“公車司馬”考

Notes on the Meaning of the Phrase “Gongche Sima”

西漢皇宫之門稱"司馬門",未央宫北司馬門又稱"公車門"。但《三輔黄圖》説西漢皇宫"四面皆有公車司馬門",王莽時改稱爲"王路四門"。此説出自《黄圖》作者對《漢書·王莽傳》"改……公車司馬曰王路四門"等記載的誤解。實則"公車司馬"和"王路四門"皆爲官名,西漢並無所謂"公車司馬門"。

The gate of the imperial palace in the Western Han was called "Sima Men" (the gate of the majors),and the north gate of the Weiyang Palace was sometimes referred to as "Gongche Men" (the gate of the official carriages). However,according to Sanfu Huangtu(《三輔黄圖》),a geographical work compiled in later times,in the four directions of the Western Han imperial palace there were four "Gongche Sima Men" ,which were renamed "Wanglu Simen" (the four gates of the royal path)during the reign of Wang Mang. This article argues that the account of Sanfu Huangtu is due to the author's misunderstanding of the parallel passage in the "Biography of Wang Mang" of Hanshu(《漢書 · 王莽傳》). In fact,the phrases "Gongche Sima" and "Wanglu Simen" are both official titles rather than the names of gates.