Along the River: A Chinese Cinderella Novel

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Along the River: A Chinese Cinderella Novel Page 15

by Adeline Yen Mah


  Ba Zi ba tzer

  Cai Jing chai jing

  Cai You chai yo

  cu ju chew jyu

  cun chun

  Da Bi Zi dah bee zuh

  Dong Zhi dong jer

  Gege guh-guh

  Genyue gun-yue

  he li ji qun huh lee gee chun

  Hong Qiao hong chiao

  Huizong hway-joong

  Lei Wei lay way

  Mei Lan may laan

  qi chee

  qin chin

  Qing Ming ching ming

  qing xiao xin ching shiao shin

  Tian Xia Yi Ren tian shia ee ren

  wei qi way chee

  Wu Xing wu shing

  Xiang Long Shi shiang long shi

  Xiao Mei shiao may

  xin shin

  you he bu ke? yo huh boo kuh?

  Ze Duan zuh duan

  Zhang jaang

  Zhao Jow

  Glossary of

  Chinese Words

  Numbers

  yi 1

  er 2

  san 3

  si 4

  wu 5

  liu 6

  qi 7

  ba 8

  jiu 9

  shi 10

  For numbers 11 to 19, join the word for 10 with the unit number, so 11 is shi yi , 12 is shi er and so on.

  Family, Names and People

  Ah a prefix to a name

  Ah Li the original name of Ah Zhao before Emperor Huizong bestows upon him the royal surname of Zhao

  Ah Wang Mei Lan’s father’s number-one manservant

  An Kai Lady An Kai was the Emperor’s favorite concubine, and was the niece of Commissioner Ye Di

  baba T§T§ father

  Caijing Prime Minister to Emperor Huizong (AD 1047—1126)

  Gang Bu Lang Zfiong Director of the Granary Bureau

  Chun Lei “Spring Thunder”; name given by Lei Wei to a zither that he made

  Confucius Chinese philosopher (c. 551—547 BC)

  Da Bi Zi “Big Nose”

  da ren magistrate (literally “big person”)

  Da Si Yue musician-in-chief

  DaTueLing music officer

  dai zhao imperial attendant

  Dian Yue music managers

  Fo Ni Northern Song Dynasty Buddhist nun, the religious name of Zhang Mei Lan

  Gao Bi Zi “Tall Nose”

  gege older brother

  Han Lin Hua Yuan Shang Shu Director of the Royal Academy of Art

  Hu Bu Shang Shu Minister of Revenue

  Huizong Eighth Emperor of the Song Dynasty (AD 1082–1135; reigned AD 1100–1126)

  Jiang Fei Fei a friend of CC’s Big Aunt

  lao ban proprietor, boss

  lao lao maternal grandmother; although Mei Lan would normally only call her birth mother’s mother Lao Lao, she uses this term for her stepmother’s mother too

  Lao Ye Old Master (term of address)

  Lei Wei renowned Tang Dynasty instrument maker, whose name means “Mighty Thunder”

  Li Jie famous Song Dynasty architect

  Lin Ling Su Taoist priest and Huizong’s spiritual advisor

  Liu Gong Quan Tang Dynasty master of calligraphy (AD 778–865)

  Mencius Chinese philosopher (c. 372–289 BC)

  nai ma nanny, wet nurse

  nai nai paternal grandmother

  niang mother; also means “young lady”

  Shao Ye Young Master (term of address)

  Tian Xia Yi Ren “First Man of All under Heaven”—cipher of Emperor Huizong

  Tian Son of Heaven

  Tong Guan military general, court eunuch, political advisor to Emperor Huizong (AD 1054–1126)

  Wu Nai Nai Grandma Wu

  Xiao Chen Mei Lan’s father’s coachman; xiao (little) is used as a prefix to Chen’s name

  Xiao Jie Little Miss (term of address)

  Xie Lu Lang composers

  Ye Di commissioner to whom Mei Lan’s father is chief assistant

  Ye Jia Ming CC’s Big Aunt

  Ye Xian CC’s Chinese name

  ye ye paternal grandfather

  Zhang Mei Lan Zhang is a family name (surname) and Mei Lan means “Beautiful Orchid”

  Zhang Ze Duan famous court painter (AD 1085–1145)

  Zhao royal surname

  Places

  Bian Liang capital city of China during the Song Dynasty, located in the eastern Henan province of China; it is now known as Kaifeng

  Da Cheng Yue Fu Bureau of Music of Great Brilliance

  Da Nei Inner Palace

  Da Wai Outer City

  Feng Jie a town on the Yangtze River, near the Three Gorges Dam

  Genyue imperial park, commissioned by Emperor Huizong

  Han Lin Hua Yuan Royal Academy of Art; it was very prestigious to be accepted as a Han Lin scholar

  Hong Qiao Rainbow Bridge

  Nan Xun Men Southern Infusion Gate

  Rui Si Dian Palace of Divine Inspiration

  Tai Hu Tai Lake

  Tai Miao Grand Ancestral Temple

  Tie Ta Iron Pagoda

  Wan Qin Lo Pavilion of Ten Thousand Zithers

  Xuan De Men Gate of Virtue Proclaimed

  Yuan Que Round Mound Altar

  Occasions

  Dong Zhi Winter Solstice Festival; means “winter has arrived”

  Han Shi Jie Cold Food Festival

  Li Chun Spring Equinox

  Qing Ming Jie Clear and Bright Festival, also called Tomb Sweeping Festival

  Xia Zhi Summer Solstice

  Yuan Xiao Jie Feast of Lanterns

  Artistic Works

  Da Guan Cha Lun Treatise on Tea; a classic text by Emperor Huizong on the art of the tea ceremony

  Lun Yu Confucian Analects; a rulebook for life, made up of discussions Confucius had with his students

  Qing Ming Shang He Tu Along the River at Qing Ming (a painting)

  Ting Qin Tu Listening to Zither Music (a painting)

  Xiang Long Shi Auspicious Dragon Rock (a painting)

  Zhou Bi Suan Jing Astronomy and Mathematics in Ancient China: one of the oldest classic Chinese texts on mathematics

  Sayings

  he li ji qun a crane among hens

  tian xia zhi bian yuan at the edge of civilization

  you he bu ke? ? is anything impossible?

  Words and Phrases

  Ba Zi Eight Characters or Eight Words

  cao shu cursive script

  chi a unit of measurement of approximately thirteen inches

  cu ju football, also called soccer

  cun a unit of measurement of just over one inch

  da zi big characters

  erhu musical instrument like a two-stringed fiddle

  fei qian literally “flying money”: bank notes made of paper

  feng shui an ancient Chinese system for harmonizing the flow of energy in a room, or building, or other space or structure; literally “wind-water”

  feng zheng kite

  Han Lin being a scholar of the Han Lin Academy was very prestigious

  Han Ren of Han origin

  hua painting

  Jin Shi Imperial Examination, Advanced Scholar Degree

  kou-tou to kowtow: to show respect by bowing low and touching one’s head to the ground

  li strength

  li a unit of measurement of approximately one third of a mile

  niao bird

  qi energy

  qin a zither consisting of a wood frame and seven strings of twisted silk

  qing xiao xin please be careful

  qing, qing please, please

  ren man

  san bao literally “three treasures”: three male organs consisting of penis and two testicles

  san jue three perfections: painting, calligraphy, poetry

  sheng xiao cycles

  shi poetry

  Shi Er Sheng Xiao Twelve Animals of the

  Chinese Zodiac: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster
, dog and pig

  Shou jin slender gold calligraphy

  shu writing; also means “book”

  Shu fa the art of calligraphy

  suan pan abacus: one of the earliest devices for counting and doing calculations

  tai chi a Chinese martial art practiced to promote good health

  Tan Heaven

  Tan Win Language of Heaven (the study of astronomy)

  Tan Xia Land under Heaven

  tong bi copper coins

  tu zhang chop, stamp, seal or symbol

  wai ren an outsider; someone who doesn’t belong

  wei qi go, a game of strategy for two players, played with “stones” on a board covered with gridlines; the aim is to control as much of the board as possible

  wen fang si bao Four Treasures of the Scholar: ink-stick (mo), ink-stone (yan), brush (bi) and paper (zhi)

  Wu Xing Five Elements

  xin heart

  Ya Yue Proper Music

  yamen government office

  Yin—Yang essential ‘forces’ or underlying principles in life that are opposites yet balanced, separate yet interdependent

  Yin Yue Improper and Licentious Music

  zhang a unit of measurement of almost eleven feet; ten chi make one zhang

  Author’s Note

  This book is a fantasy based on the ancient Chinese painting titled Along the River at Qing Ming. Nicknamed China’s Mona Lisa by Chinese-art lovers because of its fame, it was painted in the twelfth century by a court artist named Zhang Ze Duan. During the subsequent dynasties, it has been in the private collection of many Chinese emperors. More than twenty copies were made by various artists.

  Pu Yi, the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, abdicated his throne in 1912. Nevertheless, he lived in the Forbidden Palace until 1924. When he finally left under duress, he took Along the River at Qing Ming with him. In 1932, he went to Manchuria and was installed by the Japanese as the puppet Emperor of Manchukuo (Manchuria) in 1934.

  In 1945, the Japanese lost the Second World War and Pu Yi fled from Manchuria. He was captured by the Russians, who put him in jail and placed his painting in a vault at the Bank of China.

  In 1950, the Russians returned Pu Yi to Communist China for trial as a war criminal. Meanwhile, his painting was transferred to the Palace Museum in Beijing, where it remains to this day. Mao Ze-dong pardoned Pu Yi in 1959. He worked as a gardener in the Beijing Botanical Gardens after his release from prison, and died eight years later during the Cultural Revolution.

  This book is based on the fictional character CC (initials for Chinese Cinderella). CC must leave the boat used in an espionage mission to buy food in the river town of Feng Jie. Pursued by a strange woman dressed in black, she escapes by climbing up a drainpipe but then falls from the roof. She is taken to a hospital. On awakening from a coma, CC is treated for her neurological symptoms. While under hypnosis, she recalls the life she led eight hundred years ago as a young girl in Bian Liang (now called Kaifeng), the capital of China during the Northern Song Dynasty.

  Two other paintings are mentioned in this book: Auspicious Dragon Rock and Listening to Zither Music, both also housed at the Palace Museum in Beijing. They are attributed to Emperor Huizong, whose signature, written in cipher (First Man of All under Heaven—Tian Xia Yi Ren , and seal mark can be seen to the left of the two paintings.

  My research was carried out at the library of the University of California, Irvine. Although CC, Zhang Mei Lan and Ah Zhao are all fictional characters, the paintings are real. So are the supporting cast of individuals—such as Tong Guan, the eunuch general, and Cai Jing, the Prime Minister—as well as the book’s historical background.

  The following two books were enormously helpful: Emperor Huizong and Late Northern Song China by Patricia Ebrey and Maggie Bickford and Palace Women in the Northern Sung by Priscilla Ching Chung.

  About the Author

  Adeline Yen Mah was born in Tianjin, China, and trained to be a doctor in London. She has had a distinguished career in medicine in the United States for many years. Her memoir for adults, Falling Leaves, was a worldwide bestseller and was translated into eighteen languages. Chinese Cinderella is her memoir for young adults. Adeline divides her time between Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Visit her at AdelineYenMah.com.

 

 

 


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