What Name Is That! The Travellers’ ConfusionPrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
Many queries come my way asking about the use of names. What is the right name? It can be confusing. I can only think of the poor cartographers, what they have to go through. Every country in Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the South Pacific, all have been changing place names faster than the ink on newly printed maps can dry. At the end of World War II one could understand the reasons. The war had freed countries of the Far East from colonial rule and freedom meant returning to their original names. That was after the war but now there seems to be a second surge to change names but for travellers these days, and for those in the travel business, it can be complicated and confusing.
Take the name Southeast Asia; sometimes it’s spelled South-East with a hyphen. But before World War II the name was hardly ever used. The region was simply known as the "Far East". During the war the Japanese Army used the term "Greater East Asia" to include countries of present day Southeast Asia. The countries included Brunei, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Some organizations include the Philippines in Southeast Asia.
Countries in and adjacent to the Indian subcontinent, namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives, are considered as belonging to "South Asia".
Thailand, before the Second World War, was known as Siam. During the war, the name was changed to Muang Thai (Land of the Free) or Thailand. But immediately after the war it reverted back to its original name of Siam. It was not until 1949 that the name of the country was once again changed back to Thailand and it has remained so ever since.
Ceylon was the name of Sri Lanka until 1972. On gaining independence from Britain in 1948, the country was called the Dominion of Ceylon. In 1972, a new constitution was adopted creating a republic and the name of the country changed to Sri Lanka. Indonesia was known as the Netherlands East Indies before the war. The name Indonesia was introduced in 1945.
Probably no country in Asia, except maybe China, has gone through such radical name changes as Malaysia. Port Swettenham is an example. Frank Swettenham and Kapitan Cina (Captain of the Chinese), Yap Ah Loy, founded Kuala Lumpur. Swettenham built the first railway station and established a deep-water port to serve the new capital. The Malays changed the name from Port Swettenham to Port Klang. The famous old “Batu Road” in KL is now “Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman”. “Birch Road” in Seremban was named to honour Francis Birch, the first British Resident of Perak who was murdered in 1875; it is now Jalan Dato Bandar Tunggal.
“Heren Street” (corruption of the Dutch 'Heeren') in Malacca where the Cheng Loke Tan family house still stands, has been changed to Jalan Hang Tuah and the oldest hill station in the country, Maxwell Hill, is now Bukit Larut. Officially Penang Island is recorded as Pulau Pinang but romance is hard to dispel and travellers still call it Penang.
China, for the travellers, presents another set of problems. It’s more than name changes there. It’s the entire written language change. Beijing has gone by many names down through the centuries. Beijing does mean “northern capital,” in line with the tradition to name capital cities by their direction, as Nanking means “southern capital”. But let’s look at the historical names of the Chinese capital.
During the Zhou Dynasty (1100-221 BC) it was Yanjing, a name reflected in the locally brewed Yanjing Beer as well as Yenching University. During the first century BC it was the capital of the Yan of the Warring States and they called Ji. The later Jin Dynasty that ruled northern China built its capital there and called it Zhongdu, meaning “the Central Capital.” Then came the Mongol forces of Genghis Khan. When he burned Zhongdu to the ground in 1215, there were only ruins left and not even a city to name. In 1267 his grandson Kublai Khan rebuilt, from ashes, a city he named Dadu, or Ta-Tu, meaning "Great Capital” which was the true beginning of contemporary Beijing. Marco Polo who visited the city during the reign of Kublai Khan called it “Cambaluc” in his Book of Travels. European mapmakers later labelled it Cathay. Coleridge gave it a name when he wrote: “In Xanadu did Kublai Khan a stately pleasure dome decree”.
Another English name for the city, and the one I used in my Weekly Travel Feature, is Peking. The term originated with French missionaries four hundred years ago, and corresponds to the older Mandarin Chinese name Beping.
Here is where it gets even more complicated. Between 1928 and 1949 it was also known as Peiping meaning "Northern Peace", named by Chang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang government as he didn’t want the city to be called “Northern Capital.” He wanted to emphasize that Peiking was not the capital of China, and that Mao’s warlord government of the north was not legitimate. The Communist Party of China changed the name to Beijing in 1949 again in part to emphasize that Beijing was the capital of China. The government of the Republic of China on Taiwan has not formally recognized the name change and, during the 1950s and 1960s, it was common for Beijing to be called Peiping in Taiwan meaning “Northern Peace” and not “Northern Capital.” During my stay in China, 1945 to 1948, it went by both names, Peiping and Peking, depending upon what book I was reading.
Ever since independence in 1947, many locations in India have changed their names. Much of this resulted from the reorganization of the states on linguistic lines (as opposed to British colonial divisions). Of the major cities, Madras has become Chennai, Calcutta is now Kolkata and Bombay is Mumbai. I don’t know what will happen to all those old songs named after these places.
The name-change that’s hard to accept is the one for Burma. In September 1988, Burma was renamed as the Union of Myanmar. And that romantic name Rangoon has become Yangon. Much of the romance of the old names is gone. I can’t imagine Bob Hope and Bing Crosby singing “On the Road to Myanmar.”
In short here are a few of the name changes:
Burma Myanmar
East Pakistan Bangladesh
Formosa Taiwan
British North Borneo East Malaysia
Cochin-China Vietnam
Saigon Ho Chi Minh City
Ceylon Sri Lanka
Dutch East Indies Indonesia
Kampuchea Cambodia
Malay States Malaysia
Portuguese Timor Timor-Leste
Straits Settlements Penang, Malacca, and Singapore
In the South Pacific it really gets confusing.
Ellice Islands Tuvalu
Friendly Islands Tonga
New Hebrides Vanuatu
Gilbert Islands Kiribati
Savage Island Niue
Western Samoa
Independent State of Samoa
The name French Polynesia, which includes most of the islands of the eastern South Pacific, will soon be dropped. President Oscar Temaru says the name of French Polynesia will be replaced by the indigenous Tahitian name:
Tahiti Nui Te Vai Uri Ra'u
meaning, “The Greater Tahiti with multiple colours.” I wonder how that will fit onto immigration cards.
On the even lighter side, remember even English translated into readable English is not always readable. If you rent a car in Tokyo, please read the following carefully:
WHEN PASSENGER OF FOOT HEAVE IN SIGHT, TOOTLE THE HORN. TRUMPET HIM MELODIOUSLY AT FIRST, BUT IF HE STILL OBSTACLES YOUR PASSAGE THEN TOOTLE HIM WITH VIGOUR.
Next week I would like to take readers to a tropical fruit farm where it is possible to sample every known tropical fruit in the world QUESTIONS & ANSWERSQ. Dear Mr. Stephens, I read with interest your article last week on Inle Lake. Perhaps your readers might be interested in this bit of information regarding the forthcoming orchid show at Inle Lake. The new dates for the Orchid Show (the official name of that event will be “Inle Orchid Images”) are 15 March 16 March and 17 March 2009 and the venue will be at Paramount Inle Resort on Inle Lake. The orchids, mainly indigenous species, will be on display at that three days’ event. Along with the flowers, the traditional farming tools, items of daily life such as dresses, fabrics, etc., will also be on display. There will also be foods of the region in order for the visitors to have a bite while enjoying the floral beauties and the damsels of Inle Lake.
–Phyoe Wai Yar Zar, Managing Director, All Asia Exclusive, Yangon
A. Dear Mr. Phyoe. I am sure some of my readers will be interested, so I am enclosing the letter you sent to me. Thank you
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (booking@inet.co.th)
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited. | 
