Glossary

  夫人 furen: mistress or madam/lady, referring to the legitimate wife 府 fu: compound or estate; junw.a.n.g fu: prince’s estate/compound 郡王妃 junw.a.n.g fei: the official wife of a junw.a.n.g 氏 s.h.i.+: clan/maiden name 王 w.a.n.g: short for qinw.a.n.g (亲王) or first-rank prince 世子 s.h.i.+zi: heir apparent to a qinw.a.n.g (first-rank prince) 世子妃 s.h.i.+zi fei: the official wife of a s.h.i.+zi 郡主 junzhu: t.i.tle given to a daughter of a qinw.a.n.g (first-rank prince), or to a female of the Imperial Family by the Emperor’s decree [1]翁主 wengzhu: t.i.tle given to a daughter of a princess [2]狀元 zhuangyuan, 榜眼 bangyan, 探花 tanhua: literally “top thesis author,” “eyes positioned alongside” and “flower s.n.a.t.c.her”; they are respectively the graduate ranked first, second, and third overall in the triennial imperial examination 郡王 junw.a.n.g: second-rank prince 太监 taijian: court or palace eunuch [3]大人 daren: general term of respect used to refer to those of status 本宫 ben gong: lit. “this palace”; illeism for females of the Imperial Family and imperial consorts [4]表 biao: relatives with a different surname. 表嫂 biao sao: mother’s sibling’s (older) son’s wife (here); or father’s sister’s (older) son’s wife [5]堂 tang: relatives with the same surname. 堂嫂 tang sao: father’s brother’s (older) son’s wife [6]堂伯 tang bo: elder male cousin on father’s side when referred to by a speaker who has married into the family (usually female). Here, Hua Xi Wan as Yan Jin Qiu’s wife is using tang bo to refer to Yan Jin Qiu’s elder male cousin on his paternal side, Yan Bo Yi.