Translating "Shangri-La" into Chinese
Every time I visit a hotel called "Shangri-La" in Asia, I am disturbed.
"Shangri-La" is, of course, a nonsense syllable name--made up on the shores of the North Atlantic in the 1930s to sound Chinese (or perhaps Tibetan), but it is not a Chinese (or Tibetan) name.
So how do you translate "Shangri-La" into Chinese?
What do the Chinese characters written alongside "Shangri-La Hotel" mean?
And why did Asia never invent the teacup handle? Saucer, yes. Teacup cover to keep the tea warm, yes. But no handle. Why not?
The answer to the second question in unknown. The answer to the first question is that the Chinese for "Shangri-La" (a) sounds somewhat like "Shangri-La" and (b) means something like, "refuge of relaxation and pleasant fragrances."
