《左傳》「墮幣」及相關紀事考釋

An Interpretation of the Word 'Huibi' and Related Matters as Recorded in the 'Zuozhuan'

《左傳》記申之會之事甚詳，其中「宋大子佐後至，王田於武城，久而弗見。椒舉請辭焉。王使往，曰：『屬有宗祧之事於武城，寡君將墮幣焉。敢謝後見』」，最引人注意。古今注家皆讀「墮」為「隓」，但對「墮幣」及相關紀事卻歧解紛呈，莫衷一是。各家解說大抵可歸併為兩說：一說將包含「墮幣」的椒舉之辭與上文「王田於武城，久而弗見」合解，釋「墮幣」為相見致送贄幣；另一說將椒舉之辭割裂出來，單獨作解，釋「墮幣」為輸幣於廟或奠幣祭廟。主張前說的，有杜預、孔穎達、安井衡、竹添光鴻、陳戍國等；主張後說的，則有服虔、傅遜、惠士奇、馬宗璉、沈欽韓、李貽德、理雅各、高本漢、劉善澤、吳靜安等。前說或後說之中，復有歧異。楊伯峻等則並存兩說，模棱兩可。夷考其實，「屬有宗祧之事於武城」一段辭令由椒舉所說。「屬有宗祧之事於武城」，照應前文，說明「王田於武城」是為祭祀宗廟而到武城田獵，為久而不見宋太子佐辯解。「墮」、「輸」義通，「墮幣」即「輸幣」，同乎鄭子產所言，皆指致送贄幣。「寡君將墮幣焉。敢謝後見」，無非是表明將於會前或會時向太子佐致送禮品行相見禮之意。

According to the ”Chunqiu” 春秋, King Ling of Chu 楚靈王 held a diplomatic gathering with the lords of other feudal states for the first time at Shen 申. The details of the incident were recorded in the ”Zuozhuan” 左傳. King Ling of Chu was hunting at Wucheng 武城, when Prince Zuo 太子佐, heir-apparent of Song 宋, arrived at Shen. Being a latecomer, Prince Zuo was not received in accordance with proper diplomatic etiquette. Nevertheless, King Ling of Chu sent his minister Jiao Ju 椒舉 to deliver Prince Zuo his excuse for not meeting him ahead of the gathering. There have been numerous discussions since antiquity on the meaning of the word ”huibi 墮幣” used by Jiao Ju, however no consensus has been reached. The present article examines the various views put forward in previous studies and clarifies a number of unresolved issues in this regard. A plausible account of the word is made possible by adopting a unique approach that combines gloss, syntax, narrative and etiquette, and we can conclude that huibi simply refers to the presentation of gifts (of mainly jade and silk) on diplomatic occasions. According to Jiao Ju, King Ling was not able to meet Prince Zuo merely because he had to hunt for animals that would be used as sacrifices in the ceremonies of the ancestral temples, and for this reason would meet and present him with gifts upon his return from the hunt.