Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Fu 府 | The residence/mansion of a noble/wealthy family. |
| Hou 侯 | Marquis, below the imperial family, wang – titled prince and gong – duke. |
| Wang 王 | Titled Prince, usually the son/brother of the emperor or late emperor |
| Taizi 太子 | Crown prince |
| Niangniang 娘娘 | Respectful term of address for empresses and consorts of the imperial family. |
| daren 大人 | government official, your excellency |
| dianxia 殿下 | Your/His Highness, the prince |
Adding ye 爷 to male titles is direct addressing the person – wangye, houye, etc.
Locations
| Term | Significance |
|---|---|
| Jinzhou | The novel opens here. Gu family moved here from the capital where Gu daren took up the post of provincial governor. |
| Jingcheng | Imperial Capital. Most of the story takes place here. |
| Tianmen Temple | Gu Jiu meets Liu Zhao here for the first time. |
| Pingnan hou fu | Pingnan Marquis’ official residence |
| Lu hou fu | Lu Marquis’ official residence |
| Hezhong Prefect’s fu | Hezhong Prefect’s official residence |
| Shangfang | The main room – courtyard of the family’s mistress |
| Zhilanyuan | The name of Gu Jiu’s boudoir in Jinzhou. Zhilan – vanilla, lan – orchid; yuan – courtyard. |
| Yamen | The local government office |
| Qingping Race Course | |
| Zhuangzi | Village |
| Great General’s fu | Lu hou‘s residence, where Gu Jiu gets acquainted with Pei Yun and meets Liu Zhao the second time. |
| Provincial Governor’s fu | Gu family’s residence in Jinzhou |
| Xiangsi courtyard | Bai yiniang‘s courtyard |
| donggong | East palace, official residence of the crown prince. |
| Siguo Courtyard | Gu Ting’s courtyard |
Relationships – Family
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Meimei | Younger sister |
| Gege | Older brother |
| Biaoge | Matrilineal elder male cousin – Mother’s brother’s son (or father’s sister’s son) |
| Biaodi | Matrilineal younger male cousin – Mother’s brother’s son (or father’s sister’s son) |
| Biaomei | Matrilineal younger female cousin – Mother’s brother’s daughter (or father’s sister’s daughter) |
| Jiujiu | Maternal uncle, mother’s brother |
| Jiejie | Elder sister |
| Didi | Younger brother |
| Gumu | Paternal aunt |
| Meifu | Brother-in-law, younger sister’s husband |
Numbers prefixing these terms of address denote the person’s birth order in the family. i.e.: Gu Jiu is er jiejie to her younger siblings – the second sister. The prefix for the eldest is da, not yi – Gu Zhen is therefore da jiejie.
Terms of Address
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Laoye | Master of the household. If there are multiple masters (as in the Xie family), numbers are prefixed. I.e. da laoye, er laoye. |
| Guniang | An unmarried lady of a noble or wealthy family. Usually stated as (1) surname + guniang/xiaojie [Pei guniang] (2) rank in the family + guniang/xiaojie [Er xiaojie – second young lady] (3) surname + rank + guniang/xiaojie [Gu er xiaojie – second young lady of the Gu clan] |
| Taitai | Mistress of the household. The family head’s mother is called lao taitai. |
| Gongzi | Young master, young gentleman. |
| Shaoye | Young master. |
| Furen | Madam. Married woman of status, noble lady, wife |
| Daren | Appellation for official. I.e. Gu daren,Official Gu |
| Xiaojie | Young miss, young lady. |
| Yatou | Term of endearment for a young girl by elders. |
| lang/langjun | Young master (usually called by elders/servants of the household) |
| Laoyezi | Respectful term for a male elder |
Self-Appellation
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Nubi | Self-appellation in deprecation, for slaves and servants to refer to themselves in third person while speaking to superiors. ‘I, this slave’ |
| Benguan | I, this official |
| Bendaren | I, this official |
| Benguniang | I, this young lady |
| Benfuren | I, this madam |
| Bengongzi | I, this young master |
| Benhou | I, this marquis |
| Bengong | I, this palace; used by the Crown Prince as well as consorts in the palace. |