GRINDING HIS INK
Traditionally, ink in China is formed into sticks or cakes, using soot, animal glue and sometimes also incense to create a perfume. These are then ground against special smoothed and carved pieces of stone, along with a few drops of water. According to Chinese literati culture, the ink stick, ink stone, brush, and paper form the so-called Four Treasures of the Study. The earliest examples of ink made this way appear to date back to the twelfth century B.C.
JADE EMPEROR
The Jade Emperor is the supreme deity in the Chinese tradition, a representation of mortality, but, importantly, not the creator of life. No such creator-God exists in Chinese thinking. In Taoist practice in particular, the Jade Emperor commands the other gods in the pantheon, rewarding and punishing their actions every year, as if holding court in a palace on earth.
IN ARTIFICE THERE IS SUBSTANCE, IN SUBSTANCE THERE IS ARTIFICE
This comes from the standard gloss on Sun Tzu's The Art of War and echoes the Taoist and Buddhist dichotomy between fullness and hollowness and the nature of the Void. And yet, Sun Tzu is also committed to the importance of lying and trickery in warfare. Elsewhere, Sun Tzu writes, "He will conquer who has learned the artifice of deviation. Such is the art of maneuvering."
KONG MENG DONG SONG
These characters, when put together in Chinese, sound just as comical and nonsensical as they do in English. The fact that each line consists of rhyming sounds makes a mockery of Chinese poetic tradition, using the four characters per line and four lines per verse model, which is one of the standard building blocks of Chinese prosody.
A SIGN CARVED IN WOOD
The Chinese have, since ancient times, viewed a person's penmanship to be revealing of their character as well as their artistry. As such, the calligraphy of significant people has been preserved for millennia by tracing them onto pieces of wood or stone, carving out the characters and, in some cases, painting them in a solid color so that they might be read more easily. In this way, a tablet or sign could contain the work of two significant figures: the person who composed the text and the person who literally wrote it using brush and ink. This ancient practice does in fact still persist in contemporary China, and it is not at all unusual to see examples of the calligraphy of Chairman Mao or Deng Xiaoping gracing the entrance to university campuses or other official buildings.
ZHONG KUI, THE JUDGE OF THE UNDERWORLD, THE KITCHEN GOD AND THE EARTH GOD
Zhong Kui is known as the vanquisher of ghosts and demons, having been given the role by Yanluo, the ruler of the underworld. He is reputed to keep order over some eighty thousand ghosts.
After death, the Chinese believed that one's soul would face judgment. The Judge of the Underworld, here, is one of the deities believed capable of carrying out such judgment.
The Kitchen God is the most important of the domestic gods in the Chinese tradition. On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, just before Chinese New Year, the Kitchen God returns to the heavens to report on every household's activities. The Jade Emperor then uses this information to decide who he will reward or punish over the coming year. Appeasing the Kitchen God, therefore, is of utmost importance.
The Earth God—literally "the Lord of the Earth and Soil" in Chinese—is a heavenly protector of a community. Each locality will have its own Earth God, and local inhabitants will bring him offerings and even stage birthday celebrations for him to enjoy.
HORSETAIL WHISK
The horsetail whisk is a weapon made by tying hair from a horse's tail to a longish handle. Originally designed to whisk away insects without hurting them, it is in fact supposed to be a compassionate weapon, fully in keeping with the Taoist and Buddhist belief that one should not harm living creatures. Traditionally, when a Taoist disciple left their temple to live as a wandering monk, their master would gift them a horsetail whisk. Should they be tempted to return to a secular life, the whisk would remind them of their spiritual calling.
BLACK APOTHECARY
The surname Huang can be literally translated as "yellow," so calling himself the Black Apothecary is a play on his own name.
UNBRIDLED HEART I AM NOT WEIGHED, BY EITHER SHAME OR GLORY
These lines come from a poem written by the real historical figure Qiu Chuji.
SOME SPEND YEARS IN ISOLATION
This poem has been slightly adapted by Jin Yong from the original, written by Yuan Dynasty poet Cheng Tinggui (A.D. 1289 to approx. A.D. 1362) for his friend, a Taoist, who had been living alone for decades on a boat. Many interpret the first two lines, "Some spend years in isolation, cultivating only unkempt hair and eccentricity," as a dig made by the Quanzhen Sect Taoists at Cyclone Mei, or even at her master, Apothecary Huang.
THE WAY IS FOUND NOT IN BEADS OR BRUSH. NATURE'S MUSIC COMES NOT FROM THE FLUTE
These lines also come from an original poem written by the real historical figure Qiu Chuji.
FIVE MOUNTAINS
China's five most culturally significant mountains are Mount Tai 泰山 in the east, Mount Heng 衡山 in the south, Mount Hua 華山 in the west, Mount Heng 恆山 in the north, and Mount Song 嵩山 in the Central Plains. They have been the locations for imperial pilgrimage, and are each associated with one of the five cosmic deities of Chinese religion. Mount Hua is the very same mountain upon which the martial greats had their Contest, and Mount Song is home to the Shaolin Temple.
COURTESY NAME
In times past, educated Chinese men assumed a courtesy name zi 字 when they turned twenty. This would be the one used in polite company, as opposed to the name given to them by their parents at birth, known as a ming 名.
PENG THE MYTHICAL BIRD
The peng 鵬 is a gigantic mythical bird, similar to the roc or garuda, that can also fly great distances. In some versions of the myth, once airborne, it does not land for another six moons. It is, therefore, often used as a metaphor for the act of reaching higher knowledge or enlightenment, or achieving great deeds.
JIN YONG (1924–2018) (pen name of Louis Cha) is a true phenomenon in the Chinese-speaking world. Born in Mainland China, he spent most of his life writing novels and editing newspapers in Hong Kong. His enormously popular martial arts novels, written between the late 1950s and 1972, have become modern classics and remain a must-read for young readers looking for danger and adventure. They have also inspired countless TV and video game adaptions. His death in October 2018 was met with tributes from around the globe.
Estimated sales of his books worldwide stand at 300 million, and if bootleg copies are taken into consideration, that figure rises to a staggering one billion. International recognition came in the form of an OBE in 1981, a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (1992), a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (2004), an honorary fellowship at St. Antony's College, Oxford, and honorary doctorates from Hong Kong University and Cambridge University, among others.
ANNA HOLMWOOD translates from Chinese and Swedish into English. She was awarded one of the first British Center for Literary Translation mentorship awards in 2010 and has since translated novels and short stories for publication and samples for agents and rights sellers. In 2011 she co-founded the Emerging Translators' Network to support early career translators, and served on the UK Translators Association committee in 2012. Anna was editor-in-chief for Books from Taiwan from 2014 to 2015, and has previously worked as a literary agent, representing some of China's top writing talent. She is now a producer alongside her translation work.
GIGI CHANG translates from Chinese into English. Her translations include classical Chinese dramas for the Royal Shakespeare Company and contemporary Chinese plays for London's Royal Court Theater, Hong Kong Arts Festival, and Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center.
THE NEXT VOLUME OF LEGENDS OF THE CONDOR HEROES
VOLUME IV: A HEART DIVIDED
Guo Jing's love for Lotus Huang is tested when he becomes convinced that her father has murdered someone dear to him. Upon his return to Mongolia, he discovers Genghis Khan wants to enlist him to help conquer the Chinese. Guo Jing must prove his loyalty to the country of his birth if he is to be worthy of bearing the name of his patriot father, Skyfury Guo.