302Ch’i-pao T’uan-luan 七寶團圞, Seven-treasures Roundness, a euphemism for “moon”. Seven Treasures:
i)Sapta ratna,a term often used by Buddhism. Also translated as Sa-pu-ta Lo-ti-na 薩不荅羅的捺. There are various definitions of the Seven Treasures:
a)gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, agate, rubies/red pearls, and cornelian,
b)the Seven Royal (cakravartin) Treasures: The Golden Wheel, elephants, Dark Swift Horses, the Divine Pearl/Beautiful Pearls, able ministers of the Treasury, jewels of women, and loyal generals. There exists the term Seven-treasures Forest (Ch’i-pao Shu-lin 七寶樹林), referring to a jewelled grove or forest of in the Pure Land paradise.
c) Dharma-flower sutra (Fa-hua ching 法華經) gives gold (chin 金), silver (yin銀), lapis lazuli（liu-li 琉璃), agate (ch’ë-ch’u 硨磲), cornelian (ma-nao 瑪瑙), pearls (chen-chu 真珠) and black mica (mei-kui 玫瑰).
d) Endless-life sutra/ Sukhãvativyuha sutra / Amitãyus sutra (Wu-liang-shou ching 無量壽經) gives gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, coral (shan-hu 珊瑚), cornelian and agate.
e) Anon., Boundless-light/ Amitabha sutra (A-mi-t’o ching 阿彌陀經) “Ta-chih tu-lun”, gives gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, agate, red pearls/ rubies and carnelian.
f) Anon., Great wisdom sutra/ Mahã prajña sutra (Mo-he pan-jo ching 摩訶般若經), gives gold, silver, lapis lazuli, agate, cornelian, amber and coral.
ii)Liu Hsü 劉昫 (887 - 946) and others, Old T’ang history (Chiu T’ang-shu 舊唐書), AD 945, “Hou-fei chuan”, says: “The empress dowager Wu Patterned-on-Heaven [Wu Tse-t’ien 武則天] gave herself another title, that of Gold-wheel Sage-divine August-emperor (Chin-lun Sheng-shen Huang-ti 金輪聖神皇帝), and set up the Seven Treasures in her court, which were called Gold-wheel Treasure (Chin-lun-pao 金輪寶), White-elephant Treasure (Pai-hsiang-pao 白象寶), Women Treasure (Nü-pao女寶), Horse Treasure (Ma-pao馬寶), Pearl Treasure (Chu-pao 珠寶), Minister-in-charge-of-weapons Treasure (Chu-ping-ch’en-pao 主兵臣寶) and Minister-in-charge-of storage Treasure the (Chu-tsang-ch’en-pao 主藏臣寶), which were put on display at all big imperial court meetings.” The Seven Treasures displayed by Empress Wu were connected with the Buddhist concept of Cakravartin’s Seven Treasures (Lun-wang Ch’i-pao 輪王七寶) as above.
iii)things made up of seven jewels or treasures are popularly often known as Seven Treasure ones, for instance in the Han dynasty there was a Seven-treasures Couch (Ch’i-pao-ch’uang 七寶床) and in the T’ang dynasty there was a Seven-treasures Inkstone-burner (Ch’i-pao Yen-lu 七寶硯爐).
303Yü-t’u 玉兔, White-jade Rabbit, said to dwell in the moon.
304Chin-ch’an 金蟾, Gold Toad, said to dwell in the moon. See note above.
305Ch’ang-ming Chih-pao 長明至寶, Lasting-shine Utmost Treasure, presumably a term for the elixir of long-lasting life.
306Pai-yü 白榆, White Elm:
i) an elm-tree with white bark. Anon. (Chou and Han dynasties),] Close exegeses (Erh-ya 爾雅), “Shih-mu”, says: “Elm means White Elm (pai-fen 白枌).” Commentary to that says: “An elm-tree with a white-coloured bark is called White Elm (pai-fen).” This is what in recent times has been called pai-yü.
ii) a poetic term signifying “star”. An ancient Music Treasury song (yȕeh-fu 樂府) has the lines: “What is there up in the sky? Clear-sparkling grow White Elms.”
In this drama, the implication seems to be an elm said to grow on the moon, but maybe the term’s being used with vague association to, or imprecise memory of, heavenly bodies.
307Tan-kui 丹桂, Cinnabar Cassia-tree:
i) the name for a kind of cassia-tree with crimson bark, Orange Osmanthus. Chi Han 稽含 (262 - 306), Account of southern-region plants and trees (Nan-fang ts’ao-mu chuang 南方草木狀), says: “The one of which the leaves are like those of a cypress-tree and the bark is crimson, is Cinnabar Cassia-tree.”
ii) the kind of blossom of Osmanthus fragrans, “wood/tree rhinoceros” (mu-hsi 木犀) which is red/scarlet.
iii) a metaphor for great human ability. Tou Yü-chȕn 竇禹鈞 of the Sung dynasty had five sons who all succeeded in the imperial civil-service exams. Feng Tao 馮道 (882 - 954) presented him with a poem, which had the lines: “The Supernatural Toon-tree/Tree-of-Heaven has aged, The Cinnabar Cassia-tree is fragrant.”
kui 桂:
i)the name of plants:
a) cassia (Cinamomum cassia), an evergreen tree of the family Lauraceae (chang-k’e 樟科). Chi Han 稽含 (262 - 306), Account of southern-region plants and trees (Nan-fang ts’ao-mu chuang 南方草木狀), says: “There are three kinds of kui: the one with crimson bark is the Cinnabar Cassia (tan-kui 丹桂), the one with leaves like the persimmon (shih 柿) is the ‘chȕn-bamboo cassia’ (chȕn-kui 箘桂) [or ‘tube cassia’ (t’ung-kui 筒桂)], and the one with leaves like the loquat (p’i-p’a 枇杷) is called the ‘male cassia’ (mu-kui 牡桂).”
Li Shih-chen 李時珍 (1518 - 1593), Detailed systematic outline of herbs (Pen-ts’ao kang-mu 本草綱目), says that the tree simply named kui means the “male cassia”. The “wood/tree rhinoceros” (mu-hsi 木犀) (Osmanthus fragrans) is also popularly termed kui.
b) the name of a kind of bamboo, i.e. kui-chu 桂竹, “cassia bamboo”. Anon. (late Chou-Han dynasty), Mountains-and-seas classic (Shan-hai ching 山海經), “Chung-shan ching”, says: “On the Cloud Mountains there’s cassia-bamboo.” Tso Ssu 左思 (AD? - ca. AD 306), Wu capital rhapsody (Wu-tu fu 吳都賦), says: “Its bamboo is yȕn-tang 篔簹, lin-yü 箖箊, ‘cassia arrows’ (kui-chien 桂箭) and ‘shooting-tube’ (she-t’ung 射筒).” A note to that says: “The biggest of ‘cassia bamboo’ (kui-chu 桂竹) is two feet in circumference, and forty or fifty feet tall.” According to Tai K’ai 戴凱 (Tsin dynasty), Manual of bamboo (Chu-p’u 竹譜), “cassia bamboo” is extremely poisonous, and if a person is injured by it, consequent death is inevitable.
ii)a short name for Kwangsi province.
iii) a surname.
Mu-kui 牡桂, “male cassia”, the name of a kind of tree, Li Shih-chen 李時珍 (1518 - 1593), Detailed systematic outline of herbs (Pen-ts’ao kang-mu 本草綱目), says: “The mu-kui has long leaves like those of the loquat, they being hard and solid, hairy and saw-toothed. Its blossoms are white, and its bark contains a lot of fat.” Su Kung 蘇恭 (dates?) says: “The one that is simply called the kui, is the same as the mu-ku 牡桂, being what [Anon. (Chou and Han dynasties),] Close exegeses (Erh-ya 爾雅) refers to as the ch’in 梫.” He adds: “When a mu-kui 木桂 has big branches, its bark is fleshy, its grain coarse, its timber as if empty, and its flesh coarse and taste meagre, it’s called ‘wood-/tree-cassia’ (mu-kui 木桂). When it has small tender branches/twigs, a lot of bark and flesh that’s curled, and of a pungent fine taste, it’s called ‘flesh cassia’ (jou-kui 肉桂), also called ‘cassia-branches’ (kui-chih 桂枝).” Accordingly, the “wood cassia” and ““flesh casasia” are both the same as the “male cassia”. But Li Shih-chen mentions it as having hairy, saw-teethed leaves and white blossoms, which features all differ from the “flesh cassia” (Cinamomum loureiri nees) referred to by modern botanical books. Moreover, the “male cassia” that has thin bark and little fatty flesh, is sometimes called “imperial-palace cassia” (kung-kui 宮桂).
308Ni-ch’ang yü-yi ch’ü 霓裳羽衣曲, Rainbow-jacket feather-skirt melody, the name of a dance-tune. It originated in India, and came to northern China during the period 713 - 741, through Chinese Turkestan (present-day Sinkiang) and Kansu, being presented to the emperor by the Commissioner of Hsi-liang 西涼 (in north-western present-day Kansu province), Yang Ching-shu 楊敬述, at which time. Emperor Dark-progenitor (Hsuan-tsung 玄宗) revised it somewhat.
One early story says: “Lo Kung-Yuan 羅公遠 had a lot of secret magic, and once went with Emperor Dark-progenitor to the Palace of the Moon, where several hundred angel-maidens all in plain-white silk and rainbow robe danced in a wide open piazza. On asking what
the melody used for the dance was, they were told it was Rainbow-jacket and feather-skirt. The emperor discreetly noted the tune, and then he and Lo came back. The following day, he summoned his musicians and from the tune composed his Rainbow-jacket and feather-skirt melody.”
Another tale says; “On the mid-autumn night of AD 741, the emperor and Yeh Fa-shan 葉法善 [Yeh “Excellent Magic”] took a trip to the Palace of the Moon, heard all the angels there playing a melody, and subsequently put it to the jade-flute, calling this melody Rainbow-jacket and feather-skirt, it thereafter being spread by the Ministry of Music.”
A certain Cheng Yü 鄭愚says: “When Emperor Dark-progenitor reached the Palace of the Moon, he heard angel music but on his return could only remember half of it. It chanced, however, that Yang Ching-shu presented him with the Brahmanical [Indian] melody, which fitted in with its music, so he used what he’d heard on the moon as a separate prelude, and what Ching-shu had brought him as the melody proper, calling it Rainbow-jacket and feather-skirt.”
Cheng seems to have tried to reconcile probable fact and probable fiction! Emperor Dark-progenitor’s Empress, Most-prized-empress Yang (Yang Kui-fei 楊貴妃), the heroine of this drama, was famous in posterity for her dancing to this tune for the emperor’s pleasure, and it’s used here as a symbol of the pleasure-making of the two lovers that’s suddenly shattered by rebellion.
Rainbow-jacket and feather-skirt dance (Ni-ch’ang yü-yi wu 霓裳雨衣舞), a dance to (the tune) Rainbow-robe and feather-skirt.
309P’eng-lai 蓬萊, Erigeron-chenopodium/Fleabane-goosefoot, the name of an island mountain where immortals dwell, in the middle of the Eastern Ocean. Han history (Han-shu 漢書), “Chiao-ssu chih”, says: “People were sent out onto the sea to seek for Erigeron-chenopodium, Square Ten-feet (Fang-chang 方丈) paradise, and Ying-island (Ying-chou 瀛州) paradise these being three mountains of gods (shen-shan 神山), which, legend has it, are located in the Po-hai Sea (Po-hai 渤海).” Also found is the term Ao-chia P’eng-lai 鰲駕蓬萊, “giant-sea-turtle-borne Erigeron-chenopodium Paradise“.
Anon. (late Chou to third century AD?) Sir Lieh (Lieh-tzu 列子), “T’ang-wen”, has the following account:
Untold million miles to the east of Po Sea, there’s a huge gully, which is in fact a bottomless valley, and since it has no bottom, it’s called Homing-to-emptiness. All the rivers from the Eight Regions and Nine Lands, and the stream of the Milky Way, without exception pour into it, yet there is no increase or decrease in it.
In it, there are five mountains, one called Mount-T’ai Carriage (Tai-yü 岱輿), one called Round Pointed-peak (Yuan-chiao 員嶠), one called Square-kettle (Fang-hu 方壺), one called Ying-island, and one called Erigeron-chenopodium. These mountains from top to bottom and all around are thirty thousand miles, the flat place of their summits is nine thousand miles, and there are seventy thousand miles between the mountains, so that they may be considered as dwelling as neighbours there. On them, the terraces and belvederes are all of gold and jade. And on them the birds and beasts are all pure hat-silk white, the pearled and jewelled trees all grow in dense abundance, and the flowers and fruits are all tasty, and all who eat them will not grow old nor die.
The people who dwell there are all of the immortal and saint kind, and those of them flying to and fro on any one day or night are beyond counting. But the roots of the five mountains are not connected to anywhere, and they constantly follow the tides and waves up and down and hither and thither, and cannot stand towering for even a short while. The immortals and saints detested this fact, and complained about it to God, and God, fearing that the mountains would drift to the Western Guy-pole, and the dwelling of the immortals and saints would be lost, commanded Yü-chiang to have fifteen giant sea-turtles bear them on their heads in three groups in turn, changing over once every sixty thousand years. Only then did the Five Mountains stand towering and not move.
But there was a giant in the Land of the Dragon Earl, who already before he strode a few paces reached the place where the Five Mountains were, and cast his fishing-hook and straightway caught six of the giant sea-turtles. He gathered them together, put them on his back, rushed back to his country, and scorched their bones to make divination calculations with them.
When that happened, the two mountains Mount-T’ai Carriage and Round Pointed-peak drifted to the Northern Guy-pole, and sank into the Great Sea, and the immortals and saints who were scattered and moved elsewhere were counted in mighty millions. God was greatly enraged, and gradually reduced the Land of the Dragon Earl to a narrow one, and gradually made the people of that land smaller until they were shorter of stature. But by the time of [the demi-god world-rulers] Fu-hsi and Shen-nung, the people of that land were still scores of feet tall.
“Giant sea-turtle-borne Erigeron-chenopodium Paradise” is a euphemism for “a fine location”.
During the T’ang and Sung dynasties, we’re told, Erigeron-chenopodium Taoist/Cosmic-truth Mountain (P’eng-lai Tao-shan 蓬萊道山) was used as a euphemism for the Department of the Palace Library (Pi-/ Mi-shu-sheng 秘書省) of T’ang central government, which is where Shu Yȕn worked. “Erigeron-chenopodium Paradise literary genius/brilliance” (P’eng-lai wen-chang 蓬萊文章) thus refers to the literary brilliance that one working in such a lofty institute must have.
310fa-ch’ü 法曲, Taoist Melody, the term for a type of music basiclly performed in Taoist monasteries or Taoist temples (tao-kuan 道觀). Liu Hsü 劉昫 (887 - 946) and others, Old T’ang history (Chiu T’ang-shu 舊唐書) (AD 945), “Li-yȕeh chih”, says:
Previously, in the Sui dynasty, there were Taoist Melodies, which had a high/gentle pure music (ch’ing-yin 清音), close to court-music (chin-ya 近雅), its musical instruments including big cymbals (nao 鐃), copper clappers (pa 鈸), bells (chung 鐘), sounding stone (p’an 磐), clarinet (ch’uang-hsiao幢簫) and lute (p’i-p’a 琵琶).
Emperor Dark-progenitor (Hsuan-tsung 玄宗) was botha musical expert and ardently fond of Taoist Melodies, and selected three hundred young gentlemen (tzu-ti 子弟) of the Sitting-orchestra Entertainers (tso-pu chi坐部伎), instructing them in his Pear-orchard Conservatoire (Li-yȕan 梨園), and if they made any mistakes in the music, he would be bound to detect such, and correct them, the students being given the title of August-emperor’s Pear-orchard Students (Huang-ti Li-yȕan Ti-tzu 皇帝梨園弟子). Several hundred palace ladies were also Students of the Pear-orchard Consevatoire, and dwelled in the Conducive-to-spring Northern Courtyard / Institute (Yi-ch’un Pei-yȕan 宜春北院).
In the Taoist Orchestra (Fa-pu 法部) of the Pear-orchard Conservatoire, a further Little Orchstra (Hsiao-pu 小部) was set up, with thirty or so instrumentalists and vocalists (yin-sheng 音聲).
Kuo Mao-ch’ien 郭茂倩 (Sung dynasty), Collection of the lyrics of Music Treasury songs (Yȕeh-fu shih-chi 樂府詩集), says: “[Wang P’u 王溥 (922 - 982),] Assembly of the vital matters of the T’ang dynasty (T’ang hui-yao 唐會要), says:
In AD 838, under Emperor Civil-progenitor (Wen-tsung 文宗), the Taoist Melodies were changed to Immortals-orchestra Melodies (Hsien-pu-ch’ü 仙部曲). Taoist Melodies arose in the T’ang dynasty, and were referred to as Taoist Orchestra (Fa-pu 法部), and its most exquisite melodies included Smashing-the-battle-array court-music (P’o-chen yȕeh 破陣), Great securing by one battle court-music (Yi-jung ta-ting yȕeh 一戎大定), Lasting-life court-music (Ch’ang-sheng yȕeh 長生樂 ), and Crimson peach and white plum blossoms court-music (Ch’ih-pai t’ao-li yȕeh 赤白桃李樂), and other melodies include such as Splendid and mighty (T’ang-t’ang 堂堂), Gazing at Ying paradise-isle (Wang Ying 望瀛), Rainbow-skirt and feather-jacket (Ni-ch’ang yü-yi 霓裳羽衣), Presenting immortals’ music to the emperor (Hsien hsien-yin 獻仙音) and Presenting celestial flowers to the emperor (Hsien t’ien-hua獻天花), collectively known as Taoist Melodies.
311ch’ou 丑, clown role-type category actor, here seemingly referring to female immortal(s).
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312 Yü-fu 玉府, Jade Mansion: the name of a governmental institute during the Chou dynasty, Jade Treasury, in the Ministry of State (t’ien-kuan 天官), which was in charge of holding in store gold, jade objects, curios, jewels, weapons, and any other articles of excellence
313Yü-yao/-yȕeh 魚鑰, Fish Lock. Lu Yu 陸友 (Yȕan dynasty), Yen-pei’s miscellaneous notes (Yen-pei tsa-chih 研北雜志), says: “In the old Sung dynasty imperial palace, Fish Locks were used, the fish being dropped down to bring up the key, and the key dropped down to bring up the fish, that being the old way of manufacture.” Fomes-fungus-field record (Chih-t’ien lu 芝田錄) says: “The locks had to be made as fish, using them in the symbolic sense that they didn’t close their eyes, and kept watch through the night.”
314Lung-wei 龍帷, Dragon Bed-drapes, a euphemism for imperial-palace bed-curtains.
315ping-tien 冰簟, ice-mat. Presumably some form of cool/cooling mattress or quilt.
316huang 黃, yellow, here i.e. hua-huang 花黃, Flower-yellow, “Flower-yellow eyebrow makeup”, used by women in ancient times. Hsü Ling 徐陵 (507 - 583), in his poem Feng-he singing of dance (Feng-he yung-wu 奉和詠舞), has the lines: “Bowing her hair-coil and facing towards her damask mat, raising her hands, she brushes her Flower-yellow.” Anon. (Six Dynasties or T’ang dynasty), Magnolia poem (Mu-lan shih 木蘭詩), has the lines: “Standing at the casement, she arranges her cloud-like temple-tresses, facing her mirror, she sticks-on her Flower-yellow.” Mount Ku writing-brush fly-whisk (Ku-shan pi-chu 穀山筆麈) says: “Regarding the adornments of women, they all use powder and kohl, the powder to spread over the face, and the kohl to apply to the forehead. During the Northern Wei dynasty [386 - 534], women of the general populace were forbidden to wear powder or kohl, and those who weren’t palace ladies all had yellow eyebrows and black makeup (huang-mei hei-chuang 黃眉黑妝), which is why there’s the line about ‘facing a mirror and sticking-on Flower-yellow’ in Magnolia poem.”
Appendices and Endnotes Page 25
