ai-ya, a general exclamatory term or lament (Cantonese/Toisanese).
aletheria, a Greek concept denoting a state of "not forgetting".
Ang gandang mga/labi/paa/suso mo, is translated as "How beautiful your eyes, lips, legs, breasts are" (Philipino).
baishi, expert (Mandarin).
bak-jeng, a compliment referring to the pale complexion of some Asian females, which is perceived as a sign of economic privilege.
bat'telh, Klingon battlesword, derived fron the Star Trek television series.
baubon, a leather penis; "pacifier" (Greek).
Belial, the devil (Hebrew).
bunraki puppet, a type of near life-size puppet manipulated on the stage by unseen operators.
cha shao, a Chinese method of roasting meat or poultry, which are heavily seasoned or marinaded before it is cooked in sudden high temperature. This prized process leaves a strongly seasoned crust (thick skin) over delicate innards.
chhang, milky Tibetan rice beer.
chip-see, concubine (Cantonese).
Chomo-Lung-Ma, "Goddess Mother of the Universe," the original name of the world's highest mountain, which Westerners renamed Everest after a man.
chiulung, 9 dragons (Cantonese).
cilium, (pl. cilia) eyelash; hairlike vibrating organ on animal or vegetable tissue.
citipati, "dancing skeletons;" an important sculptural pair from 17th-century Tibet, dancing on a sea of blood, while holding in their well-filled skull caps the blazing fire of wisdom, which is thought to consume evil in the merging of the finite with the infinite.
cladistics, the study focussing on the connections between animal species through analysis of their common features, rather than their differences.
cunabula, refers to the notion of a cradle or the earliest abode.
cunnus, cunt (Latin).
cunt, contemporary vulgar term for the female genitals, which is a contorted derivative of the Oriental Great Goddess called Cunti.
dai po, first wife (Cantonese).
dan, a term referring to the category of lead female roles, played by men in the Cantonese opera tradition.
dehiscent, (of fruits) opening to liberate seeds, e.g. pea, poppy, etc.
Dongyuemiao, "temple of the Eastern peak;" notable Chinese structure built in the early twentieth century, which use extremely gruesome tableaux to depict the tortures that await human souls in various Taoist hells.
dragon veins, a Chinese geomantic concept denoting the channels or arteries of subtle energy running through each sentient body.
ego-dystonic, human behaviour and wishes are said to be ego-dystonic if they are incompatible with the individuals internal ideals or conception of self.
fanchang, abnormal (Mandarin).
fann-gwei-neu, "foreign girl," used as a derogatory term toward some Chinese females in Canada, who are perceived to be overly "Westernized."
fei ho, flying crane (Cantonese).
feng, wind (Cantonese).
fluffer, term used commonly in contemporary pornographic production to denote an off-camera woman, who routinely fellates male actors to the point of erection, before they appear ever-ready for sexual penetration on set.
fontanelle, membranous space in an infant's skull, at angles with the parietal bones (from the Latin fontanella, " little fountain").
gagu, stupid (Mandarin).
Gangrel, type of vampire associated with rural areas according to horror legend.
gingko, tree with fan-shaped leaves and yellow flowers (Chinese, "silver apricot"). This plant is also associated with human memory, imagination and concentration.
gonchong, a mythological cruel parasite, which takes control of the brain of its victim and uses it to commit all manner of atrocities.
gou, dog (Cantonese).
goy, change (Cantonese).
gum san, "Gold Mountain;" the name the early Cantonese/Toisanese immigrants in reference to North America.
guodo, a traditional Chinese female undergarment worn next to the chest for warmth. Many women embroidered their private dreams and aspirations on this cloth.
gweilo, literally "old ghost," pejorative term used to refer to non-Chinese men, usually of European descent (Cantonese).
Hau tu sekkusu, "How to sex" (Japanese).
heung-ha, one's own village (Cantonese/Toisanese).
hexacanth, six-hooked embryo of tapeworms. Developing from an egg, it proceeds to grows into larva, if it gets into a suitable host.
ho muen, refers to a "good door," a term used in relation to a good marital match.
hongyan boming, "pretty girls die young" (Mandarin).
hongzhu, red candle (Mandarin).
Hsiang Kang, "fragrant harbour," Hong Kong.
hsueh, Chinese term for the ova and ovaries, which according to Taoist teaching, contain the generative female yin energy.
hua, painting (Cantonese).
huang, yellow (Cantonese).
Huris, the sacred prostitute in heaven in Islamic tradition.
hyoscine, poisonous alkaloid from which some sedatives are made.
ikebana, refers to the traditional Japanese art of floral arrangement.
insufflation, one of the methods in which one's breath is used to manipulate subtle energies in Taoist thought. This process can be used either for the purpose of healing, as a means of transpowering or for sexual control.
jingjie, modern Chinese philosophical term coined by James Liu, meaning "world" or "sphere of delineated reality."
Jui-Mow, literally "Drunken Cat" in Cantonese. A term appied to both men and women, who were seen as socially maladaptive in some way.
juk-sing, denotes a stick of bamboo which is naturally hollow; cut off at both ends. It is a pejorative term used to refer to Chinese born in Canada, meaning these individuals are not really Chinese, but not entirely Canadian either.
kai-ton-neu, literally "stand at table girl;" refers to female waitresses, whose work was often wrongly conflated with prostitution in Canada (Cantonese/Toisanese).
kalachakra, Tibetan tantra wheel of Time.
kapala, denotes the skull, goblet or head. These kinds of goblets were used to mold cakes made from boiled rice into shapes that symbolize the head, which are then cooked (Hindi).
khuai, the energy released by the female partner during sexual intercourse and especially during orgasm. It is this vital energy which practitioners of Taoist and Tantric sex magick try to absorb into their own systems.
khummi, a vocal method that involves a sustained note sung in tandem with mouth cavity movements, that create the unique droning harmonics, common to Buddhist meditation.
klismaphilia, love of enemas.
Krishna, an important erotic god in Hindu tradition, seen as "hanging between heaven and earth," fermenting the soil with his blood. Radha is his beloved consort.
kuaizi, chopsticks (Cantonese).
Kuan Yin, popular Buddhist diety often referred to as the goddess of mercy and peace (Cantonese).
kundalini, Tantric image of the female serpent coiled in the pelvis. One of the aims of Tantric yoga is to "realize kundalini" by way of certain meditatins and exercises, including regular contraction of the perineal muscles in the genitals.
kunta, cunt (Frisian).
lan doh, lazy (Cantonese).
langsuior, a type of female vampire figure in Asian mythology.
lanugo, crop of very fine hair covering human fetus, which disappears before birth.
Li Hsiao-Lung, actor Bruce Lee's Cantonese name by which he is known and admired all across Asia.
Lingyang, a city strongly associated with the legend of a young man, who presented a piece of jade to the King of Chu (770-476 BC); but the king, not recognizing its value, chopped off the donor's feet in anger.
lung hsing, dragon (Cantonese).
luopan, a compass-like instrument used by traditional feng shui practitioners, which originated in China as a divinatory tool.
Maita Gomez, a runner-up representing the Philippines in the 1988 Miss Universe Pageant, who within 24 hours of her victory, joined the communist guerilla struggle against Ferdinand Marcos.
Malkavian, refers to vampiric figures who are cursed to be forever mad.
mian, face (Cantonese).
mook yue, a wooden fish that served in a poor man's wedding banquet, as a substitute for the real fish he couldn't afford.
mui tsai, literally "little sister," a euphemism for a weak girl or a girl from a poor family (Cantonese).
naginata, a type of curved blade used by the warrior class of Japan.
neu-yuen, woman/women (Cantonese).
Northern Mangshan Mountain, a natural feature in China which was held to be an auspicious site for a grave.
Om! ma-ni pad-me Hum!, is often translated literally as "Hail to the Jewel of the Lotus!" It is also interpreted as "Hail to Man's Overself!," where there is no death.
palang, Balinese concept denoting "not to know where you are;" a terrible and exhilarating state.
phatna, burst (Hindi).
pitta, fire in the form of bile (Hindi).
prick, refers to the male penis (vulgarity) or a disenaged puppet.
Princess Lenore, primary character in James Thurber's Many Moons, which recounts the efforts of a king to nurse his ill daughter to health, by fulfilling her wish to acquire the moon.
pyaemia, blood-poisoning with formation of abscesses in viscera.
qilin, a mythological Chinese creature, said to bring children to new marriages or childless families.
qizhi, a potent angel-like aura that emanates from a person of character (Mandarin).
rakta, blood (Hindi).
rasa, organc juices (Hindi).
Red Queen, a character in Lewis Caroll's Through the Looking Glass, who runs simply to stay in the same place.
sallow beak, a term used to deride women who were seen as infertile in early Chinese-Canadian communities.
scolex, part of tapeworm which is attached to the wall of the gut of a host, by suckers and/or hooks; sometimes called the "head".
sew yeh, the traditional Chinese meal taken after midnight.
Shangyang Palace, a space located in an isolated corner of the Imperial compound, where palace women no longer enjoying Imperial favor lived under armed guard. The white-haired woman of Shangyang was the oldest courtesan and captive in the Imperial palace, being the sole survivor of a group of one hundred girls brought to the emperor in mid-eigth century China.
shanshui hua, traditional Chinese landscape painting.
sheng, traditional category of male roles in Chinese opera and puppet performances.
shichang, insane (Mandarin).
sic fan, "eat rice," a very common and comforting call to dinner or any substantial meal (Cantonese).
sikh puhn, (literally "eat pot") the result of a process of collapsing nine courses, which make up a formal Chinese banquet into one mass of food. Sikh puhn denoted by extension a notion of destroying structure.
tai yang, sun (Mandarin).
tan sai gei, a joyous expression about "enjoying the world," which was often uttered by early Chinese immigrants to Canada, mythologized as a land of opportunity.
tianshi, angels (Mandarin).
tiancai, genius (Mandarin).
tien, sky (Cantonese).
(placing) tongue to palate behind front teeth, refers to a Taoist sexual technique that is believed to hasten energy to the navel and ovaries.
to sang, Canadian-born Chinese (Cantonese).
tong, family association or clan (Cantonese).
tongsinglian, a direct translation of the Western medical/psychological term, homosexuality, defining same-sex oriented individuals according to rigid sexual parameters. Instead of acknowledging intricate notions such as the "passions of the cut sleeve," derived from literature and history, the Chinese now speak of homosexuality as deviant and undesirable.
Tremere, the magic-using warlocks and witches in vampire legend.
tsui, drunken (Cantonese).
unheimlich, Freud linked the female genital organs to the notion of unheimlich, "the uncanny." His concept of an unheimlich place is the entrace to the former "heim" (home); the originary space of all human beings.
vispipuuroa, cranberry pudding (Finnish).
yecau xiahua, "wild flower" (Mandarin).
yi, easy (Cantonese).
yichang, different (Mandarin).
ying hsing, eagle (Cantonese).
Yu Xuanji, a 9th-century Chinese courtesan, who became a Taoist teacher. Unable to support herself, she returned to her previous occupation, from which she was executed at the age of twenty-five on a false charge of having murdered her maid.