Listed below are some of the terms used in this book.
Chow – A sequence of three tiles in the same suit, e.g., Two, Three and Four of Dots
Kong – Four tiles exactly the same, e.g., four North Wind, or four Five Character
Limit – The maximum amount of money that can be paid to a player on a hand
Mahjong – A winning hand, usually comprising of four sets (chows, pungs or kongs) and a pair
Prevailing Wind – Each round (4 games) one of the winds is given double value
Pung – Three tiles exactly the same, e.g., three Red Dragon, or three Seven Bamboo
Tai Feng – A sequence of tile exchanges executed before playing the first tile of a game (Modern players refer to it as the Charleston)
Wall – A formation of tiles 18 side-by-side and two high set in front of each player from which the game tiles are drawn
Wash the Tiles – Moving the face-down tiles on the table in a random fashion, similar to shuffling cards
Ar-Hsi – Ancient Chinese name for what we call Persia
Celestial Mother – Xi Wangmu, also referred to as Queen Mother of the West, wife of the Jade Emperor, ruler of heaven
Chongqing – A large city on the Yangtze River
Chungnan – An imperial city along the Wei River shaped like the Big Dipper constellation (called The Plough, in China)
Classic – An authoritative text, e.g., ‘The Classic of Tea’
Confucius – Kong Qiu (551–479 BCE in our dating system), nobleman who published his beliefs on morality, correctness, justice and sincerity
Ding Cheng Zhuan – “The brick to balance the fort”
Dongting – A region in northeastern Hunan Province
Fen – A Chinese weight equal to half a gram
Fenghuang – Chinese equivalent of the phoenix
Gu Poison – The venom from the survivor of a battle among several caged poisonous animals, usually scorpions, centipedes and snakes
Guizhou – Southern province up the Pearl River from Hong Kong
Hexagram – An arrangement of six Yin/Yang lines, comprising two Trigrams
Hong Kong – Translates to “Fragrant Harbor”
Hunan – A province in the south-central part of China
Huoban – A term that could be used to mean ‘good friend,’ ‘mate’ or ‘business partner’
Jiangshi – A hopping undead being, similar to a zombie but everlasting like a vampire
Jiayu – A village in northwestern China, near Jiuquan
Jiuquan – A town in northwestern China, near Jiayu
Kan Pei – Traditional toast meaning “Empty Cup”
Koan – A teaching story with contradictory elements
Kunlun Shan – The mythological mountain where the gods live
Leveret – A young hare less than one year of age
Li-Kan – Ancient Chinese name for what we call Syria
Monkey King – A mythical primate born from a stone with supernatural powers
Moon Rabbit – The image Westerners call “The Man in the Moon”
Moxibustion – Traditional Chinese medical treatment using burning mugwort to stimulate energy flow
Osmanthus – A fruit-bearing shrub used for its apricot or peach scent
Passion of the Cut Sleeve – Homosexuality, referencing an emperor whose lover fell asleep on his arm and he had to cut the sleeve to sneak away
Pearl River – Empties out into what is now Hong Kong harbor
Pichan – A region within Xiyu
Qin Shi Huang – United warring provinces and became the first Emperor of China
Shanghai – The city at the mouth of the Yangtze River, literally ‘on sea’ or ‘seaport’
Shennong – An ancient ruler of China (approx. 5,000 years ago) who modernized farming practices
Sun Tzu – A general and military strategist, author of The Art of War
Taijiquan – A system of ritual martial art exercise that Westerners call Tai Chi
Tao Te Ching – The text by Lao Tzu comprising 81 chapters that is the basis for the Taoist philosophy, which encourages its followers to live in harmony with the life force around them
Tasseomancy – Using tea leaves to predict the future
Trigram – An arrangement of three Yin/Yang lines
Wushan Bridge – The bridge across the Yangtze River near Chongqing
Xian – The capital city of the first Emperor, Qin
Xiancao – Another name for Jiaogulan, immortal herb
Xianyang – Isolated city where Emperor Qin’s palace stood
Xiansheng – Polite form of address to a man: Sir
Xiongnu – The Mongolians
Xiyu – An isolated region in the far northwest of China
Yangtze River – The longest river in Asia, spanning almost 4,000 miles from the glaciers of Tibet to Shanghai in the east.
Yi Jing – What Westerners refer to as I Ching
Yin and Yang – Opposing energies, generally classified as male and female
Yindu – What the Chinese called India
Zhao Gao –Emperor Qin’s advisor, a eunuch, who tested for loyalty by showing a candidate for office a deer and telling him it was a horse, determining whether the candidate would deny the obvious truth in deference to him
Banana People – Chinese people who live abroad and have lost their sense of culture and history
Bunny – Male homosexual, usually the passive partner
Chrysanthemum – Anus
Egg – Testicle or offspring
Little Bird – Penis
Little Brother – Penis
Longyang – Homosexual, referring to the lord who was the lover of King Wei
Pihua – Feces, ‘shit’
Piyan – Asshole
Rice Bucket – Useless person
Silver-haired Chicken – An older woman’s genitalia
Steamed Buns – Breasts
Turtle – Penis
Wangba – Whore
Wangbadan – Son of a whore, bastard
Yinhu – Female genitalia