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• 1 2021-09-19T15:59:03-04:00 I.17 Yin Zaisheng, "Complete account of wrongful imprisonment in Chongyang" 1 plain 2021-09-19T15:59:03-04:00

  This retelling of events -- "A complete account of wrongful imprisonment in Chongyang" -- is attributed to a servant in the household of magistrate Shi Changzhi, named Yin Zaisheng 殷再生 (almost certainly a pseudonym). The text is in the collection of the Shanghai Municipal Library.

  Yin himself called this account "The fact of the Chongyang rebels" 崇逆事實. (p.1)

  Page 4

  屬. . .所轄 - shu . . . suo xia - to fall under the jurisdiction of . . .

  巔崕 -dianya - steep cliff

  峻嶺 - junling - lofty range of mountains

  丸泥可封 - wanni kefeng - lit., "with a small lump of clay you can seal off the strategic pass" -- an idiom which expresses strategically located and difficult to access terrain

  板片 - banpian - wooden block

   

  Page 5

  火攻 - huogong - to launch a live-fire attack/attack by setting fire to enemy camp/ here 'to smoke out of a cave'?

  一輿 - yi yu - one cart

  側讓其半 - ce rang qi ban - to yield up to one half of the cart by leaning (i.e. running or propping the cart on the surrounding cliff-face)

  峯 - feng - variant for 峰

  撾 - zhua - strike

  積竊 - jiqie - habitual thief (Note: the 竊 is written in the document with 耒 in the lower left corner)

  訟棍 - songgun - pettifogger, someone who encourages others to file lawsuits and from this seeks profit

  稔知 - renzhi - know well, familiar with

  冒認 - maoren - falsely claim under someone else's name

  屍親 - shiqin - relatives of deceased

  傳播 - chuanbo - The 播 in the document is written with 米 in the upper right corner

   

  Page  6

  嘵嘵不休 - xiao xiao bu xiu - continuously quarrel, argue endlessly

  心懸 - xinxuan - to be on edge, to be anxious

  膽落 - danluo - panic stricken, be scared out of one's wits

  迨至 - daizhi - by the time

  書差 - shuchai - clerk in charge of documents

  飽其蠧 - bao qi du - seek illicit profit(by taking advantage of their job),line their own pockets

  串 - chuan - collude with

  嚇逼 - hebi - intimidate and coerce

  賄和 - huihe - settle (disputes) using money

  覆辙 - fuzhe - the track of an overturned cart,the experience of failure

  踵 - zhong - follow

  荆棘 - jingji - thistles and thorns, (issues or situations that are) troublesome, difficult to deal with

  兇毆 - xiong'ou - fierce fight

  索詐 - suozha - extort

  買休賣休 - mai xiu mai xiu - annulment of a marriage through monetary transaction

  賣姦 - maijian - prostitution

  拐帶 - guaidai - abduct, kidnap

  戒飭 - jiechi - admonish

  撲責 - puze - cane

  客寓 - keyu - inn

   

  Page 7

  腴肉 - yurou - fat meat

  串唆 - chuansuo - to team up to instigate

  搆訟 - gousong - to bring about litigation

  樂利 - leli - are pleased and benefit

  文生 - wensheng - see also 武生 - they were both 生员 in the two branches

  命盗 - mingdao - homicide and robbery

  訟事 - songshi - litigation

  撞騙 - zhuangpian - find opportunities to swindle

  壟斷 - longduan - monopolize

  經承 - jingcheng - Assignee (servant personnel in government agency)

  抝 - ao - to bend the rules; character variant for 拗

  原被 - yuanbei - plaintiff and defendant

  廉明 - lianming - upright

   

  Page 8

  錢漕 - qiancao - tax grain transported by water

  獘 - bi - malpractice

  毫釐包分 - hao li bao fen - to round up hao and li to fen

  科歛 - kelian - to levy according to certain provision

  羨餘 - xianyu - additional taxes levied by local officials to present to higher authority

  櫃書 - guishu - financial clerical subofficial

  掣 - che - to extract

  畸零 - jiling - As for the rest; note that the right part of 畸 was written as 竒 in the original text

  鎔解 - rongjie - melting

  徵漕 - zhengcao - to collect grain tax

  水脚 - shuijiao - charges for water transport

  不敷 - bufu - insufficient

  窵遠 - diaoyuan - distant

  擔負 - danfu - to shoulder and to carry on the back

  歇家 - xiejia - agent (specializing in business managing, employment service, credit guarantee, litigation, etc.)

  折色 - zhese - paying equivalent money instead of tax grain

   

  Page 9

  斂忍 - lianren - to restrain and endure

  羨票 - qianpiao - remaining notes, money

  糧戶 - lianghu - commoner households that paid the land tax

  含恨難洩 - han hen nan xie - full of hatred, but no outlet

  啟 - qi - begin; to open

  上控之隙 - shang kong zhi xi - opportunity from appeal

  役 - yi - labor, service, military service

  畸 - ji - irregular

  收墊 - shoudian - to receive in advance

  驢腳 - lujiao - literal translation: donkey's feet

  擲 - zhi - to throw

  緣宗 - Yuan Zong - name of a monk

  甚熾 - shenchi - very intense

  藉縱 - jiezong - to allow (disorder)

   

  Page 10

  督撫 - dufu - governor-general and governor; Two Magnates

  文生 - wen sheng - see also 武生 - they were both 生员 in the two branches

  差 - chai - as in 坐里之差; bailifs or runners for the court (similar to 差役)

  啟 - qi - begin; to open

  革生 - ge sheng - removed from the examination (see also 革流徒生员)

  上控 - shang kong - take to trial

  櫃書 - guishu - financial clerical subofficial

  浮收糧 - fu shou liang - received grain taxes in excess

  周天爵 - Zhou Tianjue - then governor-general of Hubei and Hunan

  票錢 - piao qian - fixed amount of money in excess of taxes owed by a family, which the 書差 pocketed

  漕 - cao - the transport by water of grain, esp. tax grain

  畸零 - jiling - As for the rest; note that the right part of 畸 was written as 竒 in the original text

  包分 - bao fen - to round up (and pocket the difference); stratagem used by 書差 to extract more money

  催之不理 - cui zhi bu li - their pressures were ignored

   

  Page 11

  書差 - shuchai - clerk in charge of documents

  無損 - wusun - harmless

  錢漕 - qiancao - tax grain transported by water

  挾制 - xiezhi - to compel

  舊規- jiu gui - former regulations

  金太和 - Jin Taihe - personal name

  除蠧 - chudu - to eliminate corruption

  枵腹 - xiaofu - empty stomach

  錢糧 - qianliang - tax revenue

  乆困圄囹 - jiu kun yu ling - long imprisoned

  開倉 - kaicang - to open a granary to provide relief

  傀儡 - kuilei - distress, bitterness

   

  Page 12

  剔除 - tichu - to reject, to discard

  讐怨 - chouyuan - hatred and desire for revenge (a yitizi of more common 仇怨)

  燈節 - dengjie - the Lantern Festival (the 15th of the first lunar month)

  器械 - qixie - instrument, weapon

  搶掠 - qianglue - loot, sack

  兩儀 - liangyi - heaven and earth, yin and yang

  公牘 - gongdu - official document

  避匿 - bini - avoid, elude

  刁難 - diaonan - to make things difficult

  天爵 - tianjue - refers to Zhou Tianjue, then governor-general of Hubei and Hunan

  斷案 - duan'an - to judge/settle a lawsuit

  通判 - tongpan - an official sent to supervise the workings of local governments

   

  Page 13

  書差 - shuchai - clerk in charge of documents

  催科 - cuike - dun for taxes

  拘票 - jupiao - arrest warrant

  繽紛 - binfen - in riotous profusion

  平色－pingse - weight and purity of silver

  棘手- jishou - thorny

  補委 - buwei - appoint to fill in a post

  候補 - houbu - candidate (for vacancy)

  餙 - shi - character variant for 飾

  奇貨可居 - qihuo keju - rarities that can be hoarded for better prices

  嘵嘵 - xiaoxiao - shout, argue noisily

  彌縫 - mifeng - to cover up mistakes

  歛 - lian - character variant for 敛

  接踵 - jiezhong - follow on someone's heels

  寮左 - liaozuo - subordinates (of an official)

  邀集 - yaoji - invite to meet together

  Page 14

  消弭 - xiaomi - to terminate (a case); to prevent

  不甘 - bugan - be unwilling

  池魚之殃 - chi yu zhi yang - disasters suffered by outsiders or innocents

  白適 - boshi - this seems to be a variant of 白事, "to explain a matter"

  同寅 - tongyin - fellow officials of the same office

  精明強幹 - jing ming qiang gan - sagacious and efficient; intelligent and capable

  發落 - faluo - deal with (an offender)

  盤川 - panchuan - traveling expenses

  繳舊換新 - jiao jiu huan xin - turn in something old in exchange for a new one

  定例 - dingli - routine practice

   

  Page 15

  民輸 - minshu - taxes paid by ordinary people

  水脚 - shuijiao - charges for water transport

  徴 - zheng - to levy (e.g. taxes)

  文 - wen - measure word for copper coins

  敷 - fu - to be sufficient

  漕 - cao - the transport by water of grain, esp. tax grain

  部司府道 - bu si fu dao - ministries, bureaus, prefectures and circuits

  地丁 - diding - combined term for land tax and corvee labor

  羨餘 - xianyu - additional taxes levied by local officials to present to higher authority

  廉俸 - lianfeng - supplements to the base salaries paid to Qing officials designed to prevent corruption

  攤捐派捐 - tan juan pai juan - apportion and impose taxes

  修餔 - xiubu - likely a mistake for 修補, to repair

  囚糧 - qiuliang - food for prisoners

  虛懸 - xuxuan - existing only in name

  不肯 - buken - to be unwilling to

  為人作嫁 - wei ren zuo jia - to work selflessly for others, with no benefit for oneself

  逺圖 - yuantu - plan for the long-term, 逺 is a variant of 遠

  久長 - jiuchang - long term, permanent

  擬 - ni - intend

  辦竣 - banjun - finish making arrangements

  盈虧 - yingkui - profit and loss

  擺脫 - baituo - to cast off or throw off

  開倉 - kaicang - to open a granary to provide relief

  陳寶銘 - Chen Baoming - personal name

  金恢先 - Jin Huixian - personal name

  金貴子 - Jin Guizi - personal name

  糧戶 - lianghu - commoner households that paid the land tax

  作俑 - zuoyong - to set a precedent, usually used in a derogatory sense

  自斛 - zihu - provide one's own measurement (hu is an old measuring unit for grain)

  踴躍 - yongyue - enthusiastically, eagerly

  漕糧 - caoliang - tax grain transported by water

  絡繹 - luoyi - come and go unceasingly

  目覩 - mudu - to see with one's own eyes, 覩 is a variant of 睹

  省垣 - shengyuan - provincial capital

  憲 - xian - promulgate

   

  Additional notes for pages 20-25 References to earlier events: For further details concerning Jin Taihe's legal situation, see pg 14 line 2 (不應罪）; pg 15 line 12 (提禁保押) For details on the arrival of the 委員 and the resulting rumors, see pg 12 line 12 (he arrives and inspects burned houses); pg 16 line 7-11 (rumors abound, including 金太和複收府禁之謠言); pg 18 line 7-11 (more rumors, including that Jin Taihe has been ordered placed back into custody and will be promptly executed) For details on Zhong Renjie's location during these events, see pg 17 line 8-9 (remains at 白霓橋, where after burning Cai Shaoxun's house and tying up his family, he is slaughtering pigs and enjoying a meal) In understanding this section, it may be helpful to cross reference the eyewitness account of these events starting at page 33. In particular, you may find the following sections of that account helpful in clarifying ambiguous/difficult parts of the present section: pg 36 line 3 (方幕友's attempt to recruit local gentry to communicate with Zhong Renjie - phrasing significantly clearer than in present section) pg 36 line 5 (洞壁而入, clarifies the ambiguous phrasing of "穿"壁而入 in this section's account of how the Zhong Renjie gang broke into the temple) pg 37 line 4 (describes that the 箱籠 were moved to the temple - explains what is otherwise a confusing reference to them in present section) pg 38 line 1-2 (Zhong Renjie here gives an almost identical speech before killing Shi Changzhi, but uses the familiar 教 character instead of the odd combination of 口 and 斗 character used in the present account; Shi Changzhi's death speech is likewise almost identical, but he uses 黎民 instead of 良民, making even clearer he is referring broadly to the people of Chongyang)

   

  Page 20

  魚貫 - yuguan - one following the other; in single file

  女墙 - nǚ-qiáng - parapet

  讐 - chou - variant of 讎

  轎夫 - jiaofu - sedan-chair bearer

  幕友 - muyou - private secretary

  方幕友 - Fang muyou - personal name: Secretary Fang

  致仕 - zhishi - retired officer (usually because of old age)

  程千戶 - Cheng qianhu - personal name: Battalion Commander Cheng; Chiliarc Cheng

  爆竹 - baozhu - firecracker

  支觧 - zhijie - dismember (觧 is a variant of 解)

  甥徒 - shengtu - sister's daughter; niece

  烏合之眾 - wu he zhi zhong - rabble; mob; a disorderly band

  壆板 - xueban - stiff (floor-)boards (or jue-ban, cracks in the floorboards)

  囊 - nang - bag

  星散 - xingsan - to scatter far and wide

   

  Page 21

  復振 - fuzhen - to restore order

  凂 - mei - ancient variant for 浼, to request, ask the favor of

  因由 - yinyou - reason

  旋 - xuan - before long

  捕廳 - buting - officials charged with arrest of criminals

  保候 - baohou - guarantee a prisoner and have them stay at home while awaiting subpoena (傳訊) by local authorities

  人犯 - renfan - suspects

  籲請 - yuqing - to plead and request

  方 - fang - only then; only when (才)

  收捐 - shoujuan - to collect taxes

  心悅誠服 - xin yue cheng fu - be completely convinced; feel a heartfelt admiration

  發落 - faluo - deal with (an offender)

  交保 - jiaobao - release on bail

  星使 - xingshi - honorific title for an envoy

  黌門 - hongmen - school

  寸磔 - cunzhe - dismemberment, or sometimes used for 凌遲

  滅族 - miezu - extermination of an entire family

  臥碑 - wobei - stela listing prohibitory regulations, specifically for the official schools part of the exam system

   

  Page 22

  厫 - ao - variant for 廒; granary

  簷 - yan - variant of 檐; eaves

  弋獲 - yihuo - to catch criminals

  畆 - mu - variant of 畝

  推收 - tuishou - procedure for making transfer of property and associated tax obligations official

  黎民 - limin - common people

   

  Page 23

  鄙俚 - bili - vulgar

  殷顧二丁 - Yin Gu er ding - Yin Zaisheng and Gu Fudeng, the two servants of Shi Changzhi

  潜遁 - qiandun - abscond; slip away

  彌縫 - mifeng - to cover up mistakes

  鈐 - qian - seal; affix a seal to

  凝思 - ningsi - be lost in thought; ponder

  聲色俱厲 - sheng se ju li - harsh in tone and severe in expression

  反戈 - fan ge - to turn on one's former allies

   

  Page 24

  按捺 - an'na - to restrain/control

  肉顫 - rouchan - shivering

  飡刀 - candao - knife used for cutting meat

  名垂竹帛 - ming chui zhu bo - to leave a name in bamboo slips and silk (for writing historical records)

  徒死無益 - tu si wu yi - there is no sense in a useless death

  廨 - xie - government office

  挨 - ai - press, squeeze

  衣庄店 - yi zhuang dian -clothes store

   

  Page 25

  觧 - jie - variant for 解

  襖褲 - aoku - quilted trousers

   

  Page 26

  舖戶 - puhu - store, shop (鋪=舖)

  襖褲 - aoku - quilted trousers

   

  Page 27

  浮厝 - fucuo - to place a coffin in a temporary shelter

  噬脐莫及 - shi qi mo ji - idiom meaning despite regret it is to late to help matters

   

  Page 28

  雲梯 - yunti - scaling ladder

  落膽 - luodan - scared stiff

   

  Page 29

  摃 - kang - variant of 扛

   

  Page 33

  積蠧 - jidu - longstanding malpractice (蠹=蠹)