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#193453 10/12/10 04:23 PM
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The etymology given for today's word, "nankeen," seems to refer to the porcelain, which comes from Nanjing. Did the yellow or buff colored fabric also come from there?

junebh #193456 10/12/10 06:29 PM
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WELCOME JUNEBH


----please, draw me a sheep----
junebh #193458 10/13/10 02:00 PM
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No doubt, just Google Nanjing porcelain/ images and you'll see .

BranShea #193707 10/28/10 12:40 AM
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And, if anyone's interested, it's Portuguese for what we call India Ink.

AnnaStrophic #193714 10/28/10 10:14 AM
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But

would that colour be a deep black then Anna?

AnnaStrophic #193717 10/28/10 01:57 PM
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Nankeen is Portuguese for India ink? That makes my head spin.
The ink is black. This here is part of the Nankeen porcelaine tower. All the nankeen shades together. How did the Portuguese come into the story?


BranShea #193718 10/28/10 02:24 PM
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I don't know its etymology, but intend to find out. Here's a dictionary page: tinta de nankin

AnnaStrophic #193722 10/28/10 07:54 PM
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Yes, it's there. Printed and true.
So far I found that on googling 'nankin ink' it shows small bottles of ink of many standard colors. It looks just like what we call 'ecoline' (not from ecology but from école-school), a transparant but intensely colored ink. Still not clear how it showed up in Portuguese.

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And why is calling it India ink any better? It came originally from china., the capital of which at the time the Portuguese came was in Nanjing. Think of it like Peking duck. Not the color, but where it's from. I saw from the Portuguese Wikipedia that it's called tinta da china in European and tinta nanquim in Brazilian Portuguese. In Chinese, nan means 'south' and jing means 'capital (city)'. Bei means north, so Beijing means 'north capital (city)'.


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Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
And why is calling it India ink any better? It came originally from china., the capital of which at the time the Portuguese came was in Nanjing. Think of it like Peking duck. Not the color, but where it's from. I saw from the Portuguese Wikipedia that it's called tinta da china in European and tinta nanquim in Brazilian Portuguese. In Chinese, nan means 'south' and jing means 'capital (city)'. Bei means north, so Beijing means 'north capital (city)'.


Thanks, Nuncle. I didn't say either was "better," just noted the meaning in Portuguese. Wonder why we call it India Ink, then? Maybe because all of The East was one mysterious place?

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