A Girl Named Faithful Plum

Note:
When Chinese is transcribed into English, the letter
x
is pronounced as though it were
sh
, so
xiao-jie
, which means “younger sister,” is pronounced
she-ow-jee-eh
. The letters
zh
are pronounced like
j
, and
q
sounds like
ch
. So Zhongmei is pronounced
joong-may
and Zhongqin, her older sister, is
joong-chin
.

Baoquanling (pronounced
bow-chyuan-ling
)
/ Precious Water from the Mountain Peaks
—Zhongmei’s hometown.

Beijing
—China’s capital city.

Beijing Dance Academy
—China’s premier dance-training institute.

bing-gwer
—an icicle.

bu-tsuo
(pronounced
boo-tswaw
)
—not bad, pretty good.

Chairman Mao / Mao Zedong
—the leader of China’s Communist revolution and the all-powerful head of the government from 1949 until his death in 1976.

Communist Party
—the organization led by Chairman Mao that took power in China in 1949 after a long and bloody civil war.

Cultural Revolution
—a social movement that led to ten years of turmoil in China, from 1966 to 1976, when the leaders fought among themselves and many schools, including high schools and colleges, were closed.

da-ge
(pronounced
dah-guh
)
—older brother.

da-jie
—older sister.

ding zi bu
—basic (first) position in ballet.

er-jie
—second sister.

er zi bu
—second position in ballet.

fen, yuan
—terms for Chinese money. One yuan is worth about fifteen American cents; there are 100 fen per yuan, so seven fen is worth about one American penny.

flying apsara
—a Buddhist celestial maiden.

Gang of Four
—a group of officials led by Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing, who wielded great power during the Cultural Revolution but were arrested and imprisoned after Mao’s death.

guanxi
(pronounced
gwan-she
)
—connections with powerful or influential people.

Hegang (pronounced
huh-gong
)
—a town near Baoquanling and the first stop on Zhongmei’s journey to Beijing.

Heilongjiang / Black Dragon River
—Zhongmei’s home province in North China.

Heilong River
—the broad, turbulent river that divides Heilongjiang from Russia, which was part of the Soviet Union in 1978 and 1979; also known as the Amur River.

Jiang Qing (pronounced
jee-ang ching
)
—Chairman Mao’s wife, imprisoned after his death and now deceased.

kang
(pronounced
kong
)
—a heated brick sleeping platform used in houses in North China.

pi-gu
(pronounced
pee-goo
)
—slang for one’s behind, rear end.

The Red Detachment of Women
and
The White-Haired Girl
—ballets favored by Chairman Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing, and widely performed in China in the 1960s and ’70s.

Red Guards
—bands of students who roamed China during the Cultural Revolution and attacked people they accused of opposing Chairman Mao and his policies.

wu zi bu
—fifth position in ballet.

xiao-di
(pronounced
she-ow-dee
)
—younger brother.

xiao-jie
(pronounced
she-ow-jee-eh
)
—younger sister.

xiao-mei
(pronounced
she-ow-may
)
—little miss.

A Note on Chinese Names

In China, last names come first. That’s why the main character of this book is referred to as Li Zhongmei. Li is her family, or “last,” name; Zhongmei is her given, or “first,” name. Chinese last names almost always consist of a single Chinese character and a single syllable—some of the most common being Li, Chen, Wong, and Liu. Other last names in this book are Jia, Tsang, Zhou, Peng, and Zhu. Given names are typically two characters and two syllables, as in Zhongmei, but they can also be single characters. Zhongmei’s younger brother, Li Feng, is a case of the single-syllable given name.

Chinese children customarily have the same last names as their fathers. When women get married, they rarely change their own last name to match that of their husband. This can be seen in the names of Zhongmei’s parents. Her father is Li Zhengping, her mother Gao Xiuying.

Li Zhongmei (pronounced
lee joong-may
)
—Zhongmei means “Faithful Plum.”

Li Zhengping—
Zhongmei’s father.

Gao Xiuying (pronounced
gow she-oh-ying
)
—Zhongmei’s mother.

Li Zhongqin (pronounced
lee joong-chin
)
/
Da-jie—
Zhongmei’s older sister.

Li Zhongling /
Er-jie
—Zhongmei’s second sister.

Li Guoqiang (pronounced
lee gwaw-chee-ong
)
/
Da-ge—
Zhongmei’s older brother.

Li Feng /
Xiao-di
—Zhongmei’s younger brother.

Lao Lao
—Zhongmei’s grandmother.

Lao Ye
—Zhongmei’s grandfather, who died before the events in the book took place.

Chen Aiyi (pronounced
chen I-yee
)
—Huping’s mother, who takes Zhongmei in when she first arrives in Beijing.

Da-ma
—Policeman Li’s wife.

Huping
—the young man who accompanies Zhongmei on her first train trip to Beijing.

Jia Zuoguang (pronounced
jee-ah dzwaw-gong
)
—vice director of the Beijing Dance Academy.

Jinhua
—a fellow student who torments Zhongmei.

Li Guang
—the son of Da-ma and Policeman Li, works in a photography studio.

Li Zhongshan / Policeman Li
—Da-ma’s husband and the friend of Zhongmei’s father, whose home becomes her home in Beijing.

Liu Lingzhang
—a dance instructor.

Old Zhou (pronounced joe)
—the night watchman at the Beijing Dance Academy.

Peng Guimin / Teacher Peng
—second-year teacher who mentors Zhongmei.

Tsang Tungzhi / Comrade Tsang / Old Maid Tsang (pronounced
dzong
)
—administrator of the Beijing Dance Academy.