HISTORICAL NOTE
There’s Something Wrong with the Chief takes place during the fictional Qi dynasty, which is heavily inspired by the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
CHARACTERS
MAIN CHARACTERS
XIE JINGLAN 谢惊澜: The third young master of the Xie family. His name means “startling waves.” He gains the blade Jingtie (静铁, “Silent Iron”).
XIAHOU LIAN 夏侯潋: A child assassin from Qiye Garden. His name means “rippling.”
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
QIYE GARDEN
XIAHOU PEI 夏侯霈: The Garden’s strongest assassin. The Garuda of the Eight Legions. Xiahou Lian’s mother. Armed with Hengbo (横波, “Great Waves”).
QIU YE 秋叶: A Garden assassin. The Garden’s master of disguise. The Kinnara of the Eight Legions. Armed with Qiushui (秋水, “Autumn Water”).
DUAN JIU 段九: An assassin close to Xiahou Lian (who calls him “Uncle Duan”).
SHIXIN BUDDHA 弑心佛陀: The old abbot in charge of the Garden.
XIE HOUSEHOLD
XIE BINGFENG 谢秉风: The patriarch of the Xie family. An official of middling rank.
LADY XIAO 萧氏: The matriarch of the Xie family. Xie Jinglan’s stepmother.
XIE JINGTAO 谢惊涛: The first young master of the Xie family. Lady Xiao’s son. Bullies Xie Jinglan frequently.
AUNT LAN 兰姑姑: An elderly maid who serves Xie Jinglan.
LIANXIANG 莲香: A young maid who serves Xie Jinglan.
MATRON LIU 刘嬷嬷: The head matron of the Xie family. Answers to Lady Xiao.
OTHERS
DAI SHENGYAN 戴圣言: An elderly Confucian scholar famed for wisdom and integrity.
CONSORT GAO 高妃: A mad consort in the Fourth Qianxi Courtyard.
SITU JIN 司徒谨: A member of the army. Practices the Blizzard Saber style.
ZHU MINGYUE 朱明月: Situ Jin’s neighbor. Her father owns a medical clinic.
WEI DE 魏德: Leader of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Chief of the Eastern Depot. Extremely powerful at court.
NAME GUIDE
NAMES, HONORIFICS, AND TITLES
Diminutives, Nicknames, and Name Tags
A-: Friendly diminutive. Always a prefix. Usually for monosyllabic names, or one syllable out of a disyllabic name.
DA-: A prefix meaning “big” or “elder,” which can be added before titles for elders, like “dage” or “dajie,” or before a name.
-ER: “Child.” Affectionate suffix.
LAO-: “Old.” Friendly prefix.
-GE: “Older brother.” Affectionate suffix for any older boy or man.
-JIE: “Older sister.” Affectionate suffix for any older girl or woman.
-DI: “Younger brother.” Affectionate suffix for a younger boy.
-MEI: “Younger sister.” Affectionate suffix for a younger girl.
SAN-: “Third.” Prefix.
XIAO-: A prefix meaning “little” or “younger,” which can be added before names or titles for juniors like “xiaodi.” Often used in an affectionate and familiar context.
Courtesy Addresses
GONGGONG: Polite address for a eunuch serving in the palace.
SHAOYE: “Young master.” Polite address for young men.
XIAOJIE: “Young lady.” Polite address for young women.
XIANSHENG: Polite address for men. Originally only for those who possessed great learning or who had contributed significantly to society.
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GLOSSARY
CONCUBINES: In Imperial China, wealthy men commonly took concubines in addition to a wife. The concubines were expected to live with the man and bear him children. In general, more concubines correlated to higher social status. Thus, a wealthy merchant might have two or three concubines, while an emperor might have dozens or even a hundred.
DIVINATION: In Imperial China, fortune-telling was an art practiced by the highly learned. Divination had many separate branches. One important task for fortune tellers was divining the best name for a newborn based on that child’s birth time.
EUNUCHS, THE EASTERN DEPOT, AND THE EMBROIDERED UNIFORM GUARD: Relationships between emperors and their literati officials were often tense. Many emperors raised trusted eunuchs over the imperial ministers, giving the eunuch faction enormous power.
The Eastern Depot, led by eunuchs, was established under those circumstances. It spied on officials, rooting out dissenters. Later, it gained the authority to punish such dissenters through the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the dynasty’s secret police. The literati decried the Eastern Depot for their perceived gross abuses of power. The organization remains infamous.
THE IMPERIAL EXAMINATIONS: A series of exams designed to select the brightest from the populace, positioning them to serve in the court as officials. The exams comprised three stages: entry, provincial, and finally palace exams. They focused heavily on Confucian doctrine and literature, and passing was a great honor. Each exam’s top scorer, or “principal graduate,” returned home showered in accolades. Post-Tang Chinese society forbade an official to pass his position directly to his son. Therefore, the only way for families to remain part of the aristocracy was through the imperial examinations. The exams themselves were open to all, making them the sole means by which those from humble backgrounds could climb the social ladder.
THE JIANGHU: An underground society of martial artists, monks, rogues, artisans, and merchants who settle disputes between themselves using their own moral codes.
MEMORIALS: Documents written by officials to the emperor. A memorial followed a strict format determined by the problem it was written to address.
THE NINE-RANK SYSTEM: During certain dynasties, officials were divided into ranks denoting their status within the court. First-rank officials were highest; ninth-rank officials were lowest.
PROSTITUTES AND COURTESANS: In Imperial China, many of these women doubled as entertainers and were able to sing and dance. Those who won the favor of rich and powerful men could leave their brothel through marriage.