I'm just curious about this. The capital of China is now commonly called Beijing. In my youth it was Peking, and it has also been rendered Peping/Peiping. Now, I can understand the initial consonant sound being considered either a "B" or a "P", as those are closely related sounds (both labials). I can understand the first vowel sound being shown as either "E" or "EI"--minor distinction. What I don't understand is how the second consonant sound could somehow be confused among a "J", "K", and "P"--these strike me as quite unrelated sounds. Can anyone enlighten me on these seemingly incongruous variations in the English spelling and pronunciation of this name?