Wang Hsien
T’ang of Africa
Wang Hui So
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un and subsequently T’ang
Wang Lieh Tsu
second son of Wang Hsien
Wang Lung
eldest son of Wang Hui So
Wang Ta-hung
third son of Wang Hsien
Wang Yu-lai
‘cadre’; servant of the Ministry, “The Thousand Eyes”, instructed to report back on Jiang Lei
Webber, Sam
youth from Corfe
Wei
a judge
Wei Shao
Chancellor to Tsao Ch’un
Weis, Anton
banker and Dispersionist
Wen
captain in Security on Mars
Wen P’ing
close acquaintance and body servant of Tsa Ch’un; a man of great power
Williams, Charles
husband of Margaret and father of Kate. Retired head of a stockbroking company
Williams, Kate
fiancé of Jake Reed and daughter of Charles and Margaret
Williams, Margaret
wife of Charles and mother of Kate
Wilson, Dougie
farmer from Kimmeridge
Winter, Alison
ex-fiancé of Jake Reed; head of Evaluation at GenSyn and mother of Jake Winter
Winter, Jake
only son of Alison
Wolf
elite guard on The Domain
Wu Chi
AI (Artificial Intelligence) for Tobias Lahm
Wu Hsien
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un and, subsequently, T’ang
Wyatt, Edmund
Company head, Dispersionist and (unknown to him) father of Kim Ward
Yang Hong Yu
Legal Advocate
Yang Kuei Fei
the famous concubine of T’ang emperor Ming Huang
Yates, Andrew Isiah
Prime Minister of the UK in 2043
Ying Chai
assistant to Sun Li Hua, brother to Ying Fu
Ying Fu
assistant to Sun Li Hua, brother to Ying Chai
Yo Jou Hsi
a judge
Young, Neil
Canadian singer-songwriter
Yu Ch’o
family retainer to Wang Hui So
GLOSSARY OF MANDARIN TERMS
It is not intended to belabour the reader with a whole mass of arcane Han expressions here. Some – usually the more specific – are explained in context. However, as a number of Mandarin terms are used naturally in the text, I’ve thought it best to provide a brief explanation of those terms.
aiya!
a common expression of surprise or dismay
amah
a domestic maidservant
Amo Li Jia
the Chinese gave this name to North America when they first arrived in the 1840s. Its literal meaning is ‘The Land Without Ghosts’
an
a saddle. This has the same sound as the word for peace, and thus is associated in the Chinese mind with peace
catty
the colloquial term for a unit of measure formally called a jin. One catty – as used here – equals roughly 1.1. pounds (avoirdupois), or (exactly) 500 gm. Before 1949 and the standardization of Chinese measures to a metric standard, this measure varied district by district, but was generally regarded as equalling about 1.33 pounds (avoirdupois)
ch’a
tea; it might be noted that ch’a shu, the Chinese art of tea, is an ancient forebear of the Japanese tea ceremony chanoyu. Hsiang p’ien are flower teas, Ch’ing ch’a are green, unfermented teas
ch’a hao t’ai
literally, a ‘directory’
ch’a shu
the art of tea, adopted later by the Japanese in their tea ceremony. The ch’a god is Lu Yu and his image can be seen on banners outside teahouses throughout Chung Kuo
chan shih
a ‘fighter’, here denoting a tong soldier
chang
ten ch’i, thus about 12 feet (Western)
Chang-e
the goddess of the Moon, and younger sister of the Spirit of the Waters. The moon represents the very essence of the female principal, Yin, in opposition to the Sun, which is Yang. Legend has it that Chang-e stole the elixir of immortality from her husband, the great archer Shen I, then fled to the Moon for safety, where she was transformed into a toad, which, so it is said, can still be seen against the whiteness of the moon’s surface
chang shan
literally ‘long dress’, which fastens to the right. Worn by both sexes. The woman’s version is a fitted, calf-length dress similar to the chi pao. A south China fashion, it is also known as a cheung sam
chao tai hui
an ‘entertainment’, usually, within Chung Kuo, of an expensive and sophisticated kind
chen yen
true words; the Chinese equivalent of a mantra
ch’eng
The word means both ‘City’ and ‘Wall’
Ch’eng Ou Chou
City Europe
Ch’eng Hsiang
‘Chancellor’, a post first established in the Ch’in court more than two thousand years ago
ch’i
a Chinese ‘foot’; approximately 14.4 inches
ch’i
‘inner strength’; one of the two fundamental ‘entities’ from which everything is composed. Li is the ‘form’ or ‘law’, or (to cite Joseph Needham) the ‘principal of organization’ behind things, whereas ch’i is the ‘matter-energy’ or ‘spirit’ within material things, equating loosely to the Pneuma of the Greeks and the prana of the ancient Hindus. As the sage Chu Hsi (AD 1130–1200) said, ‘The li is the Tao that pertains to “what is above shapes” and is the source from which all things are produced. The ch’i is the material [literally instrument] that pertains to “what is within shapes”, and is the means whereby things are produced… Throughout the universe there is no ch’i without li. Or li without ch’i.’
chi ch’i
common workers, but used here mainly to denote the ant-like employees of the Ministry of Distribution
Chia Ch’eng
Honorary Assistant to the Royal Household
chi’an
chiao tzu
a traditional North Chinese meal of meat-filled dumplings eaten with a hot spicy sauce
Chieh Hsia
term meaning ‘Your Majesty’, derived from the expression ‘Below the Steps’. It was the formal way of addressing the Emperor, through his Ministers, who stood ‘below the steps’
chi pao
literally ‘banner gown’, a one-piece gown of Manchu origin, usually sleeveless, worn by women
chih chu
a spider
ch’in
a long (120 cm), narrow, lacquered zither with a smooth top surface and sound holes beneath, seven silk strings and thirteen studs marking the harmonic positions on the strings. Early examples have been unearthed from fifth century BC tombs, but it probably evolved in the fourteenth or thirteenth century BC. It is the most honoured of Chinese instruments and has a lovely mellow tone
Chin P’ing Mei
The Golden Lotus, an erotic novel, written by an unknown scholar – possibly anonymously by the writer Wang Shih-chen – at the beginning of the seventeenth century as a continuation of the Shui Hui Chuan, or ‘Warriors of the Marsh’, expanding chapters 23 to 25 of the Shan Hui, which relate the story of how Wu Sung became a bandit. Extending the story beyond this point, The Golden Lotus has been accused of being China’s great licentious (even, perhaps, pornographic) novel. But as C.P. Fitzgerald says, ‘If this book is indecent in parts, it is only because, telling a story of domestic life, it leaves out nothing.’ It is available in a three-volume English-language translation
ch’ing
pure
ching
literally ‘mirror’, here used also to denote a perfect GenSyn copy of a man. Under the Edict of Technological Control, these are limited to copies of the ruling T’ang and their closest relatives. However, mirrors were also popularly believed to have certain strange properties, one of which was to make spirits visible. Buddhist priests used special ‘magic mirrors’ to show believers the form into which they would be reborn. Moreover, if a man looks into one of these mirrors and fails to recognize his own face, it is a sign that his own death is not far off. [See also hu hsin chung.]
ch’ing ch’a
green, unfermented teas
Ch’ing Ming
the Festival of Brightness and Purity, when the graves are swept and offerings made to the deceased. Also known as the Festival of Tombs, it occurs at the end of the second moon and is used for the purpose of celebrating the spring, a time for rekindling the cooking fires after a three-day period in which the fires were extinguished and only cold food eaten
Chou
literally, ‘State’, but here used as the name of a card game based on the politics of Chung Kuo
chow mein
this, like chop suey, is neither a Chinese nor a Western dish, but a special meal created by the Chinese in North America for the Western palate. A transliteration of chao mian (fried noodles), it is a distant relation of the liang mian huang served in Suchow
ch’u
the west
chun hua
literally, ‘Spring Pictures’. These are, in fact, pornographic ‘pillow books’, meant for the instruction of newly-weds
ch’un tzu
an ancient Chinese term from the Warring States period, describing a certain class of noblemen, controlled by a code of chivalry and morality known as the li, or rites. Here the term is roughly, and sometimes ironically, translated as ‘gentlemen’. The ch’un tzu is as much an ideal state of behaviour – as specified by Confucius in the Analects – as an actual class in Chung Kuo, though a degree of financial independence and a high standard of education are assumed a prerequisite
chung
a lidded ceramic serving bowl for ch’a
chung hsin
loyalty
E hsing hsun huan
a saying: ‘Bad nature follows a cycle’
er
two
erh tzu
son
erhu
a traditional Chinese instrument
fa
punishment
fen
a unit of currency; see yuan. It has another meaning, that of a ‘minute’ of clock time, but that usage is avoided here to prevent any confusion
feng yu
a ‘phoenix chair’, canopied and decorated with silver birds. Coloured scarlet and gold, this is the traditional carriage for a bride as she is carried to her wedding ceremony
fu jen
‘Madam’, used here as opposed to t’ai t’ai, ‘Mrs’
fu sang
Han
term used by the Chinese to describe their own race, the ‘black-haired people’, dating back to the Han dynasty (210 BC–AD 220). It is estimated that some ninety-four per cent of modern China’s population are Han racially
Hei
literally ‘black’. The Chinese pictogram for this represents a man wearing war paint and tattoos. Here it refers specifically to the genetically manufactured half-men, made by GenSyn and used as riot police to quell uprisings in the lower levels of the City
ho yeh
Nelumbo Nucifera, or lotus, the seeds of which are used in Chinese medicine to cure insomnia
Hoi Po
the corrupt officials who dealt with the European traders in the nineteenth century, more commonly known as ‘hoppos’
Hsia
a crab
hsiang p’en
flower ch’a
hsiao
filial piety. The character for hsiao is comprised of two parts, the upper part meaning ‘old’, the lower meaning ‘son’ or ‘child’. This dutiful submission of the young to the old is at the heart of Confucianism and Chinese culture generally
Hsiao chieh
‘Miss’, or an unmarried woman. An alternative to nu shi
hsiao jen
‘little man/men’. In the Analects, Book XIV, Confucius writes, ‘The gentleman gets through to what is up above; the small man gets through to what is down below.’ This distinction between ‘gentlemen’ (ch’un tzu) and ‘little men’ (hsiao jen), false even in Confucius’s time, is no less a matter of social perspective in Chung Kuo
hsien
historically an administrative district of variable size. Here the term is used to denote a very specific administrative area, one of ten stacks – each stack composed of thirty decks. Each deck is a hexagonal living unit of ten levels, two li, or approximately one kilometre, in diameter. A stack can be imagined as one honeycomb in the great hive that is the City. Each hsien of the city elects one Representative to sit in the House at Weimar
Hsien Ling
Chief Magistrate, in charge of a Hsien. In Chung Kuo these officials are the T’ang’s representatives and law enforcers for the individual hsien. In times of peace each hsien would also elect one Representative to sit in the House at Weimar
hsueh pai
‘snow white’, a derogatory term here for Hung Mao women
Hu pu
the T’ang’s Finance Ministry
hu hsin chung
see ching, re Buddhist magic mirrors, for which this was the name. The power of such mirrors was said to protect the owner from evil. It was also said that one might see the secrets of futurity in such a mirror. See the chapter ‘Mirrors’ in The White Mountain for further information
hu t’ieh
a butterfly. Anyone wishing to follow up on this tale of Chuang Tzu’s might look to the sage’s writings and specifically the chapter ‘Discussion on Making All Things Equal’
hua pen
literally ‘story roots’, these were précis guidebooks used by the street-corner storytellers in China for the past two thousand years. The main events of the story were written down in the hua pen for the benefit of those storytellers who had not yet mastered their art. During the Yuan or Mongol dynasty (AD 1280– 1368) these hua pen developed into plays, and, later on – during the Ming dynasty (AD 1368–1644) – into the form of popular novels, of which the Shui Hu Chuan, or ‘Outlaws of the Marsh’, remains one of the most popular. Any reader interested in following this up might purchase Pearl Buck’s translation, rendered as All Men Are Brothers and first published in 1933
Huang Ti
originally Huang Ti was the last of the ‘Three Sovereigns’ and the first of the ‘Five Emperors’ of ancient Chinese tradition. Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor, was the earliest ruler recognized by the historian Ssu-ma Ch’ien (136–85 BC) in his great historical work, the Shih Chi. Traditionally, all subsequent rulers (and would-be rulers) of China have claimed descent from the Yellow Emperor, the ‘Son of Heaven’ himself, who first brought civilization to the black-haired people. His name is now synonymous with the term ‘emperor’
hun
the higher soul or ‘spirit soul’, which, the Chinese believe, ascends to Heaven at death, joins Shang Ti, the Supreme Ancestor, and lives in his court for ever more. The hun is believed to come into existence at the moment of conception (see also p’o)
hun tun
‘the Chou believed that Heaven and Earth were once inextricably mixed together in a state of undifferentiated chaos, like a chicken’s egg. Hun Tun they called that state’ (The Broken Wheel, Chapter 37). It is also the name of a meal of tiny sack-like dumplings
Hung Lou Meng
The Dream of Red Mansions, also known as The Story of the
Stone, a lengthy novel written in the middle of the eighteenth century. Like the Chin Ping Mei, it deals with the affairs of a single Chinese family. According to experts the first eighty chapters are the work of Ts’ao Hsueh-ch’in, and the last forty belong to Kao Ou. It is, without doubt, the masterpiece of Chinese literature, and is available from Penguin in the UK in a five-volume edition
Hung Mao
literally ‘redheads’, the name the Chinese gave to the Dutch (and later English) seafarers who attempted to trade with China in the seventeenth century. Because of the piratical nature of their endeavours (which often meant plundering Chinese shipping and ports) the name continues to retain connotations of piracy
Hung Mun
the Secret Societies or, more specifically, the Triads
huo jen
literally, ‘fire men’
I Lung
the ‘First Dragon’, Senior Minister and Great Lord of the ‘Ministry’, also known as ‘The Thousand Eyes’
jou tung wu
literally ‘meat animal’: ‘It was a huge mountain of flesh, a hundred ch’i to a side and almost twenty ch’i in height. Along one side of it, like the teats of a giant pig, three dozen heads jutted from the flesh, long, eyeless snouts with shovel jaws that snuffled and gobbled in the conveyor-belt trough…’