1 These heating practices have persisted over large parts of northern Eurasia. Manchuria was a vast area. Through four Sino-Russia Treaties, made between 1689 and 1860, the north-east part of the territory became Russian domain.

2 In the whole world, there are two highly developed heating systems, the Chinese in the East and the Roman in the West. The former is still in use today, and the latter disappeared long time ago. It is unknown whether there was any connexion between the two systems, since the Silk Road between China and Rome has received only cursory study.

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4 Pingji refers to a wooden frame used to support the arm when one is sitting on the floor. A related piece of furniture, quji, roughly semicircular in plan, serves as a backrest.

5 Evidence in relief form includes stamped bricks and engraved stones of the Han dynasty [Shandong Hanxiang Shi Xuanji] (Jinan, 1982). Evidence in the form of paintings includes ‘Kanshu Tu’ (by Huang Quan, 903–965), ‘Tangren Gongle Tu (painter unknown, late Fong) and ‘Jinwengong Fuguo Tu (Li Tang, 1085–1165) and also mural paintings (See Temple murals in Shanxi Province[Shanxi Signan Bihua] (Beijing, 1997)).

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10 Traditionally, the heated floor has been used in northern Korea, and the timber floor in southern Korea. Following the Japanese invasion (1592–98), large numbers of people fled from the south. After the war, the northern and southern architectural styles converged in the middle of the country. In heating terms, the ondol and the maru were merged in a single building.

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39 The circular brick was made from a square one by cutting off its corners diagonally.

40 Gudul is an old word, lacking any written form in Chinese characters.

41 When the Qing ruler moved the government to Beijing in 1644, Shenyang retained a special status as an auxiliary capital, and its palace received eleven visits from the emperors.