- family livelihood; a household's economic situation; family property
- poverty-stricken; poor
- degree; level; extent
- sometimes; now and then
- to buy; to purchase
- pear; CL:個|个[ge4]
- to return; to come back
- highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely
- to have no other option but to ...; to have to; to be forced to
- to cut up (into pieces); to slice; to carve; to dice; to shred
- to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc)
- preliminary round of imperial examinations; abbr. for 科學考察|科学考察[ke1 xue2 kao3 cha2], scientific exploration
- disappointed; frustrated
- down and out; in dire straits; unrestrained; unconventional; also pr. [luo4 tuo4]
- hard to avoid; difficult to escape from; will inevitably
- to work as a teacher; to teach (in a school)
- (for) a lifetime
- 比如 bǐ rú: 比如 bi3 ru2: for example; for instance; such as比如 Bǐ rú: 比如 Bi3 ru2: see 比如縣|比如县[Bi3 ru2 Xian4]
- Pu Songling (1640-1715), author of 聊齋志異|聊斋志异[Liao2 zhai1 Zhi4 yi4]
- to remove; to take away
- (bound form) curtain; tent; canopy
- 归 gūi: 归 gui1: to return; to go back to; to give back to; (of a responsibility) to be taken care of by; to belong to; to gather together; (used between two identical verbs) despite; to marry (of a woman) (old); division on the abacus with a one-digit divisor归 Gūi: 归 Gui1: surname Gui
- there is no lack of
- of short duration; brief; momentary
- to cross over (by ferry); transition; interim; caretaker (administration)
- to win top marks in the imperial examinations
- smoothly; without a hitch
- to pass an imperial examination
- Shi Nai'an (1296-1371), author of Water Margin or Outlaws of the Marsh 水滸傳|水浒传[Shui3 hu3 Zhuan4]
- Feng Menglong (1574-1646), late Ming dynasty novelist writing in colloquial (baihua), author of Stories Old and New 古今小說|古今小说[Gu3 jin1 Xiao3 shuo1]
- clearly; evidently; obviously
- the latter
- reign name of penultimate Qing emperor Guangxu or Guang-hsu (1875-1908)
- fifteen; 15
- twenty-sixth year F2 of the 60 year cycle, e.g. 2009 or 2069
- branch of study; administrative section; division; field; branch; stage directions; family (taxonomy); rules; laws; to mete out (punishment); to levy (taxes etc); to fine sb; CL:個|个[ge4]
- 2nd rank of candidates who passed the imperial examination (i.e. 4th place and up)
- successful candidate in the highest imperial civil service examination; palace graduate
- Kang Youwei (1858-1927), Confucian intellectual, educator and would-be reformer, main leader of the failed reform movement of 1898
- to leave; to part from; to bid farewell to; to say goodbye to
- Imperial Hanlin Academy, lasting from Tang dynasty until 1911
- to compile and edit
- more than; greater than
- to engage in social activities; to socialize; dinner party; banquet; social engagement
- to pay (expenses); expenses; (old) to dismiss (an employee)
- considerable (cost etc); bountiful (crop etc); high (social status etc)