vi) Jade Tree was also a tune-title, as here, seemingly being a shortening of Jade-tree in spring melody (Yü-shu lin-ch’un ch’ȕ 玉樹臨春曲). Ch’en Wen-shu 陳文述 (1771 - 1843), Fodder-grain Arris’s collected literary works (Mo-leng chi 秣棱集), scroll 4, “Mourning at Chiang Tsung’s residence by Green Brook (Ch’ing-hsi tiao Chiang Tsung chai 青溪弔江總宅), mentions what must be tune-titles: “The Jade-tree in spring melody of those times, and the Jade-tree in spring melody (Ch’iung-hua Shui-tiao ke 瓊花水調歌) of other time”. Hung Sheng takes Jade Tree as a tune of the imperial palace.
83 Ch’un-chiang yeh-Yȕeh 春江夜月, Night moon over springtime Yangtse, a tune-title, i.e. Ch’un-chiang hua-Yȕeh yeh 春江花月夜, Night of blossom moon over springtime Yangtse, the title of a Wu Music song (Wu-sheng Ke-ch’ȕ 吳聲歌曲) Music Treasury song (yȕeh-fu 樂府). Fang Ch’iao 房喬 (579 - 648), and others (eds.), Tsin history (Chin-shu 晉書), “Yȕeh-chih”, says: “Night of blossom moon over springtime Yangtse, Jade-tree Rear-court flower (Yü-shu Hou-t’ing-hua 玉樹後庭花) and Splendid-looking (T’ang-T’ang 堂堂) were all composed by the Latter Ruler of Ch’en [reigned 583 - 589, i.e. 陳叔寶 (553 - 604)].
He often composed poetry in harmony with the female academicians (nü hsȕeh-shih 女學士) of the palace and his court ministers, and the Grand Constancy Director (t’ai-chang ling太常令) He Hsü何胥was also skilled at literary poetic composition, and used what was espcially vivid and charming of it to make this melody.” The words of it have long been lost. Emperor Yang-ti of the Sui dynasty, Chang Jo-Hsü 張若虛 (fl. ca. AD 711) and Wen T’ing-chȕn 溫庭筠 (813? – 870?) of the T’ang dynasty, etc. all composed to it.
84 lan-fang 蘭房, Orchid Room, a euphemistic term for a lady’s boudoir.
85 Hsi-kung 西宮, Western Imperial-palace, also called Hsi-nei 西內, West Inside, i.e. Great-ultimate Palace (T’ai-chi-kung 太極宮), located in the old-palace city north of present-day Ch’ang-an county in Shensi province. The Sui dynasty built a Great prospering Palace (Ta-hsing-kung 大興宮), which the T’ang dynasty called Great-ultimate Palace and West Inside. They called its main palace-hall Great-ultimate Palace-hall (T’ai-chi-tien 太極殿). Ch’eng Ta-ch’ang 程大昌 (1123 - 1195), Record of Yung (Yung-lu 雍錄), says: “Most of the T’ang emperors lived in Great-shining Palace (Ta-ming-kung 大明宮), but when there chanced to occur great rituals or important government measures, they would return to reside in Great-ultimate, from which we can tell that Great-ultimate was more honoured than Great Brightness.”
86ch’un-feng 春風, “spring breeze”. i.e. “a gentle (sexually) welcoming glow/bloom”. The term in general can mean:
i) gentle and kindly. Shen Yȕeh 沈約 (441 - 513), History of the Sung (Sung-shu 宋書, “Yȕeh-chih”), says: “Awesomeness sterner than autumn frost, kindliness surpassing spring breeze.” In the phrase Ch’un-feng feng-jen 春風風人, “to blow/breeze others with spring breeze”, the spring breeze likewise conveys the notion of benefit or kindness, the phrase meaning “to benefit others with one’s kindness”. Liu Hsiang 劉向 (77 BC - 6 BC), Hunting-park of anecdotes (Sho-yȕan 說苑), “Kui-te”, says: “If I’m not capable of breezing/benefiting others with my ‘spring breeze’, nor of raining on others with my ‘summer rain’, I’m bound to end up bereft of resources.” Spring breeze has gentle post-dawn warmth, and summer rain provides welcome moisture, so the two things are used as metaphors for “favours”, “benefits”.
ii) Chu Hsi 朱熹 (1130 - 1200), Records of Yi and Lo origins (Yi Lo yȕan-yȕan lu 伊羅淵源錄), tells us that when he went to Ju-chou 汝州, he studied under Ch’eng Hao 程權 [1032 - 1085], and on his return home declared: “I’ve sat for one month in spring breeze.”
iii) the name of a mountain range. Li Hsien 李賢 (1408 - 1466) and others, by imperial commission, [Ming dynasty] Comprehensive geography of the empire ([Ming] Yi-t’ung chih [明]一統志), says: “The Spring-breeze Range (Ch’un-feng-ling 春風嶺) is sixty li-miles west of Kuang-shan county (Kuang-shan-hsien 光山縣) in Ju-ning prefecture (Ju-ning-fu 汝寧府).”
iv) a metaphor for “facial glow of pleasure”, in the phrases ch’un-feng man-mien 春風滿面, “to have spring breeze all over one’s face”, meaning “one’s face is all beams”, “to be beaming with smiles”, also found as man-mien ch’un-feng 滿面春風, “to have one’s face covered in spring breeze”, similarly meaning, “to be beaming with satisfaction,” “to have a face radiant with happiness”.
The phrase ch’un-feng te-yi 春風得意, “to obtain one’s desires in the spring breeze”, derives from Meng Chiao’s 孟郊 (751 - 814) poem After succeeding in the imperial civil-service examinations (Teng-k’e hou 登科後) has the lines: “Obtaining my desires in the spring breeze, my horse’s hooves hasten, in one day I see the flowers of Ch’ang-an in their entirety.” The phrase afterwards became a poetic synonym of “to pass the imperial civil-service examinations”.
87 Tzu-tien 紫殿, Scarlet Palace-hall, a euphemistic term for “imperial palace-hall”. Tzu-chin 紫禁, the Scarlet Forbidden-precinct, was a euphemistic appellation for the imperial palace. Hsieh Chuang 謝莊 (421 - 466), in his Elegy for Sung emperor Filiality Warrior’s Most-honoured-queen Hsȕan (Sung Hsiao-wu Hsȕan Kui-fei lei 宋孝武宣貴妃誄), has the lines: “She covered over the sparkling colours of the Jasper Light [name of a star], And gathered in the splendours of the Scarlet Forbidden-precinct [also intended as a star-name here?].” A note to this by Li Shan 李善 (AD? - AD 689), says: “The palace of a (true-king) ruler of China is likened to the Scarlet Obscurity, which is why the inside of a palace is called the Scarlet Forbidden-precinct.”
Wang Wei 王維 (701 - 761), in his poem Cherries bestowed by command of the emperor on all the mandarins (Ch’ih-tz’u pai-kuan ying-t’ao 敕賜百官櫻桃), has the lines: “Beneath the lotus palace-gate-towers assemble the thousand mandarins, The Scarlet Forbidden-precinct’s vermilion cherries protrude from the imperial railings”.
The Scarlet Forbidden-precinct was so called because it was regarded as symbolising the Scarlet Obscurity (Tzu-wei 紫微), or Scarlet-obscurity Defensive-wall (Tzu-wei-yȕan 紫微垣), an astronomical or astrological term, being the Middle Defensive-wall (Chung-Yuan 中垣) of the Three Defensive-walls (San-yȕan 三垣), and also called Scarlet-palace Defensive-wall (Tzu-kung-Yuan 紫宮垣), Scarlet Defensive-wall (Tzu-yȕan 紫垣), Scarlet Obscurity Palace (Tzu-wei-kung 紫微宮), and Scarlet Palace (Tzu-kung 紫宮). It’s an asterism of fifteen stars situated to the north of the Northern Dipper (Pei-tou 北斗), in an east-west row, with the North Star (Pei-chi 北極) as its centre/centre gate-pivot (chung-shu 中樞), forming what may be seen as a guarding fence or screen (p’ing-fan 屏藩).
The eight stars of the East Fence (tung-fan 東藩) are, starting from the south, called Left Gate-pivot (Tso-shu 左樞), Upper Steward (Shang-tsai 上宰), Younger Steward (Shao-tsai 少宰), Upper Aide (Shang-pi 上弼), Younger Aide (Shao-pi 少弼), Upper Guard (Shang-wei 上衛), Younger Guard (Shao-wei 少衛), and Younger Defender (Shao-ch’eng 少丞). The seven stars of the West Fence (Hsi-fan 西藩) are, starting from the south, called Right Door-pivot (Yu-shu 右潘), Younger Guard (Shao-wei 少衛), Upper Assistant (Shang-fu 上輔), Younger Assistant (Shao-fu 少輔), Upper Guard (Shang-wei 上衛), Younger Guard (Shao-wei 少衛), and Upper Defender (Shang-ch’eng 上丞). Between the Left and Right Gate-pivots, the phenomenon is like opening and shutting, and is called Great-closure Gate (Ch’ang-he-men 閶闔門). Ssu-ma Ch’ien 司馬遷 (ca. 145 BC-ca. 85 BC) says: “In the middle of the palace is the Heaven’s-limit Star (T’ien-chi-hsing 天極星), and circling round it are the twelve Rectifying-guard (K’uang-wei 匡衛) stars, the Fence Vassals/ Ministers (Fan-ch’en 藩臣), which are all called Scarlet Palace.”
Fang Ch’iao 房喬 (T’ang dynasty) et alia (eds.), Tsin history (Chin-shu 晉書, “T’ien-wen chih”), says: “The five stars of the Northern Limit (Pei-chi wu-hsing 北極五星) and the six stars of
the Hook Array (Kou-ch’en liu-hsing 鉤陳六星) are all within the Scarlet Palace. The fifteen stars of the Scarlet-Palace Defensive-wall, seven ones of the Western Fence and eight ones of the Eastern Fence, are situated to the north of the Northern Dipper, which is also called the Scarlet Obscurity, being the seat (tso 座) of Great God (ta-ti 大帝), the constant abode of the Sons of Heaven (t’ien-tzu 天子), and the chief measure of the chief ordainments (chu-ming chu-tu 主命主度). Another name for Scarlet-obscurity Defensive-wall is Long Defensive-wall (Ch’ang-Yuan 長垣), another Heaven Camp (T’ien-ying 天營), and another Flag Stars (Ch’i-hsing 旗星), they providing the Fence Vassals/Ministers for the Fence Guard (Fan-wei 蕃衛).”
Ou-yang Hsȕan 歐陽玄 (1273-1357) and others, Sung history (Sung-shih 宋史), “T’ien-wen chih”, AD 1345, says: “The Scarlet-obscurity Defensive-wall is north of the Northern Dipper, surrounded to left and right by the heavenly symbols of palace guards (yi-wei chih-hsiang 翊衛之象).” The terms Scarlet Palace and Scarlet-obscurity Palace can also have the same meaning as Scarlet Forbidden-precinct.
88T’ien-yȕeh 天樂, Heaven Court-music, Celestial Court-music:
i) court music of Heaven. Shen Ch’ȕan-ch’i 沈佺期 (AD? - AD 729), Mount-Gorge Monastery rhapsody (Hsia-shan-ssu fu 峽山寺賦), has the lines: “Immortals proceeded along with the Heaven Court-music, the blossom rain chases along with the perfumed clouds.”
There’s also the term Heaven-level Vast Court-music (Chȕn-t’ien Kuang-Yȕeh 鈞天廣樂). Ssu-ma Ch’ien 司馬遷 (ca. 147 BC - 90 BC), Historians’ record (Shih-chi 史記), “Chao shih-chia”, says: “When Viscount Chien of Chao (Chao Chien-tzu 趙簡子 [reigned 517 BC - 458 BC]) fell ill, for five days he didn’t recognise anybody, [The archetypical medical doctor] Pien Ch’ȕeh 扁鵲 diagnosed and revived him. ‘Formerly’, said Pien Ch’ȕeh, ‘Duke Mu of Ch’in (Ch’in Mu-kung 秦穆公 [reigned 659 BC - 621 BC]) was once also like that, coming-to after seven days. On the day that he came-to, he informed Kung-sun Chih: ‘The place of our God is most merry. Now you my ruler have had the same illness as him.’ Viscount Chien came-to after two and a half days. ‘Our God’s place is most merry,’ he told his grand-man ministers. ‘I roamed in Heaven-level with all the gods and the Vast Court-music nine times performed Ten-thousand dance (Wan-wu 萬舞), in a way dissimilar to the court-music of the Three Eras, its sounds being most moving.’”
Chang Heng 張衡 (78 - 139), Western Capital rhapsody (Hsi-ching fu 西京賦), (Wen-Hsȕan 文選, scroll 2, pp.22 - 46) has the words: “Of yore Great God was pleased with Duke Mu of Ch’in, and granted him an audience, treating him to Heaven-level Vast Court-music.”. Anon. (third century AD?), Sir Lieh (Lieh-tzu 列子), “Chou Mu-wang”, says: “The king [King Solemn, i.e. Chou Mu-wang 周穆王, traditionally reigned 1001 BC - 947 BC] truly considered that the Pure Metropolis (Ch’ing-tu 清都) and the Scarlet Obscurity (Tzu-wei 紫微) with their Heaven-level and Vast Court-music, were the place where God dwelled.”
ii) pronounced t’ien-le, meaning “Heaven happiness/joy”. Chuang Chou 莊周 (368 BC - 286 BC), Sir Chuang (Chuang-tzu 莊子), “T’ien-tao”, says: “When one harmonises with other people, it’s referred to as ‘human happiness’ (jen-le 人樂), and if one’s in harmony with Heaven, it’s called ‘Heaven happiness’.”
Ch’eng Hsȕan-ying 成玄英 (T’ang dynasty), in his exegeses to Sir Chuang says: “Only if one bowed participating in the Common Dust (Su-ch’en 俗塵), morever coinciding with the joys of the human world, and looked up in concord with Nature, does one rejoice in the joys of Heaven’s principles (t’ien-tao 天道),”
89 Chu-lou 珠樓, Pearl Bower, a euphemistic term for a fine palace-room.
90 yü-lou 玉漏, Jade Leak, a term for a “clepsydra”, Water-clock”. The term t’ung-lung 銅龍, Bronze Dragon, referring to the bronze, dragon-head-shaped (dragons being associated with water) spout of the imperial palace water-clock or clepsydra, the water dripping from it being part of the mechanism of timing, and, to the palace lady in her impatience, its slow drip taking on the character of tardy Time itself. Li Shang-yin’s 李商隱 (813 - 858) poem Deep in the palace (Shen-kung shih 深宮詩) has the line: “The Jade Kettle (yü-hu 玉壺) transmits its marking and the bronze dragon moans”. A note to this by Feng Hao 馮浩(1719 - 1801) quotes Hsü Chien’s 徐堅 (659-729) First-learning record (Ch’u-hsȕeh chi 初學記) as saying: “Yin K’ui’s 殷夔 method of making a clepsydra [lou-k’e 漏科, Leak-notch”] was to make three levels of vessels, all a foot in diameter, stood at separate graded heights on top of the water-carriage (carriage-body) (shui-yü 水輿) Hesitator/Connecting-chamber (ch’ih-ch’u 踟躕), and made a Gold-dragon Mouth (chin-lung-k’ou 金龍口) which spurted water out of its mouth, that in turn poured into the Hesitator, criss-crossing the middle of that, then flowing to the bottom of the Balanced Canal (heng-ch’ȕ 衡渠).”
The clepsydra is also called a Palace Leak(er) (kung-lou 宮漏) and Jade Leak, and its “kettle” a Jade Kettle (yü-hu 玉壺), but is more prosaically known as the Notch Leak (k’e-lou 科漏), or the Leak Notch (lou-k’e 漏科). The invention of the water-clock is traditionally attributed to the legendary demi-god world-ruler the Yellow Emperor (Huang-ti 黃帝, mythological Wu-ti-chi ruler, traditionally reigned 2698 BC - 2599 BC.), i.e. to remotest antiquity. He’s said to have created a Water-leaking Vessel (lou-shui-ch’i 漏水器) to divide the day and night. During the Chou dynasty, there was, according to Chou rites, a government official called a Sir Kettle-notcher/Kettle-lifter (Ch’ieh-hu-shih 挈壺氏), which is sometimes associated with the Kettle-notching Regulator (ch’ieh-hu-cheng 挈壺氏) of the T’ang to Ch’ing dynasties, who was in charge of the palace water-clock, but the Kettle-lifter (ch’ieh-hu 挈壺) of the Chou dynasty is also defined as an official in the Ministry of War who was in charge of helping site encampments, etc.
The clepsydra (lou-k’e) was a time-keeper, with a generally bronze tub or kettle containing water. There was a hole made in the bottom of the kettle, and [into it] in the middle of the kettle an Arrow (chien 箭) or Leak Arrow (lou-chien chien 漏箭) was set upright” The system was always that a hundred notches marking the measurements of the depth of the water were made on the Arrow, and the amount of water in the Kettle steadily reduced, thus steadily exposing the notches on the Arrow in progression, the time of the day and night being read from which notches were thus exposed. At the winter solstice (tung-chih 冬至, the number of Day Leaks (chou-lou 晝漏) was forty notches, and the number of Night Leaks (yeh-lou 夜漏) was sixty notches. At the summer solstice (hsia-chih 夏至), it was the other way around. And at the Spring Equinox (Ch’un-fen 春分) and Autumn Equinox (ch’iu-fen 秋分), it was fifty notches for the day and fifty for the night. This system was passed down through the ages, but the methods of implementing it differed quite a lot.
Lü Ts’ai’s 呂才 (T’ang dynasty) clepsydra (lou-k’e) had a stepped base with four descending Chests (k’ui 匱), called respectively from the top one Night Heaven Pond (yeh t’ien-ch’ih 夜天池), Day Heaven-pond (jih t’ien-ch’ih 日天池), Level Kettle (p’ing-hu 平壺) and Ten-thousand-division Kettle (wan-fen hu 萬分壺), from which in succession water was piped down into the Kettle called Water Sea (shui-hai 水海). In the middle of the Water Sea stood a bronze figure of a man grasping a notched Floating Arrow (fu-chien 浮箭)
Yen Su’s 燕菊 (Sung dynasty) clepsydra (k’e-lou) had two Chests, the Upper Chest (shang-kui 上匱) and the Lower Chest (hsia-kui 下匱), the pipes between them, and to the Kettle below, being called Thirsty Crows (k’e-wu 渴烏). In the Kettle was a notched bronze and wooden Arrow, with a lotus-flower decoration.
The use of clepsydras grew rarer from the Ming dynasty onwards, as Western clocks were imported. During the period 1736 - 1795, under the Ch’ien-lung emperor of the Ch’ing dynasty, an imitation was made of Lü Ts’ai’s T’ang dynasty clepsydra, but only as an inner-palace exhibit.
91 pieh-yȕan 別院, Separate Courtyard.
i) a palace used to rest in by emperors travelling on a tour in ancient times. Pan Ku 班固 (32 - 92), Han history (Han-shu 漢書, “Mei Sheng chuan”, says: “When the Imperial Forest (Shang-lin 上林) was created, it was scattered with Detached Palaces.” From that, the term should perhaps be defined as “palace apart”.
ii) the name of stars. Ou-yang Hsȕan 歐陽玄 (1273 - 1357) and others, Sung history (Sung-shih 宋史), “T’ien-wen chih”, says: “The six stars of Detached Palace pair on pair form one asterism, and are attached between the upper stars of the Room/ Palace Constellation [Shih-hsiu 室宿], being a Separate Palace [pieh-kung 別宮] of the Son of Heaven.”
93 Liu-kung 六宮, Six Palaces. The womenfolk called their bedroom “palace”. Anon. (late Chou-early Han), Chou rites (Chou-li 周禮), “T’ien-kuan”, “Nei-tsai”, says: “The Six Palaces are taught the Female-force Rites.” A note to that says: “Manager of Agriculture Cheng [i.e. Cheng Hsȕan 鄭玄 (127 - 200)]: says: ‘The Six Palaces are five to the rear, and one to the fore, and have one hundred and twenty royal queens (fei 妃), one principal queen (hou 后), three main queens (fu-jen 夫人), nine p’in female mandarins (p’in 嬪), twenty-seven ritual-usher female officials (shih-fu 世婦) and eighty-one female charioteers/grooms (nü-yü 女御).” Later people use Six Palaces to mean the dwellings of the royal or imperial womenfolk.
94Te-pao ke 得寶歌, Song of finding a treasure/ jewel, the title of a song, also found as Te-pao-tzu 得寶子, Finding a treasure/ jewel. Yȕeh Shih 樂史 (930 - 1007), Unofficial biography of Yang Grand-truth (Yang T’ai-chen wai-chuan 楊太真外傳, says: “‘Now I’ve found Most-prized-empress Yang,’the emperor, delighted, exclaimed to the ladies of his seraglio, it’s as if I’ve obtained the most precious treasure! Then he composed a melody called Obtaining a treasure.”
Appendices and Endnotes Page 16
