CHARACTERS
MAIN CHARACTERS
JIANG SUIZHOU 江随舟 (“WITH THE BOAT”): The subject of transmigration. Became the unpopular Prince of Jing, who was forced to take Huo Wujiu as his concubine.
HUO WUJIU 霍无咎 (“FAULTLESS”): The Marquis of Dingbei. A captured and maimed general of the Liang dynasty, forced to marry Jiang Suizhou.
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PRINCE OF JING’S RESIDENCE
MENG QIANSHAN 孟潜山: Head eunuch of the residence.
GU CHANGYUN 顾长筠: One of the Prince of Jing’s concubines.
XU DU 徐渡: Another of the Prince of Jing’s concubines.
SUN YUAN 孙远: A young servant in the residence.
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JING IMPERIAL COURT
JIANG SHUNHENG 江舜恒: Emperor You of Jing, the last emperor of the Southern Jing dynasty. The Prince of Jing’s brother.
PANG SHAO 庞绍: An upper-first rank official and the maternal uncle of Jiang Shunheng.
JI YOU 季攸: The Minister of Rites and the Prince of Jing’s superior.
JI HONGCHENG 纪泓承: A military official. Lou Yue is his patron.
LOU YUE 娄钺: A famous general of Southern Jing. Was close friends with Huo Wujiu’s father.
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NAMES, HONORIFICS, AND TITLES
FAMILY
GEGE: A word meaning “elder brother.” It can also be used to address an unrelated male peer.
HUANGXIONG: A word meaning “imperial brother.” A form of address for older male relatives of a similar age in the imperial family, usually meant for the emperor’s elder brothers.
WUDI: A word meaning “fifth younger brother.” Literally refers to the order in which the addressee was born in the family.
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PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
Mandarin Chinese is the official state language of mainland China, and pinyin is the official system of romanization in which it is written. As Mandarin is a tonal language, pinyin uses diacritical marks (e.g., ā, á, aˇ, à) to indicate these tonal inflections. Most words use one of four tones, though some are a neutral tone. Furthermore, regional variance can change the way native Chinese speakers pronounce the same word. For those reasons and more, please consider the guide below a simplified introduction to pronunciation of select character names from After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine.
More resources are available at sevenseasdanmei.com
NOTE ON SPELLING:
Romanized Mandarin Chinese words with identical spelling in pinyin—and even pronunciation—may well have different meanings. These words are more easily differentiated in written Chinese, which uses logographic characters.
Jiāng Suízhōu
Jiāng: Ji as in jeep, āng as in sung
Suí as in sway
Zhōu: Zh as in suds, ou as in oat
Huò Wújiù
Huò: H as in hood, uò as in warm
Wú as in ooh
Jiù: J as in jeep, iù as in yo-yo
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GENERAL CONSONANTS
Some Mandarin Chinese consonants sound very similar, such as z/c/s and zh/ch/sh. Audio samples will provide the best opportunity to learn the difference between them.
X: somewhere between the sh in sheep and s in silk
Q: a very aspirated ch as in charm
C: ts as in pants
Z: z as in zoom
S: s as in silk
Ch: ch as in charm
Zh: dg as in dodge
Sh: sh as in shave
G: hard g as in graphic
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GENERAL VOWELS
The pronunciation of a vowel may depend on its preceding consonant. For example, the “i” in “shi” is distinct from the “i” in “di.” Vowel pronunciation may also change depending on where the vowel appears in a word, for example the “i” in “shi” versus the “i” in “ting.” Finally, compound vowels are often—though not always—pronounced as conjoined but separate vowels. You’ll find a few of the trickier compounds below.
IU: as in ewe
Ie: ye as in yes
UO: war as in warm