UPDATED 5/27/20!
Compiled by JP and Sleepchaser.
Characters:
Zhong Wan: 钟宛 | MC. 24 at the start of the novel. He is part of the side branch of the Zhong clan. Very intelligent and uses his all to protect Prince Qian An’s estate.
Yu She/ Yu Ziyou/ Young Prince Yu/ Heir: 郁赦/ 郁子宥/ 郁小王爷/ 世子 | ML. 23 at the start of the novel. Has bouts of madness.
Xuan Rui: 宣瑞 | Originally Prince Ning’s heir, but is now Prince Qian An, the title of his estate demoted from a Prince of the First Rank’s to a Prince of the Second Rank’s through his own initiative. 17 at the start of the novel and a timid person.
Xuan Yu: 宣瑜 | Prince Ning’s legitimate younger son (part of a set of twins). 10 at the start of the novel.
Xuan Congxin: 宣从心 | Prince Ning’s legitimate daughter (part of a set of twins). 10 at the start of the novel.
Prince Ning: 宁王 | Zhong Wan’s benefactor. He also raised ZW like a father. Prince Ning’s mother was Noble Consort Zhong, who was from the main branch of the Zhong family. So he is technically ZW’s uncle, but with many degrees of separation.
Lin Si: 林思 | mute and grew up with Zhong Wan in his youth.
Yan Pingshan: 严平山 | steward of Prince Qian An’s estate.
Princess Huiyang: 惠阳公主 | the nine-years-old Fourth Princess.
Xuan Jing/Fourth Prince: 宣璟 | Zhong Wan’s drinking buddy in the past
Xuan Qiong/Fifth Prince: 宣琼 | Yu She’s cousin from his father’s side.
Emperor Chongan: 崇安帝 | Emperor of this generation. Looks to be in his sixties.
Terms (alphabetical):
actor: 戏子 | Meaning opera actor. In ancient China, these opera actors/actresses were viewed very lowly and seen as just slightly better than prostitutes.
bastard children: 私生 | Children of “outside mistresses.” Basically, their mothers never entered the household as either the principal wife or a proper concubine.
Beijiang: 北疆 | Northern border; north Xinjiang basically.
central room: 堂屋 | Central assembly room in a courtyard of many rooms.
childhood name: 小名 | Nickname given to children.
cold-food powder: 寒食散 | Cold-food powder, also called five-minerals powder, is a poisonous psychoactive drug. It was popular in China during the Six Dynasties and Tang Dynasty.
county magistrate: 知县
courtesy name: 字 | In ancient China, once men were of age (twenty years old), they would receive their courtesy name. Only a few people called them by their real name (zhengming), and these people included his parents and his wife.
cut-sleeve: 断袖 | Homosexual.
Dali Temple: 大理寺 | Highest judiciary branch in imperial China, in charge of sentencing people and prison time.
dragon and phoenix twins: 龙凤胎 | Male and female fraternal twins.
eldest legitimate son: 嫡长子 | “Di” (嫡) points to the fact that he was born from the principal wife, and as such is considered from the legitimate line. “Zhangzhi” (长子) refers to the fact that he is the eldest son. Usually, the Zhangzhi was the heir, since most aristocratic and noble families made sure their principal wife gave birth to their first son.
evil-warding talisman made of mahogany: 辟邪的桃木符牌
Facial tattooing: 黥面 | A form of punishment that involved tattooing the crime you commited onto your face so that everyone would know what you did.
family soldiers: 家将 | Large, influential families would often have their own soldiers.
forbidden lamella: 逆鳞 | Comes from the saying, “anyone who touches the forbidden lamella of the dragon will die.” Basically, the forbidden lamella is a scale on the dragon’s body that one should never touch; metaphorically, a person’s forbidden lamella is something that, if done, will piss them off greatly.
Ghost Festival: 鬼节 | A traditional Buddhist and Taoist festival held in certain East Asian countries on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. In Chinese culture, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm
hamlet: 庄子
Huiyan: 会元 | First rank in the Metropolitan Exam
Illegitimate son: 庶子 | Sons born of the concubines and not the wife.
imperial academy of medicine: 太医院
Imperial Censor(ate): 御史台
Imperial Clan Court: 宗人府 | The Imperial Clan Court or Court of the Imperial Clan was an institution responsible for all matters pertaining to the imperial family under the Ming and Qing dynasties of imperial China.
imperial gardens: 御花园
Imperial Preceptor: 太傅 | A person who taught the princesses and princes. A highly respectable position. Also known as “teacher to the emperor.”
Jieyuan: 解元 | The top rank in the Provincial Exam
Juren: 举人 | People who passed the Metropolitan Examinations were called Juren. The Metropolitan Examinations is one level under the Imperial Examinations, and one level higher than the Provincial Exams.
kang table/low table: 炕桌 | Low table used on a kang (which is normally found in the north/northeast and has several uses. It can be used as a bed or a seating area, and is typically connected to a heated furnace so that it is warm).
library: 藏书阁
male pet: 男宠 | Young, attractive boys kept by wealthy men as “mistresses” or sex partners.
Mao Shi: 卯时 | 5 to 7 am.
middle garment: 中衣 | White garments that are worn under the outer layer of clothes. Worn at night too as pajamas. This is NOT underwear/the inner garment.
Ministry of Justice: 刑部 | In charge of judicial and penal processes, but had no supervisory role over the Censorate or the Grand Court of Revision.
Ministry of Rites: 礼部 | In charge of organizing the grand state rituals, supervising protocolary matters, carrying out state examinations, and supervising state schools.
Nanjiang: 南疆 | Known as Southern Xinjiang in present day China
nanny: 嬷嬷 | Older female servants in charge of looking after the master’s children or training younger female servants.
noble consort: 贵妃 | Imperial consort of the highest rank, second in power among the women of the palace to only the Empress (disregarding the Empress Dowager)
Palace Exam: 殿试 | After the scholars of the Imperial Exams had finished their exams, and the First (狀元), Second (榜眼), and Third (探花) ranks nationwide had been determined, another test would be held in front of the emperor. There, the emperor would give them a question and they must answer in an essay. Sometimes, depending on the answers, the rankings of the top three would be shuffled.
period of national mourning: 国丧
prefecture magistrate: 知州
prince estate: 王府
Prince of a Commandery/ Prince of the Second Rank: 郡王
princess consort: 王妃 | the principal consort/wife of a prince.
Princess of a Commandery/ Princess of the Third Rank: 郡主 | Someone actually born in the imperial clan instead of being married into it, but not the daughter of the emperor.
Princess Royal: 长公主 | the eldest daughter of the emperor
reading partner: 伴读 | Members of the direct imperial family usually had a “reading partner” (or study buddy) that would accompany them to the lessons by the Imperial teachers. Usually, the reading partner is a child of an aristocratic family that is near the age of the princess/prince they are accompanying
reverse-facing room: 倒座房 | It’s a room that faces the north from the south wing of the courtyard. It’s generally used as a guest house.
royal mausoleum: 皇陵
second door: 二门 | Ancient Chinese estates had a “big door,” which was the main entrance, followed by a “second door” between the outer courtyard and inner courtyard.
secretariat: 中书省
self-selling contract: 卖身契 | Contract that details a slave has been sold to an owner and has no personal freedoms anymore.
shuxiang: 属相 | The animals associated with the years of the 12-year cycle. Each animal has a good relationship with certain animals and bad relationships with others.
side courtyard: 别院
Si Shi: 巳时 | 9 am to 11 am
Three Departments and Six Ministries: 三省六部 | The main central government structure in Imperial China
warmroom: 暖阁 | A room (typically smaller than other rooms) in the courtyard that would be kept warm with a stove/furnace.
Wu Shi: 戊时 | 11pm to 1am
Xinghe Palace: 兴和宫 | The palace contained smaller “palaces” (basically the equivalent of courtyards in regular estates) that the emperor/consorts occupied. This is one of them.
yamen: 衙门 | The administrative office or residence of a local bureaucrat in imperial China. Somewhat similar to a modern police station.
Yulin Guards: 御林军 | A branch of the imperial guards that protects the imperial palace and the emperor. On the contrary, the 大内待卫 only protects the emperor.
Yushui: 雨水 | 2nd of the 24 solar terms; February 19-March 5.
Zhichen Hall: 紫宸 | The hall where government officials, the emperor, and foreign ambassadors met for meetings in the Tang and Song Dynasties.
Zhuangyuan: 状元 | Top rank in Imperial Exams (the nationwide exam)
Thank you for this!