Wu Chȕn 吳均 (469 - 520), Miscellaneous notes of the Western Capital (Hsi-ching tsa-chi 西京雜記), says: “His sister-in-law composed a White round-fan song (Pai t’uan-shan ke 白團扇歌), and gave it as a gift to Wang Min. Its lyric went: ‘Round-fan on round-fan, you have to grasp it to screen your own face; I’m haggard and worn and can’t manage any more, I’m too abashed to meet with you, my beau.’” The words vary, and the events are given slightly differently.
243T’ien-men 天門, Heaven Gate, Gate of Heaven, a term of many meanings:
i) the gate(s) or door(s) of Heaven. Ssu-ma Ch’ien 司馬遷 (ca. 145 BC - ca. 85 BC), Historians’ records (Shih-chi 史記), “T’ien-kuan shu”, says: “When Green Emperor (Ts’ang-ti 蒼帝) practised cosmic virtue, Heaven opened its gate for him.” Fang Ch’iao 房喬 (579 - 648) and others (eds.), Tsin history (Chin-shu 晉書), “T’ao K’an chuan”, says: “He dreamed that he grew eight wings, and went flying up into Heaven, where he saw nine Gates of Heaven one after the other, and that he’d already ascended through the eighth of them, and there was only the ninth gate that he didn’t manage to go in through.”
ii) signifying something like “the gate to dark wonders” (hsȕan-miao chih-men 玄妙之門). Chuang Chou 莊周 (368 BC - 286 BC), Sir Chuang (Chuang-tzu 莊子), “T’ien-yȕn”, says: “If one’s heart considers that it isn’t so, the Gate of Heaven won’t open.”
iii) Anon. (fourth or early third century BC), Sir Old (Lao-tzu 老), says: “When the Gate Of Heaven opens and closes [i.e. when Existence and Non-existence alternate with one another], Can you keep to a state of femininity in the face of every change?”
A note by Wang Pi 王弻 (226 - 249) says: “The Gate of Heaven refers the means by which one joins up with the whole world.”
iv) an honorific term for “ruler’s gate”. Tu Fu 杜甫 (712 - 770), in his poem Coming out in the evening through the Left Side-wing of the palace on withdrawing from the imperial court in Government-proclaiming Palace-hall (Hsȕan-cheng-tien T’ui-ch’ao wan-ch’u Tso-yi 宣政政退朝晚出左掖), has the lines: “At the Gate of Heaven the sun shines on the Yellow-gold Board, In the springtime palace-hall the crimson-feather flags in the clear-sky twilight.”
v) the name of a star or stars:
first star in the Horn Constellation (Chiao-hsiu 角宿), being the Left Horn (Tso-chiao 左角), and also a name for the Well Constellation (Ching-hsiu 井宿) of the Horn Constellation,
Stars classic (Hsing-ching 星經) (circa Sung dynasty) says: “The two stars [or second star] of Heaven’s Gate are to the south of the Left Horn (Tso-chiao 左角), and govern the places that correspond to the attendance at feasts at Heaven’s Gate.
vi) Anon. (circa Six Dynasties), Yellow-court classic on inner phosphors (Huang-T’ing ching 黃庭內景經), says: “The emperor closed the Gate of Heaven, and entered his Shining Hall.”, to which a note says: “The Gate of Heaven is located between the two Eyebrows (mei 眉), being the same as the Courtyard of Heaven (T’ien-t’ing 天庭).” Park of laws and grove of pearls (Fa-yȕan chu-lin 法苑珠林) says: “The head is the palace-hall, and the forehead is the Gate of Heaven.”
vii) a name for the pinnacle of a pagoda or stupa. Ancient and modern poetry-talk (Ku-chin shih-hua 古今詩話) says: “Popular parlance calls the pinnacle of a pagoda the Gate of Heaven. Su Kuo-lao [mistake for Su Lao-ch’ȕan 蘇老泉, i.e. Su Hsȕn 蘇洵 (1009 - 1066)] has a poem with the lines: ‘Mounting to the highest point, the Gate of Heaven, it can’t hold anything other than one’s body.’”
viii) the name of a commandery (chȕn 郡), set up in the state of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. The Tsin dynasty set up Feng-yang county (Feng-yang-hsien 灃陽縣) as the administrative seat of the commandery, that being present-day Shih-men county in Hunan province. The Ch’en dynasty changed both commandery and county to the name of Shih-men 石門, and the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery, preserving the county.
ix) the name of a present-day county, in Hupeh province, north of Ch’ien-chiang county. In ancient times it was the state of Feng (Feng-kuo 風國). The Han dynasty set up a Ching-ling county (Ching-ling-hsien 竟陵縣) there. During the Five Dynasties period, in order to avoid a taboo on an imperial name, its name was changed to Ching-ling 景陵. During the Ch’ing dynasty. because its name was the same as that of the tomb-mound of Emperor Sage-progenitor (Sheng-tsu, reigned 1662 - 1722), its name was changed to T’ien-men, it coming under An-lu prefecture (An-lu-fu 安陸府).
x) the name of mountains:
a mountain west of T’ien-men county in Hupeh province. It’s said that it was originally called Mount Fire-gate (Huo-men-shan 火門山), so named because Emperor Shining-warrior (Kuang-wu-ti 光武帝, reigned 25 - 57) marched his soldiers bearing lit torches over this mountain, and that later on, because of popular scruples against it, the name was changed to the present one. In the T’ang dynasty, the famous literary man Lu Yü 陸羽 (AD? - AD 804) lived there.
i.e. Mount Tung-liang in Anhwei province.
xi) The title of a Sacrifice-to-Heaven Song (Chiao-ssu-ke 郊祀歌) of the Han dynasty, the words of which included: “The Gate of Heaven opens, Forgetting to vast oblivion[?]”, whence the title.
In addition: Hung Sheng gives the note that this line derives from a poem by Chang Chi 張籍 [768 - ca. 830].
244Hung Sheng gives the note that this line derives from a poem by Liao K’uang-t’u 廖匡圖 [10th century AD, Five Dynasties Ch’u].
245Hung Sheng gives the note that this line derives from a poem by Hsü Yin 徐夤 [fl. ca. AD 873].
246ching-chi 荊棘, thorns and brambles/jujubes:
i) a term for “blockage”, “obstruction”, “impasse”. Anon. (5th-3rd century BC), Tso’s commentary (Tso-chuan 左傳), “Hsiang 14 nien”, says: “Covered in thorns and brambles.” Commentary says to that: “it means there are no roads that can be taken, it being covered by hazel swamp.”
ii) a metaphor for confusion/chaos. Fan Yeh 范曄 (398 - 445) in his Latter Han history (Hou Han-shu 後漢書), “Feng Yi chuan”, says: “When Feng Yi went to court in the capital, he was invited to an imperial audience. ‘This man,’ the emperor informed his lord-ministers, ‘was my Recorder (chu-pu 主簿) when I started military operations, and he parted the thorns and brambles for me, and we secured Within-the-passes.’” A note to that says: “‘thorns and brambles’ means ‘obstacles’, “blockages’, being a metaphor for ‘confusion’, ‘chaos’.” The sense is used in an expression of recent times: “thorn Heaven and Earth brambles” (ching-t’ien chi-ti 荊天棘地) referring to “the difficulties of society in disorder/ chaos”.
247Hung Sheng gives the note that this line derives from a poem by Lu Kui-meng 陸龜蒙 [AD? - ca. AD 881].
248ying-wu 鸚鵡, Psittacus erithacus, the parrot. Forgotten tales of the Open Origin and Heaven Treasure reign-periods (K’ai-yȕan T’ien-pao yi-shih 開元天寶遺事), tells how the important Ch’ang-an man Yang Ch’ung-yi was murdered by his wife, nee Liu and a neighbour Li Yen. When the magistrate went to the Yangs’ house to investigate the matter, the Yangs’ parrot suddenly spoke up in human speech, saying that it was Li Yen who’d murdered the master of the house. The case was then easily cleared up, and Emperor Dark-progenitor (Hsȕan-tsung 玄宗) gave the parrot the title of “Green-robed Envoy”. In recent times, the phrase has been used as a term for a “postman”.
249from poem Imperial-palace theme (Kung-chung t’i-ts’ai 宮中題材) by Emperor Civil-progenitor (Wen-tsung 文宗, reigned 826 - 840) of the T’ang dynasty.
250hsi-yü lien-hsiang 惜玉憐香, “to cherish (white-)jade and be fond of perfume”. The expression is usually found as lien-hsiang hsi-yu 憐香惜玉, “to be fond of perfume and cherish jade”. Tu Mu 杜牧 (803 - 852) has a poem with the lines: “Ask if you’ve tapped and composed a new ditty, Fond of perfume and occupying the many-coloured ball?” Yȕan Hao-wen 元好問 (1190 - 1257), in his poem Apricot blossom (Hsing-hua 杏花), has the line, “In the capita
l, they cherish flowers like cherishing jade.” In popular parlance, perfume and jade came both to be used as images for the beauty of women, so that “being fond of perfume and cherishing jade” also came to mean “to be fond of women’s sexual beauty”. T’ao Tsung-yi 陶宗儀 (1316 - 1403) (comp.), Plough-break notes (Ch’o-keng lu 輟耕錄), says:
The singing entertainer Time-suiting Beauty (Shun Shih-hsiu 順時秀) was surpassing unique in her skills, and the Plume-forest Academician Wang Yȕan-ting 王元鼎 loved her. The Secretariat-chancellery Assistant Grand Councillor (chung-shu ts’an-cheng 中書參政) A-lu Wen 阿魯溫, took an especial fancy to her, and so teased her by asking:
“How do I compare with Wang Yȕan-ting?”
“You’re a government minister,” she replied. “He’s a literary man, a poet. As far as managing to co-ordinate the affairs of state, fulfil the ruler’s wishes and do good to the ruler’s subjects is concerned, Academician Yȕan-ting’s no match for you, Assistant Grand Councillor. But as far as ‘singing of breeze and barding of moon’ (ch’ao-feng yung-yȕeh 嘲風咏月) and ‘cherishing jade and being fond of perfume’ [i.e. the poetry and wiles of love and romance] are concerned, you’re no match for him.”
He roared with laughter, and let her be.
251 lü-p’ei 綠醅, “green brew”, Possibly some reference to the term lu-yi 綠蟻, “green ants”, a term for “wine”, also found as lu-yi 綠螘, “green ants”, lu-yi-chiu 綠蟻酒, “green-ants wine”. Hsieh T’iao’s 謝脁 (464 - 499) poem Presented to Minister Shen when I’m lying ill in the commandery capital (Tsai-ch’ȕn wo-ping ch’eng Shen shang-shu 在郡卧病呈沈尚書) has the line: “I then just grasp some Green Ants.” A note to this says: “[Liu Hsi 劉熙 (Han dynasty),] Explaining names (Shih-ming 釋名) says: ‘Wine has a floating surface, floating ants (fu-yi 浮蟻) drifting around freely on it.’” “Floating ants”, also found as “floating maggots” (fu-ch’ü浮蛆), is a term for the foam-bubbles on the surface of wine. Chang Heng’s 張衡 (78 - 139) Southern Capital rhapsody (Nan-tu fu 南都賦) has the lines: “Spread over wine-lees an inch across, the floating ants are like duckweed.”
252ching-chȕn-so 淨軍所, Army-cleansing Institute. Presumably a government institute concerned with cleaning in the army. A note says it was a prison for eunuch officials. That note is possibly inferring from the play’s text.
253ch’iung-chiang 瓊漿, “chalcedon nectar”, a euphemistic term for “fine wine”.
254hung-lou 紅樓, Scarlet Mansion. 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: “The Scarlet Mansion of State-pacifying Buddhist Monastery (An-kuo-ssu 安國寺) in Everlasting-joy Ward (Ch’ang-le-fang 長樂坊) was a terrace-top building for dancing when Emperor Illustrious-progenitor (Jui-tsung 睿宗, [reigned AD 684 and 710 - 712]) was in the provinces.”
Li Pai 李白 (701 - 762), in his poem in attendance upon the emperor in Spring-conducive Hunting-park (Shih-ts’ung Yi-ch’un-yȕan 侍從宜春苑), has the line: “In Scarlet Palace-hall and Red Ladies-mansion there’s awareness of spring prettiness.” Shen Ch’ȕan-ch’i 沈佺期 (AD? - ca. AD 713) composed a poem called Composed in response to imperial command in Scarlet Mansion courtyard (Hung-lou-yȕan ying-chih 紅樓院應制). In those times, there were also a lot of Scarlet Mansions among the general populace, being the dwelling-places of the families of powerful, important people. Wei Chuang 魏莊 (fl. ca. AD 900), in his poem Spring in Ch’ang-an (Ch’ang-an ch’un 長安春), has the lines: “The spring beauty of Ch’ang-an actually has no master, and has always belonged entirely to the women of the Scarlet Mansions.” Pai Chü-yi 白居易 (772-846), in his poem Dreaming of strolling in the spring (Meng yu-ch’un 夢遊春), has the lines: “Came to a Scarlet Mansion household, took a fancy to it, and couldn’t see enough of it.” So, later on, Scarlet Mansion was used as a poetic term for the abode of ladies.
255Li-yȕan 梨園, Pear Orchard, name of an institute set up by Emperor Dark-progenitor (Hsȕan-tsung 玄宗, reigned 712 - 756) as his personal, i.e. non-government-administrational, institute for the housing and instruction of entertainers (ling-jen 伶人). It was situated in the area of the old T’ang palace north-west of present-day Hsi-an in Shensi province. Liu Hsü 劉昫 (887 - 946) and others, Old T’ang history (Chiu T’ang-shu 舊唐書) (AD 945), “Li-Yȕeh chih”, says: “Shining August-emperor (Ming-huang 明皇 [Hsȕan-tsung, Dark-progenitor]) was both a connoisseur of music and passionately fond of Taoist Songs (fa-ch’ü 法曲), and selected three hundred young gentlemen entertainers from the Seated Section (tso-pu-chi tzu-ti san-pai 坐部伎子弟三百), and instructed them in the Pear Orchard, they being nicknamed ‘the Emperor’s Young Pear Orchard gentlemen’ (Huang-ti Li-yȕan tzu-ti 皇帝梨園子弟 [also found elsewhere as Li-yȕan ti-tzu 梨園弟子] and several hundred palace-ladies, who similarly were called ‘pupils of the Pear Orchard (Li-yȕan tzu-ti)’.” Later ages mistakenly regarded the Pear Orchard as having been principally for the instruction of play-actors, so “Pear Orchard” became a synonym for “the theatre”, and Emperor Dark-progenitor was deified as God of the Theatre. The Pear Orchard seems to have ceased to exist after his reign. Its old site lies in present-day Ch’ang-an county in Shensi province.
256Ch’en-hsiang-t’ing 沉香亭, Eaglewood/Aquilaria/Agallocha/Garu-wood/Lign-aloes/“Heavy-scent” Pavilion, the name of a pavilion in the T’ang dynasty imperial palace. Heavy Scent is Aquilaria agallocha, a perfumed wood with which no doubt the pavilion or Bower was built or walled. The Bower was where the peonies were planted, and where the Emperor was whiling in the company of Most-prized-empress Yang and others, the railing being the balustrade of it. During the Ming dynasty, a play was written called Bower of Heavy Scent by Hsȕeh-so Yü-yin 雪簑漁隱, which concerned these poems and the legends around them.
257Hsi-hsin-ssu 惜薪司, Firewood-cherishing Office, the name of a governmental eunuch minor institute, set up during the Ming dynasty, and in charge of matters concerning the supply to the imperial court of firewood and charcoal. It was one of the eunuch Four Offices (ssu-ssu四司). It had a Director (cheng 正/ t’ai-chien 太監).
258chih-yin 知音. This is an allusion to the famous story from which arose the term chih-yin, “a knower of one’s music“, “an understander of one’s music“, “a connoisseur of one’s music“, meaning a true friend who really understands and appreciates one’s music/ one’s soul/ one’s inner thoughts, soul-mate. The story attributed to Lü Pu-wei 呂不韋 (?BC - 235 BC) says:
When Yü Po-ya 俞伯牙 was playing the dulcimer, Chung Tzu-ch’i 鍾子期 listened to him. Just then he was playing it with longing thoughts of great mountains.
“Oh, you’re playing the dulcimer so excellently!” Chung Tzu-ch’i burst out, “As mightily and loftily as the great mountains!”
A little while later, Po-ya’s thoughts were dwelling on flowing streams.
“Oh, you’re playing the dulcimer so marvellously!” exclaimed Chung Tzu-ch’i again. “It ripples and whispers like flowing streams!”
After Chung Tzu-ch’i died, Po-ya smashed his dulcimer, and cut through its strings, and all his life never again played the instrument, considering that there was no one left in the world worthy of his playing to.
259k’un-hsien [鯤withbird instead of fish] 絃, ”k’un[-roc] strings”.
i) The gut of the k’un being seen as used for the strings of the p’i-p’a 琵琶 lute. The k’un-chi 鯤 [bird on right instead of fish on left] 雞, “k’un chicken”, the name of a bird. Wang Yi 王逸 (fl. ca. 114 - 142) (ed.), [who says that it was compiled by Liu Hsiang 劉向, 77 BC - 6 BC)] Ch’u elegies (Ch’u-tz’u 楚辭), “Chiu-pien”, has the line: “The k’un-chi sadly sings chirrup-chirrup.”
Hung Hsing-tsu 洪興祖 (1090 - 1155), Supplementary notes to “Ch’u elegies” (Ch’u-tz’u pu-chu 楚辭補注), says﹕ “The k’un chicken is like a crane, and is of yellowish white colour.” This note derives from one by Chang
Yi 張揖 (Northern Wei dynasty, fl. ca. AD 490). The bird’s also found written as kun-chi 昆雞, and was originally written k’un-chi 鶤雞. Anon. (Chou and Han dynasties), Close exegeses (Erh-ya 爾雅), “Shih-ch’u”, says: “A chicken that’s three feet tall is a k’un 鶤.” A note to that says: “The name in antiquity of the giant kun (chü-k’un 巨鶤) of the ditches was chi 雞.”
ii) another name for a phoenix (feng-huang 鳳凰). Liu An 劉安 (?BC - 122 BC), Sir Huai-south (Huai-nan Tzu 淮南子), “Lan ming”, says: “Passing over kun-chi at Ku-yü.” A note to that says: “K’un-chi is another name for phoenix.”
iii) a term for “big bird”. Chang Heng 張衡 (78 - 139), “Western Capital” rhapsody (Hsi-ching fu 西京賦) has the line: “The gliding k’un looks up but doesn’t reach it.” Li Shan’s 李善 (AD? - AD 689) note to that quotes Anon. (early 3rd century BC or earlier), Son-of-Heaven King Solemn (Mu T’ien-tzu chuan 穆天子傳), as saying: “The k’un-chi flies eight hundred miles.” The cited work actually has kuan-chi 鸛雞, and a note to it says: “It’s the same as k’un-chi. being one of the ‘swan’ (hu 鵠) genre.”
260An-ch’ing-fang 安慶坊, Peace-celebration Ward, the name of an area of the T’ang dynasty imperial court. An-ch’ing was also the name of a prefecture (fu 府) set up during the Sung dynasty, situated in present-day Anhwei province.
261T’ai-hua-chai 太華宅, Grand-flourishing Residence, the name of some residence in the T’ang dynasty imperial palace? . T’ai-hua was also another name for Moun Hua (Hua-shan 華山).
262lit. “drown and stagnate”
263Ch’ou-ch’eng 愁城, Sorrow City/Citadel, a term used to mean “realm of sorrow”. Fan Ch’eng-ta 范成大 (1126 - 1193) has a poem with the lines: “I can recall that last year my glutinous-millet fields were fine, and pour brew into my earthenware bowl, to irrigate Sorrow City.”
Appendices and Endnotes Page 23