ii) a kind of carriage ridden in by immortals. Emperor Yang-ti 煬帝 of the Sui dynasty has a poem Stepping the void lyric (Pu-hsü tz’u 步虛詞) with the line: “Mid kingfisher sunset-clouds riding in Phoenix Hand-carriage.”
653t’ai-kuan 太官, Grand Provisioner. The term ta-kuan/ t’ai-kuan 大官, Grand Official/Mandarin, means:
i) a term for an important mandarin. Tso Ch’iu-ming 左丘明 (6th-5th century BC?) (dubious attribution), Tso’s commentary (Tso-chuan左傳), “Hsiang 30 nien [521 BC]”, says: “Grand mandarins and big fiefs are what I’m protected by.” Anon. (late Chou or early Han), Discussions of the states (Kuo-yü 國語), “Chin-yü”, says: “Duke Grief (Tao-kung 悼公) tried to employ Chang Lao 張老 as his lord-minister, but he declined. ‘I’m not as good as Wei Chiang 魏絳,’ he said. ‘Wei Chiang has the understanding to govern important mandarins well.’”
ii) the title of a governmental post, the ta being read as t’ai. The Ch’in and Han dynasties had a Grand-mandarin Administrator (t’ai-kuan ling-ch’eng 大官令丞), in charge of provender and food, and coming under a Chamberlain for the Palace Revenues (shao-fu 少府). The Latter Wei dynasty divided the Grand Mandarins into Chief Steward for Food (shang-shih 尚食), Palace Provisioner (chung-shang-shih 中尚食) and Director of Imperial Provender (chih yü-shan 知御膳), coming under the Chancellery (men-hsia-sheng 門下省), while the Grand Mandarin in charge of meals for the court mandarins came under the Splendid-emoluments Lord-minister (kuang-lu-ch’ing 光祿卿). The Northern Ch’i dynasty used the term Grand-mandarin Office (ta-kuan-shu 大官署), which was followed in subsequent eras, not being abolished until the end of the Ch’ing dynasty.
654I.e. a great amount of choice.
655Hu-t’o 滹沱, the River Hu-t’o, in Hsin-tu 信都, Hopeh province, going northwards to into the sea. The River Hu-t’o is also found written as Hu Pond (Hu-ch’ih 滹池), Hu-t’o 呼沱, Hu-t’o [mouth on left, 虖 on right] 沱] and Ya-t’o 亞駝, as Wu Pond (Wu-ch’ih 惡池), Hu Pond (Hu-ch’ih 滹池) and Huo Pond (Huo-ch’ih 瀖池), and popularly known as Sandy River (Sha-he 沙河). The Hu 滹 can also be written Hu 滹, Huo 瀖, Hu [water on left, 雽 on right], Wu 惡, Hu 淲, and Hu 呼.
Its source issues from Mount T’ai-hsi, in Fan-chih county in Shansi province, and, flowing south-westwards, passes through Tai county and Kuo county. Turning sharply south-eastwards, it flows through Ting-hsiang, Wu-t’ai, Yü and other counties. On entering Hopeh province, it passes through Cheng-ting, Shen-tse and other counties, and, on reaching Hsien county, takes in the River Fu-yang. Crossing Ta-ch’eng county, it becomes the River Tzu-ya. On reaching Tientsin, it converges with the Northern Grand Canal, and enters the sea.
656In AD 24, Liu Hsiu 劉秀 (6 - 57), the future Eastern Han dynasty emperor Shining-warrior (Kuang-wu-ti 光武帝, reigned 25 - 57), and his troops encountered difficulties beside the River Hu-t’o 滹沱, hard-hit by both hunger and cold, and one of his generals, Feng Yi 馮異, gave him a gift of some bean-gruel (tou-chou 豆粥) to eat. After that, Liu Hsȕan 劉玄, the Hsin dynasty ruler Prince of Huai-yang (reigned 23 - 25 AD), made him Prince of Hsiao (Hsiao-wang 蕭王)
657Yao Ch’ung 姚崇 (650 - 721), courtesy-name Yȕan-chih 元之, a man of Hsia-shih 硤石 in Shan-chou 陝州. He was fond of learning, and, and was airy and unrestrained, ambitious and of moral integrity. During the reign of Empress Wu (Wu-hou 武后, reigned 684 - 705) he successively held the government posts of Minister of War (hsia-kuan 夏官) and Director of the Chancellery (shih-chung 侍中).
At the time, the imperial court was tightening up the entrapment of the innocent, and Yao Ch’ung asked the throne for permission to protect those in the capital and in the provinces who committed no rebellion, along with their whole families, and many managed to survive because of it. And when Chang Chien-chih 張柬之 (625 - 706) and others executed Chang Ch’ang-tsung 張昌宗 (AD? - AD 705) and Chang Yi-chih 張易之 (AD? - AD 705), Yao Ch’ung took part in their plotting.
When Emperor Dark-progenitor (Hsȕan-tsung 玄宗) was considering military operations at Hsin-feng, he secretly summoned Yao Ch’ung, and Ch’ung proffered him counsel on ten matters, was appointed prime minister, and was appointed Duke of the State of Liang (Liang-kuo-kung 梁國公). He re-organised the state systems, repaired the established laws, and brought about the good government of the Open-origin reign-period. Later on, he brought in Sung Ching to replace himself, and Sung likewise gained fame for his worthiness, the two men being bracketed in celebrity as “Yao and Sung” (Yao、Sung 姚宋).
658Sung Ching 宋璟 (663 - 737), a man of Nan-he 南和, obtained his Presented Scholar (chin-shih 進士) qualification during the reign of Empress Wu (Wu-hou 武后, reigned 684 - 705). He served in central government as Vice Censor-in-chief (yü-shih chung-ch’eng 御史中丞), and memorlialised the throne requesting permission to execute Chang Ch’ang-tsung 張昌宗 (AD? - AD 705) and Chang Yi-chih 張易之, (AD? - AD 705).
At the beginning of the Open-origin reign-period, as Commander-in-chief of Kuang-chou (Kuang-chou tu-tu 廣州都督), he was summoned to the capital and appointed Minister of Justice (hsing-pu shang-shu 刑部尚書), shortly succeeding Yao Ch’ung 姚崇 (650 - 721) as prime minister. While Yao Ch’ung was skilled at carrying out tasks to respond to political upheavals, Sung Ching was adept at abiding by literary culture to maintain rectitude, and society bracketed the two in celebrity as “Yao and Sung”. (Yao、Sung 姚、宋).
659i.e. feel helpless to do anything to remedy matters.
660tan-hsin 丹心, “cinnabar heart/mind”, a poetic term for “conscientiousness in serving one’s ruler”. A poem by Juan Chi 阮籍 (210 - 263) has the line, “Cinnabar-heart but losing the ruler’s loving favour.” Terms of similar meaning are tan-ch’en 丹忱, “true cinnabar feelings”, tan-ch’eng 丹誠, “cinnabar sincerity”, tan-k’uan 丹款, “cinnabar sincerity”, tan-p’o 丹魄, “cinnabar soul(s)”, and tan-chiung 丹迴, “cinnabar sincerity/ inner heart”. Pai Chü-yi 白居易 (772 - 846), in his poem Tribute oranges (Kung-chü 貢橘), has the line: “I pray that I may, relying on vermilion truth (chu-shih 朱實), express my cinnabar sincerity (tan-ch’eng).”
These terms are often explained as meaning ch’ih-hsin 赤心, “crimson heart”, meaning “conscientious/ sincere/loyal heart”, “conscientiousness”, as do ch’ih-tan 赤膽, “crimson gall”, and ch’ih-ch’eng 赤誠, “crimson sincerity”. Ch’ih is found defined as “light vermilion” (ch’ien-chu 淺朱). Han Wo 韓偓 (fl. ca. AD 901) composed a poem with the lines, “Why must one feel disgraced by a little while beneath the crotch [reference to story of Han Hsin 韓信 (?BC - 196 BC), who was once humiliated by having to creep under the crotch of a bully]! One has in one’s faded age one’s own crimson sincerity (ch’ih-ch’eng) to mirror from [i.e. to judge by].”
Fan Yeh 范曄 (398 - 445), Latter Han history (Hou Han shu 後漢書), “Kuang-wu-ti chi”, says: “The surrendered ones further said to one another: ‘The Prince of Hsiao extends his crimson heart (ch’ih-hsin), and places it in one’s belly, so how can we not fight do or die (for him)!”
Li Yen-shou 李延壽 (T’ang dynasty, 7th century AD) Southern history (Nan-shih 南史), “Hsiao Ch’en chuan”, says: “Your Majesty has cast your crimson heart (ch’ih-hsin) to us, so how could I not requite you with fear and trembling!”
There’s a joke about the term “red heart” by Feng Meng-lung (1574 - 1646):
In the time of the ruthless and powerful usurper Empress Wu [reigned 684 - 705 AD], people vied to submit propitious omens to her, in the hope of favours. There was a man who lived by the River Lo in Shensi province, and who found a stone, which, when cut open, was discovered to have a red core. [In Chinese, “red-hearted” is a term for “conscientiously serving the ruler”, “loyal”,] so he submitted the stone to the Empress.
“This stone has a red heart,” he said.
“So,” said the Empress, “do you mean to say all the other stones are plotting rebellion?”
661wu-tao 烏道, “crow road/path”, i.e. a very high, perilous track.
662yang-ch’ang 羊腸, sheep’s innard, a term for a narrow twisty path/ road. Wang Wei 王維 (701 - 761) has a poem with the line: “The road suddenly turns sheep’s-innard bad.”
663ch’un-ts’ai 春綵, spring many-coloured silk fabric”, presumably the name of a special high-quality multi-coloured silk fabric. .
664Lung-wu-chȕn 龍武軍, Dragon-warrior Army. Lung-wu, Dragon Warrior, means:
i) the name of an army of the T’ang dynasty imperial palace (chin-chȕn 禁軍). Tu Yu 杜佑 (735 - 812), Comprehensive records (T’ung-tien 通典), “Chih-kuan tien”, tells us that at the beginning of the T’ang dynasty, there were imprrial palace soldiers called the Hundred Cavalry (Pai-chi 百騎), who were divided into left and right camps (ying 營). In AD 738, the Feathered Forest (Yü-lin 羽林) imperial-palace guards were split, and the left and right Dragon-warrior armies were set up, under the control of the Left and Right Myriad-cavalry Camps (tso-yu wan-chi ying 左右萬騎營).
During the reign-period 756 - 758, there were separately established a right and left Divine-warrior Army (Shen-wu-chȕn 神武軍), each staffed by officers in the same way as the Feather Forest guards.
ii) the name of a Good-government-establishing Agency (she-chih-chü 設治局), coming under Yunnan province. Originally it was a region that came under Shih-p’ing county (Shih-p’ing-hsien 石屏縣), the local name for it being Lung-p’eng 龍朋. Of old, it had established an Assistant Magistrate (hsien-tso 縣佐). Under the Republic, in AD 1936, it underwent alteration, its area has iron ores, and during the Ch’ing dynasty reign-period 1662 - 1722 a factory was opened up for their extraction there.
665hsiung-p’i 熊羆, “black-bear and grizzly-bear”, hsiung 熊, Ursus torquatus, described as a black bear with a crescent of white on its throat, and p’i 羆, Ursus arctos, as a brown bear, grizzly bear, colloquially known as “man bear” (jen-hsiung 人熊.
i) a metaphor for fiercely bold warriors. K’ung Ch’iu 孔丘 (551 BC - 479 BC) (ed.), History classic (Shu-ching 書經), “K’ang-wang chih-kao”, says: “So there are also black-bear and grizzly-bear knights, and ministers who are single-mindedly loyal.” Commentary to that says: “Knights as fierce as grizzly-bears and black-bears.”
ii) the name of a man of remote antiquity. History classic), “Shun-tien”, says: “Yi 益 made obeisance and kow-towed, yielding way to Chu Hu 朱虎 and Hsiung P’i 熊羆.” Commentary to that says: “Chu and Hsiung P’i were the names of two ministers.”
iii) Anon. (early and mid 1st millenium BC), Songs classic (Shih-ching 詩經), no. 189, “Hsiao-ya”, “Ssu-kan”, verses 6 and 7, have the lines:
Which are the auspicious dreams?
They’re of
black bears and grizzly bears,
They’re of vipers and of adders.
The Great-man chief-diviner
interprets them:
“The black bears and the grizzly bears
Are auspicious omens
for the bearing of sons;
The vipers and adders
Are auspicious omens
for the bearing of daughters.”
In the same anthology, no. 261, “Ta-ya”, “Han-yi”, verse 5, there are the lines:
The land of Han is so very delightful:
Its rivers and marshes
are so extensive,
Its triangular bream and silver carp
are so big and fine,
Its sika-deer does and stags are abundant,
It has black bears and grizzly bears,
It has wild-cats and tigers.
666Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Ch’ien Ch’i 錢起 [fl. ca. AD 766].
667Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Lo Pin-wang 駱賓王 [AD? - AD 684].
668Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Wei Chuang 韋莊 [fl. ca. AD 900].
669Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Chou T’an 周曇 [circa T’ang dynasty].
670Wang-ssu-ch’eng 枉死城, Wrongly-died City, Wrongly-done-to-death City, the name of a place in the Shades of afterlife (Yin-chien 陰間) where dwell the ghosts of people wrongly done to death.
671Yu-ch’eng 幽情, City of Dark/Afterlife, the name of a city in the Shades of afterlife.
672i.e. far far away.
673A joke at a ghost being afraid of a ghost!
674Yen-lo 閻羅, Yama, i.e. Yen-wang 閻王, i.e. Yama Raja, the king of the Buddhist Hell or Hells, the judge in the afterlife. Fa Yȕn 法雲 (Sung dynasty), Collection of the meanings of translated terms (Fan-yi ming-yi chi 翻譯名義集) says that Yen-lo means “paired kings/rulers” (shuang-wang 雙王), the king of Hell and his younger sister jointly being rulers of Hell.
Wei Cheng 魏徵 (580 - 643) and others, Sui history (Sui-shu 隋書), “Han Ch’in-hu chuan”, says: “While alive to be the Supreme Pillar of State, and when dead to become Yama Raja (Yen-lo-wang), that will be enough for me!”
The purpose of the Buddhist hells, the Narakas, is definitely punitive as well as purgatorial. The regent of them is Yama (Yama-raja: Yen-wang 閻王, Yen-lo 閻羅, Yen-lo-wang 閻羅王, Yen-mo-lo 閻摩羅, Yen-lao 閻老, Yeh-ma 夜摩, Yen-ma 閻摩, Yen-mo 閻魔, Yen-mo 琰魔, and Kui-wang 鬼王 (Demon King). Yama was originally an Aryan god of the dead, living above the world, the regent of the South. But Brahmanism transferred his abode to subterranean Hell. Buddhism retained both views. As ruler over the dead and judge in the hells, he is in Indian mythology depicted as grim in aspect, green in colour, clothed in red, riding on a buffalo, and holding a club in one hand and a noose in the other. He has two four-eyed watch-dogs.
In the Vedas, the four holy books of the Hindus, he is the god of the dead, with whom the spirits of the departed dwell. He is the son of the Sun, and has a twin sister Yami or Yamuna, the two of them being looked upon by some as the first pair of human beings. In later Brahmanic mythology he’s one of the eight Lokapalas, guardian of the South, ruler of Yamadevaloka and judge of the dead.
In Buddhist mythology, as regent of the Narakas, he dwells south of Jambudvipa, outside of the Cacravalas, in a palace of copper and iron. Originally, he’s described as a king of Vaisali, who, when engaged in a bloody war, wished that he were master of Hell, and was accordingly reborn as Yama in Hell together with his eighteen generals and his army of eighty thousand men, who now serve him in Hell. Three times in every twenty-four hours a demon pours boiling copper into Yama’s mouth (by way of a punishment for him), his subordinates receiving the same dose at the same time, until their sins are expiated, when he will be reborn as Samantaraja (P’u-wang 普王).
In China, he’s sometimes viewed as ruling the fifth court of Hell, but other sources speak of him as ruling the eighteen judges of Hell, who, assisted by a host of demons, order and administer the various degrees of torture. His sister performs the same duties sometimes to the spirits of female criminals. The cult of Ksitigarbha (Ti-tsang 地藏) overlaps with Yama to some extent.
675niu-t’ou 牛頭, Ox-head, Ox-headed Demon, Popular religion talks of Ox-heads and Horse-faces (niu-t’ou ma-mien 牛頭馬面), these both being terms for demon-constables/ -lictors of the Shades/Underworld (Yin-su 陰司). When Buddhist scripture talks of the demon constables of Earth-prison (Ti-yü 地獄), i.e. Hell, they often have ox heads or horse heads, hence this common expresssion, which changes “horse face” to “horse head”, though.
Anon., Surangama sutra (Leng-yen ching 楞嚴經), says: “When dead, as a conscious ghost, saw a big iron citadel, with fire-snakes and fire-dogs, tigers, wolves and lions, ox-headed jail-constables (niu-t’ou yü-tsu 牛頭獄卒) and horse-headed raksasas [= malignant demons] (ma-t’ou lo-sha 馬頭羅剎), who grasped spear and lances in their hands, and rushed in through the citadel gates.”
Anon., Prajna-paramitã sastras (Chih-tu l
un 智度論), says: “He saw a gathering in Great Hell, with malignant raksasas and jail-constables coming there in all manner of forms: oxen, horses, pigs, sheep/ goats, kites, vultures, quails and crows, having the heads of all these kinds of birds and beasts, swallowing, devouring, biting, gnawing, chomping and tugging at sinners.”
From this we learn that the demon constables of Hell aren’t limited to ox and horse heads, but also have the heads of other animals and birds.
676yeh-ch’a 夜叉, transliteration of a Sanskrit term, yaksha, also found as yao-sha 藥叉, ch’i-ch’a 乞叉 and yȕeh-ch’a 閱叉. It’s translated as chieh-chi-kui 捷疾鬼, “nimble-hasty demon”. Notes to Vimalakirti-nirdesa sutra (Wei-mo ching chu 維摩經注): “The tenth says: ‘There are three kinds of yaksha. One is on Earth, the second is in the Void, and the third is a Heaven’s yaksha.’” They’re often depicted as malignant, devourers of human flesh. …
677Feng-tu 酆都: name of a present-day county in Szechwan province, south-west of Chung county. Situated on the north-west bank of the River Yangtse. The Sui dynasty set up a Feng-tu county (Feng-tu-hsien 豐都縣), the Ming dynasty changing its writing to Feng-tu county (Feng-tu-hsien 酆都縣), this during the Ch’ing dynasty coming under Chung-chou 忠州. Fan Ch’eng-ta 范成大 (1126 - 1193), Record of Wu ships (Wu-ch’uan lu 吳船錄), says:
Three li-miles from the county seat of Feng-tu county, there’s Mount P’ing-tu (P’ing-tu-shan 平都山), which, according to what stelae and documents have passed down, was the place where both Wang Fang-p’ing 王方平 of the Former Han dynasty [There was also a Taoist called Wang Fang-p’ing of the Latter Han dynasty, personal name Yȕan 遠, and the Taoistic man Wang Hung-chih 王弘之 (365 - 427) had the personal name of Fang-p’ing] and Yin Ch’ang-sheng 陰長生 of the Latter Han dynasty discovered the cosmic truths and ascended into immortality, there being a Lord Yin’s Cinnabar-alembic (Yin-chȕn Tan-lu 陰君丹爐) and a shrine-hall/ temple (tz’u-t’ang 祠堂) to the two men there.
Appendices and Endnotes Page 38
