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The Omniscient - Chapter 1 Notes

By notatranslator
Should probably be doing this in footnotes format as a part of the chapter...Not much detail, that's what Wikipedia's for and where I'm getting this info from...

The second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, the Longtaitou Festival:

  • Celebrates early spring and the coming of rain, praying for good harvests
  • The dragon (long) was associated with rain
  • Longtaitou means "dragon raising its head", signifies the dragon rising from a dormant state

The third day of the third lunar month, paying tribute to Xuanyuan:

  • Xuanyuan/Huangdi (Yellow Emperor), a mythical emperor and supposed ancestor of the Chinese
  • One name the Chinese call themselves is the "descendants of Yan and Huang"
  • Yan was another mythical emperor /ancestor
  • Ancestor veneration is/was very important in China
  • This day was the birthday of Xuanyuan
Twin pupils:
  • In Chinese folklore/mythology, people with strange features were thought to be special
  • Having twin pupils was seen as a sign of being a saint
  • A saint refers to someone of noble character and great knowledge, basically the perfect human. Also referred to Confucius
  • We now know that having twin pupils just means you have a problem with your eyes...
High School Entrance Examination (Zhongkao):
  • You've heard of China's gaokao, here's the middle school version
Village Chief:
  • More official than you think
  • Has a fancy title, Director of the Village Committee
  • Elected every three years by the village committee
  • Can be re-elected an indefinite number of times
   
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