Beiji

Beiji (Chinese: 北极, "Northern Pole") is a term historically used in East Asian cultures to refer to the geographic North Pole and, by extension, the polar region of the Earth. In traditional Chinese astronomy, Beiji was one of the four symbolic directions, opposite Nánjí (the South Pole), and was associated with the element water, the color black, and the mythological creature the Black Tortoise (Xuanwu). Early Chinese texts such as the *Shiji* and the *Huainanzi* mention Beiji in cosmological diagrams that divided the heavens into quadrants, each governed by a guardian deity.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Beiji also became a poetic and metaphorical reference for extreme cold, remote frontiers, and the limits of imperial authority. Explorers and missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries used the term when describing journeys toward the Arctic seas, and the name was occasionally applied to the Siberian territories bordering the Russian Empire.

In contemporary usage, Beiji is most commonly encountered in scientific and educational contexts within Chinese-language publications to denote the Arctic region or the North Pole itself. The term appears in the names of institutions such as the Beiji Research Institute, which focuses on polar climate studies, and in popular media where it evokes concepts of isolation, endurance, and the harsh beauty of the high latitudes. While the word is rooted in ancient cosmology, its modern interpretation aligns with global scientific discourse on polar environments.