西北汉简中的“坐前”小释

The Analysis of “Zuoqian( 坐前) ”in Bamboo Slips of Han Dynasty in Northwest of China

"坐前"是西北汉简私信中常用尊称语之一,共计使用61次,表示对尊长或朋辈的尊称,与官职、人名、"卿"、尊称词等连用。"坐前"表达尊敬之意与古代的坐法礼仪相关,其用法至少可以追述到汉武帝时期,甚至更早。随着坐具的发展派生出了"座"字,唐代文献中"座前"作为书信称谓较为常见,而到了宋元时期"座前"与"坐前"通用。然目前所见辞书中尚未收录"坐前",可在《汉语大词典》里增补该词。

＂Zuoqian（坐前） ＂ was one of a common honorific word in private letters of the bamboo slips of Han dynasty in Northwest of China. It was used 61 times to show respect to elders or friends, and this word was always connected with the tides such as social posi-tions and names. With the meaning of showing respect, the usage of ＂Zuoqian＂ is relative with the ancient etiquette of sitting and can be traced at least back to Emperor Wu in Han dynasty. With the development of seats, the character ＂座＂ was derived and thus ＂Zuo- qian （座前）＂, which were found to be address frequently in letters, was equal to ＂Zuoqian（ 坐前）＂ in Song and Yuan dynasties. However, the latter can not be found in dictionaries nowadays and should be supplemented in The Great Chinese Dinctionary.