PEACH TREE GARDEN This was the setting in which the three third-centuryheroes of the novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei, Zhang Feiand Guan Yu, swore an oath of brotherhood.PEACHTREE STREAM Thiswas the legendaryUtopia stumbled upon bythefisherman in thefamous storybythepoetTaoYuanming(365-428).QI This is a fundamental concept in traditional Chinese philosophy,medicineand kungfu. It is the energy, breath, or inner life-force cultivated by Taoists andkungfu practitioners through meditation and self-cultivation, the wholeprocessbeingknownas Qigong,orWorkon theQi.QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)This dynasty, literallythe Pure or Clear dynasty,was the last Imperial dynasty, during which China was ruled by the Manchus.RIVER AND LAKE, BROTHERHOOD OF (jianghu) In earliest times'River andLake' referred to the backwaters (originally the Yangtze River and DongtingLake, then by extension the Three Rivers and the Five Lakes) into whichhermits disappeared in order to live a reclusive life. It became the expressionfor the whole underground culture of traditional China, the vagrant outlawfraternity, as opposed to the Confucian establishment. Especially in the South,such people travelled about largely by water (river, lake, canal), hence thename. It was a world fraught with danger, but with its own romance andmythology. Ten years may a scholar make, But not a veteran of River andLake.Onceindividuals belonged to this alternativeBrotherhood, mere existed between them a tacit understandingand bond.Theyhad their own codeof conduct,their own concepts ofhonour and loyalty,theirown language and wisdom,their own hierarchy.In the broad sense River andLake embraced every'marginal' and dispossessed element in society:from theroving swordsman, bodyguard, and Martial Arts adept (Shifu) to the lowliesttravelling performer with his monkey and his hurdy-gurdy; from the storyteller,the juggler, and the acrobat to the medicineman selling patent plasters, thetravelling barber, and the fortune-teller consulting the Book of Changes; fromthe wandering Taoist monk selling tal-ismanic charms to the rebel-leadergathering together members of some religious secret sect in his mountain lairIt included cripples, beggars, tramps, singsong-girls, bawds, pirates,junkmen-buccaneers, drug-runners, smugglers, bandits, gangsters, and thieves.(In later usage to be a'River and Lakeman'came to have the popular sense ofto be'wise in the ways ofthe world','street-wise, smart',and thence'charlatan,orquack'.)Their British counterparts were the 'travelling folk' or 'gentlemen of the road'.The beat characters and hobos in Jack Kerouac's novels (On The Road, The
PEACH TREE GARDEN This was the setting in which the three third-century heroes of the novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu, swore an oath of brotherhood. PEACH TREE STREAM This was the legendary Utopia stumbled upon by the fisherman in the famous story by the poet Tao Yuanming (365-428). QI This is a fundamental concept in traditional Chinese philosophy, medicine, and kungfu. It is the energy, breath, or inner life-force cultivated by Taoists and kungfu practitioners through meditation and self-cultivation, the whole process being known as Qigong, or Work on the Qi. QING DYNASTY (1644-1911) This dynasty, literally the Pure or Clear dynasty, was the last Imperial dynasty, during which China was ruled by the Manchus. RIVER AND LAKE, BROTHERHOOD OF (jianghu) In earliest times 'River and Lake' referred to the backwaters (originally the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake, then by extension the Three Rivers and the Five Lakes) into which hermits disappeared in order to live a reclusive life. It became the expression for the whole underground culture of traditional China, the vagrant outlaw fraternity, as opposed to the Confucian establishment. Especially in the South, such people travelled about largely by water (river, lake, canal), hence the name. It was a world fraught with danger, but with its own romance and mythology. 'Ten years may a scholar make, But not a veteran of River and Lake.' Once individuals belonged to this alternative Brotherhood, mere existed between them a tacit understanding and bond. They had their own code of conduct, their own concepts of honour and loyalty, their own language and wisdom, their own hierarchy. In the broad sense River and Lake embraced every 'marginal' and dispossessed element in society: from the roving swordsman, bodyguard, and Martial Arts adept (Shifu) to the lowliest travelling performer with his monkey and his hurdy-gurdy; from the storyteller, the juggler, and the acrobat to the medicineman selling patent plasters, the travelling barber, and the fortune-teller consulting the Book of Changes; from the wandering Taoist monk selling tal-ismanic charms to the rebel-leader gathering together members of some religious secret sect in his mountain lair. It included cripples, beggars, tramps, singsong-girls, bawds, pirates, junkmen-buccaneers, drug-runners, smugglers, bandits, gangsters, and thieves. (In later usage to be a 'River and Lake man' came to have the popular sense of to be 'wise in the ways of the world', 'street-wise, smart', and thence 'charlatan, or quack'.) Their British counterparts were the 'travelling folk' or 'gentlemen of the road'. The beat characters and hobos in Jack Kerouac's novels (On The Road, The
Dharma Bums) are members of an American River and Lake fraternity. In theAustralian 'bush', bushrangers shared a similar camaraderie of mateship. TheFrench Resistance took to the 'maquis'or scrub-country. In eachcase theterrain connoted a shared way of life, outside the mainstream of respectablesociety.The more inclusive Brotherhood of River and Lake embraced within itself themore exclusive Brotherhoods such as that of the secret societies(e.g.theTriads). In The Deer and the Cauldron the term Brodier is used both betweenTriad members (who have been formally initiated intoa Lodge),and within theless formal fellowship of River and Lake.All of Louis Cha's Martial Arts novels are set against the rich backdrop of theChinese River and Lake world.SHAOLIN KUNGFU This School of kungfu was named after the ShaolinTemple near the Central Sacred Peak of Mount Song in central China, and isthe oldest of the Martial Arts lineages, its origins dating back to the IndianBuddhist monk Batuo in the fifth century, and to the six-century Zen patriarchBodhidharma (also an Indian). Over the ages, it developed into countless stylesand sub-divisions, the so-called Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin. For example, thestyle madefamous by the late Bruce Lee,Wing Chun,is a Cantonesedevelopment of the Southern Shaolin tradition. Many secret societies inChinese history had links with Shaolin (e.g. the White Lotus sect, the Boxers).SHIFU This is the traditional term of respect (meaning Master, or Guru) usedof a Martial Arts adept by his disciples. 'A Teacher for a day is a Fatier for life.SOFTCRUSHKARATE (huagu)Thislethal and highly unorthodox formof kungfu included the art of killing by causing bones to disintegrate graduallywithout inflicting any visible injury, and was taught only by the sinister Masterof Snake Island, offthecoastof Liaodong.SPRING AND AUTUMN This period (722-468 BC) was the subject of one ofthe earliest and most famous works of Chinese history, The Spring and AutumnAnnals.TAEL A 'Chinese ounce'; a weight of silver, used as money. In 1613, a tael ofsilver was roughly equivalent to'five shillings sterling'TAOISM This was one of the Three Chinese Religions or Schools of Philosophy(along with Confucianism, and Buddhism, which was imported from India).The two great early Taoist sages were Laozi (reputed, if indeed he ever existed,to have been 'author' of TheWay and IK Power, and a contemporary of
Dharma Bums) are members of an American River and Lake fraternity. In the Australian 'bush', bushrangers shared a similar camaraderie of mateship. The French Resistance took to the 'maquis' or scrub-country. In each case the terrain connoted a shared way of life, outside the mainstream of respectable society. The more inclusive Brotherhood of River and Lake embraced within itself the more exclusive Brotherhoods such as that of the secret societies (e.g. the Triads). In The Deer and the Cauldron the term Brodier is used both between Triad members (who have been formally initiated into a Lodge), and within the less formal fellowship of River and Lake. All of Louis Cha's Martial Arts novels are set against the rich backdrop of the Chinese River and Lake world. SHAOLIN KUNGFU This School of kungfu was named after the Shaolin Temple near the Central Sacred Peak of Mount Song in central China, and is the oldest of the Martial Arts lineages, its origins dating back to the Indian Buddhist monk Batuo in the fifth century, and to the six-century Zen patriarch Bodhidharma (also an Indian). Over the ages, it developed into countless styles and sub-divisions, the so-called Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin. For example, the style made famous by the late Bruce Lee, Wing Chun, is a Cantonese development of the Southern Shaolin tradition. Many secret societies in Chinese history had links with Shaolin (e.g. the White Lotus sect, the Boxers). SHIFU This is the traditional term of respect (meaning Master, or Guru) used of a Martial Arts adept by his disciples. 'A Teacher for a day is a Fatiier for life.' SOFT CRUSH KARATE (huagu) This lethal and highly unorthodox form of kungfu included the art of killing by causing bones to disintegrate gradually, without inflicting any visible injury, and was taught only by the sinister Master of Snake Island, off the coast of Liaodong. SPRING AND AUTUMN This period (722-468 BC) was the subject of one of the earliest and most famous works of Chinese history, The Spring and Autumn Annals. TAEL A 'Chinese ounce'; a weight of silver, used as money. In 1613, a tael of silver was roughly equivalent to 'five shillings sterling'. TAOISM This was one of the Three Chinese Religions or Schools of Philosophy (along with Confucianism, and Buddhism, which was imported from India). The two great early Taoist sages were Laozi (reputed, if indeed he ever existed, to have been 'author' of The Way and IK Power, and a contemporary of
Confucius) and the scintillating wit Zhuangzi (contemporary of the secondConfucian sage, Mencius, and much admired by Oscar Wilde). The Taoistmysticsplacedgreat emphasis on living inHarmonywithNature,orwiththeTao (the Way, the underlying Principle, or Logos, of the Universe), and to thisend perfected techniques of meditation and self-cultivation. Much of thephilosophy accompanying kungfu is an amalgam of Taoism and Buddhism.Unlike Buddhist monks, Taoist priests did not shave tieir heads but let theirhairgrowlong.THREEKINGDOMS (San Guo)This was a famous period in Chinese history(220-265),when three rival contesters fought it outfor the succession to theHan dynasty. Stories surrounding the exploits of the main con-testers providedrousingmaterial over thecenturiesforendlessballads,storyrecitations, operas,and films (including an enormously long TV adaptation recently released inChina).The story reached its first culmination in the epic novel (probablywritteninthefifteenthcentury),TheRomanceoftheThreeKingdoms,ofwhichthereareechoesthroughoutLouisCha'swork.Thereisa newtranslationby Moss Roberts (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992)TRIADS The Triad Society, or Society of Heaven and Earth (Tiandihui), was asecret societydedicated to the overthrow of the Manchus and the restoration ofthe Ming dynasty, pledging loyalty to the Ming Pretender Prince Tang. It wasdivided geographically into several Lodges (tang or, in Cantonese, long). TheFive Forward Lodges were:Lotus Flower (Fujian Province), Obedience(Guangdong),Clan(Guangxi),Unity(HunanandHubei).andTransformation(Zhejiang). The Five Rear Lodges were: Green Wood (Jiangsu), Red Fire(Guizhou), White Metal (Sichuan), Black Water (Yunnan), and Yellow Earth(Henan and the central provinces). Many legendary accounts of the TriadSociety's origins exist, some of which describe a link between the FiveAncestors(TigerGenerals)oftheTriadsandtheFiveFightingMonksoftheSouthernShaolinTempleinFujian,who escaped after the burning of their temple during the reign of EmperorKang Xi. This resistance organization continued to operate throughout theManchu dynasty, spreading to the Overseas Chinese communities inSouth-EastAsiaandtheUnitedStates(SunYatsenwasinductedintotheHawaii Lodgein19o4).Itwas theforerunner oftoday's notorious world-wideTriad network.WATER MARGIN (Shuihuzhuah) This is the classic bandit novel in Chinese
Confucius) and the scintillating wit Zhuangzi (contemporary of the second Confucian sage, Mencius, and much admired by Oscar Wilde). The Taoist mystics placed great emphasis on living in Harmony with Nature, or with the Tao (the Way, the underlying Principle, or Logos, of the Universe), and to this end perfected techniques of meditation and self-cultivation. Much of the philosophy accompanying kungfu is an amalgam of Taoism and Buddhism. Unlike Buddhist monks, Taoist priests did not shave tiieir heads but let their hair grow long. THREE KINGDOMS (San Guo) This was a famous period in Chinese history (220-265), when three rival contesters fought it out for the succession to the Han dynasty. Stories surrounding the exploits of the main con-testers provided rousing material over the centuries for endless ballads, story recitations, operas, and films (including an enormously long TV adaptation recently released in China). The story reached its first culmination in the epic novel (probably written in the fifteenth century), The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, of which there are echoes throughout Louis Cha's work. There is a new translation by Moss Roberts (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992). TRIADS The Triad Society, or Society of Heaven and Earth (Tiandihui), was a secret society dedicated to the overthrow of the Manchus and the restoration of the Ming dynasty, pledging loyalty to the Ming Pretender Prince Tang. It was divided geographically into several Lodges (tang or, in Cantonese, long). The Five Forward Lodges were: Lotus Flower (Fujian Province), Obedience (Guangdong), Clan (Guangxi), Unity (Hunan and Hubei), and Transformation (Zhejiang). The Five Rear Lodges were: Green Wood (Jiangsu), Red Fire (Guizhou), White Metal (Sichuan), Black Water (Yunnan), and Yellow Earth (Henan and the central provinces). Many legendary accounts of the Triad Society's origins exist, some of which describe a link between the Five Ancestors (Tiger Generals) of the Triads and the Five Fighting Monks of the Southern Shaolin Temple in Fujian, who escaped after the burning of their temple during the reign of Emperor Kang Xi. This resistance organization continued to operate throughout the Manchu dynasty, spreading to the Overseas Chinese communities in South-East Asia and the United States (Sun Yatsen was inducted into the Hawaii Lodge in 1904). It was the forerunner of today's notorious worldwide Triad network. WATER MARGIN (Shuihuzhuah) This is the classic bandit novel in Chinese
literature, set in the twelfth century, precursor of all Martial Arts fictionSeveral translations are available (Pearl Buck, All Men Are Brothers, 1933;Jackson, Water Margin, 1937; Shapiro, Outlaws of the Marsh, 1981), but noneof them does justice to the infectious spirit of the original.WONTONCantonesetermfordumplingYAMENTermfora Chinesemandarin's official compoundNOTEONPRONUNCIATIONIn this book,Chinese names and place-names are in general spelt according tothe Chinese system known as Hanyu Pinyin, which is now internationallyaccepted. (Occasional exceptions to this rule include well-establishedgeographical names such as the Yangtze River, and the cities of Peking,Nanking, and Canton.) The following short list may help readers with some ofthe more difficult sounds used in the Pinyin system:LetterPronunciationcqxzzhts ch shdzThese very rough equivalents may also be of help to readersWordBoCaiGangChen
literature, set in the twelfth century, precursor of all Martial Arts fiction. Several translations are available (Pearl Buck, All Men Are Brothers, 1933; Jackson, Water Margin, 1937; Shapiro, Outlaws of the Marsh, 1981), but none of them does justice to the infectious spirit of the original. WONTON Cantonese term for dumpling. YAMEN Term for a Chinese mandarin's official compound. NOTE ON PRONUNCIATION In this book, Chinese names and place-names are in general spelt according to the Chinese system known as Hanyu Pinyin, which is now internationally accepted. (Occasional exceptions to this rule include well-established geographical names such as the Yangtze River, and the cities of Peking, Nanking, and Canton.) The following short list may help readers with some of the more difficult sounds used in the Pinyin system: Letter Pronunciation c q X z zh ts ch sh dz These very rough equivalents may also be of help to readers. Word Bo Cai Gang Chen
ChengChongChuanDangDongEmeiFengGuiGuoJiaJiangKongPronunciationBoarTs'eye (It's eye', without the first vowel)Ts'amgChurnChurngChoong (as in 'book')ChwanDung (as in'cow dung")Doong (asin'book)
Cheng Chong Chuan Dang Dong Emei Feng Gui Guo Jia Jiang Kong Pronunciation Boar Ts'eye ('It's eye', without the first vowel) Ts'amg Churn Churng Choong (as in 'book') Chwan Dung (as in 'cow dung') Doong (as in 'book')