Glossary
DRAGONS: The long (龙 / “dragon”), or zhenlong (真龙 / “true dragon”), is a legendary creature that features prominently in Chinese mythology. Commonly depicted as a horned, snakelike creature with four legs, it is an auspicious symbol of the divine and historically associated with the emperor and imperial power.
According to one myth, the jiao (蛟) or jiaolong (蛟龙 / “flood dragon”), a variety of hornless aquatic dragon, can transform into a “true” dragon by cultivating and passing heavenly tribulations.
According to another, a carp can transform into a dragon if it swims upstream against the current and leaps over the falls of the Yellow River at the Dragon Gate.
The five-clawed dragon is a symbol of the emperor and for his use only.
EIGHT TRIGRAMS: Also known as bagua (八卦), the eight trigrams are a Daoist symbol consisting of eight symbols arranged in an octagon that surrounds the taijitu, or yin-yang symbol. It is the Daoist representation of all things in the universe.
FLYING STAR CHART: A tool some feng shui practitioners use for divination. It is a three-by-three grid, defining nine directional “palaces” demarcating the earth, and reflects the movements of nine stars in the heavens. The star positions allow a practitioner to assess the influence of yin and yang, natural elemental energies, and the eight trigrams on patterns of qi in a location over time.
FUXI: Emperor of the heavens, sometimes directly called Heavenly Emperor Fuxi. A figure associated with Chinese creation mythology. According to legend, Fuxi was first to identify the eight trigrams.
GU: A venom-based poison traditionally prepared by sealing several venomous creatures such as centipedes, snakes, and scorpions inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor.
JIANGSHI: The reanimated corpses of dead humans. Their limbs are locked in place due to rigor mortis, meaning they can only move directly forward, hopping with their arms outstretched in front of them.
MANDATE OF HEAVEN: The Mandate of Heaven is the approval of heaven that justifies and legitimizes the rule of the emperor, also known as the Son of Heaven, over the people. If the emperor is not a virtuous ruler and fails to fulfill his obligations, then he would lose the mandate and the right to govern. Signs of a loss of mandate include societal unrest and uprisings, foreign invasions, natural disasters, and so on.
MILK NAME: In China, babies are traditionally given their 大名 (daming / literally “big name,” figuratively “given name”) one hundred days after their birth. During those first hundred days, parents would refer to the child by their 小名 (xiaoming / “little name”) or 乳名 (ruming / “milk name”). Milk names might be childish, employing a diminutive like Xiao- or doubling a syllable, but they might also be selected to ward off harm to the child. Many parents might continue referring to their child by their milk name long after they have received their given name.
OFFICIALS: Civil and military officials were classified in nine hierarchic ranks, with rank one being the highest. Their salaries ranged according to their rank. The imperial examination was one path to becoming a court official, the other being referral by someone in a position of power, such as a noble, a eunuch, or another official.
QIMEN DUNJIA: An ancient system of divination based on astronomical observations, traditionally used for strategic planning. It includes a divination chart showing eight “gates” corresponding to Growth, Harm, Repose, Retreat, Scenery, Death, Fear, and Beginnings.
THREE IMMORTAL SOULS AND SEVEN MORTAL FORMS: Hun (魂) and po (魄) are two types of souls in Chinese philosophy and religion. Hun are immortal souls that represent the spirit and intellect, and leave the body after death. Po are corporeal souls or mortal forms that remain with the body of the deceased. Different traditions claim there are different numbers of each, but Daoism commonly features three hun and seven po.
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE: Traditional medical practices in China are commonly based around the idea that qi, or vital energy, circulates in the body through channels called meridians, similarly to how blood flows through the circulatory system. Acupuncture points, or acupoints, are special nodes, most of which lie along the meridians. Stimulating them by massage, acupuncture, or other methods is believed to affect the flow of qi and can be used for healing. The appearance of the acupuncture points can also indicate a person’s health; for example, darkness of the Yintang point between the brows portends an ill fate or even death.
YAO/YAOGUAI: Living creatures and inorganic objects that have gained higher consciousness through absorbing the energy of the natural world and years of spiritual cultivation. Yao who have attained sufficiently high levels of cultivation can assume human form.
YIN AND YANG ENERGY: Yin and yang is a concept in Chinese philosophy that describes the complementary interdependence of opposite and contrary forces. It can be applied to all forms of change and difference. Yang represents the sun, masculinity, and the living, while yin represents the shadows, femininity, and the dead, including spirits and ghosts. In fiction, imbalances between yin and yang energy may do serious harm to the body or act as the driving force for malevolent spirits seeking to replenish whichever energy they lack.
ZIWEI DOUSHU DIVINATION: Ziwei Doushu (紫微斗数 / “purple star astrology”) is a common system of astrology in Chinese culture, which predicts one’s fortune by plotting the position of certain stars at the time of one’s birth. The presence of stars in certain “palaces,” or sections of the sky, indicates either an auspicious or inauspicious destiny in different aspects of one’s life. Ziwei, also known as Polaris, the North Star, is a primary star that represents the emperor or leadership.