Sandalwood Death

Glossary of Untranslated Terms

The following terms have been left untranslated in the text (most can be intuited from the context):

dan 旦: a female role in Chinese opera

dieh 爹: dad (father), especially popular in northern China

gandieh 干爹: a benefactor, surrogate father, “sugar daddy”

ganerzi 干儿子: the “son” of a gandieh

ganniang 干娘: a surrogate mother

gongdieh 公爹: father-in-law

jin 斤: a traditional unit of weight with sixteen liang 两

kang 炕: a brick sleeping platform, often heated by a fire beneath

laotaiye 老太爷: a respectful term of address for a man of advanced age or high status

laoye 老爷: a more common form of laotaiye

niang 娘: mom (mother), especially popular in northern China

qinjia 亲家: related as in-laws; the parent(s) of a married couple

shaoye 少爷: a young “laoye”

sheng 生: a male role in Chinese opera

shifu 师傅: a teacher, master of a trade

yamen 衙门: an official government office and residence in dynastic China

yayi 衙役: yamen clerks, runners, minor functionaries

yuanwailang 员外郎: an official who has retired to his native home; an official title

zhuangyuan 状元: the top scholar in the Imperial Examination; the best in a field