland, near his native village—some seventy miles up the coast, between Foochow and Amoy—where game was plentiful, and sportsmen rare.
- 1938, Robert Berkov, Strong Man of China: The Story of Chiang Kai-shek‎^[6], Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, page 170:
  Powerful bombing airplanes, mostly of American make, went winging their way over Foochow and vicinity, dropping missiles of death on the Nineteenth Route Army, which was caught completely by surprise. Young American-trained aviators, flying in perfect formation and releasing deadly cargoes with perfect aim, soon converted the Fukien front into a shambles.
- 1945 May 29, “Chinese Battle Along East Coast to Stem Jap Landings”, in Manila Free Philippines‎^[7], volume III, number 29, sourced from Chungking, →OCLC, page 2, column 4:
  Chinese army forces Saturday battled north along China's east coast to relieve militia fighting against Japanese marine landing parties at Siapu, 68 miles northeast of liberated Foochow, the Chinese High Command announced. […]
  Chinese troops pursuing Jap forces who pulled out of Foochow pushed to the outskirts of Loyuan, 35 miles southwest of Siapu while Japanese rear guards fought at Tangyang, 10 miles behind the Chinese units.
- 1963, Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate for Change 1953-1956‎^[8], Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 475:
  In a long cable on February 25 Secretary Dulles replied that he had talked with Anthony Eden about the Formosa crisis, reminding him that successful pressure on Chiang to surrender Quemoy and Matsu would permit the Chinese Communists to attack from the harbors of Amoy and Foochow, and invite the Chinese Communists to put to the test American resolution to defend Formosa.
- 1968, Joseph Earle Spencer, “FOOCHOW”, in Encyclopedia Britannica‎^[9], volume 9, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 532, column 1:
  The Chinese Communists, after 1952, began developing major industrial activities in Foochow, augmenting existing manufacturing.
- 1974, Ellsworth C. Carlson, The Foochow Missionaries, 1847-1880‎^[10], Harvard University Press, page 1:
  The present study centers on Foochow, a city located in the southeast coastal province of Fukien, which was one of the early centers of Protestant missionary work.
- 1976, Philip West, Yenching University and Sino-Western Relations, 1916-1952‎^[11], Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 74:
  Hung was born in Foochow, Fukien, his family's native place.
- 1977 May 22, “M'land military leaders fighting over Teng fate”, in Free China Weekly‎^[12], volume XVIII, number 20, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1:
  A dispute broke out between two Chinese Communist military leaders last February over the rehabilitation of Teng Hsiao-ping, according to intelligence sources.
  The sources said a high ranking Communist military man in Foochow revealed recently that the quarrel developed between Hsu Shih-yu, “commander of the Canton military region,” and Chen Hsi-lien, “commander of the Peiping military region,” during a conference of politburo members.
- 2002, Peter Stursberg, No Foreign Bones in China‎^[13], Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 92:
  By 1911, there were rumours of revolution, and Stursberg was worried by reports that Foochow was in the hands of revolutionaries.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Foochow.
(Southeast Asia) Fuzhou dialect (a linguistic variety of Eastern Min under Min Chinese of the Sinitic family)
- 1955, John C. Caldwell, “A Bright Light Shining”, in Still the Rice Grows Green‎^[14], Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 53:
  I heard Foochow, my native dialect being spoken in the hut and went in to visit. The man of the house was a refugee from Hsiapu, north of Foochow.

Noun

Foochow (plural Foochows)

(Southeast Asia) a person who traces his/her ancestry to Fuzhou or the surrounding region

Adjective

Foochow (not comparable)

(Southeast Asia) of or relating to the Fuzhou dialect

Synonyms

Hokchiu

Derived terms

References

“Foochow, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
“Foochow”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
“Foochow” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.