A Handbook of Chinese Cultural Terms

User’s Guide 1. The terms and phrases included in the book cover various aspects of Chinese culture. Their rich connotations are conveyed, where possible, through equivalent English translations. The translation focuses on terms and phrases with Chinese cultural traits: the titles and names of renowned Chinese classics; literary and historical events; literary and artistic works; schools and societies; scenery and relics; folk customs, and so on. 2. Each entry is arranged according to the following order: Chinese entry, Chinese phonetic transcription (pinyin), corresponding English words and explanations. 3. The order of all the entries is arranged alphabetically according to the pinyin transcription. Where there are two identical syllables in pinyin, the entries are ordered according to the tone. 4. The pronunciation of each entry is based on the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet (pinyin) and indicated by transcription and tone markers. Each entry is marked with its original tone, meaning that tone sandhi (ie. the changing of tones according to certain syllabic collocations) is not indicated. The spacing between syllables depends on the natural combination of word-units, e.g. 三国演义 (sānguó yǎnyì); 大团结 (dàtuánjié); 大江东去 (dàjiāng dōng qù), and 八拜之交 (bā bài zhī jiāo). 5. Where an entry has multiple meanings these are separated with ①, ②, ③, and multiple renditions of a single meaning within these are separated by a semicolon, e.g. 阿斗 (ādǒu) ① Liu Shan (刘禅, 207-271, the last emperor of the kingdom of Shu Han) ② (fig) a wimp; a feeble and incompetent person. 6. With respect to the translation of the Chinese entries, equivalent English words are given where possible. Where there is no equivalent translation, explanative English renditions are offered. When a figurative or idiomatic term or phrase is rendered, the concise literal translation is given first in inverted commas, followed by a paraphrase providing its figurative meaning, e.g. 暗度陈仓 (àn dù chéncāng) ① (lit.) “to pretend to march along one route while sneaking along another route” — to do something in secret ② (fig.) to have an illicit love affair; to commit adultery; 程门立雪 (chéngmén lì xuě) (lit.) “standing in snow to wait upon Master Cheng respectfully” — to respect the teacher and learn from him with reverence; 百家饭 (bǎijiāfàn) (lit.) “the Hundred Family Meal” — begged leftovers. 7. When dynastic periods are given, for those which fall after the Christian era, the A.D is omitted, unless this would cause confusion, e.g. 汉朝 (hàncháo) the Han Dynasty (206 BC—220 AD). 8. Dates of historical figures and events are provided in the translations; e.g. 慈禧太后 (cíxǐ tàihòu) Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908); 鸦片战争 (yāpiàn zhànzhēng) The Opium War; the Opium Wars (including The First Opium War (1840-1842) and The Second Opium War (1856-1860)); 辛亥革命 (Xīnhài Gémìng) the Revolution of 1911; the 1911 Revolution; 五卅运动 (wǔsàyùndòng) the May 30th Movement (1925). 9. The title of a Chinese literary work is enclosed with the punctuation marks “《》”, and its English title is italicized, e.g. 《红楼梦》 (hónglóumèng) A Dream of Red Mansions, The Story of the Stone (a novel by Cao Xueqin (曹雪芹, 1715-?1763) and Gao’E (高鹗, 1758-?1815); the adaptation of this novel as a TV drama and film). 10. American English is taken as standard for all translations and explanations.