Yellow River

== English == === Alternative forms === Yellow river === Etymology === Calque of Chinese 黃河 / 黄河 (Huáng Hé), chiefly from the river's golden appearance as far west as Lanzhou caused by the enormous levels of silt it acquires from the Loess Plateau but also influenced by the color schema in wuxing ("Five Element") theory, which associates earth with the color 黃 / 黄 (huáng), usually translated as "yellow" but also inclusive of shades modern English would consider golden, orange, brown, tan, etc. The earliest Chinese sources simply describe it as 河 (hé, “The River”) but it was later distinguished as the Yellow River after 河 (hé) began to replace 水 (shuǐ) as a generic term for creeks and smaller rivers. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈjɛloʊ ˈɹɪvə(ɹ)/ === Proper noun === the Yellow River The chief river of the North China Plain, the second-longest river in China and sixth-longest river system on Earth, historically prone to massive floods which repeatedly drastically changed its course; it passes through Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces as well as Ningxia and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions. For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Yellow River. ==== Synonyms ==== (from Mandarin Chinese) Huang He, Huang Ho, Hwang Ho China's Sorrow ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== Kunlun (Source of the Yellow River in trad. Chinese mythology) === Further reading === Saul B. Cohen, editor (1998), “Yellow River”, in The Columbia Gazetteer of the World‎[8], volume 3, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 3523, column 1 “Yellow River”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present. “Yellow River, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. “Yellow River”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. “Yellow River”, in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2026