Footnotes
Chapter 41
[1] A verse from “Spring Evening Banquet with My Brothers at the Peach Garden” by Tang dynasty poet Li Bai.
Chapter 44
[2] The junior generational peer of one’s master within a school of martial arts or tutelage.
[3] An address for one’s teacher or master.
Chapter 47
[4] A title for the head of a household.
Chapter 48
[5] A title for one’s older female peer who shares the same master.
[6] The opening of The Analects by Confucius, Book 1.
[7] The opening of Great Learning, attributed to Zengzi.
[8] First two lines of “Beauty Yu,” a poem written by Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang dynasty, reminiscing on the fall of his kingdom.
[9] Famous lines from “Bring in the Wine” by renowned Tang dynasty poet Li Bai.
[10] The opening lines of the untitled first poem in the anonymous collection Nineteen Old Poems, wherein a woman laments her separation from her husband.
[11] An essay prompt format for exams that used partial quotes, or that combined parts of two or more passages, in order to make the exam more difficult.
Chapter 50
[12] Excerpt from Mengzi, in the first chapter on Gongsun Chou.
Chapter 51
[13] An encyclopedia of plants, animals, and minerals believed to have medicinal properties, compiled in the Ming dynasty.
Chapter 52
[14] Calligraphy in the style of Yan Zhenqing, known for its strength and boldness, emphasizing the stability of the writing.
Chapter 58
[15] From “A Night on Jiande River” by Tang dynasty poet Meng Haoran.
Chapter 65
[16] An address for the disciple of a peer who also studied under one’s master. A peer’s disciple is similar to a niece or nephew within a sect or school.
[17] From Chapter 1 of The Book of Burial by Guo Pu, from the Eastern Jin dynasty.
Chapter 67
[18] An address for one’s elder paternal female cousin.
Chapter 70
[19] From “To the Recluse Wei Ba” by Tang dynasty poet Du Fu.
Chapter 73
[20] First two lines of “The Moon over the Mountain Pass” by Tang dynasty poet Li Bai.
Chapter 75
[21] Lines from “Hillside Sheep: Reminiscing at Tong Pass” by Yuan dynasty poet Zhang Yanghao.
Chapter 77
[22] Lines from “Spring Evening Banquet with My Brothers at the Peach Garden” by Tang dynasty poet Li Bai.