第34章 即物穷理 名副其实

To derive the implications from the name of a subject is always advisable.

古人比父子为桥梓[1]，比兄弟为花萼，比朋友为芝兰，敦伦者，当即物穷理也；今人称诸生曰秀才，称贡生曰明经，称举人曰孝廉[2]，为士者，当顾名思义也。

中文注释

[1]桥梓：也即乔梓。乔的树干高大，梓的树干低矮，古人常将它们比作父与子。

[2]秀才、明经、孝廉：皆为明清时人们对考取这三个不同科举功名的学生的敬称。秀才是明清两代对生员的通称，传承自汉朝，别称茂才，原指才之秀者，始见于《管子·小匡篇》；明经是一种官员举荐遴选科目，因被举荐者须明习经学，故以“明经”为名，始于汉武帝时期，至宋神宗时期被废除；孝廉是汉武帝时设立的察举和任用官员的一种考试科目，是“孝顺亲长、廉能正直”的意思，明清两代以“孝廉”这个称呼用作对举人的雅称。

今文解译

古人把父子关系比作乔木与梓木，把兄弟关系比作花瓣与花萼，把朋友关系比作芝草与兰花。讲究人伦大统的人，应当学会通过对事物的观察来类比人与人之间的关系并加以善待。

今人称通过县级考试的读书人为秀才，称被地方官推荐进入太学的读书人为明经，称在省级考试中榜上有名的读书人为孝廉。有志于学的人，应当明白这些称谓的含义并好自为之。

English Translation

In ancient time,people used to compare the relationship between father and son to arbor and catalpa,that between brothers to petals and sepals of a flower,and that between friends to iris and orchard.Whoever pays attention to the natural bonds and ethical principles should try his best to learn to treat them well by analogizing the substance to the significance humanly related through thorough observation.

While at present time,people take a habit of calling the students who have passed the examination at the county level as xiucai,the scholars recommended by local prefectures or county governments as mingjing,the successful candidates in the imperial examination at the provincial level as xiaolian.Whoever is interested in learning should know clearly what these titles imply and look out for himself.