former transliteration of what is now (in the pinyin system) called Beijing. In the Wade-Giles system it was Peiping; this form Peking pre-dates Wade-Giles and was formed by the old British-run, Hong Kong-based Chinese postal system.[Peking etymology, Peking origin, 英语词源]
"A person who studies Chinese politics or current affairs", 1960s; earliest use found in The Economist. From Peking, the name of the capital city of China + -ologist; compare Pekingology.