Appendices and Endnotes

by William Dolby

  351yȕan-yang 鴛鴦: mandarin duck, Aix galericulata], mandarin drake and mandarin duck, yȕan being the male and yang the female. As mandarin duck and drake mostly stick together as a pair, they early became a symbol for a pair of truly loving lovers or a perfectly loving married couple. Song no. 216 in Songs classic is called Mandarin duck and drake, and is in the nature of wedding wishes for fertility and plenty. In a story given by Kan Pao 干寶 (fl. ca. AD 317), when Han P’ing 韓憑 and his sweetheart Miss He (He-shih 何氏) committed suicide because of the tyranny of a wicked Prince K’ang (K’ang-wang 康王) against them, they were buried in separate tombs, but within one day a huge catalpa-tree had soared up at the inner end of each tomb, and the branches and roots of both trees had entwined with each other, and a mandarin duck and a mandarin drake perched up in these trees, staying there together inseparably day and night. The people of their country called the trees the Love /Yearning Trees (Hsiang-ssu-shu 相思樹), and another name for them was Joined Branches (Lien-li-chih 連理枝), the trees likewise being used as a symbol of perfect lovers.

  352Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Wang Ch’ang-ling 王昌齡 (AD? - ca. AD 756).

  353Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Liu Ch’ang-ch’ing 劉長卿 [709 - 780?].

  354But she’s already exited!

  355Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Ts’ao T’ang 曹唐 [fl. ca. AD 867].

  356Fa-pu 法部, Taoist Orchestra.

  357Hung Sheng notes this comes from Wang Chien 王建 [fl. some time during 751 - 835].

  358Four lines from a poem by Wang Chien 王建(fl. ca. 751 - 835).

  359lung-ma 龍馬, “dragon horse”:

  i) History classic middle-phase, (Shang-shu chung-hou 尚書中候), “Wo-he chi” 握河紀, says: “When the demi-god world-ruler Yao 堯 [i.e. T’ang-ti Yao 唐 帝 堯, also called T’ang Yao 唐堯 and T’ao-t’ang 郝 唐, traditionally reigned 2357 BC - 2256 BC] acceded to government, a Dragon Horse holding a shell in its mouth, and of crimson patterns on dark green colour, came out of the River.” A note to that says: “A dragon but in the form of a horse, which is why it was called a horse. The shell was for keeping the diagram in. When a man who sought to rule the world had kindly goodness and cosmic virtuous influence, the Dragon Horse would appear. Its patterns were crimson-coloured, with a dark green background.”

  ii) an image for an old man whose spirit is vigorous and sparkling. Li Ying 李郢 (fl. ca. AD 844), in his poem To Duke Tsinof P’ei (Shang P’ei Chin-kung 上裴晉公) [should be Duke P’ei of Tsin], has the lines, “Through four reigns he’s worried for the state, and his temple-hair’s like silk-strands, He has Dragon Horse spirit, and sea-crane figure.”

  360chȕn-wang 郡王, Commandery-prince, a lofty noble title (chȕeh 爵). It usually has a place-name before it that indicates a fief, either real or nominal. Mostly awarded to sons ̶ except eldest son, who was given the title shih-tzu 世子, Heir ̶ by the principal wife of Imperial Princes (ch’in-wang 親王). The Fief-established Princes (feng-chien chu-wang 封建諸王) of the Han dynasty system used commanderies as their states. When Emperor Warrior (Wu-ti 武帝, reigned 265 - 290) of the Western Tsin dynasty inherited the throne, he enfiefed Yung 永, a grandson of Emperor Proclamation (Hsȕan-ti 宣帝), as Eastern Wan Commandery-prince (Tung-wan Chȕn-wang 東莞郡王), this being the beginning of using Commandery-prince as a noble title. Emperor Civility (Wen-ti 文帝, reigned 581 - 604) classified titles of nobility into nine grades. with Commandery-prince as the second grade.

  In the T’ang dynasty, the eldest mainline son of the various princes was made a Commandery-prince. Under the Sung dynasty, close male relatives of the imperial clan who inherited a Special Edict (t’e-chih 特旨) were enfiefed as Commandery-prince. The Yȕan and Ming dynasties more or less followed the preceeding system. During the Ch’ing era, among the titles of nobility with which members of the imperial clan were enfiefed was that of Tara Commandery-prince (to-lo chȕn-wang 多羅郡王), which was also abbreviated to Commandery-prince.

  361tao-t’ou huo-kui 刀頭活鬼, Living Demon Under The Sword, being a derogatory term addresed to another. With something like the import of “gallow’s bird”, i.e. “someone/wretched ‘devil’ who deserves execution”.

  362 Nan-chao 南詔, the name of a country, “Southern Imperial-command”. Previously there were the Six Chao (Six Imperial-commands, Liu-chao 六詔). To the far south of Meng-she 蒙舍 (one of the Six, present-day Meng-pi county in Yunnan province), hence its name. The other five were annexed by it. In the year AD 737, Meng Kui-yi 蒙歸義was awarded the title of Prince of Yȕn-nan (Yȕn-nan-wang 雲南王). In AD 751, he acquired the territory of Yünnan, and arrogated the title Great Meng (Ta Meng 大蒙), his administrative capital being Mieh city (Mieh-ch’eng 咩城) in Yang-chü 羊苴, present-day Ta-li county in Yunnan province. In AD 794, he changed the title of his state to Nan-chao. Later it was called Ta-li 大禮. During the Latter Tsin dynasty (936 - 945) of the Five Dynasties period, it was occupied by the Tuan clan (Tuan-shih 段氏), who called it the State of Ta-li (Ta-li-kuo大理國). It was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. Ssu-ma Kuang 司馬光 (1019 - 1086), Comprehensive mirror to assist good government (Tzu-chih t’ung-chien 資治通鑑), AD 752, scroll 216, says: “In the Fourth Month, … the Military Commissioner of Chien-nan 劍南, Hsien-yü Chung-t’ung鮮於仲通 [693 - 755] campaigned against Nan-chao [the Ai lao Yi 哀牢彝/夷people, located in the western part of present-day Yunnan province], and was routed at Lu-nan 瀘南, sixty thousands of his soldiers dying, and Chung-t’ung barely escaping with his life. Yang Kuo-chung covered up the circumstances of his defeat, and went on to relate his fine deeds.” In the winter of AD 752, Yang Kuo-chung organised his intimate and trusted man Hsien-yü Chung-t’ung, and memorialised the throne requesting Hsien-yü be made Military Commissioner of far-off Chien-nan.

  363fu-yȕn 浮雲, “floating/drifting cloud(s)”:

  i) an image for inadequate concern/consideration. Anon. (5th century BC), Collected sayings of Confucius and his students (Lun-yü 論語),” Shu-erh”, 7/16, says:

  “There is indeed joy to be had,” said Sir Confucius, “from dining off coarse unhulled rice and drinking cold water, and sleeping using the crook of one’s elbow as a pillow. To have become wealthy and eminent by unrighteous means, would to me be of no more solid satisfying worth than drifting cloud.”

  ii)a metaphor for “swift and light (of calligraphy)”. Shen Yȕeh 沈約 (441 - 513), Tsin history (Chin-shu 晉書), “Wang Hsi-chih chuan”, says: “He was especially skilled at Grass-script and Clerk-script (ts’ao-li 草隸), and judges praised his writing’s dynamism (pi-shih 筆勢) as floating like drifting clouds.”

  iii) a metaphor for “a traitor”, “treacherous man”. Li Pai 李白 (701 - 762) has a poem with the lines: “It’s ever the floating clouds that are able at screening-off the sun, and not to see Ch’ang-an makes one sorrowful.”

  There’s also the expression “drifting cloud feather-quill screen-off the sun (fu-yȕn yi-jih 浮雲翳日)” means “a treacherous man who blocks off the shine/ enlightened perspicacity of his ruler”. K’ung Jung孔融 (153 - 208), in his poem On my death-bed (Lin-chung 臨終), has the lines: “Slander’s evil destroys the common weal and justice, Drifting clouds feather-quill screen-off the white sun.”

  364i.e. secret feelings.

  365Shih Le 石勒 (274 - 333). Shen Yȕeh 沈約 (441 - 513), Tsin history (Chin-shu 晉書), scroll 204, says of Shih Le: “When he was thirteen [Chinese “fourteen”], he went along with fellow-citizens to trade in Lo-yang, and went and lolled whistling against its East Gate. Wang Yen 王衍 [256 - 324] saw it, and found it remarkable. ‘That Northern-barbarian fledgeling just now,’ he said, ‘I observe from his voice and looks that he has ‘exceptional’ [dynastic] ambitions, and fear that he’ll cause calamities through the world.’” Shih Le was a Chieh-barbarbarian 羯, and set himself up as emper
or of the Latter Chao dynasty. A man of Wu-hsiang 武鄉 in Shang-tang上黨, north of present-day Yü-she in Shansi province. Apart from trading in Lo-yang, he also did some ploughing and farming.

  When twenty or so, he was carried off by the Tsin government and sold to be a slave in Shan-tung 山東. He, with Chi Sang 汲桑 and others, gathered an army and rose in rebellion. Later, he adhered to Liu Yȕan 劉淵 as his Grand General, employing in important role the Chinese man Chang Pin 張賓 (AD? - AD 322), afterwards a salient politician. In AD 319, Shih Le attacked and overcame the Former Chao dynasty, and proclaimed himself King of Chao (Chao-wang 趙王), setting up the dynasty known as the Latter Chao.

  Early in AD 329, he took prisoner Liu Yao 劉曜 (AD? - AD 329), and destroyed the Former Chao dynasty, setting up his capital Hsiang-kuo 襄國, south-west of present-day Hsing-t’ai in Hopeh province. In AD 333, he proclaimed himself emperor, using the reign-period title Chien-p’ing 建平. When he’d died, he was succeeded by his son Shih Hung 石弘, who was removed by Shih Hu 石虎 (295 - 349).

  Being a barbarian and a rebel dynasty-founder, Shih Le is here seen as a fitting image for An Lu-shan.

  366i.e. Yang Kuo-chung.

  367Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Chou T’an 周曇.

  368Hsiao-ch’iang 蕭牆, Artemisia Walls. Anon. (5th century BC), Sayings of Confucius and his students (Lun-yü 論語), “Chi-shih”, 16/1, says: “His country, Lu, is divided, collapsing, disaffected and splitting up, and you can’t keep it intact, but instead devise the policy of initiating military operations within the country! I fear that Chi-sun’s worries don’t lie in Chuan-yu 顓臾, but within his own ‘artemisia-wall’ - his own immediate administrative vicinity in his palace!” A note to this says: “’Artemisia’ (hsiao 蕭) means ‘solemn’ (su 肅), and ‘walls’ means ‘screens’ (p’ing 屏). In the rites for when a ruler gives a minister an audience, as the latter reaches the screen, he becomes more solemn and respectful there, which is why it’s referred to as ‘solemn wall’.” On that occasion, Chi-sun季孫 was about to campaign against Chuan-yü, but Sir Confucius considered that Chi-sun’s troubles lay within his court, and not elsewhere, hence the term “calamity of the artemisia walls” (hsiao-ch’iang chih-huo 蕭牆之禍).

  369Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Ch’u Ssu-tsung 儲嗣宗 [fl. ca. AD 853].

  370Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Hsü Hsien 徐咸 [fl. ca. AD 1510]

  371Hung Sheng gives the note that this line comes from a poem by Cheng Yü 鄭嵎 [fl. ca. AD 859].

  372Ch’ao-yȕan-ke 朝元閣, Going-to-the-court-of-the-Origin Villa/ Chamber, presumably the name of some chamber in Flourishing-purity Palace (Hua-ch’ing-kung 華清宮). .

  373san-hsü 散序, Non-main Prelude, referring here to a section of Rainbow-skirt feather-jacket dance- melody. A note by Pai Chü-yi 白居 易 (772 - 846) to his own poem Rainbow-skirt feather-jacket song (Ni-ch’ang yü-yi ke 霓裳羽衣歌) says: “The Non-main Prelude has six passages (pien 遍), but has no beats (p’ai 拍), which is why they don’t have any dancing.” The term Non-main Beat (san-pan 散板) is also used for such sections without beats.

  374p’ai-hsü 拍序, Beat Prelude, referring to a section of Rainbow-skirt feather-jacket dance-melody. A note by Pai Chü-yi 白居 易 (772 - 846) to his own poem Rainbow-skirt feather-jacket song (Ni-ch’ang yü-yi ke 霓裳羽衣歌) says: “Only with the Middle Prelude (chung-hsü 中序) is there a beat, and it’s also called Beat Prelude.”

  375Yȕeh-pu 樂部, Court-music Ministry, the name of an institute of central government, first set up during the Latter Chou dynasty (951-960), with Upper Scholars (shang-shih 上士) and Middle Scholars (chung-shih 中士). Its function was like that of Grand Officer-of-music (Ta Ssu-yȕeh 大司樂) of the Chou dynasty (traditionally 1122 BC - 256 BC). It was abolished midway, ut set up again during the Ch’ing dynasty, in AD 1729, the Court-music Ministry, in charge of court music, its head mandarin being the Court-music Recorder (tien-yȕeh 典樂), a post held concurrently by the Manchu Director (Man-chou shang-shu滿州尚書) or Princes-and-dukes Grand Minister (wang-kung ta-ch’en王公大臣).

  376pan-shou 班首, “troupe/group assembly head”, a term for “leader”.

  377pan-t’ou 班頭, the same as pan-shou 班首, “troupe/group assembly head”, a term for “leader”.

  378Ma Hsien-ch’i 馬仙期, the name of a player of the Square Resonator (fang-hsiang 方響) in the Pear-orchard Conservatoire (Li-yȕan 梨園) of the 8th century T’ang dynasty imperial court.

  379fang-hsiang 方響, Percussive Strips, Square Resonators, the name of a musical instrument. Su E 蘇鶚 (fl. ca. AD 890), Miscellaneous compilations about Tu-yang (Tu-yang tsa-pien 杜陽雜編), says: In AD 835, the palace-lady Shen Long-tail-feather (Shen A-ch’iao 沈阿翹) presented the emperor with white-jade Square Resonators.” The Square Resonators were originally made of copper, made up of altogether sixteen rectangular strips, the pitch of their sounds being distributed according to the thickness or thinness of each strip. These were lined up on a wooden frame, divided into two rows all tilted against it, they being tapped with a little hammer to produce their sounds.

  380Lei Hai-ch’ing 雷海清, Thunder Sea-green, the name of a musician of the imperial-court Pear-orchard Conservatoire, player of the Iron Plectrum (t’ieh-po 鐵撥) lute.

  381t’ieh-po 鐵撥, Iron Plectrum, the name of a musical instrumment of the imperial-court musician Lei Hai-ch’ing 雷海青 (8th century AD) and others, being a p’i-p’a 琵琶 lute of special construction. Yȕeh Shih 樂史 (930 - 1007), Unofficial biography of Grand-truth (T’ai-chen wai-chuan 太真外傳), says: “On another occasion, He Huai-chih submitted word to the emperor.

  “Formerly,” he said, “Your Majesty one summer’s day was playing chess with the imperial princes, and you had me play the p’i-p’a lute, solo. [The lute had a sound-box made of stone, and strings made from a phoenix’s sinews, and was played with an iron plectrum.] Most-prized-empress Yang (Yang Kui-fei 楊貴妃) stood by the chessboard and watched the game.”

  382He Huai-chih 賀懷智 (fl. ca. 750 AD), a T’ang dynasty musician of the imperial Pear-orchard Conservatoire, player of the p’i-p’a 琵琶 lute. See note above on t’ieh-po 鐵撥.

  383ch’ang-wu 場屋子:

  i) Exam-hall Room, a term for the exam hall of the imperial exam system.

  ii) Stage Room, a term for “play/entertainment stage”. Yȕan Chen元稹 (779 - 831) has a poem with the line, “Old He Huai-chih on the p’i-p’a lute secures the music-patch Stage Room.”

  384Huang Fan-ch’o 黃旛綽 (fl. ca. AD 750), the name of a musician and famous court-jester, here a player of the clappers (pan 板).

  385pan 板, clappers, i.e. p’ai-pan 拍板: “clappers”, the name of a musical instrument. Also written as p’ai-pan 拍版. Ma Tuan-lin 馬端臨 (Yȕan dynasty, fl. ca. 1265 - 1274), Thorough investigations of literature (Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 文獻通考), “Yȕeh-k’ao”, says: The clappers are as long and broad as a hand, the bigger ones having nine ‘boards’ (pan 版), and smaller ones having six boards, these being fastened together by leather thongs, the Northern-barbarian Orchestra (hu-pu 胡部) using them for keeping rhythm in court-musical performances, they being a substitute for clapping (pien 抃).”

  A note to that says: “Clapping, means striking the rhythm. When one feels the emotion emerging from inside one, one’s hands clap and one’s feet dance, the clapping following the music to regulate the rhythm of the dancing.”

  Clappers made in recent times have been three strips of hard wood tied together, five or six inches long, and about two inches wide, two of the strips being tied together, and the third being used to strike them, they being employed to regulate musical rhythm. We note that p’ai-pan meaning “striking with board” has in recent ages also been used as a term referring to the striking of a strip of wood by an officer in charge to decide prices in competitive commerci
al transactions. Like an auctioneer’s gavel

  The term hung-ya 紅牙, Red Teeth, is the name of a musical instrument, a kind of clappers (p’ai-pan). The p’ai-pan were also known as ya-pan 牙板, Teeth Clappers (the finest clappers made by Ivory). Being red, they were also called Red Teeth. Wang Han 王翰 (fl. ca. AD 713), in his poem Picture of playing a flute (Ch’ui-hsiao t’u 吹簫圖), has the lines, “Playing till Liang-chou, then shifting to another tune, the monarch himself for them plays the Red Teeth.”

  386Li Mo 李謨 (fl. ca. AD 750) name of a famous flautist. Various vivid legends and stories exist about him. See Li Chao 李肇 (fl. ca. AD 813), Supplements to the dynastic history of the T’ang dynasty (T’ang kuo-shih pu 唐國史補).

  387Chiang-nan 江南, Yangtse-south, referring to the region south of the River Yangtse, between the Rivers Yangtse and Hsiang. During the T’ang dynasty it was the name of a “province” (tao, set up during the period 627 - 649, and including present-day Chekiang, Fukien, Kiangsi and Hunan provinces, the parts of present-day Anhwei and Kiangsu provinces south of the Yangtse, and the north-eastern parts of present Szechwan and Kweichow provinces. Its capital was at Su-chou in present Wu county in Kiangsu province. During the reign-period 713 - 741, it was divided up into three provinces: Chiang-nan-tung 江南東, Chiang-nan-hsi 江南西 and Ch’ien-chung 黔中.