A
Ā [ 阿 ] – prefix used before monosyllabic names, kinship terms etc to indicate familiarity. e.g A’Ruan. (Ch. 35)
B
Baihe su ( 百合酥 ) – lily pastries (Ch. 17.1)
Ba zi ( 八字 ) – a Chinese fortune-telling method utilising the astrological concept that a person’s destiny or fate can be divined by the two sexagenary cycles characters assigned to their birth hour, day, month and year. For more information, see here and here. Most commonly used before marriage to check compatibility. (Ch. 42)
Bing shu shang shu ( 兵书尚书 ) – refers to someone who holds a high rank in the military as well as in the government. (Ch. 25.1)
Bu shi ren jian yan huo ( 不食人间烟火 ) – not eating the food of common mortals. (Ch. 46)
Bu xian bu dan ( 不咸不淡 ) – neither salty nor bland. (Ch. 47)
C
Ce fei ( 侧妃 ) – literally, a ‘side’ concubine, who can be considered the secondary wife of a prince. More here. (Ch. 43)
Chang pao ( 长袍 ) – traditional Chinese men’s long robe. (Ch. 22.1)
Ci Tang ( 祠堂 ) – The ancestral hall refers to a room where the ancestral tablets, which embody the spirits of deceased ancestors, are kept. The ancestors (or their spirits) are still considered part of ‘this world’. If not in a room, the tablets are placed on a table. There is usually an altar and incense burner nearby. Confucian philosophy calls for paying respect to one’s ancestors, an aspect of filial piety. Incense is lit before the altar daily, significant announcements are made before the ancestors, and offerings (such as favourite food and spirit money) are made bi-monthly and on special occasions (e.g. Ghost Festival). More here. (Ch. 33)
D
Da Jiejie ( 大 姐姐 ) – eldest sister. (Ch. 36)
Daren ( 大人 ) – a title of respect toward superiors; sir (Ch. 20.1)
Da Shao Ye ( 大少爷 ) – eldest son and ‘young master’ of the household. (Ch. 33)
Da xiao jie (大小姐 ) – the eldest (大) daughter of an affluent family (小姐) (Ch. 30.2)
Di ( 嫡 ) daughter – refers to legitimate daughter born from the official wife. (Ch. 19.1)
Die ( 爹 ) – informal way of saying ‘father’, like Dad in modern lingo. (Ch. 48)
E
Er Jiejie ( 二姐姐 ) – second sister. (Ch. 40)
Èrgē ( 二哥 ) – second brother. (Ch. 48)
F
Fengshui ( 风水 ) – It refers to geomancy, a Chinese belief that individuals can be harmonized with their surrounding environment using energy forces (known as qi, 气), thus bringing them better fortune. Historically, it was used to orient buildings in an auspicious manner, as in this chapter. (It’s still practised today. My friend’s brother had his bed set at an awkward angle for better fengshui.) (Ch. 33)
Fu ( 府 ) – compound, estate or mansion; usually the residence of a noble or powerful family. So Jiang fu refers to main residence, i.e., Jiang mansion. (Ch 28.2)
Fu Ping ( 浮萍 ) – Duckweed. In Chinese culture, each flower’s meaning is unique and important. However, flowers sometimes carry negative meanings as well. For instance, the flowers from poplar trees can easily be blown apart, so they represent an unfaithful spouse or lover. Likewise, duckweed is a floating flower that has no roots, which contrasts with the Chinese moral value placed on harmony and family unity. (Ch. 33)
Fuqin ( 父亲 ) – formal way of saying ‘father’. (Ch. 48)
Fūren – Mistress of the house; Main wife. (Ch. 13.2)
G
Gexia ( 阁下 ) – Your distinguished self / your majesty / sire (Ch. 29.1)
Gong tong ( 恭桶 ) – literally, 恭 means ‘respect’, and 桶 is a pail or bucket. Interesting, therefore, that the term refers to a covered bucket for human waste. (Ch. 34)
Guanbing ( 官兵 ) – ‘guan’ means public servant, official. And ‘bing’ means soldiers or troops. (Ch. 18)
Guān yìn ( 官印 ) – The official seal of a government official, this is the most important possession a person could have, official or otherwise. It represents the power and identity of the person, a form of recognition of a person’s status. Here, Jiang Ruan is referring to how her father has used her crudely and harshly as a dead stepping stone in his path and greed for power. (Ch. 48)
Gui bin ( 贵嫔 ) – an imperial concubine, one of the middle ranks. (Ch. 43)
Gugu ( 姑姑 ) – Aunt. Refers to paternal aunts (a father’s sisters, whether younger or older), but is also a respectful term of address for ladies older than oneself. (Ch. 38)
Guniang ( 姑娘 ) – girl / young lady. (Ch. 30.2)
Guo zi lan ( 国子监 ) – Imperial Academy, the highest educational body in Imperial China. (Ch. 50)
Guqin ( 琴 ) – a long zither with seven strings, plucked with the fingers. You can hear the sound of the quqin here. (Ch 33)
Gushēng ( 鼓声 ) – sound of a drum; drumbeat (Ch. 23.1)
H
Hei Lin ( 黑麟 ) – 黑 = black, 麟 = Chinese mythical creature, also known as a Chinese unicorn. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin. (Ch 28.2)
Hei xin qian ( 黑心钱 ) – lit. ‘black heart’ money (Ch. 46)
Hua chuang ( 花窗 ) – flower window. They were a means of decorating and beautifying windows in ancient Chinese garden architecture. Such windows are both decorative and practical, and can still be seen in modern buildings today. More here. (Ch. 34)
Huo guo yao nu ( 祸国妖女 ) – a beautiful woman who brings disaster or misfortune to the nation. (Ch. 46)
Huang li mu xiang ( 黄梨木箱 ) – ‘huang li’ can mean pineapple or pear. In this case, ‘huang li mu’ means yellow pearwood, it’s official name in Chinese is ‘huang hua li’ or yellow flowering pear wood. ‘Xiang’ also has a number of meanings such as box, trunk or chest. The yellow flowering pear is a member of the rosewood family and is classified as Dalbergia odorifera. More recently, the word ‘huang’ or yellow was added in the early 20th century due to the old wood surfaces mellowing into a yellowish tone due to long exposure to light. These finest quality yellow pearwood chests have a translucent, shimmering surface with abstract aesthetically pleasing patterns. (Ch. 27)
J
Jiejie ( 姐姐 ) – Elder sister; A girl friend who is almost a sister to you. (Ch. 21.1)
Jiemei ( 姐妹 ) – sisters / siblings. (Ch. 42)
Ji jiu ( 祭酒 ) – the title of an important government official; research suggests this was someone who would supervise the highest educational body. (Ch. 50)
Jing tang mu ( 惊堂木 ) – It has many different appellations in Chinese, but essentially, it is used in the same way as a gavel. However, the Chinese wooden gavel is crafted into a rectangular thick block. (Ch. 22.1)
Jun wang fei ( 郡王妃 ) – probably refers to the wife of the Prince of the Second Rank. 郡王 is an ancient Chinese title first seen in the Western Jin Dynasty. It is one of the titles given to direct male-line descendants of the Emperor, and is usually translated as ‘Prince of the Second Rank’, second only to the ‘Prince of the First Rank’ or ‘Prince of the Blood’. See Noble ranks of Qing Dynasty and more.
K
Kang zhuang da dao ( 康庄大道 ) – lit. broad and open road; fig. bright future prospects. (Ch. 47)
Ke kao ( 科考 ) – the imperial examinations, a civil service examination system in Imperial China to select candidates for the state bureaucracy. More info here. The origins of the open examination system are in the early Han dynasty when wise rulers figured out that the way to avoid officials building power bases from their family and friends was to appoint on basis of talent and intellectual merit and not on wealth or family ancestry. (Ch. 50)
Ke qin ( 克亲 ) – the term refers to someone who, in terms of marriage compatibility, is lacking, almost a jinx. She would have to do something deemed auspicious in order to ‘balance’ the marriage. On the other hand, there is also the possibility that such a person will increase her opportunities and fortunes through marriage. The former perspective is more likely. (Ch. 42)
L
Laoye ( 老爷 ) – (respectful) lord / master. (Ch. 27)
Li ( 里 ) – ancient measure of length, approximately 500m. (Ch 28.2)
Luo zi dai ( 螺子黛 ) – in a sense, ancient ‘mascara/ eyeliner’ devised from snail shells. The finished product (a pressed powder), when used on eyebrows, is black, with a hint of blue. Refer here. (Ch. 42)
M
Meiren ( 美人 ) – Beautiful Lady; A rank (Ch. 1)
Ming guan ( 明官 ) – we’re assuming this was a 朝廷明官 (chaoting mingguan), a high ranking official appointed by the Emperor who could escalate reports without being constrained by legal or administrative procedures. Information gleaned from ‘Relationships between the Chinese Central Authorities and Regional Governments of Hong Kong and Macao: A Legal Perspective’ by Zhenmin Wang. (Ch. 46)
Momo ( 嬷嬷 ) – general term for elderly lady, specifically used for wet nurses. (Ch. 32)
N
Nainiang ( 奶娘 ) – wet nurse (Ch. 34)
Niang ( 娘 ) – mother / young lady. (Ch. 27)
Nu cai ( 奴才 ) – slave or derogatively, flunkey. (Ch. 20.2)
Nufan ( 女犯 ) – female offender in olden times in imperial China. Here it depicts Jiang Ruan humbling herself in her speech in front of the magistrate. (Ch. 22.1)
P
Pipa jin ( 琵琶襟) – refers to an ancient Chinese clothing style for ladies (used for example in waistcoats and dresses) where the left ‘flap’ of cloth overlaps the right to a large degree (but without reaching to under the armpit), and does not go all the way to the hemline of garment. There is a portion at the bottom of the garment where the two ‘halves’ meet at the centre. The buttons follow the line of the overlapping flap to the centre. Sources: 1 & 2 Here, some pictures will help:
Q
Qiè shēn ( 妾身 ) refers to the deprecatory self-reference for concubine women and often means I, myself. This is phrased as such to emphasize referring back to oneself. (Ch 49)
R
Ran Mei Zhi Ji ( 燃眉之急 ) – lit. the fire that burns one’s eyebrows (Ch 26.2)
S
San Jiao Yan ( 三角眼 ) – lit. triangular eyes. People with triangular eyes are said to be shrewd, deep thinkers, difficult to get along with, and highly suspicious in nature. They also experience very strong emotions e.g. if they fall in love, they remain wholeheartedly dedicated to that person. More here. (Ch. 33)
Shi liang ( 侍郎 ) – an ancient official title, Assistant Minister. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the vice-president of one of the Six Boards. (Ch. 38)
Shu ( 庶 ) – children born of a concubine, as opposed to those born from the official wife (di). (Ch. 31)
Si shu ( 四书 ) – lit., Four Books. Namely: the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Analects of Confucius, and Mencius. (Ch. 50)
Shu shu ( 书数 ) or shu suan (书算 ) – probably the ‘Ten Computational Canons’, a collection of ten Chinese mathematical works compiled by early Tang dynasty mathematician Li Chunfeng (602–670), as the official mathematical texts for imperial examinations in mathematics. More info here. (Ch. 50)
T
Tou er ( 头儿 ) – Leader ; Chief (Ch. 20.1)
Tuan nian fan ( 团年饭 ) – the night before the new year (according to the Chinese i.e. lunar calendar), family members gather to feast together. This is traditionally known as the ‘reunion’ dinner, as family members from far and near make it a point to come home for the dinner (FYI, daughters who are married are considered a part of their husbands’ families). There is a lot of food at the reunion dinner, drool over some pictures and recipes here. (Ch. 47)
W
Wang ( 王贵家 ) – When you’re a servant, you’re referred to as belonging to someone’s family or clan since you’re considered their property. Hence, this is more of Wang’s family maid, or Wang’s family servant. (Ch. 1)
Wen fang si bao ( 文房四宝 ) – lit. the four treasures of the study i.e. writing brush, ink stick, ink slab, and paper. These are the four items necessary for calligraphy, which is also a display of scholarship – as you can imagine, only the upper classes had the money and means to study and practice calligraphy. (Ch. 38)
Wu jing ( 五经 ) – the Five Classics of Confucianism. Namely: the Book of Songs, the Book of History, the Classic of Rites, the Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals. (Ch. 50)
X
Xiao di ( 小弟 ) – younger brother; also used to address males younger than oneself. (Ch. 50)
Xiao Jie ( 小姐 ) – young lady; miss (Ch. 17.1)
Xiao Mei ( 小妹 ) – little sister; literal meaning ‘little girl’. Mei Mei is the word for little sister. Chinese people often use shortened nicknames so, Xiao Mei Mei refers to a little sister, and shortened, it would be “Xiao Mei.” (Ch. 15)
Xìng Yan ( 杏眼 ) – This refers to almond eyes which is used to depict large, round eyes that are considered beautiful. (Ch. 27)
Xiong ( 兄 ) – elder brother; also used to address males older than or close in age to oneself within the same generation. (Ch. 50)
Xiuluo chang ( 修罗场 ) – lit. Shura Field. An asura in Buddhism is a demigod. A shura field refers to the scene where asura fight to the death, and therefore is used to denote a battlefield with fierce fighting. See 1 and 2. (Ch. 30.1)
Xuan zhi ( 宣纸 ) – a type of paper traditionally made in Anhui province which is preferred for calligraphy/ writing. Xuan paper is renowned for being soft and fine textured, suitable for conveying the artistic expression of both Chinese calligraphy and painting. More info here. (Ch. 50)
Y
Yang zhi yu ( 羊脂玉 ) – literally, ‘mutton fat jade’, because it glistens like fat. Read more. (Ch. 42)
Ya Tou (丫头) – girl ; servant girl (used deprecatingly, but sometimes also as a term of endearment) (Ch. 14.2)
Ye xiang ( 夜香 ) – lit., night fragrance. Definitely a euphemism, as it refers to human excrement. There being no flushing toilets at that time, human waste was deposited in a bucket, and it was a lowly-ranked servant’s task to dispose of the contents. I’ve used the term ‘night soil’ as that’s how it’s referred to in my country; up until the late 1960s ‘night soil cars’ (with 36 ‘compartments’) were still in use, with ‘night soil collectors’ going around the different districts to pick up buckets of ‘night soil’ in the outhouses and replacing them with empty buckets. (Ch. 34)
Yiniang ( 姨娘 ) – maternal aunt; old term for father’s concubines. (Ch. 32)
Yin Piao ( 银票 ) – Used in olden times, banknotes with a value in silver
(Source: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/銀票) (Ch. 28.1)
Yue xia mei ren ( 月下美人 ) – It refers to the queen of the night. (Ch. 12.1)
Z
Zhuàng yuán ( 状元 ) & Tàn huā ( 探花 ) – The first phrase ‘zhuàng yuán’ refers to the top scorer of the imperial examinations which is a triennial court exam, also commonly known as the metropolitan exam. These scholars that take the first place ‘top thesis author’ 状元 (zhuàng yuán), the second place ‘eyes positioned alongside’ 榜眼 (bǎng yǎn), and the third place ‘flower snatcher’ 探花 (tàn huā) named positions in the examinations are addressed as 進士及第, distinguished advanced scholars (jìn shì jí dì). (Ch 49)
Zhu bu ( 主薄 ) – Master of Records, an ancient title for the government official who was in charge of the books, seals, official court documents etc, something like a secretary to the Emperor. Depending on the dynasty, he would have a fair amount of power. (Ch. 50)
Zhuzi ( 主子 ) – Master (term used by servant) / Your Majesty (Ch. 29.2)
Zumu [ 祖母 ] : father’s mother / paternal grandmother. (Ch. 35)
Idioms and References :
Da zhi ruo yu (大智若愚) – Great intelligence may appear to be stupidity is an idiom which basically means that who knows the most, speaks the least. Therefore, Lin Zi Xiang is showing her stupidity by highlighting what should not have been said. (Ch. 44)
Guo se tian xiang ( 国色天香 ) – an idiom, lit. meaning national grace, divine fragrance; an outstanding beauty. (Ch. 46)
Hong fen ku lou ( 红粉骷髅 ) – ‘hong fen’ means rouge and powder, figuratively, it refers to women. ‘Ku lou’ means human skeleton/skull. This is an ancient Chinese phrase with two meanings: 1. A woman with a beautiful appearance and a terrifyingly venomous heart, 2. A woman who uses her beauty to charm men and feeds off all their physical, mental and material means until he dies. In this context, ‘black widow’ spider refers to the second meaning. (Ch. 20.1)
Hu mei zi ( 狐媚子 ) – literally, a fox i.e. a woman who seduces by means of her attractive looks. (Ch. 43)
Lai long qu mai ( 来龙去脉 ) – fig. the rise and fall of the terrain, the whole sequence of events. (Ch. 30.2)
Ling long shai zi an hong dou, ru gu xiang si zhi bu zhi? ( 玲珑骰子安红豆，入骨相思知不知？) – It’s from a poem by Tang dynasty poet 温庭筠 (Wen Tingjun). The line is actually a question – Do you know how much I long for you?
骰子 = dice, usually made of ivory, where two sides are hollowed out and inlaid (安) with red beans (红豆), which are symbols of love-sickness. 玲珑 is an onomatopoeia, the sound of dice being thrown. Whichever way the dice lands, the red beans will be visible. 相思 = longing or yearning. More here. (Ch. 33)
Mei ren pei zi ( 美人胚子 ) – This adjective often refers to women or girls that are equipped with the potential to become beauties. Often, this phrase refers to the aesthetic appeal and harmony/symmetry with all of a woman’s body parts such as her figure, physiognomy (face shape) and their five facial features (nose, eyes, lips, tongue and ears). (Ch. 41)
Ming sang huang quan ( 命丧黄泉 ) – 黄泉 is literally to return to ‘Yellow Springs’, the underworld of Chinese mythology, akin to Hades/ Hell. Fig. it means to die / to meet one’s end. (Ch. 33)
Nie zhe qi chun ( 捏着七寸 ) – lit. to squeeze/ hold 7 inches. This arises from the idiomatic advice to squeeze a snake’s body 7 inches away from its head (打蛇打七寸), which is where its most vital part is. Opinions differ on whether this is the heart or abdomen. (Ch. 47)
Qing Bo ( 轻薄 ) – This phrase has several meanings such as being teased; of an item being light in weight/thin and scorned or disrespected. In this case, it refers to being disgraced as women were not allowed to be without a chaperone in ancient Chinese history. They also had to remain pure and untouched by any male. To be even seen by a man without a chaperone was considered a scandalous matter and made a lady impure and undesirable for marriage as they would be labelled as ‘promiscuous’. (Ch. 29.1)
Qi qiao ling long xin ( 七窍玲珑心 ) – literally, a heart with seven holes. Figuratively, a person with such a heart is said to be able to communicate with and understand all creatures/ people, and is highly talented e.g. able to adapt quickly to situations, think innovatively, see what others can’t. 七窍 = the seven ‘holes’ in the head i.e. 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth; 玲珑 = clever, nimble. An example of this phrase in Chinese literature is found in 封神榜 (Feng Shen Bang), English title ‘Investiture of the Gods’. Have a look at the reference here. (Ch. 39)
Weng zhong zhuo bie ( 瓮中捉鳖 ) – 瓮中 = jar, 捉 = to catch; 鳖 = turtle; lit. to catch a turtle in a jar; fig. to go after an easy prey. (Ch 28.2)
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