新加坡华语资料库

本资料库收录了具有文化、历史或情感意义的华语词汇。这些词汇是新加坡人过去或现在的生活用语,有的见于印刷媒体,有的则在日常对话中使用。

shī

chéng

Lion City

Culture

文化

Culture

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Lion City

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Photo courtesy of Shubhankar Sharma on Unsplash
Culture

文化

Culture

释义

名词

新加坡的别称。

DEFINITION

Noun

Another name for Singapore.

由来
  • 大约在公元13世纪,山尼拉乌他玛王子(Sang Nila Utama)从民丹岛出发坐船到淡马锡(Temasek,新加坡的旧称),上岸后遇到一只奇怪的野兽,不知是什么动物。后来他听一位长者说动物名为“新加”(Singa或Simha,梵文“狮子”的意思),王子认为是吉祥物,因此决定在这里建立自己的王朝,并将此地取名为“新加坡拉”(Singapura)。 “Singapura”一词为梵文,意思是“狮城”。
  • 虽然狮城的说法与狮子有关系,但也有一说是东南亚并没有狮子,山尼拉乌他玛王子发现狮子纯粹是传说。“狮子”也被指是一群来自爪哇满者伯夷王国(Majapahit)的和尚,他们有可能是在13世纪末移居到淡马锡岛,由于这些和尚修炼的形式狂野,他们以“狮子”作为昵称。此外,“狮城”是早期东南亚几个城市的名称,淡马锡有可能是其中的一个。
ETYMOLOGY
  • In the thirteenth century, Prince Sang Nila Utama set off from Bintan Island to Temasek (an old name of Singapore). Upon landing, he encountered a strange, unknown beast. An elder told him the beast was known as “Singa” (Singa or Simha, which means “lion” in Sanskrit). The Prince regarded the beast as an auspicious creature, and decided to build his empire upon these shores, naming the place “Singapura”. “Singapura” was Sanskrit for “Lion City”.
  • Even though the name Lion City was attributed to lions, but lions were not known to inhabit Southeast Asia. Thus Prince Sang Nila Utama’s discovery of lions may be purely folklore. “Lions” may also refer to a group of monks from the Majapahit empire, who may have moved from Java to Temasek in the late thirteenth century. As these monks were known for their wild practice forms, they were given the moniker “Lions”. In addition, several Southeast Asian cities were known as “Lion Cities” in the olden days, and Temasek could well be one such city.
例句
19世纪初的狮城夜晚原是暗淡一片,莱佛士登陆之后,以椰油点亮街灯被视为创举;如今全岛灯火通明,夜如白昼,可以全天候不打烊。(《联合晚报》,19/5/2019)
SAMPLE SENTENCE
During the early nineteenth century, the night skies of the Lion City were dark and looming. When Raffles landed upon the shores, lamps fuelled by coconut oil was hailed as a new beginning. Now the city is brightly lit, the night skies as bright as day in a city that never sleeps. (Lianhe Zaobao, 19/5/2019)
参考资料
REFERENCES