Sun Chung-chang of the Yȕan dynasty wrote a Variety Play (tsa-chü 雜劇) drama called Cho Refined-lady’s “White-hair lay” (Cho Wen-chȕn “Pai-t’ou yin” 卓文君白頭吟). The allusion is found as an analogy for women who’ve lost their lover or his love, and who are trying to persuade him to restore their loving relationship.
589Yi-t’ing/Yeh-t’ing 掖庭, Armpit Courtyard:
i) a term for “a side-building/side-appartment in an imperial palace”, in which emperor’s wives dwelled. Pan Ku 班固 (32 - 92), Han history (Han-shu 漢書, “Pai-kuan kung-ch’ing piao”, says: “Emperor Warrior (Wu-ti 武帝) [in 104 BC] changed the name of Abiding Lane (Yung-hsiang 永巷) to Armpit Courtyard.” The same work, “Tung-fang Sho chuan”, says: “I pray that Your Majesty will frequently forget all myriad troubles, nourish his essence, let his mind roam free, come into Armpit Courtyard, turn his carriage and condescend to take this path, approaching my hills and forests.” The term is also found written yeh-t’ing 液庭, “Liquid Courtyard”. Pan Ku 班固 (32 - 92), Han history (Han-shu 漢書), “Wang Mang chuan”, says: “The dowry-maids/ secondary-wives of Liquid Courtyard aren’t yet complete.” A note to that says: “液 and 掖 are pronounced the same and interchangeable.”
ii) a term for imperial-palace ladies, especially those of high status.
iii) a mandarin office of the imperial-palace ladies (宮女). Han history, “Hsȕan-ti chi”, says: “He summoned the Armpit Courtyard to foster closeness.” A note to that says: “Armpit Courtyard was a mandarin office of the imperial-palace ladies (kung-jen chih-kuan 宮人之官), which included a Direcctor (ling 令) and Aides (ch’eng 丞), performed by eunuch-mandarins (huan-che 宦者).”
590P’ing-yang ke-wu 平陽歌舞, P’ing-yang singer’s singing and dancing. Refers to Wei Tzu-fu 衛子夫 (?BC - 91 BC). P’ing-yang 平陽 was the name of various places. The one meant here was that south-west of present-day Ch’i-shan county in Shensi province, on the border with Pao-chi county. Pan Ku 班固 (32 - 92), Han history (Han-shu 漢書), “Wai-ch’i chuan”, says:
Emperor Warrior’s (Wu-ti 武帝) Empress Wei 衛, courtesy-name Tzu-fu 子夫, was a singer (ou-che 謳者) of the Princess of P’ing-yang’s (P’ing-yang kung-chu 平陽公主).
When the Emperor held purification-ritual sacrificial services at Pa-shang 灞上 [east of present Ch’ang-an county in Shensi province], on his return journey he called on the Princess of P’ing-yang. After they’d drunk some wine, singers were presented. The emperor took sole pleasure in Tzu-fu. When the Emperor rose to ‘change his clothes’ [go to the toilet], Tzu-fu stood in attendance upon him, and was blessed by his love in the Portico of the Chief-steward of Imperial Apparel. So then the Princess of P’ing-yang memorialised the throne and escorted Tzu-fu into the imperial palace. In the First Year [128 BC] of the Yȕan-sho reign-period, she was established as empress.
After Tzu-fu was love-favoured by the emperor, it was over a year before she again received his favours. Made empress (huang-hou 皇后), after many years she fell out of favour because of her ageing and loss of sexual attraction. In 128 BC, she gave birth to the crown prince Li 戾, and was set up as empress. Her younger brother Wei Ch’ing 衛青 （?BC - 106 BC) rose to the ranks of Commander-in-chief (ta ssu-ma 大司馬) and Great General (ta chiang-chȕn 大將軍), and her elder sister’s son the famous general Huo Ch’ü-ping 霍去病 (145 BC - 117 BC) also became a Commander-in-chief and Cavalry General (piao-chi chiang-chȕn 驃騎將軍), both being awarded noble titles.
When the Calamity of Shamans’ Poisoning (Wu-ku Chih-huo 巫蠱之禍), a scandal concerning shamans or magicians in the imperial palace, occurred, Crown Prince Li mobilised forces and attacked Chiang Ch’ung 江充 (?BC - 90 BC), but was routed, and committed suicide. Dismissed by Emperor Warrior, she too committed suicide. When Emperor Proclamation (Hsȕan-ti 宣帝, reigned 73 BC - 58 BC) came to the throne, she was awarded the posthumous title Longing (Ssu 思).
591Pi-yi-niao 比翼鳥, Wing-sharing Birds, Twin-winged Birds. Anon. (Chou and early Han dynasty), Close exegeses (Erh-ya 爾雅), “Shih-ti”, says: “In the Southern Region there’s a wing-sharing bird, which can’t fly unless it’s sharing another’s wing. Its name is the chien-chien 鶼鶼.” An early note to this says: “It’s like a wild duck, a bluey red colour, and has one eye and one wing, and they can only fly when two of them join together to do so.” Close exegeses also say: “In the Eastern Region there’s an eye-sharing fish, which can’t move unless it gets another of its kind to share its eye with it, its name being the tieh 鰈.” The compound term chien-tieh 鶼鰈 for the bird and fish was later used also as a metaphor for a truly loving and inseparable couple, as indeed was each of the single-syllable terms on its own.
592yȕn-chin 雲巾, Cloud Turban, Cloud Cloth-hat, the name of some kind of puffed out headgear.
593hsien-yi 仙衣, Immortal’s Robe, term for a kind of garment worn by immortals.
594Ch’ing-chang kuan-ling 情場管領, leaders in the Realm of Love.
595chieh-nan 劫難, “kalpa trouble”/“violence”.
596Tou-niu-kung 斗牛宮, Dipper-ox Palace, the name of a celestial palace. Tou-niu, Dipper-ox, is a term for the Dipper Constellation (Tou-hsiu 斗宿) and Ox Constellation (Niu-hsiu 牛宿). Fang Ch’iao 房喬 (579 - 648) and others (eds.), Tsin history (Chin-shu 晉書), “Chang Hua chuan”, says: “Between the Dipper and the Ox, there’s always a scarlet vapour, so he invited Lei Hua to look up at it. ‘It’s just the essence of the Precious Sword, which penetrates up right to Heaven,’ said Lei Huan. Cf. Long-ch’ȕan 龍泉, Dragon Spring.
597Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Lo Yeh 羅鄴 [fl. ca. AD 877].
598Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Li Shang-yin 李商隱 [813 - 858].
599Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Li Ying 李郢 [fl. ca. AD 844].
600Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Lo Yin 羅隱 [833 - 909].
601Yao-han 殽函, Jumbled Box, another name for Box-valley Pass-barrier (Han-ku-kuan 函谷關):
i) set up during the Warring States period in the state of Ch’in, south-west of present-day Ling-pao county in Henan province. Stretching from Mount Yao (Yao-shan 崤山) in the east to T’ung Ford (T’ung-chin 潼津) in the west, the big mountains are cleft in the middle, with sheer cliffs thousands of feet high, through which there’s a road like a trough, being deep and precipitous, and like a box, hence the name. It’s also called Yao Box (Yao-han 崤函). The Pass citadel (kuan-ch’eng 關城) is in the middle of the valley, and the Ch’in law was that the pass was closed at sunset, and opened at cock-crow.
Liu Hsiang 劉向 (77 BC - 6 BC) (dub. attr.), Warring States policies (Chan-kuo ts’e 戰國策), “Ch’in-ts’e”, says: “East of Ch’in there’s the fastness of Yao Box, through which carriages are not able to pass two side by side, nor horse-riders to ride side-by side.”
Ssu-ma Ch’ien 司馬遷 (ca. 147 BC - 90 BC), Historians’ records (Shih-chi 史記), “Hsiang Yü chi”, says: “When the [future emperor] Duke of P’ei (P’ei-kung 沛公) entered Hsien-yang 咸陽, he held Box Pass, and [the famous warlord] Hsiang Yü 項羽 [232 BC - 202 BC] was unable to enter.”
Both of these instances are referring to Box-valley Pass.
At the beginning of the Han dynasty, a Pass Defender (kuan tu-wei 關都尉) was set up there to guard the pass, and under Emperor Warrior (Wu-ti 武帝) the pass-barrier was transferred to Ch’ang-an 長安, and the old pass became Hung-nung county (Hung-nung-hsien 弘農縣).
ii) a pass-barrier set up during the Han dynasty. In the reign of the Han dynasty Emperor Warrior, the Castled-warships General (lou-ch’uan chiang-chȕn 樓船將軍) Yang P’u 楊僕 performed several deeds of great merit, and, feeling ashamed that he was a “commoner from beyond the Pass” (Kuan-wai chih-min 關外之民), he submitted a document of address to the emperor begging for t
he Eastern Pass 東關 to be transferred, so in the year 114 BC the pass-barrier was moved to Hsin-an 新安, north-west of present-day T’ieh-men county in Henan province. It was one hundred and fifty kilometres away from the original pass-barrier, from the Nan-shan mountains crossing over the River Lo, and to the north joining the Yellow River, all being the pass (kuan-sai 關塞).
In the reign of Emperor Spiritual (Ling-ti 靈帝, reigned 168 - 189), Eight Passes Defenders (Pa-kuan Tu-wei 八關都尉) were set up in defence against the Yellow Turban rebels, and one of them was at this pass. The pass was abolished in AD 504 under the Northern Wei dynasty, and under the Northern Chou dynasty its name was changed to T’ung-lo Ward (T’ung-Lo-fang 通洛坊), it being used as a defence against Ch’i 齊.
602Huang-tao 黃道, Yellow Path:
i) Pan Ku 班固 (32 - 92), Han history (Han-shu 漢書, “T’ien-wen chih”, says: “The sun has a Middle Path (Chung-tao 中道), the Middle Path being the Yellow Path, also found called Light Path (Kuang-tao 光道).” Wang Hsien-Ch’ien 王先謙 (1842 - 1917), Supplementary notes to “Han history” (Han-shu pu-ch 漢書補注), says: “Huang and Kuang were interchangeable in ancient writing.” Presumably, Yellow Path auspicious day (Huang-tao chi-jih 黄道吉日) was a fortune-telling term for “a lucky day”.
ii) eliptic. Huang-tao-tai 黃道帶, “Yellow-path Belt”, means “zodiac”.
603kan-ke 干戈, “shields and dagger-axes”, a poetic term for “(chaotic) warfare”. In war in ancient times, shields and dagger-axes were often employed, so the two words were used jointly as an image for “weapons” in general, then for “warfare”. Tai Sheng 戴聖 (early first century BC) (comp.), Rites record (Li-chi 禮記), “T’an-kung”, says: “Skilled at grasping shields and dagger-axes to guard the state altars of soil and millet.” Sung Ying-hsing 宋應星 (fl. ca. AD 1630), Setting forth things of Heaven and man’s skills (T’ien-kung k’ai-wu 天工開物), produced in AD 1637, says: “Shields and dagger-axes is always a most ancient term, ‘shield’ and ‘dagger-axe’ being used together in connection to form a term.” It was further extended to mean “warfare”. Wang Ts’an 王粲 (177 - 217) in his poem Joining the army (Ts’ung-chȕn 從軍) has the lines: “Subjected to the troubles of warfare (kan-ke), How can I keep in mind my personal matters!”
604Ke-shu Han 哥舒翰 (AD? - AD 757), name of a famous T’ang dynasty general, a Turkic (T’u-chȕeh 突厥) man of the Ke-shu tribe. His family had for generations lived in An-hsi 安西, either the one in present-day Sinkiang or the one in Kansu province, and he came to live in the T’ang dynasty capital Ch’ang-an. Scorning monetary wealth, he lived as a knight errant, fighting for good causes and good people, and, through studying the Confucian classic Springs and autumns (Ch’un-ch’iu 春秋), he understood the major aspects of its objective moral import. Early on, he joined the Military Commissioner for He-hsi and Lung-yu (He-hsi Lung-yu chieh-tu-shih 河西隴右節度使), Wang Chung-ssu 王忠嗣 (731 - 775) as his Company Commander (ya-chiang 衙將), and whenever he went forth to do battle, grasped a half-length lance (pan-tuan ch’iang 半段槍), his bold valour capping that of all the army, and frequently defeating the forces of the T’u-fan 吐蕃.
In AD 747, he replaced Wang Chung-ssu as Military Commissioner for Lung-yu (Lung-yu chieh-tu-shih 隴右節度使), and in AD 748 attacked and defeated the T’u-fan in Tsinghai, and became jointly Military Commissioner for He-hsi, and was given the title of Commandery Prince of Hsi-p’ing (Hsi-p’ing chȕn-wang 西平郡王), becoming Vice Director of the Left of Manager of Affairs of the Department of State Affairs (tso p’u-yeh p’ing-chang shih 左僕射平章事).
When An Lu-shan rebelled in AD 755, the emperor appointed Ke-shu Han as Vice Marshall of Infantry and Cavalry (ping-ma fu yȕan-shuai 兵馬副元帥), in command of an army of two hundred thousand, and he mobilised forces to attack An Lu-shan. At the time, he was already disabled by illness, and, forced into battle owing to the suspicious jealousy of Yang Kuo-chung 楊國忠, he came off worst in the fighting, fell into the hands of the enemy, and was killed. He was awarded the posthumous title of Warrior-like and Stalwart (Wu-min 武愍).
Liu Hsü 劉昫 (887 - 946) and others, Old T’ang history (Chiu T’ang-shu 舊唐書) [AD 945], “Ke-shu Han chuan”, says: “Ke-shu Han was a descendant of the leader of the T’u-chi-shih (T’u-chi-shih shou-ling 突騎施首領) of the Ke-shu tribe. When the T’u-fan raided the Chinese frontier, Ke-shu Han resisted them at K’u-pa-hai 苦拔海. The enemy army came down in disorderly fashion from the mountains in three ranks. Ke-shu Han grasped a half-length lance [?], attacking the foe from the vanguard, and all three ranks were defeated, not one of them evading destruction. Owing to this, he became famous. The following year, he encamped his Divinely Awesome Army (Shen-wei-chȕn 神威軍) on the shores of the Blue Lake (Ch’ing-hai 青海) [Kokonor], and the T’u-fan withdrew, and didn’t dare approach the Blue Lake.”
605T’ung-kuan 潼關, T’ung Pass-barrier, situated south-east of present-day T’ung-kuan county in Shensi province. It was located at a vital bend of the Yellow River, situated in the natural fastness of Mount Hsiao and Box-valley Pass (Han-ku-kuan 函谷關), being on a key route to the capital. Situated “squatting boldly” half-way up the mountain, looking down over the Yellow River, its citadel was always acclaimed as a vital strategic barrier.
606Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Wang Ch’iu 王遒.
607Shen-chou 神州, the Divine Land, the Celestial Land, a poetic term for China. Tsou Yen 騶衍 of the Warring States period called China “the Crimson County and Divine Region” (Ch’ih-hsien Shen-chou 赤縣神州), so later ages called China the Divine Region/ Celestial Land. Yü Shih-nan 虞世南 (558 - 638) in his Wu-capital poem (Wu-tu shih 吳都詩) has the lines: “In the tripartite division opened up a hegemony, and for ten thousand miles made the Celestial Land a residence.” Ts’ao T’ang 曹唐 (fl. ca. AD 867) in his Ascendant Peace lyric (Sheng-p’ing tz’u 昇平詞) says: “The distant ridge connects to the sage’s throne, The level ground bears the Celestial Land.”
608Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Han Wo 韓偓 [fl. ca. AD 901].
609Hung Sheng here gives a note saying that this line derives from a poem by Ssu-k’ung T’u 司空圖 [837 - 908].
610chin-pien 金鞭, bronze mace, presumably a poetic term for “weapons”.
611mei-shan 眉山, “eyebrow hills”, a reference to the term ch’un-shan 春山, “spring hills/ mountains”, used to describe a lady’s eyebrows, since eyebrows were often painted or drawn with a “kohl” called tai 黛, a dark black/green black/blue black (ch’ing-hei 青黑) pigment, resembling the method of artists for depicting distant hills. Liu Hsi 劉熙 (Han dynasty), Explaining names (Shih-ming 釋名), “Shih shou-shih”, says: “Tai 黛 means tai 代 [“to replace”, “to take the place of”], referring to when the eyebrows are destroyed and removed, and are painted with this to take their place.”
T’ao Ch’ien 陶潛 (372 - 427), in his Casual feelings rhapsody (Hsien-ch’ing fu 閑情賦), says: “I pray that I may be kohl (tai) on your eyebrows, and following your gazing and looking, casually waft up.”
Tai 黛 was used as a synonym for “eyebrows”. Emperor Origin (Yȕan-ti 元帝, reigned (552 - 555) of the Southern Dynasties Liang dynasty, in his poem Some repinings on behalf of my old queen (Tai chiu-chi yu-yȕan 代舊姬有怨), has the line: “Repining, your tai [= eyebrows] smoothed and then knitted again.” The colour of springtime hills is dark green (tai-ting 黛青), so poets often used” spring hills” as an image for the greeny black colour of women’s painted eyebrows, as, for example in a story of Hung P’ien 洪楩 (fl. mid-4th century AD), Pure-peace Mountain-hall Hermitage’s telling-texts (Ch’ing-p’ing Shan-t’ang hua-pen 清平山堂載本), which says: “Her graceful eyebrows were cleverly painted spring hills.”
Eyebrows were also poetically referred or likened to “distant hills/ mountains” (yȕan-shan 遠�
�). Wu Chȕn 吳均 (469 - 520), Miscellaneous notes of the Western Capital (Hsi-ching tsa-chi 西京雜記), [Early editions attribute this work to Liu Hsin 劉歆 (ca. 53 BC - AD 23), and it’s sometimes attributed to Ke Hung 葛洪 (284 - 363)], says: “Refined-lady (Wen-chȕn 文君) was charming and pretty, the colour of her eyebrows like hills gazed at from afar [lit. “gazing at distant hills”], the contours of her cheeks ever like lotus-flowers, and her skin as tender and smooth as unguent.”
Yȕan Hao-wen 元好問 (1190 - 1257) has a ch’ü-aria with the lines: “Two leaves of spring hills, her sorrowful eyebrows stand erect, as she seals her heart-broken poem along with her tears.” Kuan Yȕn-shih 貫雲石 (1286 - 1324) has one with the lines: “Too abashed to paint distant-hill eyebrows, She’s no faith in her palace-style attire.” And an anonymous Yȕan or early Ming poet has one with the lines: “Eyes barred across with autumn stream, pair of ripples gliding, Eyebrows rearing their spring hills, Character-eight’s sorrowing.” Mei-shan, Mount Eyebrow, was also the name of a county south of present-day P’eng-shan county in Szechwan province.
612From line two of this aria, much of the language is based on the original poems by Li Pai 李白 (701-762). Sung Ch’i 宋祁 (998-1057) wrote in his biography of Li Pai, in Ou-yang Hsiu 歐陽修 (1007-1072) et alia, New T’ang dynasty history / (Hsin T’ang Shu 新唐書) (AD 1063) as follows:
One day, the Emperor while sitting in his Eaglewood Bower, and feeling inspired by the atmosphere and surroundings of the moment, felt it would be nice to have Pai write a pertinent lyric, to be set to music and sung. Summoned to the palace, the poet arrived on the scene drunk. Courtiers splashed water on his face, and, sobered somewhat, he snatched up his writing-brush and proceeded to dash off a composition that was bewitchingly exquisite, thoroughly appropriate, and left nothing of the mood uncaptured.
Unofficial biography of Grand-truth (T’ai-chen wai-shih 太真外史) by Yȕeh Shih 樂史 (930 - 1007) provides a more detailed setting:
Appendices and Endnotes Page 35