Han Xian-zi quan-z^uan, cap

Han Xian-zi quan-z^uan, cap. 0-1

"The complete story of" (p. xv) Han Xian-zi

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pp. xv-xxxv "Translator’s Introduction"

p. xxiii	"Yang’s style was Shenglu ...; he lived in the city of Qiantang ... (modern-day Hangzhou ...) ... . Yang was a scholar and printer who ran two publishing house in Qiantang. One was called the Hall of Purity in Poverty (Yibai tang ...), the other the Thatched Abode of Mysteries (Caoxuan Ju ...)."
p. xxiv	*"Records of Immortal Beauties* ... is a collection of hagiographies of female immortals, with a postface by Yang dated to 1602. ...** Record of the Ancestral Teachings of the perfect Lord Xu’s [Way of] Purity and Light ... is a collection of texts by and on the third century immortal Xu Xun ..., published in 1604."
p. xxv	"prior to writing Han Xiangzi, Yang Erzeng had been involved in the publication of two Daoist collections : one hagiographical (Records of Immortal Beauties), the other combining hagiographical and systematic-doctrinal elements (Record of the Ancestral Teachings of the perfect Lord Xu’s [Way of] Purity and Light)."
p. xxxiv	One "Jiuru Tang edition exists ... adding to it commentaries at the end of each chapter. ... the commentator is a certain Immortal Guest of Great Peace (Taihe Xianke ...) from Wulin ... (modern Hangzhou). ... the author of the novel’s preface ... signed his name as the Private Historian of the Mists and Vapors at the Hall of Great Peace (Yanxia Waishi ti yu Taihe Tang ...). ... in his preface to Romance of the Eastern and Western Jin Dynasties Yang recounts how the original manuscript of the novel was given to him by a Master of Great Peace Hall (Taihe Tang Zhuren ...)."
p. xxxv	"a Chinese li ... is only a bit more than a third of a mile. However, ... "mile" henceforth is to be read as standing in for the Chinese li." "Han Yu is variously referred to by his style, Tuizhi; his posthumous title, Wengong; or more generally as ... Master Han."

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pp. 3-6 -- 0. "Praeface" by author

p. 3	When Heaven became separated apart from Earth, "sun and moon emitted their light; the stars shone forth; the thunderbolt reverberated among the clouds; lightning streamed across the sky; plants and trees produced blossoms and fruits." "we have the turtle who ... lives through the ages, and the crane who ... soars up to Heaven".
p. 4	"immortals ... control the six dragons ... . ["the six yang lines of the qian ... hexagram" (p. 456, n. 0:4)] ... they extinguish the blazing flames on the mountain of doubts. They ride blue phoenixes above Cinnabar Hill [Dan-qiu] ... . They drive chariots pulled by striped unicorns in the Mysterious Garden [Xuan-pu] ... . In the morning they travel over the Round Ocean, in the evening they feast in the Fangzhu Palace. They abstain from grains and eat immortality mushrooms so that throughout their existence they never age. ... Investigating the red tablets, they reveal the golden records on the Charts of the Five Marchmounts. Evenly examining the purple documents, they divulge the elixir scriptures in their nine tubes."
	The immortal Xian-li from C^an-li "understood the Three Perfections ... comprehended the Eight Minerals ... treasured the Five Brilliances ... preserved the Nine Essences. ... Riding the mist with flying duck shoes [" "Flying duck shoes" (feifuxi ...) were said to have been worn by the immortal Wang Ziqiao ..." (p. 457, n. 0:8)], he completely realized ... unified perfection."
	His story is transmitted only "by the blind storytellers {blind storytellers are Korean; cf. also Homeros the blind}, who either sing in a loud voice while holding documents ..., or recite ballads ... as Daoist priests". "These ... poems ... are sung by boatmen while
p. 5	rowing their oars". "The author traces Xiangzi’s numinous cultivation back to Mount Pleasant Yoke. After he takes the form of a white crane, he undergoes innumerable transformations until ... his fame reaches the stars. He is compelled to drink the nuptial cup ... . ... Cutting the hibiscus and transforming it into a beautiful women, everywhere he applies his divine powers. ... He changes a stone lion into gold and obtains propitious snow ... . With a wave of his hand he makes the Dragon Sage come, and with his feet he steps on auspicious clouds ... . ... Han Xiangzi divines Han Yu’s destiny and exorcizes the violent crocodile of Chaozhou. ...
p. 6	In a dream a marriage proposal is made ... . ... Happily, ... the Metal Mother gets to engage in her amours. A man-bear obeys orders submissively, while a black-hearted musk-deer ... becomes a deity.
	This book explains the secret scripts of the Perfected Man Zhuowei Mumu; ... and displays extraordinary tidings from the realms of gods and ghosts. ... It has ... the wondrous transformations of Water Margin, while lacking the cruel satire of The Journey to the West ... . It may be said that ... there is nothing that can measure up to this work. ...
	*... in the guihai* year of the Tianqi reign period, inscribed by the Private Historian of the Mists and Vapors at the Hall of Great Peace."**

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pp. 7-8 -- 00. "Prologue" by author

p. 7

"As yin and yang merged, humanity was created.

Yellow Sprouts and White Snow repeatedly renew themselves, ...

One moment I see a mulberry field changing into an ocean, ...

Black ox and white dog bellow at the Milky Way,

In the twinkling of an eye, chess pieces respond to each other."

["The chess game is one played by immortals; the human onlooker at such a game falls into a dreamlike state, and finds at the end of the game that by human reckoning years have passed." (p. 497, n. 00:3)]

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pp. 9-24 – 1. "At Mt. Pheasant Yoke; at Banks of River Xian"

pp. 9-10 named geographical regions

p.	*#s of regions*	*specific names*
9	9 directional provinces	*direction*	*province*		*province’s sobriquet*
		southeast	S^en		agriculture
		south	Zi		fertility
		southwest	Ron		abundance
		west	Yan		ripeness
		centre	Ji		central
		northwest	Tai		plenty
		north	Qi		consummation
		northeast	Bo		seclusion
		east	Yan		beginning again
	9 mountains	Gui-ji
		Tai
		Wan-wu
		S^ou
		Tai-hua
		Qi
		Tai-han
		Yan-c^an
		Men-men
	9 passes	Tai-fen
		Min-ou
		Jin-ruan
		Fan-c^en
		Yao-ban
		Jin-xin
		Lin-ci
		Gou-zhu
		Ju-yon
	9 marshes	*__ marsh*				*of __ (state)*
		Ju-qu				C^u
		Yun-men				Yue
		Yan-yu				Qin
		Da-lu				Jin
		Pu-tian				Z^en
		Men-z^u				Son
		Hai-yu				Qi
		Ju-lu				Z^ao
		Z^ao-yu				Yan
9-10	8 winds	*direction*		*__ wind*
		p. 9 northeast		intense
		p. 10 east		protracted
		southeast		luminous
		south		balmy
		southwest		cool
		west		lofty
		northwest		elegant
		north		cold
10	6 rivers	Yellow
		Vermilion
		Liao
		Black
		Yan-tze
		Huai

p. 10 linear measurements of the earth (as certified by Yu)

*the measured*	*its measure*	*its measurer*
east-to-west	233,500 li + 75 paces	Tai Z^an
north-to-south	" " " "	S^u Hai
altitude (of "wall of nine layers")	11,000 li + 114 paces + 2 feet + 6 inches	?

p. 10 vegetation on summit of mt. Kun-lun

*location*	*vegetation*
centre	"tree-like cereal plants thirty-five feet tall"
west	"pearl trees, jade trees, carnelian trees, and never-dying trees."
east	*"sand-plum trees and lang’gan* trees."**
south	"crimson trees."
north	*"bi jade trees and yao* jade trees."**

p. 10 the 2 mountains, one on each side of mt. Kun-lun

"Clouds hover over Bear Ears"

"Water gushes from Pheasant Yoke"

pp. 10-11 description of some mountain [Bear Ears?]

p. 10	this mountain "Stands firm among the vast waters", waters inhabited by "scaly dragons and sea serpents".	{are these "dragons and sea serpents" allusive of the bear’s proclivity to catch fish?}
p. 11	"Here the earth dragon is located in the corner marked by the phases of wood and fire [i.e., the southeast corner],	["The "earth dragon" is an alternative name for the earthworm,
	While the cloud mother is hidden at its southeast border."	while the "cloud mother" is the mineral mica." (p. 457, n. 1:2)]

pp. 11-12 lore about cranes

p.	*cranes*
11	"Phoenix wings and tortoise back,
	Swallow breast and turtle belly.
	Their cries warn of the falling dew.
	Stopping at Gold Cave Mountain, ...
	Gathering at Orchid Cliff Mountain, ...
12	Some rode in noble chariots in the state of Wei,
	While other served as mounts at the Tower of Jiangxia. ["Yellow Crane Tower ... at Snake Mountain ... in Jiangxia Prefecture (in the modern city of Wuhan ..., Hubei)." (p. 458, n. 1:6)]
	Others again fetched arrows for immortals at Ye Brook ["South of Shaoxing ... in the present-day province of Zhejiang ... are located the Guiji Mountains ..., to the east of which flows Ye Brook ... . Two peaks of these mountains are called Target Mountain ... and white Crane Mountain ... respectively." (p. 458, n. 1:7)] ... . ...
	Truly, this crane is a descendant of Master Wang of Mount Kou ["The immortal Wang Zijin ... (aka Wang Ziqiao ...) ascended to heaven from Mount Koushi (in modern Henan) mounted on a crane." (p. 458, n. 1:10)],
	Of the same kind as Ding Ling of Liaodong." ["Ding Lingwei ... of Liaodong ... was an adept who became an immortal and ascended to heaven in the shape of a crane." (pp. 458-459, n. 1:11)]

p. 458, n. 1:6 "The immortal reciprocated the favor by drawing a yellow crane on the wall of the inn." [cf. (emperor’s) prospective father-in-law : "two pheasants he had painted on a screen" (p. 460, n. 3:1)]

p. 16 divine match-maker for marriages

wife died of grief "just because the Old Man Under the Moon made a wrong match" ["the Old Man Under the Moon (Yuexia Laoren ...) is responsible for bringing together those who are destines to become spouses." (p. 459, n. 1:16)]

p. 20 face of Z^on-li Quan; of Lu: Don-bin

Z^on-li Quan	Lu: Don-bin
"lion-like mouth"	"eyes of wisdom"

p. 20 apparel worn by human form of white crane; by human form of musk deer

human form of musk deer?	human form of white crane?
"cap made from bamboo sheaths"	"hair dressed in a yin-yang pattern"
"robe trimmed with black down,	"gown of yellow cloth,
around his waist a silken sash"	bound with a soft belt"
"tied shoes of hemp,	"with straw sandals and
*looking like Kuafu of ancient myth who pursued the wind and chased the sun." [Lie-zi, lib. 5 ("Tan-wen")]*	had the appearance of a divine immortal who rides the clouds {flying, like crane} and paces the moon."

pp. 22-23 accoutrements of marshal Z^ao of the Dark Altar ["The deity’s full title is Marshal Zhao of the Dark Altar of Orthodox Unity (Zhengyi Xuantan Zhao Yuanshuai ...)." (p. 459, n. 1:21)]

p.	*on his __*	*he wore __*	*its ornamentation*
22	head	"iron helmet,	laquereed black and red"
	hand	"steel rod	inlaid with silver threads."
22-3	thorax	"gown of black gauze"	"Golden dragons"
23	waist	"lion-buckled belt"	"jade pendants"
	face	black	"as the soot under a pot"
	lips	red	"as ... vermilion."
	at left	"strong man	with a yellow headcloth" {Yellow Turban}
	at right	"Great Black Tiger Spirit"
	circling him	"Flaming fire wheels"
	in front	"black flags"

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Yang Erzeng (trans. by Philip Clart) : The Story of Han Xiangzi. U of WA Pr, Seattle, 2007.