The door was partly open, the room beyond in shadow. Through the window on the far side of the room the moon shone, cold and white and distant. Meg sat on her bed, her head and shoulder turned from him, the moonlight glistening in her long, dark hair.
He shivered, struck by the beauty of her, then stepped inside.
‘Meg...’ he whispered. ‘Meg, I’ve got to talk to you.’
She didn’t move; didn’t answer him. He moved past her, looking out across the bay, conscious of how the meadows, the water, the trees of the far bank – all were silvered by the clear, unnatural light. Barren, reflected light, no strength or life in it. Nothing grew in that light.
He looked down. There, on the bedside table, beside the dull silver of his hand, lay a book. He lifted it and looked. It was Nietzsche’s Zarathustra, the Hans Old etching on the cover. From the ancient paper cover Nietzsche stared out at the world, fierce-eyed and bushy-browed, uncompromising in the ferocity of his gaze. So he himself would be. So he would stare back at the world, with an honest contempt for the falseness of its values. He opened the book where the leather bookmark was and read the words she had underlined. To be sure, I am a forest and a night of dark trees... Beside it, in the margin, she had written ‘Ben’. He felt a small shiver pass down his spine, then set the book down, turning to look at her again.
‘Are you angry with me?’
She made a small noise of disgust. He hesitated, then reached out and lifted her chin gently with his good hand, turning her face into the light. Her cheeks were wet, her eyes liquid with tears, but her eyes were angry.
‘You want it all, don’t you?’
‘Why not? If it’s there to be had?’
‘And never mind who you hurt?’
‘You can’t breathe fresh air without hurting someone. People bind each other with obligation. Tie each other down. Make one another suffocate in old, used-up air. I thought you understood that, Meg. I thought we’d agreed?’
‘Oh, yes,’ she said bitterly. ‘We agreed all right. You told me how it would be and what my choices were. Take it or leave it. I had no say.’
‘And you wanted a say?’
She hesitated, then drew her face back, looking down, away from him. ‘I don’t know... I just feel... hurt by it all. It feels like you’re rejecting me. Pushing me away.’
He reached out again, this time with his other hand, not thinking. She pushed it from her, shuddering. And when she looked up, he could see the aversion in her eyes.
‘There’s a part of you that’s like that, Ben. Cold. Brutal. Mechanical. It’s not all of you. Not yet. But what you’re doing – what you plan... I’ve said it before, but it’s true. I fear for you. Fear that, that...’ she pointed to the hand ‘...will take you over, cell by cell, like some awful, insidious disease, changing you to its own kind of thing. It won’t show on the surface, of course, but I’ll know. I’ll see it in your eyes, and know it from the coldness of your touch. That’s what I fear. That’s what hurts. Not you going, but your reasons for going.’
He was silent for a moment, then he sat down next to her. ‘I see.’
She was watching him, the bitterness purged from her eyes. She had said it now. Had brought to the surface what was eating at her. She reached out and took his hand – his human hand – and held it loosely.
‘What do you want, Ben? What, more than anything, do you want?’
He said it without hesitation, almost, it seemed, without thought.
‘Perfection. Some pure and perfect form.’
She shivered and looked away. Perfection. Like the hand. Or like the moonlight. Something dead.
‘Do you love me?’
She heard him sigh, sensed the impatience in him. ‘You know I do.’
She turned slightly, looking at him, her smile sad, resigned now. Letting his hand fall from hers, she stood and lifted her dress up over her head, then lay down on the bed beside him, naked, pulling him down towards her.
‘Then make love to me.’
As he slipped from his clothes she watched him, knowing that, for all his words, this much was genuine – this need of his for her.
You asked what’s real, she thought. This... this alone is real. This thing between us. This unworded darkness in which we meet and merge. This and this only. Until we die.
‘I love you,’ he said softly, looking down at her. ‘You know that.’
‘Yes,’ she said, closing her eyes, shuddering as he pressed down into her. ‘I know...’
And yet it wasn’t enough. For him it would never be enough.
IN TIMES TO COME…
Chung Kuo: The Art of War is the fifth volume of a vast dynastic saga that covers more than half a century of this vividly realized future world. In the fifteen volumes that follow, the Great Wheel of fate turns through a full historical cycle, transforming the social climate of Chung Kuo utterly. Chung Kuo is the portrait of these turbulent – and often apocalyptic – times and the people who lived through them.
In Chung Kuo: An Inch of Ashes, as the population continues to grow, the Seven find they must make further concessions. The great Edict of Technological Control – the means by which the Seven have kept Change at bay for more than a century – is to be relaxed, the House at Weimar re-opened, in return for guarantees of population controls. For the first time, the Seven are forced to tackle the problems of their world, facing up to the necessity for limited change. But is it too late? Are the great tides of unrest unleashed by earlier wars about to overwhelm them?
It certainly seems to, and when DeVore manages to persuade Li Yuan’s newly appointed general, Hans Ebert, to secretly ally with him, the writing seems to be on the wall. Handsome, strong and intelligent, Ebert is heir to genetics and pharmaceuticals company GenSyn, Chung Kuo’s largest manufacturing concern. He’s also a vain, amoral young man, a cold-blooded ‘hero’ with the secret ambition of deposing the Seven and becoming ‘King of the World’.
Having married his brother’s wife, the beautiful Fei Yen (‘Flying Swallow’), Prince Li Yuan has settled to his new role as his father’s helper. He loves the work, only the task requires long hours, and Fei Yen feels neglected by her husband. Consumed by passion, she has a brief, clandestine affair with his cousin, the handsome young T’ang of East Asia, Tsu Ma; one which, if disclosed, would destroy the Seven. Tsu Ma ends the affair, but has the damage been done?
Kim Ward, rescued as a child from the Clay – that dark and hostile land beneath the City’s foundations – has fulfilled his early promise and proved something of a scientific genius. Scouts from the great Companies look to buy his services. Even the great T’ang, Li Shai Tung, is interested in the boy’s talent. But there are others who seek to destroy him, so no one else can use him. As for Ben Shepherd, he has gone to college, in ‘Oxford’. Or at least the place that calls itself that these days. His failure to fit in drives him home again, but not before he falls in love for the first time, with his future wife, Christine, and gets his first glimpse – in the Oven Man’s ash-painted picture of the Feast of the Dead – of where his own art ought to be heading.
CHARACTER LISTING
MAJOR CHARACTERS
Ascher, Emily
Trained as an economist, she joined the Ping Tiao revolutionary party at the turn of the century, becoming one of its policy-formulating ‘Council of Five’. A passionate fighter for social justice, she was also once the lover of the Ping Tiao’s unofficial leader, Bent Gesell.
DeVore, Howard
A one-time major in the T’ang’s Security forces, he has become the leading figure in the struggle against the Seven. A highly intelligent and coldly logical man, he is the puppetmaster behind the scenes as the great ‘War of the Two Directions’ takes a new turn.
Ebert, Hans
Son of Klaus Ebert and heir to the vast GenSyn Corporation, he is a captain in the Security forces, admired and trusted by his superiors. Ebert is a complex young man: a brave and intelligent officer, he also has a selfish, dissolute and rather cruel streak.
Fei Yen
Daughter of Yin Tsu, one of the heads of the ‘Twenty-Nine’, the minor aristocratic families of Chung Kuo. The classically beautiful ‘Flying Swallow’, her marriage to the murdered Prince Li Han Ch’in nullified, is set to marry Han’s brother, the young Prince Li Yuan. Fragile in appearance, she is surprisingly strong-willed and fiery.
Haavikko, Axel
Smeared by the false accusations of his fellow officers, Lieutenant Haavikko has spent the best part of a decade in debauchery and self-negation. At core, however, he is a good, honest man, and circumstances will raise him from the pit into which he has fallen.
Kao Chen
Once an assassin from the Net, the lowest levels of the great City, Chen has raised himself from his humble beginnings to become an officer in the T’ang’s Security forces. As friend and helper to Karr, he is one of the foot-soldiers in the War against DeVore.
Karr, Gregor
A major in the Security forces, he was recruited by Marshal Tolonen from the Net. In his youth he was an athlete and, later, a ‘blood’ – a to-the-death combat fighter. A giant of a man, he is to become the ‘hawk’ Li Shai Tung flies against his adversary, DeVore.
Lehmann, Stefan
Albino son of the former Dispersionist leader, Pietr Lehmann, he has become a lieutenant to DeVore. A cold, unnaturally dispassionate man, he seems to be the very archetype of nihilism, his only aim to bring down the Seven and their great City.
Li Shai Tung
T’ang of City Europe and one of the Seven, the ruling Council of Chung Kuo, Li Shai Tung is now entering his eighties. For many years he was the fulcrum of the Council and unofficial spokesman for the Seven, but the murder of his heir, Han Ch’in, has weakened him, undermining his once strong determination to prevent Change at all costs.
Li Yuan
Second son of Li Shai Tung, he becomes heir to City Europe after the murder of his elder brother. Thought old before his time, his cold, thoughtful manner conceals a passionate nature, expressed in his wooing of his dead brother’s wife, Fei Yen.
Shepherd, Ben
Son of Hal Shepherd, the T’ang’s chief advisor, and great-great-grandson of City Earth’s Architect. Shepherd is born and brought up in the Domain, an idyllic valley in the south-west of England where, deciding not to follow in his father’s footsteps and become advisor to Li Yuan, he pursues instead his calling as an artist, developing a whole new art form, the Shell, which will eventually have a cataclysmic effect on Chung Kuo’s society.
Tolonen, Jelka
Daughter of Marshal Tolonen, Jelka has been brought up in a very masculine environment, lacking a mother’s influence. However, her genuine interest in martial arts and in weaponry and strategy mask a very different side to her nature, a side brought out by violent circumstances.
Tolonen, Knut
Marshal of the Council of Generals and one-time General to Li Shai Tung, Tolonen is a big, granite-jawed man and the staunchest supporter of the values and ideals of the Seven. Possessed of a fiery, fearless nature, he will stop at nothing to protect his masters, yet after long years of war even his belief in the necessity of stasis has been shaken.
Tsu Ma
T’ang of West Asia and one of the Seven, the ruling Council of Chung Kuo, Tsu Ma has thrown off his former dissolute ways as a result of his father’s death and become one of Li Shai Tung’s greatest supporters in Council. A strong, handsome man, he has still, however, a weakness in his nature: one that is almost his undoing.
Wang Sau-leyan
Fourth and youngest son of Wang Hsien, T’ang of Africa, the murder of his two eldest brothers has placed him closer to the centre of political events. Thought of as a wastrel, he is, in fact, a shrewd and highly capable political being who is set – through circumstances of his own devising – to become the harbinger of Change inside the Council of the Seven.
Ward, Kim
Born in the Clay, that dark wasteland beneath the great City’s foundations, Kim has a quick and unusual bent of mind. His vision of a giant web, formulated in the darkness, has driven him up into the light of the Above. However, after a traumatic fight and a long period of personality reconstruction, he has returned to things not quite the person he was. Or so it seems, for Kim has lost none of the sharpness that has made him the most promising young scientist in the whole of Chung Kuo.
THE SEVEN AND THE FAMILIES
An Liang-chou
Minor Family prince
An Sheng
head of the An family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
Chi Hsing
T’ang of the Australias
Chun Wu-chi
head of the Chun family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
Fu Ti Chang
Minor Family princess
Hou Tung-po
T’ang of South America
Hsiang K’ai Fan
Minor Family prince
Hsiang Shao-erh
head of the Hsiang family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families) and father of Hsiang K’ai Fan and Hsiang Wang
Hsiang Wang
Minor Family prince
Lai Shi
Minor Family princess
Li Ch’i Chan
brother and advisor to Li Shai Tung
Li Feng Chiang
brother and advisor to Li Shai Tung
Li Shai Tung
T’ang of Europe
Li Yuan
second son of Li Shai Tung and heir to City Europe
Li Yun Ti
brother and advisor to Li Shai Tung
Mien Shan
Minor Family princess
Pei Chao Yang
son and heir of Pei Ro-hen
Pei Ro-hen
head of the Pei family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
Tsu Ma
T’ang of West Asia
Tsu Tao Chu
third son of Tsuchang, deceased first son of Tsu Tiao
Wang Hsien
T’ang of Africa
Wang Sau-leyan
fourth son of Wang Hsien
Wang Ta-hung
third son of Wang Hsien and heir to City Africa
Wei Chan Yin
eldest son of Wei Feng and heir to City East Asia
Wei Feng
T’ang of East Asia
Wu Shih
T’ang of North America
Yi Shan-ch’i
Minor Family prince
Yin Chang
Minor Family prince; son of Yin Tsu and elder brother to Fei Yen
Yin Fei Yen
‘Flying Swallow’, Minor Family princess; daughter of Yin Tsu; widow of Li Han Ch’in
Yin Sung
Minor Family prince; elder brother of Fei Yen and son and heir of Yin Tsu
Yin Tsu
head of Yin family (one of the ‘Twenty-Nine’ Minor Families)
Yin Wei
younger brother of Fei Yen
Yin Wu Tsai
Minor Family princess and cousin of Fei Yen
FRIENDS AND RETAINERS OF THE SEVEN
Auden, William
captain in Security
Chai
servant to Wang Hsien
Chang Li
Chief Surgeon to Li Shai Tung
Chang Shih-sen
personal secretary to Li Yuan
Ch’in Tao Fan
Chancellor of East Asia
Chu Ta Yun
Minister of Education for City Europe
Chuang Ming
Minister to Li Shai Tung
Chung Hu-Yan
Chancellor to Li Shai Tung
Ebert, Berta
wife of Klaus Ebert
Ebert, Hans
major in Security and heir to GenSyn
Ebert, Klaus Stefan
head of GenSyn (Genetic Synthetics) and advisor to Li Shai Tung
Erkki
guard to Jelka Tolonen
Fan Liang-wei
painter to the court of Li Shai Tung
Fest, Edgar
captain in Security
Fischer, Otto
head of Personal Security at Wang Hsien’s palace in Alexandria
Fu
servant to Wang Hsien
Haavikko, Axel
lieutenant in Security
Haavikko, Vesa
sister of Axel Haavikko
Helm
general in Security, City South America
Heng Yu
Son of Heng Fan and nephew of Heng Chi-Po
Hoffmann
major in Security
Hua
personal surgeon to Li Shai Tung
Hung Feng-chan
Chief Groom at Tongjiang
Hung Mien-lo
advisor to Wang Ta-hung; Chancellor of City Africa
Kao Chen
captain in Security
Karr, Gregor
‘blood’, and, later, major in Security
Lautner, Wolfgang
captain in Security Personnel at Bremen
Little Bee
Maid to Wang Hsien
Lung Mei Ho
secretary to Tsu Ma
Mi Feng
see ‘Little Bee’
Nan Ho
Li Yuan’s Master of the Inner Chambers
Nocenzi, Vittorio
General of Security, City Europe
Panshin, Anton
colonel in Security
Pearl Heart
maid to Li Yuan
Rahn, Wolf
lieutenant in Security, City Africa
Russ
captain in Security
Sanders
captain of Security at Helmstadt Armoury
Scott
captain of Security
Shepherd, Ben
son of Hal Shepherd
Shepherd, Beth
wife of Hal Shepherd
Shepherd, Hal
advisor to Li Shai Tung and head of the Shepherd family
Shepherd, Meg
daughter of Hal Shepherd
Stifel
alias of Otto Fischer
Sun Li Hua
Wang Hsien’s Master of the Inner Chambers
Sweet Rain
maid to Wang Hsien
Sweet Rose
maid to Li Yuan
Tender Willow
maid to Wang Hsien
Tolonen, Helga
aunt of Jelka Tolonen
Tolonen, Jelka
daughter of Knut Tolonen
Tolonen, Jon
brother of Knut Tolonen
Tolonen, Knut
Marshal of the Council of Generals and father of Jelka Tolonen
Wang Ta Chuan
Li Shai Tung’s Master of the Inner Palace at Tongjiang
Wen
captain of Security on Mars
Wu Ming
servant to Wang Ta-hung
Ying Chai
assistant to Sun Li Hua
Ying Fu
assistant to Sun Li Hua
Yu
surgeon to Li Yuan
DISPERSIONISTS
Barrow, Chao
Representative of the House in Weimar
Berdichev, Soren
head of SimFic (Simulated Fictions) and leader of the Dispersionists
Berdichev, Ylva
wife of Soren Berdichev
Blake, Peter
head of personnel for Berdichev’s SimFic Corporation
Cherkassky, Stefan
ex-Security assassin and friend of DeVore
DeVore, Howard
former major in Li Shai Tung’s Security forces
Douglas, John
Company head
Duchek, Albert
Administrator of Lodz
Ecker, Michael
company head
Kubinyi
lieutenant to DeVore
Lehmann, Stefan
albino son of former Dispersionist leader, Pietr Lehmann and lieutenant to DeVore
Moore, John
company head
Moore, Paul
Senior Executive of Berdichev’s SimFic Corporation
Parr, Charles
company head
Reid, Thomas
lieutenant to DeVore
Ross, Alexander
company head
Schwarz
lieutenant to DeVore
Scott
alias of DeVore
Turner
alias of DeVore
Wiegand, Max
lieutenant to DeVore
Weiss, Anton
banker
PING TIAO
Ascher, Emily
economist and member of the ‘Council of Five’
Gesell, Bent
unofficial leader of the Ping Tiao and member of the ‘Council of Five’
Mach, Jan
maintenance official for the Ministry of Waste Recycling and member of the ‘Council of Five’
Mao Liang
Minor Family princess and member of the ‘Council of Five’
Shen Lu Chua
computer expert and member of the ‘Council of Five’
Yun Ch’o
lieutenant to Shen Lu Chua
OTHER CHARACTERS
Anton
friend of Kim Ward on the Recruitment Project
The Architect
one of the psych team on the Recruitment Project
Barycz, Jiri
scientist on the Wiring Project
Baxi
chief of the tribe in the Clay
Beattie, Douglas
alias of DeVore
Bergson
Overseer on the plantation; alias for DeVore
Boden, Mikhail
alias of DeVore
The Builder
part of the psych team on the Recruitment Project
Chan Wen-fu
friend of Heng Chian-ye
Chan Shui
young worker in the Casting Shop
Chuang Lian
wife of Minister Chuang
Crimson Lotus
sing-song girl in Mu Chua’s
Ebert, Lutz
half-brother of Klaus Ebert
Ellis, Michael
assistant to Director Spatz
Endfors, Pietr
best friend of Knut Tolonen
Enge, Marie
serving woman at the Dragon Cloud teahouse
Fang Hui
guard on the plantation
Ganz, Joseph
alias of DeVore
Golden Heart
young prostitute bought by Hans Ebert for his household
Hammond, Joel
Senior Technician on the Wiring Project
Heng Chian-ye
son of Heng Chi-po and nephew of Heng Yu
Herrick
an illegal implant specialist
Hong
‘Hsien’ or District Judge
Janko
bully in the Casting Shop
Josef
friend of Kim Ward’s on the Recruitment Project
Kao Ch’iang Hsin
infant daughter of Kao Chen
Kao Wu
infant son of Kao Chen
Kung Wen-fa
Senior Advocate from Mars
Ling Hen
henchman for Herrick
Lin Hou Ying
maintenance engineer for ProsTek
Liu Chang
brothel keeper/pimp
Loehr
alias of DeVore
Lotte
student at Oxford; sister of Wolf
Lo Wen
personal servant to Hans Ebert
Lo Ying
‘Panchang’ or ‘Supervisor’; friend of Kao Chen
Lo Yu-Hsiang
Senior Representative in the House at Weimar
Lu Cao
amah (maidservant) to Jelka Tolonen
Lu Ming Shao
‘Whiskers Lu’, Triad boss
Lu Nan Jen
the ‘Oven Man’
Lu Wang-pei
murder suspect
Maitland, Idris
mother of Stefan Lehmann
Matyas
Clayborn boy in the Recruitment Project
Mu Chua
‘Madam’ of the House of the Ninth Ecstasy, a sing-song house, or brothel
Novacek, Lubos
merchant; father of Sergey Novacek
Novacek, Sergey
student at Oxford and sculptor
Nung
Supervisor of the Casting Shop
Peng Yu-wei
tutor to the Shepherd children
Peskova
lieutenant of the guards on the plantation
Reynolds
alias of DeVore
Schenck, Hung-li
Governor of the Mars Colony
Shang Li-Yen
tutor on the Recruitment Project
Siang Che
martial arts instructor to Jelka Tolonen
Spatz, Gustav
Director of the Wiring Project
Sung
Supervisor on the plantation
Sweet Flute
mui tsai to Madam Chuang Lian
Sweet Honey
sing-song girl in Mu Chua’s
T’ai Cho
tutor and ‘guardian’ to Kim Ward
Tarrant
Company head
Tissan, Catherine
student at Oxford
Tolonen, Hannah
aunt to Knut Tolonen
Tom
‘Greaser’, part of Matyas’s gang
Tong Chou
alias of Kao Chen
Tsang Yi
friend of Heng Chian-ye
Tung Liang
boy in the Casting Shop
Tung T’an
Senior Consultant at the Melfi Clinic
Turner
alias of DeVore
Wang Ti
wife of Kao Chen
Ward, Kim
Lagasek, or ‘Starer’; ‘Clayborn’, orphan and scientist
White Orchid
sing-song girl in Mu Chua’s
Wolf
student at Oxford and brother of Lotte
Wolfe
Security soldier
Yu, Madam
First Level socialite
Yung Pi-chi
Head of the Yung family
Zhakar
Speaker of the House of Representatives
THE DEAD
Aaltonen
Marshal and Head of Security for City Europe
Anders
a mercenary
Anderson
Director of The Project
Ascher, Mikhail
junior credit agent in the Finance Ministry, the Hu Pu, and father of Emily Ascher
Bakke
Marshal in Security
Barrow, Chao
member of the House of Representatives; Dispersionist
Beatrice
daughter of Cathy Hubbard, granddaughter of Mary Reed
Big Wen
a ‘landowner’
Boss Yang
an exploiter of the people
Buck, John
Head of Development at the Ministry of Contracts
Ch’eng I
Minor Family prince and son of Ch’eng So Yuan
Ch’eng So Yuan
Minor Family head
Chang Hsuan
Han painter from the 8th century
Chang Lai-hsun
nephew of Chang Yi Wei
Chang Li Chen
Junior Dragon, in charge of drafting the Edit of Technological Control
Chang Lui
woman who adopted Pavel
Chang Yan
Guard on the Plantations
Chang Yi Wei
senior brother of the Chang clan owners of MicroData
Chang Yu
Tsao Ch’un’s appointment as First Dragon
Chao Ni Tsu
Grand Master of wei chi and computer genius. Servant of Tsao Ch’un
Chen So I
Head of the Ministry of Contracts
Chen Yu
steward to Tsao Ch’un in Pei Ch’ing
Cheng Yu
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Chi Fei Yu
an usurer
Chi Lin Lin
legal assistant to Yang Hong Yu
Ching Su
friend of Jiang Lei
Chiu Fa
media commentator on the Mids news channel
Cho Hsiang
subordinate to Hong Cao and middleman for Pietr Lehmann
Cho Yi Yi
Master of the Bedchamber at Tongjiang
Chu Heng
‘kwai’ or hired knife; a hireling of DeVore
Chun Hua
wife of Jiang Lei
Chung Hsin
‘Loyalty’; a bond-servant to Li Shai Tung
Croft, Rebecca
‘Becky’, daughter of Leopold, with the lazy eye
Curtis, Tim
Head of Human Resources GenSyn
Dag
a mercenary
Dick, Philip Kindred
American science fiction writer
Duchek, Albert
Administrator of Lodz and Dispersionist
Ebert, Gustav
genetics genius and co-founder of GenSyn, Genetic Synthetics
Ebert, Ludovic
son of Gustav Ebert and a GenSyn director
Ebert, Wolfgang
financial genius and co-founder of GenSyn, Genetic Synthetics
Einar
a mercenary
Endfors, Jenny
wife of Knut Tolonen and mother of Jelka
Fan Chang
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Fan Cho
son of Fan Chang
Fan Lin
son of Fan Chang
Fan Peng
eldest wife of Fan Chang
Fan Si-pin
Master of wei chi from the 18th century
Fan Ti Yu
son of Fan Chang
Feng I
Colonel in charge of Tsao Ch’un’s elite force
Gosse
elite guard at the Domain
Grant, Thomas
captain in security
Griffin, James B.
Sixtieth President of the United States of Americ
Haavikko, Knut
major in security
Heng Chi-Po
Minister of Transportation for City Europe
Henrik
a mercenary
Ho
steward to Jiang Lei
Hong Cao
middle man for Pietr Lehmann
Hou Hsin-Fa
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Hsu Jung
friend of Jiang Lei
Hubbard, Beth
daughter of Tom and Mary Hubbard
Hubbard, Cathy
daughter of Tom and Mary Hubbard
Hubbard, Mary
wife of Tom Hubbard and mother of Cathy. Second wife of Jake Reed
Hubbard, Meg
daughter of Tom and Mary Hubbard
Hubbard, Tom
farmer, resident in Church Knowle. Huband of Mary Hubbard and father of Beth, Meg and Cathy. Best friend to Jake Reed
Hui
receptionist for GenSyn
Hui Chang Ye
senior legal advocate for the Chang family
Hung
Tsao Ch’uns spy in Jiang Lei’s camp
Hwa
‘Blood’, or fighter, beneath the Net
Jiang Ch’iao-chieh
eldest daughter of Jiang Lei
Jiang Lei
general of Tsao Ch’un’s Eighteenth Banner Army, also known as Nai Liu
Jiang Lei
general of Tsao Ch’un’s Eighteenth Banner Army, also known as Nai Lu
Jiang Lo Wen
granddaughter of Jiang Lei
Jiang San-chieh
youngest daughter of Jiang Lei
Jung
steward to Tobias Lahm
Kao Jyan
assassin
Karl
a mercenary
Kirov, Alexander
Marshal to the Seven, Head of the Council of Generals
Krenek, Henryk
Senior Representative of the Martian Colonies
Krenek, Irina
wife of Henryk Krenek
Krenek, Josef
company head
Krenek, Maria
wife of Josef Krenek
Ku
Marshal of the Fourth Banner Army
Kurt
Chief Technician for GenSyn
Lahm, Tobias
Eighth Dragon at the Ministry
Lao Jen
Junior Minister to Li Shai Tung
Lehmann, Pietr
Under Secretary of the House of Representatives and father of Stefan Lehmann and leader of Dispersionists
Li Chang So
sixth son of Li Chao Ch’in
Li Chao Ch’in
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Li Fu Jen
third son of Li Chao Ch’in
Li Han Ch’in
first son of Li Shai Tung and heir to City Europe
Li Kuang
fifth son of Li Chao Ch’in
Li Peng
eldest son of Li Chao Ch’in
Li Po
T’ang dynasty poet
Li Shen
second son of Li Chao Ch’in
Li Weng
fourth son of Li Chao Ch’in
Lin Yua
first wife of Li Shai Tung
Ling
steward at the Black Tower
Ludd, Drew
biggest grossing actor in Hollywood and star of Ubik
Lung Ti
secretary to Edmund Wyatt
Lwo Kang
son of Lwo Chun-yi and Li Shai Tung’s Minster of the Edit of Technological Control
Ma Shao Tu
senior servant to Li Chao Ch’in
Maitland (Fu Jen)
Stefan Lehmann’s mother
Mao Tse T’ung
first Ko Ming emperor of China (ruled 1948–1976 AD)
Melfi, Charles
father of Alexandra Shepherd
Ming Hsin-far
senior advocate for GenSyn
Nai Liu
‘Enduring Willow’; pen name of Jiang Lei and the most popular Han poet of his time
P’eng Chuan
Sixth Dragon at the Ministry (‘The Thousand Eyes’)
P’eng K’ai-chi
Nephew of P’eng Chuan
Palmer, Joshua
‘Old Josh’, record collector
Pan Chao
the great hero of Chung Kuo, who conquered Asia in the 1st century AD
Pan Tsung-yen
friend of Jiang Lei
Pavel
Young worker on the Plantations
Pei Ko
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Pei Lin-Yi
eldest son of Pei Ko
Ragnar
a mercenary
Raikkonen
Marshal in Security
Reed, Anne
first wife of Jake Reed; mother of Peter Reed and sister of Mary Hubbard (Jake’s second wife)
Reed, Jake
‘Login’ or ‘Webdancer’ for Hinton Industries. Father of Peter and Tom Reed
Reed, Mary
sister of Jake Reed
Reed, Peter
son of Jake and Anne Reed. GenSyn Executive
Reed, Tom
son of Jane and Mary Reed
Rheinhardt
Media Liaison Officer for GenSyn
Schwartz
Aide to Marshal Aaltonen
Shao Shu
First Steward at Chun Hua’s mansion
Shao Yen
major in Security, friend of Meng Hsin-far
Shen Chen
son of Shen Fu
Shen Fu
The First Dragon, Head of the Ministry (‘The Thousand Eyes’)
Shepherd, Alexandra
wife of Amos Shepherd and daughter of Charles Melfi
Shepherd, Amos
Great-great grandfather of Hal Shepherd. Chief advisor to Tsao Ch’un and architect of City Earth
Shepherd, Augustus
Son of Amos Shepherd
Shepherd, Augustus Raedwald
Great-great uncle to Ben Shepherd
Shepherd, Beth
daughter of Amos Shepherd
Shu Liang
Senior Legal Advocate
Shu San
Junior Minister to Lwo Kang
Si Wu Ya
‘Silk Raven’; wife Supervisor Sung
Ssu Lu Shan
official of the Ministry, the ‘Thousand Eyes’
Su Ting-an
Master of wei chi from the 18th century
Su Tung-p’o
Han official and poet of the 11th century
Svensson
Marshal in Security
Tai Yu
Moonflower’, maid to Gustav Ebert; a GenSyn clone
Teng
common citizen of Chung Kuo
Teng Fu
Guard on the Plantation
Teng Liang
Minor Family princess betrothed to Prince Ch’eng I
Trish
Artificial Intelligence ‘filter avatar’ for Jake Reed’s penthouse apartment
Ts’ao Pi
Number Three’ steward at Tsao Ch’un’s court in Pei Ch’ing
Tsao Ch’l Yuan
youngest son of Tsao Ch’un
Tsao Ch’un
ex-member of the Chinese politburo and architect of ‘the Collapse’. Mass murderer and tyrant; ‘creator’ of Chung Kuo
Tsao Heng
second son of Tsao Ch’un
Tsao Hsiao
Tsao Ch’un’s elder brother
Tsao Wang-po
eldest son of Tsao Ch’un
Tsu Chen
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Tsu Lin
eldest son of Tsu Chen
Tsu Shi
steward to Gustav Ebert, a GenSyn clone
Tsu Tiao
T’ang of West Asia
Tu Mu
assistant to Alison Winter at GenSyn
Wang An-Shih
Han official and poet of the 11th century
Wang Chang Ye
eldest son of Wang Hsien
Wang Hui So
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Wang Lieh Tsu
second son of Wang Hsien
Wang Lung
eldest son of Wang Hui So
Wang Yu-lai
‘Cadre’, servant of the Ministry, ‘The Thousand Eyes’, instructed to report back on Jiang Lei
Wei
a judge
Weis, Anton
banker and Dispersionist
Wen P’ing
Tsao Ch’un’s man. A bully
Weo Shao
chancellor to Tsao Ch’un
Winter, Alison
Jake Reed’s girlfriend at New College and evaluation executive at GenSyn
Winter, Jake
son of Alison Winter
Wolfe
elite guard in the Domain
Wu Chi
AI (Artificial Intelligence) to Tobias Lahm
Wu Hsien
one of the original Seven, advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Wyatt, Edmund
company head, Dispersionist, and (unknown to him) father of Kim Ward
Wyatt, Edmund
businessman and (unknown to him) father of Kim Ward
Yang Hong Yu
legal advocate
Yang Lai
Minister under Li Shai Tung
Yo Jou Hsi
a judge
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
a general term for money
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. See Book Four, ‘The Feast Of The Dead’.
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
The hollow mulberry tree; according to ancient Chinese cosmology this tree stands where the sun rises and is the dwelling place of rulers. Sang (mulberry) however has the same sound as sang (sorrow) in Chinese.
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 30 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 18th 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...’
kai t’ou
A thin cloth of red and gold that veils a new bride’s face. Worn by the Ch’ing empresses for almost three centuries.
kan pei!
‘good health!’ or ‘cheers!’ – a drinking toast
kang
the Chinese hearth, serving also as oven and, in the cold of winter, as a sleeping platform
k’ang hsi
A Ch’ing (or Manchu) emperor whose long reign (AD 1662–1722) is considered a golden age for the art of porcelain-making. The lavender-glazed bowl in ‘The Sound Of Jade’ is, however, not kang-hsi but Chun chou ware from the Sung period (960-1127) and considered amongst the most beautiful (and rare) wares in Chinese pottery.
kao liang
a strong Chinese liquor
Ko Ming
‘Revolutionary’. The Tien Ming is the Mandate of Heaven, supposedly handed down from Shang Ti, the Supreme Ancestor, to his earthly counterpart, the Emperor (Huang Ti). This Mandate could be enjoyed only so long as the Emperor was worthy of it, and rebellion against a tyrant – who broke the Mandate through his lack of justice, benevolence and sincerity – was deemed not criminal but a rightful expression of Heaven’s anger.
k’ou t’ou
The fifth stage of respect, according to the ‘Book of Ceremonies’, involves kneeling and striking the head against the floor. This ritual has become more commonly known in the West as kowtow.
ku li
‘Bitter strength’. These two words, used to describe the condition of farm labourers who, after severe droughts or catastrophic floods, moved off their land and into the towns to look for work of any kind – however hard and onerous – spawned the word ‘coolie’ by which the West more commonly knows the Chinese labourer. Such men were described as ‘men of bitter strength’, or simply ‘ku li’.
Kuan Hua
Mandarin, the language spoken in mainland China. Also known as kuo yu and pai hua.
Kuan Yin
The Goddess of Mercy. Originally the Buddhist male bodhisattva, Avalokitsevara (translated into Han as ‘He who listens to the sounds of the world’, or ‘Kuan Yin’), the Han mistook the well-developed breasts of the saint for a woman’s and, since the ninth century, have worshipped Kuan Yin as such. Effigies of Kuan Yin will show her usually as the Eastern Madonna, cradling a child in her arms. She is also sometimes seen as the wife of Kuan Kung, the Chinese God of War.
Kuei Chuan
‘Running Dog’, here the name of a Triad
kuo yu
Mandarin, the language spoken in most of Mainland China. Also rendered here as kuan hua and pai hua.
kwai
An abbreviation of kwai tao, a ‘sharp knife’ or ‘fast knife’. It can also mean to be sharp or fast (as a knife). An associated meaning is that of a ‘clod’ or ‘lump of earth’. Here it is used to denote a class of fighters from below the Net, whose ability and self-discipline separate them from the usual run of hired knives.
Lan Tian
‘Blue Sky’
Lang
a covered walkway
lao chu
sing-song girls, slightly more respectable than the common men hu
lao jen
‘old man’ (also weng); used normally as a term of respect
lao kuan
a ‘Great Official’, often used ironically
lao shih
term that denotes a genuine and straightforward man – bluff and honest
lao wai
an outsider
li
A Chinese ‘mile’, approximating to half a kilometre or one third of a mile. Until 1949, when metric measures were adopted in China, the li could vary from place to place.
Li
‘Propriety’. See the Li Ching or ‘Book Of Rites’ for the fullest definition.
Li Ching
‘The Book Of Rites’, one of the five ancient classics
liang
A Chinese ounce of roughly 32gm. Sixteen liang form a catty.
liu k’ou
The seventh stage of respect, according to the ‘Book of Ceremonies’. Two stages above the more familiarly known ‘k’ou t’ou’ (kowtow) it involves kneeling and striking the forehead three times against the floor, rising to one’s feet again, then kneeling and repeating the prostration with three touches of the forehead to the ground. Only the san kuei chiu k’ou – involving three prostrations – was more elaborate and was reserved for Heaven and its son, the Emperor (see also san k’ou).
liumang
punks
lu nan jen
literally ‘Oven Man’, title of the official who is responsible for cremating all of the dead bodies
lueh
‘that invaluable quality of producing a piece of art casually, almost uncaringly’
lung t’ing
‘dragon pavilions’, small sedan chairs carried by servants and containing a pile of dowry gifts.
Luoshu
The Chinese legend relates that in ancient times a turtle crawled from a river in Luoshu province, the patterns on its shell forming a three by three grid of numeric pictograms, the numbers of which – both down and across – equalled the same total of fifteen. Since the time of the Shang (three thousand-plus years ago) tortoise shells were used in divination, and the Luoshu diagram is considered magic and is often used as a charm for easing childbirth.
ma kua
a waist-length ceremonial jacket
mah jong
Whilst, in its modern form, the ‘game of the four winds’ was introduced towards the end of the 19th century to Westerners trading in the thriving city of Shanghai, it was developed from a card game that existed as long ago as AD 960. Using 144 tiles, it is generally played by four players. The tiles have numbers and also suits – winds, dragons, bamboos and circles.
mao
A unit of currency. See yuan.
mao tai
a strong, sorghum-based liquor
mei fa tzu
common saying, ‘It is fate!’
mei hua
‘plum blossom’
mei mei
sister
mei yu jen wen
‘Subhumans’. Used in Chung Kuo by those in the City’s uppermost levels to denote anyone living in the lower hundred.
men hu
Literally, ‘the one standing in the door’. The most common (and cheapest) of prostitutes.
min
literally ‘the people’; used (as here) by the Minor Families in a pejorative sense, as an equivalent to ‘plebeian’
Ming
The Dynasty that ruled China from 1368 to 1644. Literally, the name means ‘Bright’ or ‘Clear’ or ‘Brilliant’. It carries connotations of cleansing.
mou
A Chinese ‘acre’ of approximately 7,260 square feet. There are roughly six mou to a Western acre, and a 10,000-mou field would approximate to 1666 acres, or just over two and a half square miles.
Mu Ch’in
‘Mother’, a general term commonly addressed to any older woman
mui tsai
Rendered in Cantonese as ‘mooi-jai’. Colloquially it means either ‘little sister’ or ‘slave girl’, though generally, as here, the latter. Other Mandarin terms used for the same status are pei-nu and yatou. Technically, guardianship of the girl involved is legally signed over in return for money.
nan jen
common term for ‘Man’
Ni Hao?
‘How are you?’
niao
literally ‘bird’, but here, as often, it is used euphemistically as a term for the penis, often as an expletive
nu er
daughter
nu shi
an unmarried woman, a term equating to ‘Miss’
Pa shi yi
literally ‘Eighty-One’, here referring specifically to the Central Council of the New Confucian officialdom
pai nan jen
literally ‘white man’
pai pi
‘hundred pens’, term used for the artificial reality experiments renamed ‘Shells’ by Ben Shepherd
pan chang
supervisor
pao yun
a ‘jewelled cloud’ ch’a
pau
a simple long garment worn by men
pau shuai ch’i
the technical scientific term for ‘half-life’
p’i p’a
a four-stringed lute used in traditional Chinese music
Pien Hua!
Change!
p’ing
an apple, symbol of peace
ping
the east
Ping Fa
Sun Tzu’s The Art Of War, written over two thousand years ago. The best English translation is probably Samuel B. Griffith’s 1963 edition. It was a book Chairman Mao frequently referred to.
Ping Tiao
Levelling. To bring down or make flat. Here, in Chung Kuo, it is also a terrorist organization.
p’o
The ‘animal soul’ which, at death, remains in the tomb with the corpse and takes its nourishment from the grave offerings. The p’o decays with the corpse, sinking down into the underworld (beneath the Yellow Springs) where – as a shadow – it continues an existence of a kind. The p’o is believed to come into existence at the moment of birth (see also hun).
sam fu
An upper garment (part shirt, part jacket) worn originally by both males and females, in imitation of Manchu styles; later on a wide-sleeved, calf-length version was worn by women alone.
san
three
San chang
the three palaces
san kuei chiu k’ou
The eighth and final stage of respect, according to the ‘Book Of Ceremonies’, it involves kneeling three times, each time striking the forehead three times against the ground before rising from one’s knees (in k’ou t’ou one strikes the forehead but once). This most elaborate form of ritual was reserved for Heaven and its son, the Emperor. See also liu k’ou.
san k’ou
abbreviated form of san kuei chiu k’ou
San Kuo Yan Yi
The Romance of The Three Kingdoms, also known as the San Kuo Chih Yen I. China’s great historical novel, running to 120 chapters, it covers the period from AD 168 to 265. Written by Lo Kuan-chung in the early Ming dynasty, its heroes, Liu Pei, Kuan Chung and Chang Fei, together with its villain, Ts’ao Ts’ao, are all historical personages. It is still one of the most popular stories in modern China.
sao mu
the ‘Feast of the Dead’
shang
the south
shan shui
The literal meaning is ‘mountains and water’, but the term is normally associated with a style of landscape painting that depicts rugged mountain scenery with river valleys in the foreground. It is a highly popular form, first established in the T’ang Dynasty, back in the seventh to ninth centuries AD.
shao lin
specially trained assassins, named after the monks of the shao lin monastery
shao nai nai
Literally, ‘little grandmother’. A young girl who has been given the responsibility of looking after her siblings.
she t’ou
a ‘tongue’ or taster, whose task is to safeguard his master from poisoning
shen chung
‘caution’
shen mu
‘she who stands in the door’: a common prostitute
shen nu
‘god girls’: superior prostitutes
shen t’se
special elite force, named after the ‘palace armies’ of the late T’ang dynasty
Shih
‘Master’. Here used as a term of respect somewhat equivalent to our use of ‘Mister’. The term was originally used for the lowest level of civil servants, to distinguish them socially from the run-of-the-mill ‘Misters’ (hsian sheng) below them and the gentlemen (ch’un tzu) above.
shou hsing
a peach brandy
Shui Hu Chuan
Outlaws of the Marsh, a long historical novel attributed to Lo Kuan-chung but re-cast in the early 16th century by ‘Shih Nai-an’, a scholar. Set in the eleventh century, it is a saga of bandits, warlords and heroes. Written in pure pai hua – colloquial Chinese – it is the tale of how its heroes became bandits. Its revolutionary nature made it deeply unpopular with both the Ming and Manchu dynasties, but it remains one of the most popular adventures among the Chinese populus.
siang chi
Chinese chess, a very different game from its Western counterpart
Ta
‘Beat’, here a heavily amplified form of Chinese folk music, popular amongst the young
ta lien
an elaborate girdle pouch
Ta Ssu Nung
the Superintendancy of Agriculture
tai
Literally ‘pockets’ but here denoting Representatives in the House at Weimar. ‘Owned’ financially by the Seven, historically such tai have served a double function in the House, counterbalancing the strong mercantile tendencies of the House and serving as a conduit for the views of the Seven. Traditionally they had been elderly, well-respected men, but more recently their replacements were young, brash and very corrupt, more like the hoppoes of the Opium Wars period.
t’ai chi
The Original, or One, from which the duality of all things (yin and yang) developed, according to Chinese cosmology. We generally associate the t’ai chi with the Taoist symbol, that swirling circle of dark and light supposedly representing an egg (perhaps the Hun Tun), the yolk and the white differentiated.
tai hsiao
a white wool flower, worn in the hair
Tai Huo
‘Great Fire’
T’ai Shan
Mount T’ai, the highest and most sacred of China’s mountains, located in Shantung province. A stone pathway of 6293 steps leads to the summit and, for thousands of years the ruling emperor has made ritual sacrifices at its foot, accompanied by his full retinue, presenting evidence of his virtue. T’ai Shan is one of the five Taoist holy mountains, and symbolizes the very centre of Chaina. It is the mountain of the sun, symbolizing the bright male force (yang). ‘As safe as T’ai Shan’ is a popular saying, denoting the ultimate in solidity and certainty.
Tai Shih Lung
Court Astrologer, a title that goes back to the Han Dynasty
T’ang
Literally, ‘beautiful and imposing’. It is the title chosen by the Seven, who were originally the chief advisors to Tsao Ch’un, the tyrant. Since overthrowing Tsao Ch’un, it has effectively had the meaning of ‘emperor’.
Ta Ts’in
The Chinese name for the Roman Empire. They also knew Rome as Li Chien and as ‘the land West of the Sea’. The Romans themselves they termed the ‘Big Ts’in’ – the Ts’in being the name the Chinese gave themselves during the Ts’in dynasty (AD 265–316).
te
‘spiritual power’, ‘true virtue’ or ‘virtuality’, defined by Alan Watts as ‘the realization or expression of the Tao in actual living’
t’e an tsan
‘Innocent westerners’. For ‘innocent’ perhaps read na?ve.
ti tsu
a bamboo flute, used both as a solo instrument and as part of an ensemble, playing traditional Chinese music
ti yu
The ‘earth prison’ or underworld of Chinese legend. There are ten main Chinese Hells, the first being the courtroom in which the sinner is sentenced and the last being that place where they are reborn as human beings. In between are a vast number of sub-Hells, each with its own Judge and staff of cruel warders. In Hell, it is always dark, with no differentiation between night and day.
Tian
‘Heaven’, also, ‘the dome of the sky’
tian-fang
literally ‘to fill the place of the dead wife’; used to signify the upgrading of a concubine to the more respectable position of wife
tiao tuo
bracelets of gold and jade
T’ieh Lo-han
‘Iron Goddess of Mercy’, a ch’a
T’ieh Pi Pu Kai
Literally, ‘the iron pen changes not’, this is the final phrase used at the end of all Chinese government proclamations for the last three thousand years.
ting
An open-sided pavilion in a Chinese garden. Designed as a focal point in a garden, it is said to symbolize man’s essential place in the natural order of things.
T’ing Wei
The Superintendancy of Trials, an institution that dates back to the T’ang dynasty. See Book Six, The White Mountain, for an instance of how this department of government – responsible for black propaganda – functions.
T’o
‘camel-backed’, a Chinese term for ‘hunch-backed’
tong
A gang. In China and Europe these are usually smaller and thus subsidiary to the Triads, but in North America the term has generally taken the place of Triad.
tou chi
Glycine Max, or the black soybean, used in Chinese herbal medicine to cure insomnia
Tsai Chien!
‘Until we meet again!’
Tsou Tsai Hei
‘the Walker in the Darkness’
tsu
the north
tsu kuo
the motherland
ts’un
A Chinese ‘inch’ of approximately 1.4 Western inches. Ten ts’un form one ch’i.
Tu
Earth
tzu
‘Elder Sister’
wan wu
literally ‘the ten thousand things’; used generally to include everything in creation, or, as the Chinese say, ‘all things in Heaven and Earth’
Wei
Commandant of Security
wei chi
‘The surrounding game’, known more commonly in the West by its Japanese name of Go. It is said that the game was invented by the legendary Chinese Emperor Yao in the year 2350 BC to train the mind of his son, Tan Chu, and teach him to think like an emperor.
wen ming
a term used to denote civilization, or written culture
wen ren
the scholar-artist; very much an ideal state, striven for by all creative Chinese
weng
‘Old man’. Usually a term of respect.
Wu
A diviner; traditionally these were ‘mediums’ who claimed to have special pyshic powers. Wu could be either male or female.
Wu
‘Non-being’. As Lao Tzu says: ‘Once the block is carved, there are names.’ But the Tao is unnameable (wu-ming) and before Being (yu) is Non-Being (wu). Not to have existence, or form, or a name, that is wu.
Wu ching
the ‘Five Classics’ studied by all Confucian scholars, comprising the Shu Ching (Book Of History), the Shih Ching (Book of Songs), the I Ching (Book of Changes), the Li Ching (Book of Rites, actually three books in all), and the Ch’un Chui (The Spring And Autumn Annals of the State of Lu).
wu fu
the five gods of good luck.
wu tu
the ‘five noxious creatures – which are toad, scorpion, snake, centipede and gecko (wall lizard)
Wushu
The Chinese word for Martial Arts. It refers to any of several hundred schools. Kung fu is a school within this, meaning ‘skill that transcends mere surface beauty’.
wuwei
Nonaction, an old Taoist concept. It means keeping harmony with the flow of things – doing nothing to break the flow.
ya
Homosexual. Sometimes the term ‘a yellow eel’ is used.
yamen
the official building in a Chinese community
yang
The ‘male principle’ of Chinese cosmology, which, with its complementary opposite, the female yin, forms the t’ai ch’i, derived from the Primeval One. From the union of yin and yang arise the ‘five elements’ (water, fire, earth, metal, wood) from which the ‘ten thousand things’ (the wan wu) are generated. Yang signifies Heaven and the South, the Sun and Warmth, Light, Vigor, Maleness, Penetration, odd numbers and the Dragon. Mountains are yang.
yang kuei tzu
Chinese name for foreigners, ‘Ocean Devils’. It is also synonymous with ‘Barbarians’.
yang mei ping
‘willow plum sickness’, the Chinese term for syphilis, provides an apt description of the male sexual organ in the extreme of this sickness
yi
the number one
yin
The ‘female principle’ of Chinese cosmology (see yang). Yin signifies Earth and the North, the Moon and Cold, Darkness, Quiescence, Femaleness, Absorption, even numbers and the Tiger. The yin lies in the shadow of the mountain.
yin mao
pubic hair
Ying kuo
English, the language
ying tao
‘baby peach’, a term of endearment here
ying tzu
‘shadows’ – trained specialists of various kinds, contracted out to gangland bosses
yu
Literally ‘fish’, but, because of its phonetic equivalence to the word for ‘abundance’, the fish symbolizes wealth. Yet there is also a saying that when the fish swim upriver it is a portent of social unrest and rebellion.
yu ko
a ‘Jade Barge’, here a type of luxury sedan
Yu Kung
‘Foolish Old Man!’
yu ya
deep elegance
yuan
The basic currency of Chung Kuo (and modern-day China). Colloquially (though not here) it can also be termed kuai – ‘piece’ or ‘lump’. Ten mao (or, formally, jiao) make up one yuan, while 100 fen (or ‘cents’) comprise one yuan.
yueh ch’in
a Chinese dulcimer, one of the principal instruments of the Chinese orchestra
Ywe Lung
Literally ‘The Moon Dragon’, the wheel of seven dragons that is the symbol of the ruling Seven throughout Chung Kuo: ‘At its centre the snouts of the regal beasts met, forming a rose-like hub, huge rubies burning fiercely in each eye. Their lithe, powerful bodies curved outward like the spokes of a giant wheel while at the edge their tails were intertwined to form the rim.’ (Chapter Four of The Middle Kingdom).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks must go, once again, to all those who have read and criticized parts of Chung Kuo during its long gestation. To my editors – Nick Sayers, Brian DeFiore, John Pearce, Alyssa Diamond – for their patience as well as their enthusiasm; to my Writers Bloc companions Chris Evans, David Garnett, Rob Holdstock, Garry Kilworth, Geoff Ryman, Simon Ings, Bobbie Lamming and Lisa Tuttle; to Andy Sawyer for an outsider’s view when it was needed; and, as ever, to my stalwart helper and first-line critic, Brian Griffin, for keeping me on the rails.
Thanks are also due to Rob Carter, Ritchie Smith, Paul Bougie, Mike Cobley, Linda Shaughnessy, Susan and the girls (Jessica, Amy and baby Georgia) and Is and the Lunatics (at Canterbury) for keeping my spirits up during the long, lonely business of writing this. And to ‘Nan and Grandad’ – Daisy and Percy Oudot – for helping out when things were tight... and for making the tea!
Finally, thanks to Magma, IQ and the Cardiacs for providing the soundtrack.