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 endeavors (which often meant plundering Chinese shipping and ports) the name has connotations of piracy.

kang------the Chinese hearth, serving also as oven and in the cold of winter as a sleeping platform.

Kan pel!------"good health" or "cheers"; a drinking toast.

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.

Kuan Yin------the Goddess of Mercy; originally the Buddist male bodhisattva, Avalokitsevara (translated into Han as "He who listens to the sounds of the world," or Kuan Yin). The Chinese mistook the well-developed breasts of the saint for a woman's, and since the ninth century have worshiped 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.

lao jen------"old man"; normally a term of respect.

li------a Chinese "mile," approximating half a kilometer or one third of a mile. Until 1949, when metric measures were adopted in China, the li could vary from place to place.

Nu Shi------an unmarried woman; a term equating to "Miss."

Pa shi yi------literally "Eighty-one," here refering specifically to the Central Council of the New Confucian officialdom.

pai nan jen------literally, "pale man."

pau------a simple long garment worn by men.

Pien hua------literally "Change."

Ping Tiao------"leveling." To bring down or make flat. Hereused also as the name of a terrorist (Ko Ming) organization dedicated to bringing down (leveling) the City.

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 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).

san k'ou------abbreviation of the san kuei chiu k'ou, the sixth stage of respect, according to the Book of Ceremonies it involves 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). Shen Ts'e------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" (fisiang sheng) below them and the gentlemen (ch'un tzu) above.

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 white differentiated. ti yu------the "earth prison" or underworld of Chinese legend. There are ten main Chinese Hells, the first being the courtroom in which sinners are sentenced and the last being that place where they are reborn as human beings. In between are a vast number of subhells, each with its own Judge and staff of cruel warders. In Hell it is always dark, with no differentiation between night and day.

T'ieh Lo-han------"Iron Goddess of Mercy," a ch'a.

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 B.C. to train the mind of his son, Tan Chu, and teach him to think like an Emperor. Wu------a diviner; traditionally these were "mediums" who claimed to have special psychic powers. Wu could be either male or female. 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 Ch'iu (The Spring and Autumn Annals of the State of Lu).

Wushu - the Chinese word for martial arts, 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. As Lao Tzu said, "The Tao does nothing, and yet nothing is left undone." yang - the "male principle" of Chinese cosmology, which, with its complementary opposite, the female yin, forms the t'ai chi, 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