Weihaiwei

English

Etymology

From Mandarin 威海衛／威海卫 (Wēihǎiwèi).

Pronunciation

• enPR: wāʹhīʹwāʹ

Proper noun

Weihaiwei

1. (historical) A military strongpoint and city on the coast of the Yellow Sea in Shandong, China, now Weihai; a leased territory of the United Kingdom from 1898 until 1930.
   • 1905, David Fraser, A Modern Campaign: Or, War and Wireless Telegraphy in the Far East‎^[1], London: Methuen & Co., page 22:

     Our concession at Weihaiwei covers 285 square miles, containing a population of 150,000 people. 85,000 acres are planted with the scrub oak upon which the wild silkworm finds nourishment. The manufacture of silk is one of the staple industries of Shantung, and Chefoo benefits by it to the extent of a trade valued at £500,000 per annum. At Chefoo the Chinese Customs imposes both export and import duties on every commodity that leaves and enters the port. At Weihaiwei there are no fiscal restrictions of any kind.

   • [c. 20th c., Aleister Crowley, “T'ien Tao, or, The Synagogue of Satan”, in The Drug and Other Stories (Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural)‎^[2], Wordsworth Editions, published 2015, →ISBN, page 59:

     Kwaw, when he crossed the Yellow Sea, was of the full age of thirty-two years.³ The twenty previous equinoxes had passed over his head as he wandered, sole human tenant, among the colossal yet ignoble ruins of Wei-hai-wei.⁴

     ⁴ Wei-hai-wei, deserted by British in 190[2].]

   • 1938, Sir Eric Teichman, Affairs Of China: A Survey of the Recent History and Present Circumstances of the Republic of China‎^[3], Methuen Publishers London, pages 197–198:

     Weihaiwei was handed back to China on October 1, 1930, after two-and-thirty years of British rule. No adverse consequences ensued for British naval or civilian interests from the rendition of the territory. Each summer the British Fleet migrates, as in the days before rendition, from the steamy heat of Hongkong waters to the cooler Weihaiwei anchorages; British bluejackets still throng the canteens, clubs and recreation grounds on Liukungtao; and British residents, fleeing from the summer heat of Shanghai, North China and the Yangtze Valley, still fill the same hotels and bungalows.

   • 1970, L. K. Young, British Policy in China, 1895-1902‎^[4], Oxford University Press, page 52:

     It is generally assumed that at the end of March 1898 the British Government moved reluctantly to the idea of occupying Weihaiwei, as a necessary measure to offset the actions of Russia and Germany.

Synonyms

• (modern name) Weihai

Translations

military strongpoint on the coast of the Yellow Sea in Shandong, China

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 威海衛／威海卫 (wai¹ hoi² wai⁶)

  Mandarin: 威海衛／威海卫 (zh) (Wēihǎiwèi)

Further reading

• “Weihaiwei”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Weihaiwei”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Weihaiwei” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.