8 Hua-Ch’ing-ch’ih 華清池, Florescence-purity Pool, Pool of Flowery Purity, name of a hot-spring bathing-pool on Mount Li, south of present-day Lin-t’ung county in Shensi province. A Hot-spring Palace was built there in AD 723, the name of which was changed to Florescence-purity Palace in AD 748.
19 Fan-yang 范陽, a place-name:
(i) An old county set up during the Ch’in dynasty. When Chang Erh 張耳 and Ch’en Yü 陳餘 seized the states of Yen 燕 and Chao 趙, the first place to fall was this Fan-yang. Its ancient administrative city was located south-west of present-day Ting-hsing county in Hopeh province.
(ii) A commandery (chȕn 郡):
(iii) Set up by Wei 魏 during the Three Kingdoms period. Its administrative capital was Cho 涿, located in present-day Cho county in Hopeh province. It was abolished under the Sui dynasty.
(iv) Set up during the T’ang dynasty. It covered the territory of present-day Ta-hsing, Wan-p’ing, Ch’ang-p’ing, Fang-shan, An-tz’u and Pao-ti counties, etc. Its administrative capital was Chi 薊, present-day Ta-hsing county in Hopeh province. During the Heaven-treasure reign-period (743 - 756), a Military Commissioner (chieh-tu-shih 節度使) of Fan-yang was set up, it being one of the Non-Chinese Garrison-towns (fan-chen 藩鎮) set up during the early 8th century AD. This latter is referred to here, being where An Lu-shan started his rebellion against the T’ang dynasty.
20 Ma Wei P’o 馬嵬驛, Ma Wei’s Slope, (also simply known as Ma Wei). Situated 25 li (miles) west of present-day Hsing-p’ing county in Shensi province. Most-prized-empress Yang (Yang Kui-fei 楊貴妃), Emperor Dark-progenitor’s (Hsȕan-tsung 玄宗, reigned 712 - 756, also known as Shining August-emperor, Ming-huang 明皇) main empress at the time, met her death near Ma Wei’s Posting-station. Ma Wei 馬嵬 was a man who lived during the Tsin dynasty (265 - 420), and built a citadel here to escape from military troubles. It was anciently called Ma Wei’s Citadel (Ma Wei Ch’eng 馬嵬城), and was also known as Ma Wei’s Posting-station, sometimes as Ma Wei’s Fortress (Ma Wei Pao 馬嵬堡), and in recent times Ma Wei’s Garrison-town/Market-town (Ma Wei Chen 馬嵬鎮. During the Latter Wei dynasty (Hou Wei, 386 - 534), Hsiao Pao-yin 簫寶夤 attacked Mo-che Nien-sheng’s 莫折念生 army at Ma Wei.
21 Liu-chȕn 六軍, Six Armies. This was originally a term for the armed forces of a ruler of China, but here seems simply to mean “armies”.
22Hung-chuang 紅妝, “Scarlet Attire/Makeup/Adornment”, “Scarlet-attired One”, a term meaning “beautiful lady”, here referring specifically to Most-prized-empress Yang.
23Hsi-Ch’uan 西川, i.e. Shu 蜀, name of a state in present-day Szechwan province. In remote antiquity, it’s said, a bastard son of the demi-god world-ruler Ti K’u 帝嚳 (mythical Wu-ti-chi ruler, traditionally reigned 2436 BC - 2367 BC) was enfiefed with Shu, becoming the Marquis/Lord of Shu (Shu-hou 蜀侯). Surviving through the Hsia, Shang and Chou dynasties, it was destroyed by Ch’in 秦, which set up a Shu province (Shu-chȕn 蜀郡). Shu’s capital was in present-day Ch’eng-tu city in Szechwan province.
Shu was also the name of a state during the Three Kingdoms period, which is the one meant here, i.e. Shu Han 蜀漢, established by Liu Pei 劉備 (reigned 221 - 223), when the Han dynasty was usurped by warlord Ts’ao Ts’ao 曹操, Liu proclaiming himself emperor, and claiming to be providing the legitimate succession to the Han. It covered the regions of Yi-chou 益州, Liang-chou 梁州 and Chiao-chou 交州, which is the whole of present-day Szechwan province, the northern parts of present Yunnan and Kui-chou provinces, and the region of present Han-chung in Shensi province. Its capital was Ch’eng-tu 成都, in present-day Ch’eng-tu city. When the throne passed to Liu Ch’an 劉禪 (reigned 223 - 263), he was a mediocre and timid ruler, unable to envigorate his country, and the state was destroyed by the kingdom of Wei. Shu Han had only two rulers, and lasted only forty-three years.
24 Ti-hsia 地下, Under-the-ground, Underworld of afterlife. Chuang Chou 莊周 (368 BC - 286 BC), Sir Chuang (Chuang-tzu 莊子), talks of “living in this mortal world” and uses the term.
25Jen-chien 人間, “Among-humans”, the mortal world, the human world.
26Hsien-chi 仙籍, “immortals’ (census) register. Like in mortal China, Heaven or the supernatural realm was held to be bureaucratically ordered, recording the names of immortals in a written register.
27 Luan 鑾, gold chariot-bell”, often written with the character luan 鸞, “roc”, “phoenix-chicken”. Referring to the little bells (or crotals) attached to the side of horse-bridles, or, by alternative theory, to the yoke-crossbar (hengi 衡). A purpose of the bells was to signal the rhythm and speed of the chariot. The fuller term luan-ling 鑾鈴, “small gold chariot-bell”, refers to the same. Hsü Shen 許慎 (30 - 124), Explaining writing and elucidating characters (Sho-wen chieh-tzu 說文解字), produced in AD 100, defines luan as “the bits of the four horses of the carriages ridden by rulers of men have eight gold chariot-bells (luan-ling) [i.e. two per horse], which immitate the vocal sounds of the roc/phoenix bird/phoenix-chicken (luan-niao 鸞鳥), and which in their harmony induce respect.” Tuan Yü-ts’ai 段玉裁 (1735 - 1815) notes to this: “They were little bells attached to both sides of a horse’s bit and headstall, their sounds corresponding to all five musical notes, being like the roc/phoenix bird, hence their name luan 鑾.”
Ts’ui Pao 崔豹 (fl. ca. AD 300), Ancient and modern notes of China (Chung Hua ku-chin chu 中華古今注), notes: “The roc/phoenix-chicken (luan) holds a small bell (ling 鈴) in its beak, which is why (the bell) is called luan 鸞.” This takes it that the gold chariot-bells had the form of the roc/phoenix, not that they immitated the vocal sounds of the roc/phoenix, but it may be a theory that didn’t represent the ancient actuality.
The notion that the bells imitated the sounds of phoenix-chickens is reinforced by the term (luan-tao 鸞刀), “phoenix-chicken knife”, meaning a knife with little bells on it, used in antiquity for cutting up birds or beasts at sacrificial services. The last three lines of stanza 5 of poem number 210 in Songs classic go: “Grasping the belled knife (luan-tao), we open up the bull’s hair with it, and take out its blood and fat.” A commentary to that says: “The luan-tao means a knife which has phoenix-chickens.” Ch’en Huan 陳奐 (1786 - 1863) says: “Because [Hsü Shen 許慎 (30 - 124)] Explaining writing and elucidating characters says: ‘Luan 鑾, means little bell (ling 鈴), it making sounds like those of a phoenix-chickens (luan-niao 鸞鳥)’, luan 鑾 commonly using the borrowing luan 鸞.”
The term luan-chia 鑾駕, “gold-chariot-bells imperial carriage” was a euphemism for “imperial carriage”. Ch’en Shou 陳壽 (233 - 297), Three Kingdoms records (San-kuo chih 三國志), “Wei-chih”, “Ch’en Ssu-wang Chih chuan”, says: “What business has one toiling and stirring the imperial/royal carriage to expose itself in the sun in the frontier territory!”
A similar term is luan-yü 鑾輿, “gold-bells carriage”. The element yȕ 輿 is an elevated word for “carriage”, but originally meant “the body of a chariot/carriage” (ch’e-hsiang 車箱, “chariot box/case/chest”), also defined as “the means by which a chariot/carriage is employed for carting/carrying”. Tai T’ung 戴侗 (Sung dynasty), Matters of the Six Kinds of Calligraphy (Liu-shu ku 六書故), says: “The yü is the middle of the carriage/chariot, the part in which people are borne/carried. The one with a square frame with four sides enclosing it is called a (chen 軫). It’s put onto a carriage-rest (p’u 轐) also called a “crouching rabbit” (fu-t’u 伏兔)], the carriage-rest being placed on the axle (chou 軸), with a front-board (shih 軾) and cross-bar (Yȕeh/wu 軏) to its fore, and to its left and right side-boards (yi 輢), horizontal side-bars (chih 軹) and vertical side-bars (tui 轛).”
The term luan-ch’e has another meaning, that of “a despatch-carriage (ch’ien-ch’e 遣車) for human burials and for carting the bodies of sacrificial animals”. It, too, had phoenix-chicken bells attached to it, hence its name. Anon. (late Chou-early Han), Chou rites (Chou-li
周禮), “Ch’un-kuan”, “Chung-jen”, says: “When it came to a burial, they said luan-ch’e to represent the persons.” A note to this says: “The luan-ch’e is a despatching-carriage decorated as a covered wagon (chin-ch’e 巾車), and it also has a Phoenix-chicken Flag (luan-ch’i 鸞旗) installed on it.” Commentary to this says: “The ‘it also has a Phoenix-chicken Flag installed on it’ is because the despatch-carriage has phoenix-chicken bells and harmony-bells, and at the same time has a Phoenix-chicken Flag.” An emperor’s cortege (lu-pu 鹵簿) was also referred to as luan-pi 鑾蹕. Chin-Shu (晉書) “Ku Jung chuan-lun” (顧榮傳論), says: “Sending the imperial cortege to humble itself to go to Receiving Enlightenment [Grand Imperial Bedchamber]”. Li Yen-shou 李延壽 (T’ang dynasty, 7th century AD), Northern history (Pei-shih 北史), “Liu Hsia chuan”, says: “If I your vassal accompany your imperial cortege (luan-pi), there will be no gain in advancing.”
The terms luan-he 鸞和, “phoenix-chickens and harmonies” and he-luan 和鸞, “harmonies and phoenix-chickens” further confirm some of the above theories, the “phoenix-chicken” and “harmony” both sometimes being names of bells. The penultimate line of stanza 3 of poem number 273 of Songs classic says: “His little Harmony Chariot-front-bar Bells (he) and his little Phoenix-chick Bells (luan) sing so concordantly”. Tai Sheng 戴聖 (early first century BC), Rites record (Li-chi 禮記), “Yü-tsao”, says: “When in the chariot, one hears the sounds of luan and he.” A note to this says: “The luan were on the crossbar (heng 衡) and the he was on the cross-railing (shih 軾).” The bells are explained as having been to maintain the rhythm (chieh 節) of the chariot in motion, which is indeed a likely explanation, as regular speed was an important aspect of charioting. The term luan-ch’e 鸞車, “phoenix-chicken chariot”, meant a chariot that had little bells (ling) attached to it, which, as the chariot went along, made sounds like those of phoenix-chickens. Rites record, “Ming-T’ang wei”, says: “The luan-ch’e was Yu-yü-shih’s 有虞氏 [i.e. Yü-ti Shun 虞帝舜, traditionally reigned 2255 BC - 2206 BC, personal appellation Yu-yü, in general simply known as Shun 舜 or Yü-shun 虞舜] lu 路.” Lu or lu-ch’e 路車 is defined as “a chariot ridden by a ruler of one of the Chou dynasty subordinate states”, being also a general term for the Five Chariots (wu-lu 五路), and the one ridden by the Son of Heaven, the Chou king, was called the Great Chariot (ta-lu 大路). From the above Rites record quote, it’s clear that lu alone could also mean “Son of Heaven’s chariot”. Lu is also found written lu 輅. A note to the Rites record quote says: “The luan 鸞 includes phoenix-chicken [bells] and harmony [bells].” So Yu-yü-shih’s chariot is said to have had both phoenix-chicken bells and harmony-bells. We see here another interpretation of he.
Luan-p’o 鑾坡, “Gold-chariot-bells Slope”, was another name for the Plume-forest Academy (Han-lin-yȕan翰林院). During the reign of Emperor Virtue-progenitor (Te-tsung 德宗, reigned 780 - 805) of the T’ang dynasty, he once moved the Plume-forest Academy up onto Gold-chariot-bells Slope (Chin-luan-p’o 金鑾坡), hence the new name. Gold Chariots-bells (Chin-luan 金鑾) was the name of an imperial palace-hall. This Gold-chariot-bells Palace-hall (Chin-luan-tienv金鑾殿) was in Great-shining Palace (Ta-ming-kung 大明宮). Two capitals record (Liang-ching chi 兩京紀) says: “A branch-rising of Mount Lung-shou arises form level land, and up on it there is a palace-hall called Gold-chariot-bells Palace-hall. To the side of this palace-hall there’s a hillside called Gold-chariot-bells Slope, where the Plume-forest Academy was set up, and, later on, an Eastern Academy (Tung Hsȕeh-shih-yȕan 東學士院) was established on Gold-chariot-bells Slope.”
According to Wang Ying-lin 王應麟 (1223 - 1296), Jade sea (Yü-hai 玉海), the Latter Liang dynasty changed the name of Pondering-government Palace-hall (Ssu-cheng-tien 思政殿) to Gold-chariot-bells Palace-hall. And, according to Ou-yang Hsȕan 歐陽玄 (1273 - 1357) and others, Sung history (Sung-shih 宋史), “Ti-li chih”, there was also a Gold-chariot-bells Palace-hall in the Sung dynasty.
During the Ch’ing dynasty, the mandarin post Gold-bells Ceremonial Guard (Luan-yi-wei 鑾儀衛) was set up. At the beginning of the Ch’ing dynasty, following the Ming dynasty system, the Brocade-robe Guard (Chin-yi-wei 錦衣衛) was established, but shortly its name was changed to Gold-bells Ceremonial Guard, being in charge of such matters as the administrative orders of the imperial carriage guards, and the imperial cortege insignia. It came the five Left, Right, Middle, Fore and Rear institutes and the Flag-hand Guard (Ch’i-shou-wei 旗手衛), etc. Its chief mandarin was the Grand Minister In Charge Of Guard Measures (chang-wei-shih ta-ch’en 掌衛事大臣), below whom was a Gold-bells Ceremonial Commissioner (luan-yi-shih 鑾儀使). Towards the end of the Ch’ing dynasty, in order to avoid a taboo-name of the emperor P’u-yi (reigned 1909 - 1911), it was changed to Gold-bells Imperial-carriage Guard (luan-yü-wei 鑾輿衛).
28 Chih-nü 織女, Weaving-damsel, the name of a star-goddess. Lo Yȕan 羅願 (1136 - 1184) in his Close standards wings (Erh-ya yi 爾雅翼), tells how:
East of the River of Heaven - the Milky Way - there was a Weaving-damsel, who was the daughter of the Emperor of Heaven, and who year in year out used to toil away at the loom and shuttle, weaving cloud-brocade Robes of Heaven.
Pitying her because she dwelt on her own, the Emperor of Heaven gave his consent for her to marry Oxherd from west of the River of Heaven. But after she was married, she gave up weaving. Angered, the Emperor of Heaven ordered her to return to the east of the River, but allowed them to meet each other once a year.
The reference could be to the following story by Kan Pao 干寶 (fl. ca. AD 320): Tung Yung 董永of the Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220) was a Ch’ien-sheng man, who lost his mother when he was young, and lived with his father, putting all his efforts into their farming, even pushing himself along in a “deer-cart“ to keep his father company. When his father died, Yung had no resources for a proper burial, so sold himself as a slave to provide for the funeral and mourning. His master, aware of how noble-minded he was, gave him ten thousand copper coins, and sent him off. Yung finished observing the three years’ mourning, and was going back to his master to carry out his duties as slave, when on his way he encountered a woman.
“I pray that I may become your wife,” she told him. And she went along with him.
“I gave you some money, sir,” the master said to Yung.
“It was by your kindness, for which I’m so grateful,” said Yung, “that I was able to complete the proper procedures on my father‘s death. And worthless as I am, I’m going to get down to hard work and exert myself to the utmost to repay your great generosity to me.”
“Does your wife have any skills?” asked the master.
“She’s clever at weaving,” replied Yung.“Well, if there’s no other way,” said the master, “just get your wife to weave me a hundred bolts of fine silk.
And so Yung’s wife wove for the master‘s family, and she completed the amount in ten days. “I,” she told Yung as she came out through the gate, “am the Weaving-damsel of Heaven. Because you were such a perfect good son to your father, the Emperor of Heaven just ordered me to help you repay your debt.”
So saying, she rose up into the air and departed to no one knew where.
29 Yü-k’e 羽客, “feather guest/visitor/wayfarer”, a term for a Taoist adept (tao-shi 道士), deriving for the common name for a Taoist’s robe, as follows. The term yü-yi 羽衣, “feather-jacket/dress”, referred to a garment made of feathers. Pan Ku’s 班固 (32 - 92) Han history (Han-shu 漢書, “Chiao-ssu chih says: “The Five-benefits General (Wu-li Chiang-chȕn 五利將軍) wears a feather-jacket/robe, and stands on top of white reeds to receive his seal, for it to be seen that he isn’t a subject.” A note to this says: “A ‘feather-jacket/robe’ is one made of birds’ feathers, giving the sense of an immortal’s flying and gliding.” The Five-benefits General, Luan Ta 欒大, was a magician or necromancer (fang-shih 方士) of those times. Later people used
the term as a synonym for a “Taoist adept”. Wang Hsiang-chih 王象之 (Sung dynasty), Records of the scenic spots of Earth (Yü-ti chi-sheng 輿地紀勝), says: “The county magistrate Yang Wen-yi 楊文逸 once dreamed of a Feathered Robe who called himself Jade-harbouring Mountain-man (Huai-yü Shan-jen 懷玉山人).”
Chao Yü-shih趙與峕 (1172 - 1228), Record of after the guests have withdrawn (Pin-t’ui lu 賓退錄), says: “During the Pao-ta reign-period [1121 - 1125] of the Southern T’ang dynasty, the emperor bestowed on the Taoist T’an Scarlet-empyrean (T’an Tzu-hsiao 譚紫霄) [the title of] Gold-gate Feather-guest (Chin-men Yü-k’e 金門羽客).”
Feather-jacket melody (Ni-ch’ang yü-yi Ch’ȕ 霓裳羽衣曲) is the title of an item of dance music, which, according to 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), quoting a T’ang dynasty lost history (T’ang yi-shih 唐逸史), Emperor Dark-progenitor (Hsȕan-tsung 玄宗, reigned 712 - 756), while on a trip to the moon, secretly noted down from the dancing of immortal maidens, or, quoting another unnamed source, from hearing immortals play it, obtained it by following their music with his jade flute. He later had his favourite empress, Most-prized-empress Yang (Yang Kui-fei 楊貴妃) dance to it, a favourite scene in one of China’s outstanding Love romances.
30 Tien-he 鈿盒, box/casket bearing a decoration in flower shape made of gold strips. The tien element is found defined in New appendices to “Explaining writing and elucidating characters” (Sho-wen hsin-fu 說文新附) as “gold flower” (chin-hua 金華). Niu Shu-yü 樹玉 (1760 - 1827), Examination of characters newly appended to “Explaining writing and elucidating characters” (Sho-wen hsin-fu-tzu k’ao 說文新附辭考), says: “Pronounced tien, means “gold flower” (chin-hua 金花)”. Pronounced tien or t’ien, also means “to decorate/ornament/adorn things with jewels”. Cheng Chen 鄭珍 (1806 - 1864), Examination of “New appendices” （Hsin-fu k’ao 新附考）, says: “There’s no tien in writings of the Han dynasty or earlier. Liu Hsi 劉熙 (Han dynasty), Explaining names (Shih-ming 釋名), just calls it ‘flower splendour’ (hua-sheng 華勝). Wang Chia 王嘉 [AD - ca. AD 324], Picking up what’s been missed out (Shih-yi chi 拾遺記), records a palace lady of Emperor Shining (Ming-ti, [reigned 227 - 239]) of the Wei as saying ‘If I were so presumptuous as to remove my wintry [impoverished, a humilific] tien, how would I gain your, my monarch’s, sympathy?’” Thus, the term existed already during the Han and Wei dynasties. According to Lu Fa-yen 陸法言 (Sui dynasty), Expanded “Rhymes” (Kuang-Yun 廣韻), tien was a term for “a utensil decorated with gold and jewels’.
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