Chapter 8 Six choose the good and follow

When speaking and reading classical Chinese, sometimes due to comparing different editions, or adopting editions with detailed proofreading and annotations, or reading the collations of predecessors, such as Gu Yanwu and Wang Yinzhi's "Jingyi Shuwen", you will come across words , sentence breaks (punctuation), and interpretations are sometimes different.How to deal with it?The following example discusses this issue. 1. Text aspect Before the Five Dynasties, classics were handed down by transcription. The paths of transmission were different, and the words and sentences were seldom identical. Some were slightly different, and some were much different.After stereotyped printing became popular, before poems were stereotyped, manuscripts were either changed or copied, or there was not only one version of the same content, and the texts inevitably differed from each other.When we talk about reading, what should we do if we encounter this situation?For different situations, there are generally three methods.

Let me talk about the first situation first, that is, both statements are valid, and they cannot be clearly distinguished.For example: (1) He is similar to that year, and the way is similar. If you are inferior, you will be ashamed, and if you are an official, you will be close to flattery. (Han Yu's "Teacher's Talk") He is similar to that year, and he is similar in Taoism. If you are inferior, you will be ashamed, and if you are an official, you will be close to flattery. (same as above) (2) The shelves are full of borrowed books, singing songs while singing, sitting silently, and there is a sound of all sounds. (Gui Youguang's "Xiang Jixuan Zhi")

·Stacks full of stacked books, singing songs while singing, sitting silently, with voices from all sounds. (same as above) (3) The Master said: "If you add me a few years, I can learn and change after fifty years. There is no big mistake." ("The Analects of Confucius") The Master said: "Add me a few years, and I can learn from fifty years, and there will be no major mistakes." (Ibid.) Example (1), "similar" and "similar" have exactly the same meaning; "Guan Sheng" and "Guan Da" have the same meaning. "Records of the Doctrine of the Mean" "officials are appointed as envoys, so they persuade ministers", but some people may refute, how do you know this is a quotation?Han Yu may not like to quote.In short, the two statements are indistinguishable.Example (2), "borrowing books" and "accumulating books" have different meanings. "borrowing books" emphasizes that one is poor and eager to learn, while "accumulating books" emphasizes that one is diligent and eager to learn. What exactly is the author trying to emphasize?Naturally, we have no way of knowing, so we can only admit that both versions are valid.Example (3), the difference between the two theories is even greater, and even involves the question of whether Confucius is related to Yi Zhuan. Unfortunately, there are insufficient documents, and it is difficult for us to know the actual situation at that time, so we have to admit that both theories make sense.

In the case of the above, we can choose one when speaking and reading; of course, it is better to know what other sayings are available. The second situation is that both statements are valid, but one of them is obviously better or much better.For example: (4) On the night of April 13th in the second year of Yuanhe, Yu and Zhang Ji of Wujun read old books at home, and obtained "Zhang Xun Biography" written by Li Han. (Han Yu's "The Postscript of Zhang Zhongcheng's Biography") On the night of April 13th in the second year of Yuanhe, Yu and Zhang Ji of Wujun read old books at home, and obtained "Xun Zhuan" written by Li Han. (same as above)

(5) The Master said: "Yes, it is not like being poor and happy, and rich and polite." ("The Analects of Confucius Xueer") The Master said: "Yeah, it's not like being poor and being happy with the Tao, but being rich and being polite." (Ibid.) (6) Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing Nanshan. (Tao Yuanming's "Drinking Wine") Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, looking at Nanshan leisurely. (same as above) Example (4), "Yuanhe Ernian" is the beginning of this article. "Zhang Xun" is not mentioned above, and "Xun Zhuan" suddenly appears. Who would know that "Xun" refers to "Zhang Xun"?The article obviously should not be written like this.Example (5), "being poor while being happy", using Yan Hui's meaning of "not changing one's happiness" naturally makes sense, but the meaning is far less profound than "happy Tao" (it's not to be happy by doing nothing, but to be interested in the Tao) , and "poor but happy with Taoism" and "rich but good manners" are contrasted, and the writing is smooth, and it reads much better.Example (6), Tao Shu's "Tao Jing Festival Collection" quotes Su Dongpo's words: "Tao Gong's intention is not in poetry, poetry is to convey his meaning. Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely see Nanshan, and the folk version is to look, it is both picking chrysanthemums. , and look at the mountain, the meaning is all in the mountain, there is no remaining content, it is not the meaning of Yuan Ming. Those who see Nanshan are originally picking chrysanthemums, and have no hope of the mountain. It can be found between the fineness and roughness of the writing." This analysis is very correct, "seeing" is indeed much better than "looking".

When encountering a situation like the one above in lectures and reading, it is necessary to distinguish right from wrong, distinguish between good and bad, choose one and discard the other.Although this is a cumbersome job, it is beneficial. It can exercise your thinking and improve your ability to understand classical Chinese. The third case is that the two statements are one-to-one wrong.For example: (7) There are mounds above the beams, with bamboo trees growing, and the stones burst out of the ground, and they come out of the ground, and there are countless ones competing for strange shapes. (Liu Zongyuan's "The Story of Drilling the Hill in the West Lake")

There are hills above the beams, and there are bamboo trees, and the stones are suddenly angry and squatting, and they come out of the ground. (same as above) (8) Nanyang Liu Ziji, a noble scholar, heard about it, and went forward happily.In vain, the search for illness ends. (Tao Yuanming) Liu Ziji of Nanyang, a noble scholar, heard about it, and went there with pleasure.In vain, the search for illness ends. (same as above) (9) Qiu also heard that those who have a state and a family do not suffer from widowhood but inequality, and do not suffer from poverty but anxiety.Gai Jun has no poverty, no widows, and peace. ("The Analects of Confucius Ji Shi")

Qiu also heard that those who have a state and a family do not suffer from poverty but inequality, and do not suffer from widowhood but anxiety.Gai Jun has no poverty, no widows, and peace. (same as above) Example (7), when comparing "奇形" with "奇强", "zhuang" is obviously a typo.Example (8), compare "宇走" with "私走", read the following, and you can know that "Qinqian" is wrong, because once you have "Qinqian", there will be no "failure". "It was a plan to go, and I wanted to go, but God failed to fulfill my wish, and I didn't go. I died of illness soon, which is justified and reasonable.Example (9), Yu Yue's "Examples of Doubts in Ancient Books" Sixth is quite right: "According to the word widowed and poor, biography and writing are interchangeable. This work is 'not suffering from poverty but suffering from inequality, not suffering from widowhood but suffering from anxiety'. Poverty is based on wealth, and inequality is also based on wealth. Inequality is not as good as having no wealth. Therefore, it is not necessary to suffer from poverty but to suffer from inequality. Few people speak, and anxiety is also spoken by people. Uneasiness is not as good as no one, so don’t worry. Suffering from widowhood causes uneasiness.” (According to the words in this article, “All without poverty”) According to this, it can be seen that the saying in the bibliography “Don’t worry from widowhood but from inequality...” is wrong.

When encountering a situation like the above, when speaking and reading, it is even more important to distinguish right from wrong, discard the wrong and choose the right one.Like the second situation above, this kind of trouble of distinguishing right from wrong and deciding what to choose can exercise your thinking, so it is not unworthy. Second, sentence segmentation (punctuation) In the old days, there was no punctuation in classical Chinese classics, and every word in an article should be connected to the end.Beginners will naturally find it difficult to segment sentences, so there is the so-called study of chapters and sentences from the Han Dynasty classics teachers.Punctuating classical Chinese classics with modern punctuation marks is much more difficult than just dividing sentences into chapters. For example, for an unknown person, the third character of the name can be incorporated into the following, but it takes a lot of care to draw the name of the person; For words such as "曰" and "云", it is not difficult to add the upper half of the quotation marks, but it is difficult to add the second half of the quotation marks where there is often no sign.In addition, classical Chinese is simple, and different people may have different understandings of the same sentence and text, so the punctuation will be different from each other.Different, some have little relationship, that is to say, the meaning or the grammatical relationship of the sentence is not affected. For example, in Wang Anshi's "Shang Zhongyong", "I have heard it for a long time, and I have seen it from my ancestors to my uncle's house in Taoism." "This verse can be summed up like this:

a.I have heard it for a long time. In the Ming Dynasty, when my ancestors returned home, I saw it at my uncle's house. Twelve and three flames. It can also be declared like this: b.I have heard about it for a long time.In Ming Daozhong, the ancestors returned home, and I saw it in the Fu family, twelve or three. The two sentences are different but have the same meaning.But sometimes this is not the case, but the meaning is different due to different punctuation, which leads to the problem of selection.Due to the different punctuation points that need to be selected, the situations and methods can also be divided into three types.

In the first case, both pointing methods are reasonable, and it is difficult to determine which one is the original intention of the author.For example: (1) Stay with the master of the reverse journey, and eat again every day, without the taste of fresh fat. (Song Lian's Preface to Sending Dongyang Horses to Live) Living in reverse travel, the master eats again every day, without the enjoyment of fresh fat. (same as above) (2) Looking down at the pattern, Deng Shi looked at it and said: "It can be done." ("Zuo Zhuan" Zhuang Gong ten years) Next, look at the pattern, climb up, Shi looked at it, and said: "It's okay." (Ibid.) (3) When the son entered the Taimiao, he asked about everything.Or say: "Who is it that the son of a man knows the rites? When he enters the Taimiao, he asks about everything." Hearing this, the son said: "It's the rites." ("The Analects of Confucius·Bayi") When the son entered the Taimiao, he asked about everything.Or say: "Which one says that the son of a man knows the rites? When he enters the Taimiao, he asks about everything." Hearing this, the son said, "Is it the rites?" But the facts reflected are still the same.Example (2), the meanings of the two sentences are quite different: in the former one, "downward view" means to look down, and in "Dengshi" it means to climb up from the car; in the latter one, "下" means Get off the car, then "watch", "board" is to get on the car from the ground, and then help "Shi" to "look".The actions are so different, which explanation is right? Not long ago, there was a lot of controversy, and no one could agree.They are not the same, so we have to admit that both explanations are valid.Example (3), the two pointing methods are only the difference between a period and a question mark, but they have a great relationship: using a period means that when you go to a holy place like Taimiao, you should be humble and admit your ignorance, so it is proper to ask about everything ’; with a question mark, it means that everything in a holy place like Taimiao is supposed to conform to the ancient rituals, but it just doesn’t conform to the ancient rituals, so asking about everything (to express accusations), can this be regarded as proper rituals?Which of the two explanations is correct?We have no way of knowing the situation of the Taimiao ritual vessels at that time, and Confucius' words are too brief, so we have to admit that there are two possibilities. When encountering a situation like the above, it is best to "learn a lot of doubts" and admit that there is more than one way of speaking that makes sense. The second situation is the two methods of pointing, both of which are plausible on the surface, but after careful consideration, one of them is more tactful than the other.For example: (4) The song says: Make the sky raindrops, and those who are cold will not think of jackets; make the sky rain jade, and those who are hungry will not think of millet.One rain for three days, whose strength is it?The people called it the prefect.If there is no prefect, return to the emperor.The Son of Heaven said no, return to creation.Creation does not take credit for itself, but attributes it to space.The space is dark and unobtainable, so I named it my pavilion. (Su Shi's "Happy Rain Pavilion") The song says: Make the sky raindrops, and those who are cold will not think of jackets; make the sky rain jade, and those who are hungry will not think of millet.One rain for three days, whose strength is it?The people call it the prefect, but there is no prefect; when they return to the emperor, the emperor says no (same as "No").It is attributed to the creation, and the creation does not take credit for itself, and it is attributed to space.The space is dark and unobtainable, so I named it my pavilion. (same as above) (5) When asked, he said: "He is similar to that year, and his way is similar. If you are inferior, you will be ashamed, and if you are rich, you will be close to flattery." Woohoo!It can be known that the way of teachers will no longer exist. ("Teacher Says") When asked, he said: "He is similar to that year, and his way is similar." Inferior position is shameful, and official position is close to flattery.Alas!It can be known that the way of teachers will no longer exist. (same as above) (6) Stable burning.Zi retreated to the court and said, "Does it hurt people?" Don't ask the horse. ("The Analects of Confucius Xiangdang") The stables were burned.Zi retreated to the court and said, "Does it hurt people?" "No." Asked the horse. (same as above) Example (4), the rhyme under "Song Yue" is obvious, but there are different views on how to coordinate in a few places.Volume 16 of Qian Daxin's "Shi Jia Zhai Yang Xin Lu" says that "you" and "zi" are associated with the old pronunciation, so it becomes the former pointing method.The problem is that the whole song uses the tone of the time, why is it unique to use the ancient tone?Therefore, instead of explaining it around the corner like this, it is better to start with the latter method.Example (5), where the speech ends has also become a problem.It is generally believed that "the official is close to flattery"; but some people think that "the inferior position is shameful, and the official is close to flattery" is the author's comment, so the "say" should end with "the way is similar".Considering the meaning of the text, it should be admitted that the former method is better, because: 1. "Inferior position is shameful" is not the author's thought in this article; rather than in the middle.Example (6) is obviously the former (common) point of view is better, because: 1. Confucianism emphasizes superiority and inferiority, distinguishing relatives and estrangements, and they all focus on the way of "humanity". , If it is the second meaning, according to the ancient Chinese habits, it should not be so nonsensical, blunt and awkward. In a situation like the above, it is not difficult to distinguish right from wrong, and we should choose the reasonable one and give up the other. The third situation is that the two point methods are right and wrong.For example: (7) Tang Di's glory is the opposite, wouldn't you think about it?room is far away.The Master said: "Thinking before the end, how far is the husband!" ("The Analects of Confucius Zihan") Tang Di's Hua, but instead of it, wouldn't you think about it?room is far away.Zi said: "Thinking of the future is also a husband, how far is it!" (Ibid.) (8) First, the courtyard connects the north and the south as one.The fathers are different, and there are many small doors and walls inside and outside, often not. (Gui Youguang's "Xiang Jixuan Zhi") First of all, the courtyard connects the north and the south as one.The fathers are different, and there are many small doors inside and outside, but the walls are often not. (same as above) (9) When asked what is the current world, I don’t know that there is a Han Dynasty, regardless of the Wei and Jin Dynasties.This person was all sighed and heard for what he had said and heard. () When asked what is the current world, I don’t know that there is Han, regardless of Wei and Jin.This person is a statement one by one, and everything he hears is sighed. (same as above) Example (7) The word "夫" belongs to superior or subordinate, and it does not matter much in terms of meaning, but after comparison, it must be admitted that the current syntax of punctuation (the former one) is wrong.One of the reasons is that the ancients used the word "husband" to belong to the end of the sentence when interpreting poems. ...has a commanding name and a husband" (see Yang Shuda's "Ancient Book Sentence Reading and Interpretation" III, Example 56 for details).The second reason is that the word "husband" is generally used at the beginning of an argument, not at the beginning of an exclamation sentence.Example (8), the former is a common pointing method, and there is a problem with the attribute of the word "wall". First, the relationship between the word "gate" and the word "wall" is not clear, the parallel relationship?Classical Chinese seldom say this, is it a positive relationship?The meaning of the wall of the small door is not clear; second, according to the custom of classical Chinese, there must always be a noun or noun something on the head of "often but"; third, Gui Youguang's text is as concise as possible, "small door" There are already "multiple places" in front of "the wall", and the "often is" should not be used to repeat the meaning behind; 4. According to the latter method, because there are many small doors, there are walls everywhere, and the text follows the meaning: Therefore, it can be concluded that the second point method is correct.Example (9), some people advocate the use of the second pointing method. In this way, "heard" must be interpreted as obedient people, that is, "heard" is used instead of "hearr". This is unreasonable, because Classical Chinese does not have this kind of ideographic method that "can" and "suo" confuse, and Tao Yuanming would never misuse it in this way. When encountering a situation like the above, when speaking and reading, one must also distinguish right from wrong, choose one and discard the other. 3. Explanation Speaking and reading classical Chinese, the most important requirement is to correctly understand the meaning of words and sentences.Sometimes it's not easy.One of the reasons is objective. Classical Chinese, especially the ones written before the times, are mostly ancient and profound, or the meaning is unclear due to obscurity and mistakes.The second reason is subjective, that is, the so-called benevolent see benevolence, wise see wisdom.The result is that the same words and sentences, the same chapter, different people will have different interpretations, and the question of where to go naturally arises when speaking and reading.As in the case of writing and punctuation, there are three ways to deal with it. In the first case, both explanations are valid, and it is not easy to judge which one is the original meaning.For example: (1) Every sunny day and the first frost day, the forest is cold and the stream is solemn, and there are often high apes shouting and screaming. ("Shui Jing Zhu·Jiang Shui") The "Zhuan" in "Ai Zhuan" is interpreted by some as "Wan Zhuan", and some interpreted as "communicating with 'twitter'", which means "song" or "sing".Both ways of speaking are valid, and there is no obvious difference between superior and inferior. (2) But when will you be happy?It must be said to be concerned about the world's worries first, and then enjoy the world's joys?Alas!Micro man, who I go? (Or use the ! number) (Fan Zhongyan's "Yueyang Tower") "Who and Gui" is the inverted syntax of interrogative sentences (this is a comparison with the order of modern Chinese), and everyone agrees.As for how to reverse it, there are different opinions: some people say that it is reversed from "who returns", so that "and" is the so-called preposition now; "和(欤)" becomes a particle.Two grammatical structures also have an impact on the meaning: "to whom", "wu" and "who" are in partnership and equal;Is it a "partnership" pair or a "return" pair?Hard to say. (3) The old county of Nanchang, the new mansion of Hongdu.The star is divided into Yizhen, and the ground is connected to Henglu.Take the three rivers and bring the five lakes, control the wild Jing and lead Ouyue. (Wang Bo's "Tengwang Pavilion Preface") "Three Rivers" is interpreted as "Songjiang, Loujiang, and Dongjiang" by some, and "Jingjiang, Songjiang, and Zhejiang" by others. "Five Lakes", some interpreted as "Linghu, Youhu, Mohu, Gonghu, Xuhu", some interpreted as "Taihu, Poyang Lake, Qingcao Lake, Danyang Lake, Dongting Lake".Of course, there are all grounds. Since we can't ask about the author, we have no choice but to be skeptical. In situations like the above, if you encounter them while speaking and reading, it is best to know that there are more than one way of speaking; of course, it is not a bad choice to choose one. The second situation is that both approaches are acceptable, but one of them is better.For example: (4) Near the twelfth lunar month, the prosperity is smooth, so the mountain is special to pass.The meridian is warm under the feet, and I dare not bother each other. (Wang Wei's "Book of Talents in the Mountains and Pei Di") "Jing" can be interpreted as the "Jing" of the "Four Books and Five Classics", and can also be interpreted as "Buddhist scriptures".But the "Buddhist scriptures" are better.One of the reasons is that most of the so-called "scholars" who lived in seclusion and practiced Taoism in the Middle Ages regarded learning Buddhism as their elegance; Wang Wei worshiped Buddhism. What you read must be Buddhist books.The second reason is that to study Buddhism, you must be quiet, because you are reading "Buddhist scriptures", and the following "don't dare to bother you" is more secure. (5) Fishing near the stream, the stream is deep and the fish are fat; brewing springs to make wine, the springs are fragrant and the wine is cold (or "洌"). (Ouyang Xiu's "Drunkard Pavilion") "Lie" means "cool", and "洌" means "clear". Whether it is "冰" or "洌", it is suitable to describe "spring" rather than "wine"; "fragrant" is obviously more suitable Describe "wine".In this way, it is better to admit that this is a staggered theory and interpret it as "the spring is fragrant and the wine is fragrant" if it is interpreted literally as "the spring is fragrant and the wine is fragrant". (6) Nobles, drinks, gold, crumbs, suddenly lose the British evening.Take apricot pill all your life, the color is as good as before. (Liu Yuxi's "A Journey to Mawei") "Nobleman" refers to Concubine Yang.It is said that Concubine Yang's death was due to "drinking gold chips", which is different from historical records. What is going on?Yuan Mei's "Suiyuan Essays" Volume 23 said: "It seems that the death of a noble concubine is to drink gold shavings, not to be hanged." For example, drinking gold flakes, cloud drinking golden flakes, is like clouding death. A poet who gets a dream, quotes the truth and thinks it is words, so it is not true to drink gold flakes.” There are two explanations, one is to record, the other is to use allusions, Obviously, it's better to talk about it later. In situations like the one above, we need to refer to relevant information, distinguish right from wrong, and choose one of the explanations. The third case is that the two interpretations are one-to-one wrong.For example: (7) Li's son, Pan, was seventeen years old, and he was good at ancient prose. ("Teacher Says") "Six Arts" is generally interpreted as "Six Classics", that is, "Yi, Poetry, Book, Ritual, Music, Spring and Autumn"; but some people say it refers to "Li, Music, Shooting, Yu, Book, and Number".Obviously the latter interpretation is wrong.Because: 1. Scholars in the Tang Dynasty did not learn to drive a cart, nor did they hear that Han Yu was good at driving a cart; (8) Xie Ande's post book, knowing that the Qin army has been defeated... let it go, return it, transfer limit, don't feel it, clogs, teeth, it's folded. (Volume 105) "Unaware of the break of the clog teeth", some people interpret it as "the clog teeth break without knowing it", and some interpret it as "the clog teeth break without feeling it".According to the former interpretation, "bujue" is an adverbial, and the whole sentence emphasizes absent-mindedness; according to the latter interpretation, "bujue" is a verb-object structure, and the whole sentence emphasizes excitement.Obviously the latter explanation is correct. (9) Good generals guard the key points with strong crossbows; trustworthy ministers and fine soldiers, Chen Libing is the best. (Jia Yi's "On Passing the Qin Dynasty") "Who and what", from the above, should be the actions of "trustworthy ministers and elite soldiers", but some people interpret it as "no one can do anything about it" (domineering), which is obviously inappropriate.In the old days, some people said that "he" means "ask"; It means to reprimand: in short, it is all "examination", so it should be "examination" (what are you doing?), in detail, it is martial law, and roads are blocked everywhere for interrogation and search. In a situation like the above, we have to distinguish right from wrong, choose one and give up the other. There are different explanations for the same word and sentence, and some are not as simple as the ones mentioned above. For example, there is the so-called "stirrup dialing method" in calligraphy. There are many guessing explanations, but all of them are obviously far-fetched and cannot be used. People are convinced; Li Shangyin's "Jinse" poem has a lot of explanations, all of which seem to make sense, but according to the laws of logic, a thing cannot be both like this and not like this, so it is difficult to decide whether it is right or wrong, and so on.In case of such a situation, in principle, the more appropriate way is to "learn more and doubt"; as for how to "doubt" specifically, I won't go into details here.