Hubbard, Tom
farmer, resident in Church Knowle, husband 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’un’s spy in Jiang Lei’s camp
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 Lo Wen
granddaughter of Jiang Lei
Jiang San-chieh
youngest daughter of Jiang Lei
Jung
steward to Tobias Lahm
Karl
a mercenary
Ku
marshal of the Fourth Banner Army
Kurt
chief technician for GenSyn
Lahm, Tobias
Eighth Dragon at the Ministry (‘The Thousand Eyes’)
Lao Jen
junior minister to Li Shai Tung
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 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 Minister of the Edict of Technological Control
Ma Shao Tu
senior servant to Li Chao Ch’in
Mao Tse T’ung
first Ko Ming emperor (ruled AD 1948 to 1976)
Melfi, Charles
father of Alexandra Shepherd
Ming Hsin-far
senior advocate for GenSyn
Nai Liu
‘EnduringWillow’ pen name of Jiang Lei and the most popular Han poet of his time
Palmer, Joshua
‘Old Josh’, father of Will and record collector
Pan Chao
the great hero of Chung Kuo, who conquered Asia in the first century AD
Pan Tsung-yen
friend of Jiang Lei
Pei Ko
one of the original Seven; advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Pei Lin-Yi
eldest son of Pei Ko
P’eng Chuan
Sixth Dragon at the Ministry (The Thousand Eyes’)
P’eng K’ai-chi
nephew of P’eng Chuan
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 Jake 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 CharlesMelfi
Shepherd, Amos
great-great grandfather of Hal Shepherd chief advisor to Tsao Chj’un and architect of City Earth
Shepherd, Augustus
son of Amos Shepherd
Shepherd, Augustus
Raedwald
great grandfather of Hal Shepherd
Shepherd, Beth
daughter of Amos Shepherd
Shu Liang
senior legal advocate
Shu San
junior minister to Lwo Kang
Su Tung-p’o
Han official and poet of the eleventh century
Svensson
Marshal in Security
Tai Yu
‘Moonflower’, maid to Gustav Ebert a GenSyn clone
Teng
common citizen of Chung Kuo
Teng Liang
Minor Family princess betrothed to Prince Ch’eng I
Trish
artificial intelligence ‘filter avatar’ in Jake Reed’s penthouse apartment
Ts’ao Pi
‘Number Three’ steward at Tsao Ch’un’s court in Pei Ch’ing
Tsao Ch’I 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
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 AlisonWinter at GenSyn
Wang An-Shih
Han official and poet of the eleventh century
Wang Hui So
one of the original Seven advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Wang Lung
eldest son of Wang Hui So
Wang Yu-lai
cadre and servant of the Ministry (‘The Thousand Eyes’). Instructed to report back on Jiang Lei Wei a judge
Weo Shao
chancellor to Tsao Ch’un
Wen P’ing
Tsao Ch’un’s man. A bully
Winter, Alison
Jake Reed’s girlfriend at New College and evaluation executive at GenSyn
Winter, Jake
Son of AlisonWinter
Wu Chi
AI (Artificial Intelligence) to Tobias Lahm
Wu Hsien
one of the original Seven; advisor to Tsao Ch’un
Wyatt, Edmund
businessman and (unknown to him) father of Kim Ward
Yang Hong Yu
legal advocate
Yo Jou His
a judge
Yu Ch’o
family retainer toWang Hui So
GLOSSARY OF MANDARIN TERMS
The transcription of standard Mandarin into a European alphabetical form was first achieved in the seventeenth century by the Italian, Matteo Ricci, who founded and ran the first Jesuit Mission in China from 1583 until his death in 1610. Since then several dozen attempts have been made to reduce the original Chinese sounds, represented by some tens of thousands of separate pictograms, into readily understandable phonetics for Western use. For a long time, however, three systems dominated-those used by the three major Western powers vying for influence in the corrupt and crumbling Chinese Empire of the nineteenth century: Great Britain; France; and Germany. These systems were the Wade-Giles (Great Britain and America – sometimes known as the Wade System), the Ecole fr
ancaise d’Extrême-Orient (France) and the Lessing (Germany).
Since 1958, however, the Chinese themselves have sought to create one single phonetic form, based on the German system, which they termed the hanyu pinyin fang’an (Scheme for a Chinese Phonetic Alphabet), known more commonly as pinyin, and in all foreign language books published in China since 1 January 1979 pinyin has been used, as well as being taught now in schools alongside the standard Chinese characters. For this work, however, I have chosen to use the older, and to my mind, far more elegant transcription system, the Wade-Giles (in modified form). For those now used to the harder forms of pinyin the following may serve as a basic conversion guide, the Wade-Giles first, the pinyin after.
p for b
ch’ for q
ts’forc
j for r
ch’ for ch
t’ for t
t for d
hs for x
k for g
ts for z
ch for j
ch for zh
The effect is, I hope, to render the softer, more poetic side of the original Mandarin, ill-served, I feel, by modern pinyin.
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 contect. However, as a number of Mandarin terms are used naturally in the text, I’ve thought it best to provide a brief explanation of these 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 LandWithout 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 grams. 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
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. There 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 ‘principle 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 antlike 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 recognise 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 ‘The Feast Of The Dead’ in Book Four
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