《左传·申之会》“堕币”考

A research on the Word“Huibi”of Zuozhuan-the Diplomatic Gathering at Shen

《左传·申之会》"王使往,曰:‘属有宗祧之事于武城,寡君将堕币焉。敢谢后见’"历代学者都对"堕币"及相关纪事却众说纷纭,莫衷一是,尚无共识。文章参阅了《礼记》"币"的用途,以及对《左传》"堕币"其它记述来看,"堕币"就是致送贽币,是古代两国宾主相见的礼仪。"寡君将堕币焉。敢谢后见",无非是表达了希望见面,并先以"堕币"为由头表达行相见礼的意愿。而这里的"币",则是玉帛等用作两国君主贽见的名贵礼物,而非作为祭币的一般性物品。

The sentence from the chapter of Zuozhuan-The diplomatic gathering at Shen,'Jiaojv,volunteered as the emissary of the King of Chu,to send the King's excuse for not meeting Zuo ahead of the gathering',which caught more attention. There had been numerous discussions since antiquity on the meaning of the word'huibi堕币'used by Jiao Ju, however no consensus has been reached。When we reconcentrate on the text,on the different use of the word Huibi in Zuozhuan,and refers to the interpretion and introduce of the word Bi in Liji, we find that the word 'huibi堕币'refers to a diplomatic manner、custom between two countries in ancient dynasties。It implies sending a message of meeting eachother. The word Bi here,refers to precious gifts used for diplomatic meeting between the top dominants of different countries,rather than the ordinary and deficient gifts used in the ceremonies of the ancestral temples.