Multiple Etymological Origins of "林檎" in Chinese
漢語「林檎」一詞的多重詞源考證

The term "林檎" (línqín) has a rich and complex history in Chinese. Rather than having a single origin, it represents multiple etymological pathways with meanings that have evolved across different historical contexts, geographical regions, and language borrowing events. The term appears in classical literature, modern dialects, and has close connections with Japanese. Understanding the complete picture of "林檎" requires careful examination of its evolution in different temporal and spatial contexts.

The earliest records of "林檎" can be traced back to the Wei-Jin period (220-420 CE). While there exists a hypothesis that this term might have been borrowed from a "Western Regions" language, substantial evidence indicates that cultivation of Malus plants in China has a long history. The royal gardens of the Han Dynasty already cultivated both "林檎" and "柰" (nài).

In classical literature, "林檎" primarily referred to native Chinese Malus fruit trees such as Malus asiatica (flowering crabapple) or similar small apples. According to Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica (本草綱目), "柰" and "林檎" belonged to the same category but different varieties: "林檎 is the smaller and rounder one among 柰." Earlier Tang Dynasty's Food Properties Materia Medica (食性本草) categorized them by shape: "There are three kinds of 林檎: the large elongated ones are 柰, the round ones are 林檎, and the small bitter ones are 梣 (cén)."

The modern Chinese term "蘋果" (píngguǒ) is generally accepted to derive from Sanskrit. Ancient Indian Buddhist scriptures mentioned a fruit transcribed as "頻婆" (pín pó) or variants like "平波" (píng bō) or "蘋婆" (pín pó), which entered Chinese through Buddhism.

The written form "蘋果" appeared relatively late. Agricultural works from the Ming Dynasty Wanli period (1573-1620) were among the earliest to use this term and describe its characteristics in detail. Many studies suggest that the widespread use of "蘋果" or its early variants coincided with the introduction of new, higher-quality apple varieties from Central Asia or Western Regions during the Yuan-Ming period. From the Ming and Qing dynasties onward, "蘋果" gradually replaced "林檎" and "柰" to become the mainstream term.

The Japanese word for apple, "りんご" (ringo), uses the same Chinese characters "林檎" and derives from the Middle Chinese pronunciation of "林檎" (reconstructed as *lim gim). Japanese dictionaries from the early 10th century already recorded this term.

Interestingly, what makes this linguistic journey fascinating is that the Japanese-borrowed "林檎" (ringo) was later re-borrowed back into certain Chinese dialects to refer to modern apples. This phenomenon is particularly evident in Taiwan, where Taiwanese Hokkien uses "lìn-gòo" and Hakka uses "lin-kó" or "lin-ngò" for apple, all derived from Japanese "ringo."

It's important to note that these Japanese-derived dialect pronunciations (like lìn-gòo, lin-kó) differ from the native readings of these characters in these dialects (literary or vernacular readings, such as Hokkien lîm-khîm/lêng-khîm or Hakka lìm-khìm). This creates a situation where the characters "林檎" simultaneously carry two different identities in some Taiwanese dialects: the ancient etymology (referring to native small apples/crabapples) and the modern Japanese loanword (referring to modern commercial apples). This "dual identity" vividly demonstrates the effects of language contact and historical layering.

Beyond meanings related to Malus, "林檎" developed an entirely different meaning in some coastal Southern Min dialect areas, particularly Chaozhou dialect and Zhao'an dialect of Zhangzhou, where it refers to custard apple (Annona squamosa), known as "釋迦" in Taiwan Mandarin. The Qianlong-era (1736-1795) Chenghai County Gazetteer mentions "林檎," describing it as "like 柰" with two varieties (water and honey), stating "Southern regions have no 蘋果, 林檎 serves as a substitute," likely referring to custard apple given the regional context.

The term "林檎" in Chinese encompasses three main etymological pathways:

1. Classical Chinese "林檎" (línqín): Referring to native Chinese Malus fruit trees like flowering crabapple or similar small apples, closely related to "柰" and recorded as early as the Han or Wei-Jin period.
2. Japanese Loanword "林檎" (lìn-gòo): Derived from Japanese "ringo" (which itself came from Middle Chinese *lim gim), used in Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and other dialects specifically for modern, commercialized apples.
3. Southern Min Dialect "林檎": In Chaozhou and Zhao'an dialects, referring to custard apple (Annona squamosa).

The evolution of "林檎" in Chinese vividly demonstrates common linguistic phenomena: word borrowing, semantic shifts, cultural exchange influences, and the inseparable relationship between language and agriculture and trade.