san kuei chiu k’ou the eighth and final stage of respect, according to the ‘Book of Ceremonies’, it involves kneeling three times, each time striking the forehead three times against the ground before rising from one’s knees (in k’ou t’ou one strikes the forehead but once). This most elaborate form of ritual was reserved for Heaven and its son, the Emperor. See also liu k’ou
san k’ou abbreviated form of san kuei chiu k’ou
San Kuo Yan Yi The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, also known as the San Kuo Chih Yen I. China’s great historical novel, running to 120 chapters, it covers the period from AD 168 to 265. Written by Lo Kuan-chung in the early Ming dynasty, its heroes, Liu Pei, Kuan Chung and Chang Fei, together with its villain, Ts’ao Ts’ao, are all historical personages. It is still one of the most popular stories in modern China
sao mu the ‘Feast of the Dead’
shang the south
shan shui the literal meaning is ‘mountains and water’, but the term is normally associated with a style of landscape painting that depicts rugged mountain scenery with river valleys in the foreground. It is a highly popular form, first established in the T’ang dynasty, back in the seventh to ninth centuries AD
shao lin specially trained assassins, named after the monks of the shao lin monastery
shao nai nai literally, ‘little grandmother’. A young girl who has been given the responsibility of looking after her siblings
she t’ou a ‘tongue’ or taster, whose task is to safeguard his master from poisoning
shen chung ‘caution’
shen mu ‘she who stands in the door’: a common prostitute
shen nu ‘god girls’: superior prostitutes
shen t’se special elite force, named after the ‘palace armies’ of the late T’ang dynasty
Shih ‘Master’. Here used as a term of respect somewhat equivalent to our use of ‘Mister’. The term was originally used for the lowest level of civil servants, to distinguish them socially from the run-of-the-mill ‘Misters’ (hsian sheng) below them and the gentlemen (ch’un tzu) above
shou hsing a peach brandy
Shui Hu Chuan Outlaws of the Marsh, a long historical novel attributed to Lo Kuan-chung but re-cast in the early sixteenth century by ‘Shih Nai-an’, a scholar. Set in the eleventh century, it is a saga of bandits, warlords and heroes. Written in pure pai hua – colloquial Chinese – it is the tale of how its heroes became bandits. Its revolutionary nature made it deeply unpopular with both the Ming and Manchu dynasties, but it remains one of the most popular adventures among the Chinese populace
siang chi Chinese chess, a very different game from its Western counterpart
Ta ‘Beat’, here a heavily amplified form of Chinese folk music, popular amongst the young
ta lien an elaborate girdle pouch
Ta Ssu Nung the Superintendency of Agriculture
tai literally ‘pockets’ but here denoting Representatives in the House at Weimar. ‘Owned’ financially by the Seven, historically such tai have served a double function in the House, counterbalancing the strong mercantile tendencies of the House and serving as a conduit for the views of the Seven. Traditionally they had been elderly, well-respected men, but more recently their replacements were young, brash and very corrupt, more like the hoppoes of the Opium Wars period
t’ai chi the Original, or One, from which the duality of all things (yin and yang) developed, according to Chinese cosmology. We generally associate the t’ai chi with the Taoist symbol, that swirling circle of dark and light supposedly representing an egg (perhaps the Hun Tun), the yolk and the white differentiated
tai hsiao a white wool flower, worn in the hair
Tai Huo ‘Great Fire’
T’ai Shan Mount T’ai, the highest and most sacred of China’s mountains, located in Shantung province. A stone pathway of 6,293 steps leads to the summit and for thousands of years the ruling emperor has made ritual sacrifices at its foot, accompanied by his full retinue, presenting evidence of his virtue. T’ai Shan is one of the five Taoist holy mountains, and symbolizes the very centre of China. It is the mountain of the sun, symbolizing the bright male force (yang). ‘As safe as T’ai Shan’ is a popular saying, denoting the ultimate in solidity and certainty
Tai Shih Lung Court Astrologer, a title that goes back to the Han dynasty
T’ang literally, ‘beautiful and imposing’. It is the title chosen by the Seven, who were originally the chief advisors to Tsao Ch’un, the tyrant. Since overthrowing Tsao Ch’un, it has effectively had the meaning of ‘emperor’
Ta Ts’in the Chinese name for the Roman Empire. They also knew Rome as Li Chien and as ‘the land West of the Sea’. The Romans themselves they termed the ‘Big Ts’in’ – the Ts’in being the name the Chinese gave themselves during the Ts’in dynasty (AD 265–316)
te ‘spiritual power’, ‘true virtue’ or ‘virtuality’, defined by Alan Watts as ‘the realization or expression of the Tao in actual living’
t’e an tsan ‘innocent westerners’. For ‘innocent’ perhaps read naive
ti tsu a bamboo flute, used both as a solo instrument and as part of an ensemble, playing traditional Chinese music
ti yu the ‘earth prison’ or underworld of Chinese legend. There are ten main Chinese Hells, the first being the courtroom in which the sinner is sentenced and the last being that place where they are reborn as human beings. In between are a vast number of sub-Hells, each with its own Judge and staff of cruel warders. In Hell, it is always dark, with no differentiation between night and day
Tian ‘Heaven’, also, ‘the dome of the sky’
tian-fang literally ‘to fill the place of the dead wife’; used to signify the upgrading of a concubine to the more respectable position of wife
tiao tuo bracelets of gold and jade
T’ieh Lo-han ‘Iron Goddess of Mercy’, a ch’a
T’ieh Pi Pu Kai literally, ‘the iron pen changes not’, this is the final phrase used at the end of all Chinese government proclamations for the last three thousand years
ting an open-sided pavilion in a Chinese garden. Designed as a focal point in a garden, it is said to symbolize man’s essential place in the natural order of things
T’ing Wei the Superintendency of Trials, an institution that dates back to the T’ang dynasty. See Book Eight, The White Mountain, for an instance of how this department of government – responsible for black propaganda – functions
T’o ‘camel-backed’, a Chinese term for ‘hunch-backed’
tong a gang. In China and Europe these are usually smaller and thus subsidiary to the Triads, but in North America the term has generally taken the place of Triad
tou chi Glycine Max, or the black soybean, used in Chinese herbal medicine to cure insomnia
Tsai Chien! ‘Until we meet again!’
Tsou Tsai Hei ‘the Walker in the Darkness’
tsu the north
tsu kuo the motherland
ts’un a Chinese ‘inch’ of approximately 1.4 Western inches. Ten ts’un form one ch’i
Tu Earth
tzu ‘Elder Sister’
wan wu literally ‘the ten thousand things’; used generally to include everything in creation, or, as the Chinese say, ‘all things in Heaven and Earth’
Wei Commandant of Security
wei chi ‘the surrounding game’, known more commonly in the West by its Japanese name of Go. It is said that the game was invented by the legendary Chinese Emperor Yao in the year 2350 BC to train the mind of his son, Tan Chu, and teach him to think like an emperor
wen ming a term used to denote civilization, or written culture
wen ren the scholar-artist; very much an ideal state, striven for by all creative Chinese
weng ‘Old man’. Usually a term of respect
Wu a diviner; traditionally, these were ‘mediums’ who claimed to have special psychic powers. Wu could be either male or female
Wu ‘non-being’. As Lao Tzu says: ‘Once
the block is carved, there are names.’ But the Tao is unnameable (wu-ming) and before Being (yu) is Non-Being (wu). Not to have existence, or form, or a name, that is wu
Wu ching the ‘Five Classics’ studied by all Confucian scholars, comprising the Shu Ching (Book of History), the Shih Ching (Book of Songs), the I Ching (Book of Changes), the Li Ching (Book of Rites, actually three books in all), and the Ch’un Chui (The Spring and Autumn Annals of the State of Lu)
wu fu the five gods of good luck
wu tu the ‘five noxious creatures’ – which are toad, scorpion, snake, centipede and gecko (wall lizard)
Wushu the Chinese word for Martial Arts. It refers to any of several hundred schools. Kung fu is a school within this, meaning ‘skill that transcends mere surface beauty’
wuwei non-action, an old Taoist concept. It means keeping harmony with the flow of things – doing nothing to break the flow
ya homosexual. Sometimes the term ‘a yellow eel’ is used
yamen the official building in a Chinese community
yang the ‘male principle’ of Chinese cosmology, which, with its complementary opposite, the female yin, forms the t’ai ch’i, derived from the Primeval One. From the union of yin and yang arise the ‘five elements’ (water, fire, earth, metal, wood) from which the ‘ten thousand things’ (the wan wu) are generated. Yang signifies Heaven and the South, the Sun and Warmth, Light, Vigor, Maleness, Penetration, odd numbers and the Dragon. Mountains are yang
yang kuei tzu Chinese name for foreigners, ‘Ocean Devils’. It is also synonymous with ‘Barbarians’
yang mei ping ‘willow plum sickness’, the Chinese term for syphilis, provides an apt description of the male sexual organ in the extreme of this sickness
yi the number one
yin the ‘female principle’ of Chinese cosmology (see yang). Yin signifies Earth and the North, the Moon and Cold, Darkness, Quiescence, Femaleness, Absorption, even numbers and the Tiger. The yin lies in the shadow of the mountain
yin mao pubic hair
Ying kuo English, the language
ying tao ‘baby peach’, a term of endearment here
ying tzu ‘shadows’ – trained specialists of various kinds, contracted out to gangland bosses
yu literally ‘fish’, but, because of its phonetic equivalence to the word for ‘abundance’, the fish symbolizes wealth. Yet there is also a saying that when the fish swim upriver it is a portent of social unrest and rebellion
yu ko a ‘Jade Barge’, here a type of luxury sedan
Yu Kung ‘Foolish Old Man!’
yu ya deep elegance
yuan the basic currency of Chung Kuo (and modern-day China). Colloquially (though not here) it can also be termed kuai – ‘piece’ or ‘lump’. Ten mao (or, formally, jiao) make up one yuan, while 100 fen (or ‘cents’) comprise one yuan
yueh ch’in a Chinese dulcimer, one of the principal instruments of the Chinese orchestra
Ywe Lung literally ‘The Moon Dragon’, the wheel of seven dragons that is the symbol of the ruling Seven throughout Chung Kuo: ‘At its centre the snouts of the regal beasts met, forming a rose-like hub, huge rubies burning fiercely in each eye. Their lithe, powerful bodies curved outward like the spokes of a giant wheel while at the edge their tails were intertwined to form the rim.’ (Chapter 29 of The Middle Kingdom)
AUTHOR’S NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The translation of Li Ho’s ‘On The Frontier’ is by A. C. Graham from his excellent Poems Of The Late T’ang, published by Penguin Books, London, 1965, and used with their kind permission.
The translation of Li Shangyin’s ‘Fallen Flowers’ is by Tao Jie and is taken from 300 T’ang Poems, A New Translation, Commercial Press, Hong Kong. The passage from On Protracted War is from Mao Tse-tung’s Selected Works, II, Peking Press.
The passages quoted from Book One [XI] and [XXXVII] of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching are from the D. C. Lau translation, published by Penguin Books, London, 1963, and used with their kind permission. The quotation from Confucius’ The Analects [Book XII] is once again from a D. C. Lau translation, published by Penguin Books, 1979, and used with their permission.
The passage from Sun Tzu’s classic The Art of War is from the Samuel B. Griffith translation, published by Oxford University Press, 1963.
Thanks must go to the following for their help. To my editors – Nick Sayers, Brian DeFiore, John Pearce and Alyssa Diamond – for their sheer niceness and (of course) for their continuing enthusiasm, and to Carolyn Caughey, fan turned editor, for seeing where to cut the cake.
To Mike Cobley, thanks not merely for the encouragement but for Advanced Cheerfulness in the face of Adversity. May both your patience and your talent be rewarded. And to Andy Sawyer, for a thoughtful reading of the text. I hope I can reciprocate one of these days.
To my first-line critic and safety-net, the stalwart Brian Griffin, may I say yet again how much it’s all appreciated. The notes you’ve done will make a fine book one day!
To family and friends – particularly to my girls, Susan, Jessica, Amy, Georgia and Francesca – go the usual thanks in the face of my at times monomaniacal neglect. And especial thanks to everyone I’ve met on my travels – in Leeds, Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge, Southampton, Brighton, Canterbury, Dublin and Glasgow. To all… Slainte Mhath!
David Wingrove
Spring 1991, Autumn 2013
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