“外户而不闭”等训释二则

Two Old Maxims Interpreted

《礼记·大同》“外户而不闭”的意思是“让门在外面(开着)而不关上”,而不是“从外面把门合上而不插上门闩”;《庄子·秋水》“旋其面目”意思是:“(河伯才)回到原来的(即平常的、非得意的)表情”,而不是“掉转头来”。

One maxim ' wai hu er bu bi' in the book Da Tong in Li Ji means 'to let the door open outside' rather than 'to close the door from outside without bolting it'. Another maxim ' xuan qi mian mu' in the book Qiu Shui by Zhuang Zi refers to 'the return of expression to the normal state' rather than ' turning around'.