Abstract The spellings of″porcelain″are similar in Western languages .Most scholars accept the French sinologist Paul Pelliot' v iew that″porcelain″was not derived from Chinese but from″porcelaine″(Mauritia Arabica) in French,which was evolved from″p orcellana″(Mauritia Arabica) in Latin,diminutive of ″porcus″(pig) and″p ucelage″(virginity) .However,a cross-cultural study reveals that″porclain″is the sound translation of Chinese phrase″B o-si-lan″(Persian blue),a name fromIran-exported pigment used in Chinese ancient ceramic making .In Western languages,″p orcelain″has the definition of ceramic ware,which further transforms to″porcellana″(Mauritia Arabica),″shell″,″currency″,″tooth″,″porcelain enamel″ (glaze),and″porcelain-crab″in accordance with the shape and outward appearance on the one hand,and to″porcellanum″(garden porcelain),and″porcelain ampelopsis″(or″porcelain vine″) with reference to the colors on the other hand .This study also proves that at least in the Yuan Dynasty,high-class pigment used in ceramic making in China was imported from Iran .
