S1E06 | Welcome to the Jar | 请君入瓮
Saying: “To Invite the gentleman into the urn”
Pinyin: Qǐng Jūn Rù Wèng
Chinese: 请君入瓮
This week Laszlo digs up another doozie, starring some Tang Dynasty inquisitors in the employ of China’s one and only Empress to rule as the head of state.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Chang’an | 长安 | Present day Xian, Shaanxi…but back in the Tang the place was known as Chang’an |
| Empress Dowager Cíxǐ Tàihòu | 慈禧太后 | The Qing Dynasty Empress Dowager Cixi (Tzu-Hsi) |
| Jūn | 君 | a gentleman |
| Kāng Shēng | 康生 | Chief of CCP Secret police in pre-Liberation times |
| Lao Zhou | 老周 | “Old” Zhou…like saying “Old Boy” |
| Lái Jùnchén | 来俊臣 | The Tang Dynasty Secret Police Chief |
| Qiū Shénjī | 丘神勣 | a General in the Tang Army |
| Qǐng | 请 | to invite |
| Qǐng Jūn Rú Wèng | 请君入瓮 | To Invite the gentleman into the urn |
| Rù | 入 | to enter |
| Shénzōng | 神宗 | Song emperor from 1048-1085 |
| Song Dynasty | 宋朝 | Chinese dynasty that ran 960-1279 |
| Sīmǎ Guāng | 司马光 | Song Dynasty renowned scholar official, lived 1019-1086 |
| Tang Dynasty | 唐朝 | Chinese dynasty that ran 618-907 |
| Táng Jì | 唐记 | the Annals of Tang |
| Wèng | 瓮 | earthenware vase or urn |
| Wǔ Zétiān | 武则天 | One-time empress of China, founder of her own “dynasty” |
| Zhōu Dynasty | 周朝 | Wu Zetian’s dynasty that lasted from 690-705 |
| Zhōu Xìng | 周兴 | An official in the employ of the Tang Dynasty version of the Gong’an or Public Security Bureau |
| Zīzhì Tōngjiàn | 资治通鉴 | “Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance” |
