Changan

Changan

1. Alternative form of Chang'an (former capital of China)
   • 1977 February 6, T.K. Yang, “Chopsticks look simple-but beginners may have trouble!”, in Free China Weekly‎, volume XVIII, number 6, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2, column 5:

     On the streets of Changan, the capital city of the Han Dynasty, there were many pork shops, wine shops and restaurants selling cooked meats and drinks.

   • 2002, Charles Benn, “History”, in Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty‎, Greenwood Press, →ISBN, →ISSN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 10:

     He also enjoyed unprecedented favor from the emperor, who appointed him to high-ranking offices, dubbed him prince (a privilege usually reserved for members of the imperial clan), had a mansion built for him in Changan, and granted him the right to mint coins. By 755 An became aware that Chief Minister Yang, a cousin of Yang Guifei, in Changan was plotting to remove him from power and began to fear that he was losing the emperor's favor.

2. Alternative form of Chang'an (county in Shaanxi)
   • 1991 [1987], Zou Zongxu, translated by Susan Whitfield, The Land Within the Passes: A History of Xian‎, Viking, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 68:

     The exact sites of Feng and Hao have yet to be verified, but seven pits containing chariots, horses and other Zhou burial objects were discovered at Fengxi, and a concentration of Western Zhou relics and tombs was found in the area of Doumen in Changan County on the east bank of the Feng River.

In the context of Hanyu Pinyin, Changan can be considered a misspelling of Chang'an. In theory, a syllable-dividing mark (隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào)) should be added before a non-initial syllable beginning with a, o, or e. Hence, Changan could only ever refer to a word made up of chan and gan since a word made up of chang and an would be spelled as Chang'an (cf. Chang'an). In practice, syllable-dividing marks are often added or omitted at will.

• Chang'an, Changan, Ch'ang-an at Google Ngram Viewer
• “Changan, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “Changan”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.