barbarian uncivilized and ignorant; the Chinese traditionally regarded all non-Han people as barbarians.
frenum here, a small fold of membrane that restrains the tongue’s movement.
Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) leader of the Kuomintang, which means “national people’s party”; in 1949, after three years of civil war, Chiang and the Nationalists were driven from mainland China by the Communists and established the Republic of China—in contrast to the Communist People’s Republic of China—on the island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa.
teak an evergreen tree, native to southeast Asia, whose wood is used for furniture because of its durability.
tetherball a game in which two people try to hit a ball attached to the top of a pole by a rope until the rope is completely wound around the pole.
Korean War (1950-53) the military conflict fought on the Korean peninsula between northern Marxists, supported by the former Soviet Union, and southern Korean nationals, backed by the United States; following the conflict, the Korean peninsula divided into North Korea and South Korea.
Cyclone fence a chainlink fence.
taps small metal discs attached to the soles of shoes, used to produce the metallic sounds when tap-dancing.
cardigan a sweater that opens down the front.
cutworms larva that feed on plants, eventually cutting off a plant at ground level.
cannery a factory where food is canned.
fly screen a meshlike material used to keep flies out of homes or buildings.
wetbacks offensive slang, generally used to disparage people of Mexican descent who illegally enter the United States; here, Kingston means illegal Chinese immigrants.
Big Six meaning China.
Seagram’s 7 a brand of Canadian whiskey.
menses menstruation.
rictus a facial grimace.
camphoraceous musty-smelling; camphor, used both to soothe muscles and to repel insects, is produced by the camphor tree, an evergreen tree native to eastern Asia.
slough a depression in the ground, often muddy because of poor water drainage.
tules plants with grasslike leaves that grow in swamps and marshes.
cattails tall plants with flat leaves and elongated flowering spikes that grow best when rooted directly in water.
foxtails a perennial weedy grass with spiked flowers that resemble the tails of foxes.
dill a herb with aromatic leaves and seeds, which are used as a food seasoning.
chamomile a perennial herb with either yellow or white flowers; when dried, it is used to make herbal tea.
train trestle a bridge designed for trains to cross.
infanticide deliberately killing newborn infants.
second Communist five-year plan (1958-1963) the economic program established by China’s ruling Communist Party to spur the Chinese economy; this second five-year plan was marked by an experiment called the Great Leap Forward, which included a failed attempt to form agricultural communes, where peasants would live and work together to produce food for the entire country.
cudgel a club; here, a metaphor for a husband who beats his wife.
pestle a tool used for grinding or mashing food.
antiseptic sterile; non-threatening; not enlivening.
gaucheries rude, unmannered expressions.
bilingual the ability to speak more than one language fluently.
Southern Hsiung-nu a nomadic people who lived in present-day Siberia and Mongolia; the Hsiung-nu were especially powerful from the third century B.C. through the second century A.D., repeatedly making raids into northern China, which resulted in China’s building the Great Wall.
desultorily lackadaisically, without fervor.
nock-whistles grooved whistles; the Hsiung-nu carved holes into their arrows; when shot, the arrows made whistling sounds because of the rush of air through the holes.
