Weaves of Ink and Song

Glossary + The World of Qi'zhou

Liaotian names are based on Chinese naming traditions.

*Chinese is an ideographic and tonal language, thus, similarly spelt names in pinyin can be written in an entirely different way. Words can also sound the same but mean different things. You would need to look at the way a character is written to understand its meaning.

A-Bao 阿宝：A- 阿 here is used as a prefix before a name to indicate familiarity. This is commonly used in Chinese when coming up with nicknames or as a term of endearment. Bao 宝 means 'precious or treasure'. The boys in this story have grown up together and are friends, thus the nickname.

Ariq'khan: The conqueror of Ba'ye. Leader of the Eight Ba'yen Tribes in the northern steppes. Assassinated fifteen years ago.

Ba'ye 八野: Lands in the Northern Steppes occupied by eight nomadic tribes. These independent factions were once united under the Ba'ye conqueror Ariq'khan, but the alliance has fallen into disarray after Ariq'khan's demise. Liaotian territories in Dong'liao have been historically prone to border skirmishes and invasions by ambitious Ba'ye tribes.

Gongsun Xuanji 公孙旋玑 | Sun Xuan 孙旋 : Surname Gongsun. Given name: Xuanji Last princess of the fallen Xia Kingdom. Currently masquerading as a male talesinger by the name of Sun Xuan. Xuan 旋 is one half of the term for xuán lǜ 旋律 (melody), and also part of the term for kǎi xuán 凯旋' (triumphant return). Ji 玑 means 'a pearl that is not quite round'. It also stands for Tian Ji 天玑 — which referes to 'Phecda'; a star in the Big Dipper constellation.

Gongsun Yu 公孙羽: Fallen King of Eastern Xia. Surrendered his kingdom to Yelu Wen. Died in exile. Surname Gongsun. Given name: Yu. Yu means feather; it is a word often used for incorporating ideas of lightness and flight.

Gu Chuan 顾川：(Surname: Gu) Gu 顾 means 'to take care of 照顾' or 'turning back回顾' (for a look), while Chuan 川 refers to rivers '河川' or plains '一马平川' in Chinese. If we combine the meanings of rivers and plains for Gu Chuan's name, it gives the general meaning of 'realm' or 'lands'.

Han-Li 寒丽：Han 寒 means cold, while 丽 means beautiful or elegant. （Celestians don't have surnames)

Jie 姐 - 'Elder sister' in Chinese

Junmo 君默：Kuang Sect Disciple. Once a physician in the Ba'yen refugee camp. 'Jun 君' means gentleman in this iteration, while 'mo 默' means silent. So Junmo's name means 'reserved/silent gentleman'

Kuang Sect 旷门 : A pathfinder sect with a long line of disciples originating from Pathfinder Kuang Yanguo (the original Pathfinder Kuang). Elite disciples in the Kuang Sect practise the Path of Song; they are tasked to guard and resurrect the lost Songs of Power, first created by Kuang Yanguo. Kuang Sect is located on Mount Yinyue.

Kuang Yanguo 旷燕国- The original pathfinder Kuang. Musician extraordinaire who lived 800 years ago. The songs of power originated from him.

Liao Mengzhang 廖梦章: (Surname: Liao) Second son of the Crimson General, Liao Dancheng. Served as a general in the Crimson Guard. Once captured by Ba'yens to be a political hostage. 'Meng 梦' means dream, while 'zhang 章' means chapter. The name 'Mengzhang' signifies his father's hope that this son will help to unfurl a 'dream chapter' of peace in his lifetime.

Liao Dancheng 【廖丹城】: (Surname: Liao) The Crimson General, Protector of the North, leader of the Crimson Guard. Liberator of Tian'ping. Father of Liao Mengzhang. (Surname: Liao)