Chen Bo: A peerless scholar born under the Later Tang C 930CE, (Style: Xi Yi) turned down chance at service under another one of the Five Dynasties, the later Zhou, finally only to come to the court of Zhao Pu when he established the Song in 960 CE. He thus saved himself from association with bad rulers until the Mandate of Heaven was again bestowed; model of a Confucian man of integrity. On another level, perhaps a pun on the Later Tang/Later Zhou name theme, association of the illegitimate Empress Wu (her usurpation of Tang Dynasty also called Later Zhou) with the legitimate brilliance of Zhao Song.

fort: shanting'r in the text, mountain pavillion. here a general term for clay children's toys. Soldiers' outposts on mountain rocks were called (shan) ting (Kangxi Zidian, entry for ting.) Could be a little mountain pavillion, as in idyllic scenes of Tang poetry, or other sort of model...dollhouse, diarama parts, etc. The term appears in Tang poetry, a poem of Li Bo's in particular. There are several direct and indirect references to this author and his poems throughout the book.

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