<p>because our country is 中国.it means the country which is the center of the world.so if you are in the center then the things came from other place they must came from east or west or north.so we named them by the direction they came from.and we do have 北瓜 although I just heard it from my grandma and I dont know what it exactly is</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-23T14:13:19.633Z
2017-07-23T14:13:19.633Z
J.Wang
<p>Why are the Chinese names of certain vegetables  based of off directions (North, South, East, West?)</p>

<p>Also, why does a specific direction mean a certain vegetable? (I.e do watermelons come from the West?)</p>

<p>There must be a historical significance of these names.
 <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Gkd22.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Gkd22.jpg" alt="direction and vegetables"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-22T10:08:13.783Z
It is 冬瓜 (winter melon), there's no such thing as 东瓜
Tang Ho
<etymology><food>
Etymology of 南/西/东瓜
# Etymology of 南/西/东瓜

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-07-22)

Why are the Chinese names of certain vegetables based of off directions (North, South, East, West?)

Also, why does a specific direction mean a certain vegetable? (I.e do watermelons come from the West?)

There must be a historical significance of these names.
[![direction and vegetables](https://i.sstatic.net/Gkd22.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/Gkd22.jpg)

**Tags:** etymology, food

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It is 冬瓜 (winter melon), there's no such thing as 东瓜  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-07-23. Score: 0

because our country is 中国.it means the country which is the center of the world.so if you are in the center then the things came from other place they must came from east or west or north.so we named them by the direction they came from.and we do have 北瓜 although I just heard it from my grandma and I dont know what it exactly is


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