Next we are going to learn the cardinal directions. Look at this map for a moment. This is a compass drawn using four cities. If you can remember the relative locations of these 4 cities, this course will be much easier.

北京；Beijing means “Northern capital”. 北 bei; North. 南京；Nanjing means “Southern capital”. 南 nan; South. 东京；Dongjing is Tokyo. The original meaning is “Eastern capital”. (This is one of the reasons for the bad blood between China and Japan. The Chinese emperors could not accept that anyone was equal to them. After all, they were heaven’s representatives on earth). 东 dong; East. 西安 Xi’an means “Western Peace”. It was the capital of China during 5 different dynasties. 西 xi; West.