[Atmob-discuss] Comet Holmes

[A. Joseph Ross]

On 29 Oct 2007 at 10:28, E.Talmadge Mentall wrote:

> Apropos of your location: In my lifetime, the name has changed from
> Peiping, to Peking, to Beijing. I wish they would make up their minds.

Like St. Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad, some of the changes are 
political.  Peiping is what the Nationalist Chinese called it because 
their capital was at Nanking.  I believe the word "Peking" included 
the idea that the city was a capital.  "Beijing" is simply the 
correct pronunciation of "Peking," and at some point the standard of 
transliteration of Chinese names changed accordingly.

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A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                           617.367.0468
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