Zhenbao Island

English

Alternative forms

• Chen Pao Island

Etymology

Partial calque from Mandarin 珍寶島／珍宝岛 (Zhēnbǎo Dǎo, literally “treasure (Zhenbao) island”)

Proper noun

Zhenbao Island

1. An island in Zhenbaodao, Hulin, Jixi, Heilongjiang, China
   • 1980, Melvin Gurton, Byong-Moo Hwang, China under Threat: The Politics of Strategy and Diplomacy‎^[1], Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 210:

     In Beijing’s view, in the absence of an explicit treaty provision, the central line of the main channel—the Thalweg principle—provided a legal basis for delimiting the boundary in the two rivers. On this basis, Beijing claimed that 600 of the rivers’ 700 islands—including Zhenbao Island on the Ussuri River, just 180 miles southwest of an important Soviet city, Khabarovsk—belonged to the P.R.C.

   • 2005, Vitaly Kozyrev, “Soviet Policy Toward the United States and China, 1969-1979”, in William C. Kirby, Robert S. Ross, Gong Li, editors, Normalization of U.S.-China Relations: An International History‎^[2], Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 258:

     Later, in the 1980s, western scholars found that, notwithstanding the substantial Soviet military buildup near the Chinese borders in the late 1960s, it was Beijing that initiated the clash on Zhenbao (Damanski) Island. Peter Zwick has argued that the Soviets were in a generally reactive mode during the height of the conflict and exhibited restraint in responding to what they saw as Chinese provocations.

   • 2005, Michael P. Colaresi, “Climbing the Wall: The Sino-American Rivalry”, in Scare Tactics: The Politics of International Rivalry‎^[3], Syracuse University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 202:

     In January 1969, Chinese and Soviet soldiers fought around Zhenbao Island in the Ussuri River.

   • 2012 February 21, Frank Jacobs, “Manchurian Trivia”, in The New York Times‎^[4], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-07-29, Borderlines‎^[5]:

     In mid-1969, both countries fought a brief border war over Zhenbao Island [13], along the Ussuri River halfway between Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, killing dozens of conscripts on either side.

   • 2016 September 29, “Scenery of Zhenbao Island wetland in Heilongjiang(1/6)”, in Li Yan, editor, China News Service‎^[6], archived from the original on 6 October 2016:

     Photo taken on Sept. 28, 2016 shows the scenery of the Zhenbao Island wetland in Hulin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The 29,275-hectare wetland has been designated as a wetland of international importance by the Ramsar Convention in 2011 for its vital importance as a unique wetland for biological diversity.

   • 2021 March 29, Blake Herzinger, “China’s Military Could Turn Small Clashes Into Major Conflicts”, in Foreign Policy‎^[7], archived from the original on 29 March 2021:

     In 1969, Chinese forces instigated a brutal ambush on unsuspecting Soviet border guards at Zhenbao Island, a contested bank on the Ussuri River. After numerous rough but not lethal hand-to-hand scuffles in the past, the island became the epicenter of a pitched battle and weeks-long exchange of fire. The initial ambush, conducted with small arms, escalated into deployment of heavy armor supported by rocket artillery. Hundreds of people were killed. Within two weeks, both sides were contemplating the possibility of a nuclear exchange.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Zhenbao Island.

Synonyms

• (ellipsis) Chenpao, Chen Pao, Zhenbao
• (from Russian) Damansky

Translations

island

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 珍寶島／珍宝岛 (Zhēnbǎo Dǎo)

• Japanese: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• Zhenbao Island, Chenpao Island, Chen Pao Island at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.