A question (or two) for Chinese speakers or linguists.
The Chinese name for the Yangtze River is Chang Jiang (long river), yet “Yangtze” is almost certainly a Chinese word or a mutation of one. What does it mean, and who started calling the river “Yangtze”? Ive asked several mainland Chinese friends all of whom didn’t know. One guessed it might mean “alligator”, but that seems unlikely as the river seems awfully far north for alligators. (but what do I know).
And while we’re at it, where did the word “China” come from?
The western word “China” is so old its origin is probably lost in time but it could well be a corruption of some Chinese name. The Chinese name of the country is Zhong Guo which could conceivably be the origin of China. Zhong Guo literally means Middle (or Central) Kingdom which always prompts westerners to comment how China believes itself to be the center of the earth and other such inanities.
The National Geographic magazine issue of september 1997 has a pretty good article on the YangTze river and it explains YangTze is properly only the lower part but westerners used the name for the entire river.