[6] Originates from the story of Tang dynasty general An Lushan having ~intimate relations~ with the famed Consort Yang (Yang-guifei), where he accidentally clawed at her breast while demanding to suck on it and left marks.

[7]Laba (腊八), the 8th day of the twelfth month, is a minor festival during which it is customary to eat something called Laba congee (Li Ziqi makes it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BirVBfbQUX4). On the Lesser New Year (小年), the 23rd/24th day of the twelfth month, households usually carry out spring cleaning and present offerings to the kitchen god.

[8] New Year’s Eve is closely associated with reunion--on this day, the family usually gets together to eat dinner and usher in the New Year.

[9] 牛刀割雞 (lit. “Using a knife meant for slaughtering cattle to kill a chicken”) refers to overkill

[10]More specifically, he compares him to a Pekingese. Peking as a concept, however, didn’t exist until the Ming dynasty, when the Forbidden City was finally constructed.

[11] From Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu’s A Song on How My Thatched Roof Was Ruined by the Autumn Wind. An English translation can be found here: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/41819902

[12] Qinna Locks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chin_Na) and the Zhanyi Throws (https://www.bilibili.com/video/av19520303/). 十八般武艺 refers to a myriad of forms and styles, but one Ming dynasty source (out of many sources) suggests it consists of: bow, crossbow, flexible spear, sabre, sword, military spear, shield, hatchet, axe, polearm/halberd, whip, swordbreaker, pickaxe, stake, bident, trident, rope, and bare hands. [One museum classifies the 2nd and 3rd images as hatchets and the 4th, 5th, 6th as axes: https://kknews.cc/zh-sg/culture/vmrxkjy.html]

[13] From 望海潮·洛阳怀古 (Gazing At The Tides·Reminiscing Luoyang) by Northern Song dynasty poet Qin Guan. English translation here: https://m.kekenet.com/kouyi/201506/382686.shtml

[14] From 四望楼 (lit. ‘watchtower’) by Tang dynasty poet Cao Ye. I can't find a English translation or Mandarin explanation for this poem, but it describes a lord of Luoyang losing himself in glamorous pleasure and ignoring the commoners’ suffering.

[15] 官道: The ancient Chinese network of roads consisted of legitimate roads for government use, wide enough for horses to run along so that supplies could be transported.

[16] Wen Kexing: Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

[17] More specifically “the five venomous creatures and four pests” (五毒四害): the former five are scorpion, snake, centipede, lizard, and toad, while the latter four are rat, cockroach, fly, and ant.

[18] 河东狮吼 literally translates to “the lioness’ roar”, and is usually used to describe a wife whose husband fears her.

[19] 三从四德: Confucian code of conduct governing morality and social behaviour for maidens and married women. Even prostitutes had to follow these principles.

[20] Eavesdropping in Chinese is 听墙根, which literally translates to “listening at the base of walls”

[21] From Song dynasty poet Li Zhiyi’s Song of Divination/River Song (卜算子·我住长江头). Translation mine, though it has been translated many times like at here: https://www.en84.com/dianji/ci/201607/00000282.html

[22] The Chinese call this a pig gallbladder nose (吊胆鼻).