Ssu-ma Chen (Liang dynasty) in his Quest for hidden meanings in “Historians’ records” (“Shih-chi” so-yin 史記索隱) tells us that Hsȕn Yȕeh [148 - 209] says: “The tiao-tou was a little hand-bell, like the night-watch hand-bell in the palace.”, and that Su Lin 蘇林 [fl. ca. AD 220] says: “Its shape was like a Hsüan. It was made of bronze, had no rim, and held one tou, which is why it was called tiao-tou.”
Ssu-ma Chen asserts that a chiao was a small hand-bell. Tiao-tou is also sometimes, wrongly, written as tao-tou 刀斗. The chiao or chiao-tou 鐎斗, described as a rimless tripod warming-vessel, holding one tou, and which during the Han dynasty had three bear’s-paw feet, side-handles (not a bridge handle) with a dragon’s head at the top of it. Originally used for mixing food and drink, but later used in the army for striking on night-marches. A tou was also a dry measure for grain, nowadays = one decilitre, as well as the cup holding such a measure.
787Yü-ch’iao 御橋, Imperial Bridge, a term for a bridge in the imperial palace.
788pien-tien 便殿, “Convenience Palace-hall/Casual Palace-hall”, a term used as opposed to Main Palace-hall (cheng-tien 正殿), and similar to the term Separate Palace-hall (pieh-tien 别殿). Pan Ku 班固 (32 - 92), History of the [Former] Han (Han-shu 漢書), “Wu-ti chi”, mentions: “The convenience palace-hall in flames”. A note to Fan Yeh 范曄 (398 - 445) and others, Latter Han history (Hou Han Shu 後漢書), “Chang-ti chi”, says: “In the imperial park there’s the Bed-chamber (ch’in 寢) and there’s a Casual Palace-hall/ Convenience Palace-hall. The Bed-chamber’s a Main Palace-hall on top of a tumulus. The Casual Palace-hall is a Separate Palace-hall by the side of the Bed-chamber, where ‘robes are changed’ (keng-yi 更衣).”
789Ch’ing-kung 青宮, Green Palace, i.e. East Palace (Tung-kung 東宮), the dwelling-place of the crown prince. Hsü Chien 徐堅 (659 - 729), Records for early learning (Ch’u-hsȕeh chi 初學記), produced ca. AD 700, says: “The Green Palace is also called the Spring Palace, and the crown prince dwells there.”
Tung Fang-sho 東方朔 (ca. 161 BC - ca. 87 BC) (dubious attribution, more assuredly by some unknown Six Dynasties author), Classic of the supernatural and weird (Shen-yi ching 神異經), annotated by Chang Hua 張華 (Tsin dynasty), says: “Beyond the Eastern Ocean, there’s an East-shining Mountain (Tung-ming-shan 東明山), where there’s a palace. It’s built from green stone, and at its gate there’s a silver noticeboard, which is also of green stone, with green-jade incised carving, upon which there’s the inscription: ‘Palace of the eldest son of Heaven and Earth’ Consequently, people came to call the crown prince “East Palace”, and also “Green Palace”.
790fa-sang 發喪, Funeral Notices, a term referring to announcements of a person’s demise issued to friends and relatives.
791Hung Sheng gives the note that this line derives from a poem by Liu Yü-hsi 劉禹錫 [772 - 842].
792Hung Sheng gives the note that this line derives from a poem by Wang Chien 王建 [fl. ca. 751 - 835].
793Hung Sheng gives the note that this line derives from a poem by Lu Kui-meng 陸龜蒙 [AD? - ca. AD 881].
794Hung Sheng gives the note that this line derives from a poem by Chao Ku 趙嘏 [fl. ca. 810 - 856].
795Ch’an-ch’iang 欃槍, Sharp-pointed Spear, a term for “a comet”, comets being said to govern warfare, here referring to An Lu-shan’s rebellion. Anon. (Chou and Han dynasties), Close exegeses/ standards (Erh-ya 爾雅), says: “The comet (hui-hsing 慧星) is a Sharp-pointed Spear.” The term is also found in Ssu-ma Ch’ien 司馬遷 (ca. 147 BC - 90 BC), Historians’ records (Shih-chi 史記), “T’ien-kuan shu”.
796Chung-hsing 中興, Middle Arising, Resurgence, Restoration, Midway Revival, Resurgence (usually of a nation, etc.):
i) “to decline and then prosper again/re-arise”, “to resurge”. The chung is said to mean “again”, and, although popularly pronounced Level Tone, was anciently also read Going Tone in this term. Mao’s preface to Anon. (early and mid 1st millennium BC), Songs classic (Shih-ching 詩經), no. 260: “Cheng-min”, says: “It’s prime minister Chi-fu praising King Proclamation [Chou Hsȕan-wang 周宣王, reigned 827 BC - 782 BC], the king employing noble-minded and able men in his government, and the House of Chou resurging because of it.”
Tu Fu 杜甫 (712 - 770) composed a poem with the lines, “This morn the Han state-altars of soil and millet, newly count years of resurgence.” Chu Hsi 朱熹 (1130 - 1200) composed a poem with the lines, “The House of Han actually had a time set for its resurgence.” In all these cases the chung is a Going Tone.
ii) reign-period titles:
a) of Mu-jung Yung 慕容永 (reigned 386 - 395), ruler of Western Yen (Hsi Yen 西燕) during the Tsin dynasty, AD 386 - 395.
b) of Emperor Harmony (He-ti 和帝, Southern Dynasties Ch’i emperor, reigned 501 - 502), of the Souhtern Dynasties Ch’i dynasty, 501 - 502.
c) of An-ting-wang 安定王 (Northern Wei dynasty ruler, reigned 531 - 532).
d) of Li Ching 李璟, ruler of the Southern T’ang dynasty, AD 958.
e) of Ta Hua-yü 大華嶼, ruler of the state of Po-hai 渤海 during the T’ang dynasty, AD 786.
f) of Shun Hua-chen 舜化真, ruler during the T’ang dynasty of the state of Southern Chao (Nan-chao 南詔).
g) of Chiang Erh-hsü 蔣爾恂 during the Ch’ing dynasty, AD 1648.
iii)The name of a Route (lu 路) region during the Yȕan dynasty, covering the area from present-day Chih-chiang county in Hupeh province east as far as Ch’ien-chiang county, its administrative seat being Chiang-ling 江陵, present-day Chiang-ling county.
iv) In AD 1134, Kin forces joined up with the army of the Sung turncoat Kin general Liu Yü 劉豫 (1073 - 1143), and came along separate routes to attack Han Shih-chung, who set ambushes at twenty or more places, and heavily defeated them, his contemporaries acclaiming it as Number-one Great Deed-of-service in the Resurgence. (Chung-hsing Ti-yi Kung 中興第一功). Chou Te-ch’ing 周德卿 (fl. ca, AD 1314) uses the term Resurgence, as in item iv), to refer to the establishment of the Southern Sung dynasty after the destruction of the Northern Sung dynasty.
797Tiao-ch’iao 弔橋, Hanging Bridge, feels like a proper name, but possibly just means its usual “suspension bridge”.
798Lung-hu-wei 龍虎衛, Dragon-tiger Guard. Possibly a general term for “fiercely bold guards”.
799Hsin-feng 新豐, New Feng, the name of counties:
i) The Ch’in dynasty set up a Li-yi 驪邑, where the Han dynasty established a Hsin-feng county (Hsin-feng-hsien 新豐縣). When the founder of the Han dynasty, Emperor High-progenitor (Kao-tsu 高祖, reigned 206 BC - 195 BC), settled on his capital as Ch’ang-an 長安, the Emperor’s Father (t’ai-shang-huang 太上皇) wasn’t happy in Kuan-chung 關中, the present-day region of Shensi province, and yearned for his home region, Feng 豐 in P’ei in present-day Kiangsu province. So to replace it Emperor Kao-tsu constructed city-walls, temples, streets and wards, a city, moving ordinary people, including butchers, and wine-selling and cake-making traders, from Feng to fill it, and calling this city New Feng. It was situated east of present-day Lin-t’ung county in Shensi province, on the same site as the later Yin-p’an city (Yin-p’an-cheng 陰槃城) of the Tsin and Wei dynasties.
Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, its administrative seat was moved to the bank of the River Ling (Ling-shui 零水). From the Tsin to the Northern Chou dynasty, the county’s administrative seat was several times moved, the sites mostly having been buried and no longer known. The Sui dynasty moved it again, to the north-east of present-day Lin-t’ung county. Under the T’ang dynasty, during the reign period 742 - 756, the county was abolished. The site of its administrative seat then was present-day Hsin-feng market-town (Hsin-feng-chen 新豐鎮).
ii) a county set up by the Southern Ch’i dynasty, and abolished by the Sui dynasty. The site of its former administrative city is south-east of present-day Hsin-feng county in Kwangtung province.
iii) a present-d
ay county, situated south-west of Lien-p’ing county in Kwangtung province, on the north bank of the River Hsin-feng.
Hsin-feng Imperial-palace (Hsin-feng-kung 新豐宮) is a name referring to Florescence-purity Palace (Hua-ch’ing-kung 華清宮) on Mount Li (Li-shan 驪山) in present-day Lin-t’ung county in Shensi province. Also known as Gathered-emptiness Terrace (Chi-hsü-t’ai 集虛臺). Li Chi-fu 李吉甫 (758 - 814), Records of Yȕan-he commanderies and counties (Yȕan-he chȕn-hsien chih 元和郡縣志) says: “In the year 200 BC of the Han dynasty, Emperor High-progenitor, because his father was yearning to return home east, set up a county there, and moved people from Feng there to fill it, which is why it was called New Feng. Florescence-purity Palace was up on Mount Li. In the year AD 723, Warm-springs Palace (Wen-ch’ȕan-kung 溫泉宮) was first set up, and in AD 747 its name was changed to Florescence-purity Palace.”
Some of this account is also given in Old matters of the Metropolitan Area (San-fu chiu-shih 三輔舊事).
800Li Hsia-chou 李遐周, name of a [non-historical magician/ wizard (shu-shih 術士).
801Yen-shih 燕市, Yen Market. Refers to the market of the capital of the ancient state of Yen. This is a reference to the assassin Ching K’e 荊軻. See note above.
802chung-chu 鐘簴, Wooden Bell-stands, Bell Hangings. See note next-but-one below.
803Ssu-ma Kuang 司馬光 (1019 - 1086), Comprehensive mirror to assist good government (Tzu-chih t’ung-chien 資治通鑑), scroll 220, [AD 77 section] says: “The Grand Ancestral-temple was burned by the rebels.”
804kung-hsȕan 宮縣 “Imperial-/royal-palace Hanging”. The hsȕan 縣 is interchangeable wih hsȕan 懸. There was the term Court-music Hanging (yȕeh-hsȕan 樂縣). Anon. (late Chou-early Han), Chou rites (Chou-li 周禮). “Ch’un-kuan”, “Hsiao-hsü”, says: “correcting the positions of the Court-music Hanging.” A note to that says: “Court-music Hanging refers to such things as bells (chung 鍾) and stone chimes (ch’ing 磬) hung on Bell-frame/Chime-frame (sun-chȕ 筍簴, also found written 筍虡), the royal-/imperial-court wooden or bamboo stands used for hanging series of chimes or bells on. By itself, the chȕ 簴. Is found defined as “calyx”, “bow grasp”, “handle”, etc. (fu 柎).
Anon. (late Chou dynasty man of Ch’i 齊), Examination of artisans (K’ao-kung chi 考工記), “Tzu-jen”, says: “The Catalpa-man carpenter (tzu-jen 梓人) is in charge of manufacturing Bell-frames/Chime-frames, drinking vessels and archery targets.” Catapla is the tree Catalpa ovata, of which the timber is highly prized. Later ages used the term Catalpa-man to refer to men who carried out building. There was further the term Catapla-artisan/-craftsman/-carpenter (tzu-chiang 梓匠). Meng K’e孟軻 (372 BC - 289 BC), Sit Mencius (Meng-tzui 孟子), “T’eng Wen-kung”, says: “If you’re conversant with it, then Catalpa-artisans and wheelwrights and chariot-makers (lun-yü 輪輿) would all obtain their food from you.” A note to that says: “Catalpa-artisan means Wood-craftsman/ Carpenter (mu-kung 木工).” An exegesis adds: “Catapla-men complete utensils and implements for gainful utilisation, and Artisan-men (chiang-jen 匠人) design/ build palaces and mansions for tranquil/ settled dwelling.”
Examination of artisans’ statement on sun-chü 筍虡 is given the note: “It was the place from which musical instruments were hung, the horizontal bars being called sun, and the vertical ones called chu.”
Chou rites says: “The standard for the Court-music-hanging positions, is that the king had a Royal-palace Hanging, the ruler of a subordinate Chou dynasty state had a Lofty Hanging (hsien-hsȕan 軒縣), Lord Great-man Ministers (ch’ing-ta-fu 卿大夫) had a Protocol Hanging (chih- hsȕan 制縣) and the gentry (shih 士) a Special Hanging (t’e-hsȕan 特縣), being distinguished by their notes.” A note to that quotes Cheng Hsȕan 鄭玄 (127 - 200) (sometimes referred to as Agricultural Comptroller Cheng (Cheng Ssu-nung 鄭司農), Annotations of Chou rites (Chou-li chu 周禮注), as saying: “The Royal-palace Hanging had hangings on all four sides, the Lofty Hanging had one side less, the Halved Hanging (p’an- hsȕan 判縣) [Protocols Hanging] one further side less, and the Special Hanging yet a further side less. It was because it resembled a royal palace with four sides that it was called Royal-palace Hanging.”
805ling-chien 令箭, Order Arrow, Command Arrow, being an arrow used for issuing an order or command.
806ling-ch’in 陵寢, Tumulus Bed-chamber, Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Tomb, the name for the tomb, “Tumulus Park/Tumulus Garden” (ling-yan 陵園) of a Son of Heaven, ruler of a subordinate state or prince, and used to provide for the presentation of sacrificial services for the four seasons. Fan Yeh 范曄 (398 - 445), History of the Latter Han dynasty (Hou Han shu 後漢書), “Chi-ssu chi”, says: “Because Empress Tou joined Emperor Illustrious (Chang-ti 章帝 [reigned 76 - 88] for a meal, Main-empress Deferential-bosom (Kung-huai huang-hou 恭懷皇后) went separately to the Tumulus Bed-chamber and held a sacrificial service for him.”
807ai-hong 哀鴻, lamenting swan-geese. Anon. (early and mid 1st millennium BC), Songs classic (Shih-ching 詩經), no 181, verse 3, lines 1 - 2, are: “Swan-geese and wild-geese are flying, their sorrowful calls wailing wailing.” Commentary to that says: “Never finding a place where they can perch in peace, they wail on and on.” This poem tells of common people’s wandering scattered, not settled in their dwelling-place, and uses swan-geese and wild-geese as metaphors for them. Later ages accordingly called ordinary displaced people “lamenting swan-geese”.
808kang-wei 綱維, “fishnet main-rope and chariot-canopy ropes”:
i) also found as wei-kang 維綱, “chariot-canopy rope and fishnet main-rope”. A term signifying “the laws/ standards of a state”. Ssu-ma Ch’ien 司馬遷 (ca. 147 BC - 90 BC), Historians’ records (Shih-chi 史記), “Huai-yin-hou chuan”, says: “Ch’in’s fishnet main-rope is severed and its chariot-canopy rope’s slackened.” Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Letter responding to Vice-minister Jen (Pao Jen shao-ch’ing shu 報任少卿書), says: “If I don’t at this hour draw-in the fishnet main-rope and chariot-canopy rope, I’ll exhaust my pondering and worries.”
a term for the main administrator in a Buddhist monastery. Tuan Ch’eng-shih 段成式 (AD? - AD 863), Miscellaneous sacrificial vessels of Yu-yang (Yu-yang tsa-tsu 酉陽雜俎), says: “When Li Wei-kung was in the North Capital, he saw that in Lad Monastery there was a bamboo, only four feet high, and he ordered the monastery’s kang-wei to report every day on the bamboo’s well-being. ”
The kang by itself means “the main-rope of a fishnet [wang 網]”, “the key/crucial/important aspect of a matter”. The wei by itself means “rope for tying to a chariot-canopy”, “rope for tying/ hitching a horse”, etc.
908This refers to Emperor Shining-warrior (Kuang-wu-ti 光武帝, reigned 25 - 57), of the Han dynasty. He it was who rebuilt the Han dynasty after the interregnum of the usurper Wang Mang 王莽. The sentence is a metaphor for the T’ang dynasty Emperor Solemn-progenitor’s (Su-tsung 肅宗) restoration of the T’ang dynasty after An Lu-shan.
Shining-warrior Emperor was the posthumous title of Liu Hsiu 劉秀 (6 BC - AD 57). His courtesy name was Wen-shu 文叔, Hsiu being his personal name. He was a man of Ts’ai-yang 蔡陽 in Nan-yang 南陽, south-west of present-day Tsao-yang county in Hupeh province, and a ninth generation descendant of Emperor High-progenitor (Kao-tsu 高祖), founder of the Han dynasty. When a youth, he engaged in crop-growing. On growing up, he became conversant with the underlying meaning of History classic (Shu-ching 書經). Towards the end of Wang Mang’s reign, he, with his younger brother Liu Yen 劉縯, mobilised forces at Ch’un-ling 春陵, routed Wang Mang’s forces at K’un-yang 昆陽, and set up the Change-beginning Emperor (Keng-shih-ti 更始帝), Change-beginning being a reign-period title]. He then went on to conquer Ch’ang-an 長安, and Wang Mang burned himself to death. The future Change-beginning was set up as Prince of Hsiao (Hsiao-wang 蕭王), Liu Hsiu later turning against him, setting himself up as emperor, and settling Lo-yang 洛陽 as his capital, thus foundin
g the Eastern Han (Tung Han 東漢) dynasty.
In the following year, he quelled the various warlords, then desisted from military operations, and cultivated civil, literary and cultural matters, adulating Confucianism, employing high-minded scholars in government, boosting his essential nature, planning for good government, and bringing about the Restoration of the House of Han (Han-shih Chung-hsing 漢室中興). He was on the throne for thirty-three years until he died.
As he ruled, he many times promulgated commands for the release of female slaves and bond-maids, and prohibited their maltreatment, He promoted hydraulic engineering, amalgamated more than four hundred counties, improved and simplified his bureaucracy, increased the powers of his central government’s top-level ministers, Imperial Secretaries (shang-shu 尚書), and strengthened central government by abolishing the powers of Defenders (tu-wei 都尉) in the regions.
810fa-chia 法駕, Law Imperial Carriage, a euphemistic term for the emperor’s carriage. Fan Yeh 范曄 (398 - 445), History of the Latter Han dynasty (Hou Han shu 後漢書), “Yü-fu chih”, says: “Carriages: Law Imperial Carriage. The Eight Lord-ministers (pa-ch’ing 八卿) aren’t present in the imperial cortege (lu-pu 鹵簿). The governor of He-nan, the Chamberlain for the Imperial Insignia (chih-chin-wu 執金吾) and the governor of Lo-yang respectfully lead it. Court Gentlemen for Chariots (feng-chü-lang 奉車郎) drive the chariots, Attendant Gentlemen (shih-lang 侍郎) serve as Right-hand Chariot-companions (ts’an-sheng 驂乘), and there are sixteen Attached Chariots (shu-chü 屬車). The Cortege Vanguard (ch’ien-ch’ü 前驅) have Nine-Banner-pennant Cloud-birdnet-flags[?] (chiu-yu yȕn-han 九斿雲罕), Phoenix-cock-and hen Bronze-maces and Dagger-axes (feng-huang hsi-chi 鳳凰闟戟), and Leather-nook Roc-flags (p’i-hsȕan luan-ch’i 皮軒鸞旗), all born by Great-man Ministers (ta-fu 大夫). Behind them are Gold Marching-gongs (chin-cheng 金鉦) and Yellow Felling-axes (huang-yȕeh 黃鉞), and Yellow-gate Drum-chariots/ Palace-bandsmen Chariots (huang-men ku-chü 黃門鼓車).”
Appendices and Endnotes Page 43
