Snow in August by Gao Xingjian

of Zen.
     
    P. 64, 7th line from bottom: “face changing”
    A technique in Sichuan opera which sees an actor changing face masks in quick succession.
     
    P. 71, lines 13-15:
    The source for this scene comes from a koan case recorded in Wu Deng Hui Yuan 五燈會元 (Five lights combined). The story goes that during the reign of Emperor Dezong 德宗 in the Tang Dynasty, the monks of two houses in Puyuan 普願 Temple in Chizhou 池州 are fighting for the possession of a cat. The abbot, by the name of Nanquan 南泉, picked up the cat and asks the monks if they understand the meaning of the Truth. When none of them can provide an answer to the question, the abbot instantly cuts up the cat into two pieces with a chopper. Later a monk named Zhaozhou 趙州 returns to the temple. Upon hearing the abbot’s question, he immediately takes off his shoes and places them on his head. The abbot sighs, “If you were here when I asked the question, the cat’s life would have been saved!”
     
    P. 73, line 7: Tai Mountain 泰山
    A mountain in Shandong Province. One of the five sacred mountains in China.
     
    P. 73, line 8: Jade Mountain 玉山
    According to Shanhai jing 山海經 (Classic of mountains and seas), Jade Mountain is a mountain in the West. It has voluminous jade deposit in it and is the place where the Queen Mother of the West resides. Other sources say that Jade Mountain is not an actual mountain but a metaphor to describe someone with a handsome appearance. The phrase “the collapse of Jade Mountain” is used when someone is drunk and falls to the ground.