Introduction.

In the preface to Document E, Yang Yung-xing explained that he had adapted the title to that collection of songs from an old saying that a particular matter, which had to be remembered, was "a matter for a knot in the rope". Though he uses the same title here in Document K, there is no further explanation and there is no other reference. What rope it was, and what facts qualified to be represented by a knot is not explained.

Was it used for trivial matters, as in England you might tie a knot in your handkerchief, or was it more like a rosary where, in this case, every knot had a special significance? Translating the name is a problem, since "A knotted rope of Miao traditions", is pointless in English. In "A bundle of Miao traditions", the idea of a rope remains though its function is changed, but the general, over all meaning of the title is retained.

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