TFv01 CH 12 palace above the day (annotated)

Annotations for palace above the day, the twelfth chapter of One Rainy Day In May.

## Page 268

***The river boats are vague***

from

DAWN OVER THE MOUNTAINS

The city is silent,

Sound drains away,

Buildings vanish
in the light of dawn,

Cold sunlight comes on the highest peak,

The thick
dust of night

Clings to the hills, / The
earth opens,

The river boats are
vague,

The still sky --

The sound of falling leaves.

A huge doe comes to
the garden gate,

Lost from the herd,

Seeking its fellows.

**Tu Fu**

 (712 – 770) was a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. Along with Li Bai (Li Po), he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets

## Page 269

**chiak buay liao**

 cannot finish eating

**tum sim**

greedy

**lagi**

too

**afrojack**

Nick van de Wall (born 9 September 1987), professionally known as Afrojack, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer

## Page 270

**blue pill**

like in collage + because the car has blue neon lights;

**green lights or red**

 rich guys can do what poor armenians cannot

**maseelis**

rich guys car

**mat rokers**

"hillbillies" listening to metal and rock

**fiak**

fuck

**tecnoprenners**

young rich guys

**saht saht boh chioh**

so cool that there is no smile. Springs from
those "cool" types you see in magazine ads who always look frosty,
grouchy or dazed

**meenite**

midnight

**vesak**

Buddhist holiday, commemorating the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha

**lelong**

to sell off cheaply in a clearance sale

**jilo**

 zero

## Page 272

**bow ties**

servants. Men: Pink Pearl, Copper azure (jude boys), Orange onix. Women: Rose with yellow, Chocolate cherry

## Page 273

**you better work bitch**

 Britney Spears – Work Bitch

**riri**

 rihanna

**arbo**

of course/and then

**sial lah**

Exclamation of surprise or disbelief

**Старик явно спятил, иначе бы не привел сюда этого ублюдка. Следи, чтобы они не обокрали его.**

*The old man is obviously crazy, otherwise he would not have brought here this bastard. Watch that they do not rob him.*

## Page 274

**“Он уже давно ничево не видит.”**

*“He has seen nothing for a while.”*

**makan**

 eat, swallow

## Page 275

**gostun**

 turn around ad go back

**chap cheng**

mongrel, crossbreed

**swee**

pretty

**mm sam mm say**

"not 3, not 4" - the equivalent of the English
phrases "neither here nor there" or "neither fish nor fowl". Often used
to dismiss a really stupid idea

**macam**

like

**其皆有**

Its all to have. (Cantonese)

**谢谢**

Thank you

**ah soh**

Generic name used to address an older (though not
necessarily old) lady. Sometimes used as a pejorative term for a
sloppily-dressed woman

**ah chek**

"Uncle", a generic name used to address an older man

## Page 276

**Nicole Chen**

Asia's most successful female DJ

**Gayle San**

female Dj

**ouy ekil tsuj m'i**

I’m just like you – Skrillex – [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw Scary Monsters and
 Nice Sprites]:

[Backwards:] *I'm just like you... you don't need to*
hide... For I am just like you /

*Yes, oh my God!*

*Poltergeist... I'm a*
coward too..

*You don't need to hide, my friend, for I'm just like you*

**atas**

haughty, arrogant

**cheena**

A pejorative term used to describe a 'mainlander', a Chinese
 national, a minor 'foreign talent' with the implied attributes of
opportunism, rudeness and boorishness.

**suah koo**

mountain tortoise”. Used to describe or suggest someone as
 being unsophisticated and ignorant. The Singlish equivalent of a
“country bumpkin” or a “hick”

**lurf**

love

## Page 277

**此地岂非奇,靖靖?**

Isn’t this place odd, jingjing?

**里真高,但是至少这个屋子没有窗户.**

I’'m really high, but at least this room has no windows.

**且一无用火炉.**

And a useless stove.

**吾等须速辞別.**

I and others must quickly say farewell.

**tigers**

singapore beer

## Page 278

**wah lan eh**

„oh penis“, wow, damn

**terbalik**

“upside down” or “inside out”. Sometimes used to mean a reversal

**fuck spider**

Of uncertain origin, this term often connotes extreme
frustration. The general consensus is that it originates from the Army
(the source of many creative Singlishphrases), where a "spider" was dirt
 in the barrel of one's rifle. If during inspection, you found a
"spider" in your rifle, you'd have to strip it and clean it all over
again. Hence, "fuck spider" would either be a common expletive amongst
recruits, or an exhortation by an annoyed inspecting officer/NCO. Some,
however, believe it dates back to an old practice amongst boys to catch
spiders in the undergrowth, house them in small boxes and make them
fight

**jude**

pretty

**ai ya**

? aiya: a chinese word used to express disappointment or when something wrong/bad happens

## Page 279

**arbo**

of course

**chiak leow bee**

literally meaning to "eat rice till it's finished". It describes something as useless or a big waste

**si beh lao kwee**

embarass himself

**lui**

money

**borak**

to talk idly

## Page 280

**-有钱的时候没时间**

Money is not time. (time was currency in Only Revolutions)

**没钱的时候有时间?**

Do not have the money at the time?

## Page 281

**you against yourself**

www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Wpk9aBkSo

**fox and wolves**

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NVrJMjcIDw

**sword**

 xhin's record

**此乃其鹰之宿**

This is the eagle room.

## Page 282

**kia si lang**

to scare even the dead" or "to scare people to
death". Either way, it is used when one has been given a fright.

**如果你肯制, 请让佢为我哋解释一下呢度嘅意义**

If you are willing to make, please let
Drainage sense for me to explain what degree Die generous. (???)
(Cantonese?) / let canal to explain the significance of what I Die
generous degree - basically, auntie want jingjing to ask about the way
of death, how raeden is dying?

**apulian**

Apulia - region of Italy in Southern Italy

**glaux skyphos**

owl cup

**owl**

The owl spirit animal is emblematic of a deep connection with
wisdom and intuitive knowledge. If you have the owl as totem or power
animal, you’re likely to have the ability to see what’s usually hidden
to most. When the spirit of this animal guides you, you can see the true
 reality, beyond illusion and deceit. The owl also offers for those who
have it a personal totem the inspiration and guidance necessary to
deeply explore the unknown and the magic of life. (Spiritanimal.info) + Twin Peaks?

possible reason why auntie is talking about death: The traditional
meaning of the owl spirit animal is the announcer of death, most likely
symbolic like a life transition, change

**lakshmi**

the Hindu goddess of wealth, love, prosperity (both material and spiritual), fortune, and the embodiment of beauty

**ulooka**

The Owl, or the Ulooka in Sanskrit, is Devi Lakshmi's vahana
 [mount or familiar]. Though this bird appears to be the unlikeliest
vehicle for the Goddess, there is a deep spiritual significance as to
why this creature is her mount. The owl, in the Bhagavad Gita is likened
 to an enlightened person and especially one who remains steadfast in
the face of either adversity or joy. The owl has a sort of stoical
attitude to life engendered by wisdom. Thus in Hindu mythology the
Goddess Lakshmi is said to be the mistress of spiritual wisdom. By
keeping the owl as her vehicle, she symbolically indicates the wisdom
within and also her ability to keep ignorance under control. The Ulooka
is also a bird that sleeps during the day and flies and hunts through
the night. In Hindu symbolic thought this ability to ignore the
pleasures of the day but seek the spiritual wealth of the night is part
of the sadhu’s and spiritual seekers journey (dollsofindia)

**zun**

 a type of ancient Chinese bronze or ceramic wine vessel,
sometimes in the shape of an animal, dating from the Shang Dynasty

## Page 283

**burney relief**

 Mesopotamian terracotta plaque in high relief of the Isin-Larsa- or
Old-Babylonian period, depicting a winged, nude, goddess-like figure
with bird's talons, flanked by owls, and perched upon supine lions (Wikipedia)

**cock talk**

the act of engaging in idle banter or perhaps more literally "talking nonsense"

**kong chiao weh**

Hokkien phrase literally meaning "to speak bird language". Probably derived from "talk cock"

**lei gong**

 literally: "Lord of Thunder" or "God of Thunder", is the Chinese
traditional religious and Taoist deity. In Taoism, when so ordered by
heaven, Lei Gong punishes both earthly mortals guilty of secret crimes
and evil spirits who have used their knowledge of Taoism to harm human
beings. Lei Gong is said to be extremely prudish, and will not enter a
house where copulation is taking place (Wikipedia)

**Ascalaphus**

Son of Acheron and Orphne. Askalaphos was the custodian
of the orchard of Hades. He told the other gods that Persephone had
eaten a pomegranate in the Underworld. He was punished by being changed
into an owl. After being transformed into a screech owl, he became the
familiar bird of Hades, god of the underworld + Stravinsky's Persephone
opera can be heard on radio on page 459

**kena sai**

to get into trouble. Literally, "got hit by shit."

**makan**

eat, swallow

**靖靖,我哋嚟过呢度**

Jingjing, we've been here before.

**lurf**

love

**谁是我们**?

Who are "we"?

## Page 287

**03:47:18**

the whole chapter is only 15:45 minutes

**味之奇也.未曾与君同往一处,且相处时多.**

 “That’s strange. I have not been in the same place with Jun in a long time.” (Jun = lord, ruler)

## Pages 288-289 ENTR’ACTE Two – Asters

for more about Entr'actes, see link

**Asters**

The name aster is believed coming from a derived Greek word
“star” because it resembles the star. As far as its function as a symbol is
concerned, there are so many representations and so many meanings. During
ancient times, people believed that the perfume from burned leaves of aster
plants would drive the evil serpents away. Another one comes from Greek, when goddess Asterea cried the flower came to
world that is why it is considered as a love charm that has mystical powers. On
every grave of French soldiers, there are asters being laid signifying a symbol
for their wish of a revised ending to the battle. For today, people commonly
see it as a symbol of both love and patience. Sometimes, it is set to express
suspicion on whether we are faithful as lovers.

**hebrew**

Petals until Eternity and to inifinity

To our enlightened accounts

The flowers of esther, cannot count