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
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.