388Li-shan 驪山, Mount Li, the name of a mountain south-east of present-day Lin-t’ung county in Shensi province, and connected with Mount Lan-t’ien in Lan-t’ien county. Also found written as Li-shan 麗山, and also found as Mount Li-Jung-barbarians (Li-Jung chih-shan 驪戎之山) In antiquity the Li Jung-barbarians dwelled on this mountains, hence the name Mount Li. During the reign of King Yu (reigned 781 BC - 771 BC) of the Chou dynasty, the Dog Jung (Ch’ȕan Jung 犬戎) barbarians made an incursion, killing the king at the foot of the mountain. The First Emperor (reigned 221 BC - 207 BC) of the Ch’in dynasty, once constructed a wooden-strutted double-walkway (ke-tao 閣道, i.e. chan-tao棧道). reaching to the mountain. When he died, he was buried there. Emperor Dark-progenitor (Hsȕan-tsung 玄宗, reigned 712 - 756) of the T’ang dynasty set up his Florescence-purity Palace (Hua-ch’ing-kung 華清宮), which was the place where his Most-prized-empress Yang (Yang kui-fei 楊貴妃) famously bathed.
389hsi shih-fan 細十番, the same as Shih-fan-ku 十番鼓: The Ten Musical Instruments, made up of transverse flute (ti 笛), shawm (kuan 管), panpipes (hsiao 簫), String (hsien 絃), Carried Dulcimer (t’i-ch’in提琴), Cloud Gong (yȕn-lo 雲鑼), Soup Gong (t’ang-lo 湯鑼), Wooden Fish (mu-yü 木魚), Sandlewood Clappers (t’an-pan檀板) and Big Drum (ta-ku 大鼓).
390This refers to the legend of the Black-dragon Pearl (li-chu 驪珠), mentioned in the idiom “seeking for the black dragon and finding a pearl” (t’an-li te-chu 探驪得珠). Chuang Chou 莊周（369 BC - 286 BC), Sir Chuang (Chuang-tzu 莊子), “Lieh Yü-k’ou”, says:
A certain man gained an audience with the King of Sung, was bestowed with a gift of ten chariots and boasted arrogantly of the ten chariots to Sir Chuang.
“On the banks of the Yellow River,” said Sir Chuang, “there was a family which, being poor, depended on weaving mug wort for their livelihood. Their son dived into a deep pool, and found a pearl worth a thousand pieces of gold. “Fetch a stone here,’ the father told the son, ‘and we’ll smash it. This pearl worth a thousand pieces of gold must have been at the ninth level of depth in the pool, and under the chin of a black dragon.
For you to have been able to obtain the pearl, you must have happened to do so when the dragon was sleeping. (If it had woken up, how would even the slightest bit of you have been left!) In the present case, the depth of the state of Sung isn’t just nine levels, and the ferocity of the king of Sung isn’t just that of a black dragon. That you were able to obtain the chariots, must have been that he happened to be sleeping. Had the king of Sung woken up, you’d have been bound to become fine-minced pickles with rice-flour!”
Nowadays the idiom “seeking for the black dragon and finding a pearl” means “(of writing that it’s) apposite/appropriate/finely to the point”.
391ju-p’ai 入拍, Entering Beat.
392Yü-shan 玉山, Jade Mountain, i.e. Flock-of-jades Mountain (Ch’ȕn-yü-shan 群玉山), the name of a mountain upon which was the legendary abode of the supreme goddess Royal Mother of the West (Hsi Wang-mu 西王母), it being a mountain covered in jewels or precious stones. In early times, Royal Mother seems to have been a folk deity, human in form but with tiger’s teeth, leopard’s tail, dishevelled hair and a crown of jewels, being good at whistling! Later depictions are more conventionally divine! Anon. (early 3rd century BC or earlier), Son of Heaven King Solemn (Mu t’ien-tzu chuan 穆天子傳), says: “When the Son of Heaven returned eastwards from his northern expedition, he went along the Black River. In the year kui-ssu, he reached the Flock-of-jades Mountain (Ch’ȕn-yü chih-shan 群玉之山).” Anon. (Chou to Han dynasties), Mountains and seas classic (Shan-hai ching 山海經) “Hsi-shan ching”, says: “The Jade Mountain is the place where Royal Mother of the West dwells.” A note to this by Kuo P’u 郭璞 (276 - 324) says: “There are a lot of jade-stones on this mountain, which is why it has been so named.”
This and the next line of Li Pai’s poem merely imply that Empress Yang is as beautiful as an immortal angel or fairy, so that one would normally only expect to encounter her in such immortal abodes.
393Shang-yȕan 上元 Upper-origin, the name of a lady immortal of paradise. I.e. Shang-yȕan Fu-jen上元夫人, Dame/Lady Upper-origin. Pan Ku 班固 (32 - 92) (dub. attr., probably a work by someone of the Three Kingdoms Wei or Tsin dynasty), Inside biography of Emperor Warrior of the Han dynasty (Han Wu nei-chuan 漢武內傳), says: “Dame Upper-origin was a pupil of Tao Chȕn 道君. On the Seventh Day of the Seventh Month of the Yȕan-feng reign-period [110 BC - 105 BC] Royal Mother of the West descended to the Han dynasty imperial palace, and commanded her lady attendant (shih-nü 侍女) Kuo Secret-perfume (Kuo Mi-hsiang 郭密香) to invite Dame Upper-origin to join her for the feast. In the year AD 66 BC, in the reign of Emperor Hsü-ti 宣帝, Royal Mother again feasted with Dame Upper-origin holding it for Reed-fullness (Mao-ying 茅盈) on Mount Hooked-curve (Kou-ch’ü chih-shan 句曲), and in Florescence-female-force Heaven-palace (Hua-yin T’ien-kung 華陰天宮) on Gold Altar-platform Tumulus (Chin-t’an chih-ling 金壇之陵) Reed-fullness instructed the Royal Ruler (wang-chȕn 王君 [i.e. emperor ]: ‘Dame Upper-origin is the mother of True August-majesty of Third Heaven (San-t’ien Chen-huang 三天真皇), the Highly-honoured One (kao-tsun 高尊) of Shang-yȕan, and rules the registered Jade-ladies (Yü-nü 玉女) of the Ten Regions (Shih-fang 十方).”
394Shuang-ch’eng 雙成, (Dame) Pair-complete, i.e. Tung Pair-complete (Tung-Shuang-ch’eng 董雙成, the name of a lady immortal of paradise. Comprehensive gazetteer of Chekiang (Che-chiang t’ung-chih 浙江通志) says: “Tung Pair-complete of the Chou dynasty is a lady attendant (shih-nü 侍女) of [the goddess] Royal Mother of the West (Hsi-wang-mu 西王母). Her old residence stood in [present-day] Wondrous-courtyard Taoist-monastery (Miao-t’ing-kuan 妙庭觀) by West Lake (Hsi-hu 西湖) in Hang-chou 杭州. When she’d completed the process of the “cinnabar” elixir of immortality, she, playing the mouth-harmonium (sheng 笙), rode off on a crane into immortality. Her fellow-citizens stood on a bridge gazing at her, so it was called Gazing-at-immortal Bridge (Wang-hsien-ch’iao 望仙橋).
At the beginning of the reign-period 1190-1194, the Taoist priest Tung Hsing-yȕan 董行元 dug in the ground, and found a copper plate, on which were written the words, ‘I have a peach-of-immortality tree (p’an-t’ao-shu 蟠桃樹), Which once in a thousand years bears fruit; Whoever comes to steal and make off with it, must ask Tung Pair-complete.’”
395E-lü 萼綠, Calyx-dark-green (such as Jasmine). Calyx-dark-green-florescence (E-lü-hua 萼綠華), the name of a lady immortal. Ling-ling county-gazetteer (Ling-ling hsien-chih 零陵縣志) says: “Calyx-dark-green-florescence of the Ch’in dynasty is a lady immortal. In the Third Year of reign-period 357 - 361 [i.e. AD 359] of the Tsin dynasty emperor Solemn (Mu-ti 穆帝), she alighted in the home of Yang Ch’ȕan 羊權, where she said she’d been practicing cosmic law for nine hundred years. She handed Yang Ch’ȕan the cosmic-law techniques (tao-shu 道術) and Corpse-dissolving medicine (shih-chieh-yao 尸解藥) [for assisting to immortality], and further made herself invisible and transformed herself (yin-ching hua-hsing 隱景化形) and departed. Concerned people likened her to Nine-doubts Immortal (Chiu-yi Hsien-jen 九疑仙人) Calyx-dark-green-florescence. In the capital, on Ken Peak (Ken-yȕeh 艮嶽), there’s a Calyx-dark-green-florescence Hall (E-lü-hua-t’ang 萼綠華堂), down below which this shrub is grown, which is, moreover, not often found in the mortal world.”
396Hsü Ch’iung 許瓊, Hsü Chalcedony, the name of a lady immortal, i.e. Hsü Flying-chalcedony (Hsü Fei-ch’iung 許飛瓊). Pan Ku 班固 (32 - 92), (dub. attr., probably a work by someone of the Three Kingdoms Wei or Tsin dynasty), Inside biography of Emperor Warrior of the Han dynasty (Han Wu nei-chuan 漢武內傳), says: “So [the goddess] Royal Mother commanded her lady attendant (shih-nü 侍女) Hsü Flying-chalcedony to play the Spirit-quaking Reed (chen-ling chih-huang 震靈之簧).” Meng Ch’i 孟棨 (fl. 841-886), Original incidents of poems (Pen-shih shih 本�
��詩), says:
Hsü Hun 許渾 [fl. ca. AD 844] once dreamed he ascended Mount K’un-lun (K’u-lun-shan 崑崙山), and saw several men drinking wine, so composed a poem: “At dawn when I entered Jasper Terrace (Yao-t’ai 瑤臺) the dew-breath was fresh, In the company there was only Hsü Hun, Whose Dust Heart (ch’en-hsin 塵心) was not yet cut off and his mundane destiny remained, as he descended ten miles down the mountain, in the empty moonlight.”
Another day, he again dreamed he arrived at the place, and Flying-chalcedony said: “For what reason do you display my surname and personal name in the mortal world?”
So he at once corrected [the second line] to, ‘Heaven wind blew down the sound of my pacing the void.’ ‘Excellent!’ said Flying-chalcedony.
397Yao-t’ien 瑤天, Jasper Heaven, the name of a heaven. Here just means “heaven” in a general sense.
398Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Tu Mu 杜牧 [803 - 852].
399Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Chao Ku 趙嘏 [fl. ca. 810 - 856].
400Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Yȕan Chen 元稹 [779 - 831].
401Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Chang Hu 張祜 [AD? - AD 853].
402Hsi-chou 西州:
i) the name of a place, i.e. the T’ang dynasty’s Hsi-chou Chiao-he Commandery (Hsi-chou Chiao-he-chȕn 西州交河郡), the administrative capital of which was Ch’ien-t’ing 前庭. It covered the territory of present-day Tu-lu-fan county and Shan-shan county in Sinkiang. Ch’ien-t’ing was present-day Ha-la-huo-chou east of T’u-lu-fan.
ii) Hsi-chou city (Hsi-chou-ch’eng 西州城), west of present-day Chiang-ning county in Kiangsu province. It was the location of the administrative capital of the prefect (tz’u-shih 刺史) of Yang-chou 揚州 during the Tsin dynasty.
In AD 385, when Hsieh An 謝安 (320 - 385) was returning to the capital. He fell ill in his carriage as he went in through the gate of Hsi-chou city. After he’d died, Hsieh An’s nephew, whom he’d held in high regard, ceased all pleasure for a whole year, and when he travelled wouldn’t go along the road to Hsi-chou. Once when drunk, though, he came past the gate of Hsi-chou city, and, endlessly moved by sadness, tapped the gate-leaf with his horse-whip, and recited the poem by Ts’ao Chih 曹植 (192 - 232): “When he lived, he was located in splendid halls, but now deserted he’s gone home to the hills.” Then he wept brokenly, and departed.
403Fu-chou 涪州, name of an administrative region, set up during the T’ang dynasty. In both Ming and Ch’ing dynasties, it came under Ch’ung-ch’ing prefecture (Ch’ung-ch’ing-fu 重慶府) in present-day Szechwan province. Under the Republic, it was changed to Fu-ling county.
404Hai-nan 海南, i.e. Hai-nan-tao 海南島, Hainan Island. In the South Sea in Kwangtung province, cut off from the mainland to the north by sea-straits, and facing the Lei-chou Peninsula. It’s some three hundred and twenty kilometres long, and some two hundred kilometres wide, with a circumference of some one thousand two hundred kilometres, being the second largest island of the China region after Taiwan. The T’ang dynasty set up Ch’iung-chou 瓊州 there, and in the Ming and Ch’ing dynasties it became Ch’iung-chou prefecture (Ch’iung-chou-fu 瓊州府), so was also called Ch’iung-chou Island (Ch’iung-chou-tao 瓊州島).
In the middle of the island, there’s Mount Five-fingers (Wu-chih-shan 五指山), on which there’s an abundance of gold and silver ore. Along its coast, and near to the mountains, there’s high land, which was inhabited by the Li people (Li-tsu 黎族). There are also many plains along the sea-coast where a multitude of Chinese people (Han people, Han-tsu 漢族) reside. It has a great number of surrounding islands, ports and bays, the port of Yü-lin in the southern part being the most famous. Hai-k’ou in its north was in the year AD 1876 opened up as a commercial port (shang-pu 商埠).
405Chin-ch’eng-hsien 金城縣, Gold-/Bronze-/Metal-citadel county:
i) the name of a county. Set up during the T’ang dynasty, with its former administrative city situated south-west of present-day Kao-lan county in Kansu province. Ying Shao 應劭 (fl. ca. AD 178), Thorough examination of popular mores (Feng-su t’ung 風俗通), says: “When the city was first constructed, they found gold, hence the name.” Hsȕeh Tsan 薛瓚 says: “Calling it ‘(gold/bronze) metal’ derives from its toughness.”
During the Eastern Tsin dynasty, when Ch’i-fu Ch’ien-kui 乞伏乾歸 (fl. ca. AD 405) transferred his capital from Yȕan-chou 苑州 to Chin-ch’eng, and having proclaimed himself Prince of He-nan (He-nan-wang 河南王), changed his title to Prince of Chin-ch’eng (Chin-ch’eng-wang 金城王). That was Chin-ch’eng county. The Latter Wei dynasty merged it, shortly afterwards setting up Tzu-ch’eng county (Tzu-ch’eng-hsien 子城縣) there. The Sui dynasty changed it to Chin-ch’eng, then changed it again to Wu-ch’ȕan 五泉, which was the present-day administrative seat of Kao-lan county.
ii) see Chin-ch’eng-chȕn 金城郡.
iii) the T’ang dynasty set it up sharing with Lien-shui county (Lien-shui-hsien 漣水縣), which it shortly dispensed with. Its location was thirty li-miles north of present-day Lien-shui county in Kiangsu province. Now it’s a Garrison/market town (chen 鎮).
iv) Chin county in Kansu province. The Republic changed it to Chin-ch’eng county, then changed that to Yü-chung county.
v) set up during the T’ang dynasty, and dispensed with by the Ming dynasty, being the administrative seat of present-day Ying county in Shansi province.
406san-hsien 三絃, Three-string (Banjo). Also called hsien-t’ao弦鼗, “stringed little eared-drum”. A musical instrument. Its handle is made of hard wood, being three Chinese feet three inches or so long. its bottom part being curved, and running through its sound-box. The sound-box is square with rounded corners, and is covered with (poisonous) snake skin (hui-p’i 虺皮). A square hole is chiselled near the top of the handle, with three short rods passing through it crosswise. A string is tied to each rod, the bottom of each of which string is attached to the bottom of the sound-box. A pillar is installed on the face of the sound-box, which support the strings. The strings are plucked with finger-nails to produce the instrument’s sounds. Its construction arose in the Ch’in dynasty, and the court musicians of later ages often employed it. There was another instrument called Southern Strings (nan-hsien-tzu 南弦子), of a similar shape to the Three-string, but slightly smaller in size.
407Pao-ch’eng 褒城, Pao city, the name of a city. The name of a present-day county on the west bank of the River T’ai-pai, north-west of Nan-cheng county in Shensi provincee. It was the State of Pao (Pao-kuo 褒國), where the Han dynasty set up a Pao-chung county (Pao-chung-hsien 褒中縣). The Latter Wei dynasty also set up a concurrent Pao-chung commandery (Pao-chung-chȕn 褒中郡). The Sui dynasty abolished the commandery, and changed the county to Pao-ch’eng county, the administrative city-seat of which was south-east of the present-day seat. The Sung dynasty transferred it to the present seat. In both Ming and Ch’ing dynasties it came under Han-chung prefecture (Han-chung-fu 漢中府). North of the county there’s Pao Valley (Pao-ku 褒谷), which is the southern entry to Pao Slant-road (Pao-hsieh-tao 褒斜道).
408Hsien-ching 咸京, Hsien capital, i.e. Hsien-yang 咸陽, name of a modern county, north-west of Ch’ang-an county in Shensi province. Ku Tsu-yü 顧祖禹 (1624-1680), Summaries of all the regions from a study of the histories (Tu-shih fang-yü chi-yao 讀史方輿紀要), says: “The south of mountains and the north of rivers are termed yang 陽. This place is south of the Nine Towering Peaks (Chiu-tsung 九嵕) [mountains in present-day Li-ch’uan county in Shensi province] and north of the River Wei (Wei-shui 渭水), both mountains and river thus being yang, hence the name Hsien-yang, meaning Both Yang or All Yang.”
It was first set up under the Ch’in dynasty, and its old administrative seat was twenty li-miles east of the present-day one. From Duke Hsiao of Ch’in (Ch’in Hsiao-kung 秦孝公, reigned 361 - 3
38) onwards, all the rulers of Ch’in made it their capital. When the Han dynasty arose, it called it New City county (Hsin-ch’eng-hsien 新城縣) instead, then changed its name to Wei city (Wei-ch’eng 渭城), and later changed it again to Shih-an 石安. Under the Western Wei dynasty, a Hsien-yang commandery (Hsien-yang-chȕn 咸陽郡) was also set up along with it, both being abolished by the Sui dynasty. The T’ang dynasty set them up again, the old administrative cities of both being east of the present-day administrative seat. It wasn’t until the Ming dynasty that the administrative seat was moved to the present-day location. The Ch’ing dynasty kept it there, and put the county under Hsi-an prefecture (Hsi-an-fu 西安府). Under the Republic, the county was retained but the prefecture abolished.
409Liu-nien 流年, Flowing Year. Based on the idea that years vanish/pass by, as readily as flowing water/streams, so years were called “flowing years”. Lu Yu 陸游 (1125 - 1210) composed a poem with the lines: “Toast with wine without let and there’ll be inspiration galore, just rely on strings and shawms to send-off the flowing years.” Chu Hsi 朱熹 (1130 - 1200) has a poem with the lines: “In silence counting the flowing years, enjoying being nearly eighty, At leisure seeking hidden rhymed formulae, talking of ‘Preserving Three’ [ ts’un-san 存三].” Fortune-tellers (hsing-ming-chia 星命家) call the round of one year’s fortune, the prediction of a person’s luck in a given one year, “the flowing year”.
410Wu-hsing 五星, Five Stars/Planets:
i) i.e. Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn. Also called the Five Latitudes (Wu-wei 五緯). Ku-liang Ch’ih 穀梁赤 (perhaps fl. ca. period 360 BC - 338 BC), Ku-liang’s commentary (Ku-liang chuan 穀梁傳), “Hsü-shu”, says: “The Five Stars/Planets are Jupiter (Sui-hsing 歲星) of the Eastern Region, Mars (Ying-huo 熒惑) of the Southern Region, Venus (T’ai-pai 太白) of the Western Region, Mercury (Ch’en-hsing 辰星) of the Northern Region and Saturn (Chen-hsing 鎮星 [Should be T’ien-hsing 填星]) of the Centre. Pan Ku 班固 (32 - 92), History of the [Former] Han (Han-shu 漢書), “Lü-li chih”, says: “Water’s suited to Mercury, fire’s suited to Mars, metal’s suited to Venus, wood’s suited to Jupiter, and soil’s suited to Saturn.” This relates the Five Activators (Wu-hsing 五行) to the Five Planets.
Appendices and Endnotes Page 29
