说 “席”

　　古人坐在地上，屁股底下有块长方形的草垫子，叫做“席”，席是老祖宗表达尊卑、区分人我、划清势力范围的一个妙单位。这个单位，可以在必要的时候一分为二，叫做“割席”。任安与田仁1在平阳公主2家，被安排“与骑奴3同席而食”，两人不大高兴，就把席一割，表示不同席;管宁与华歆4在一起念书，门外有车马之声，华歆起来看热闹，回来就被管宁割席，说你格调这么低，“子非吾友也!”这两个故事，都含义很深，都说明了“同席”是有规矩的。

　　不但同席有规矩，同席的细节也多的很，东边主位是“首席”，西边敬陪末座的是“席末”，我们现在常用的“出席”、“入席”、“筵席”、“酒席”、“离席”、“逃席”、“缺席”、“主席”等等，都是从这儿变出来的。因为席有这么多名堂，所以有“避席而请”、“越席而对”、“侧席而坐”、“父子不同席”、“男女不同席”、“席不正不坐”等种种典故。

　　Notes

　　任安与田仁：汉武帝时期将军卫青的舍人(官名)，两人是好朋友。故事讲的是两人随卫青拜访平阳公主时发生的事。

　　平阳公主：汉武帝刘彻的姐姐。，卫青曾做过其骑奴。

　　骑奴：骑马的侍从。

　　管宁与华歆：三国时期魏国的两个文人，过从甚密，后来都成为高士。

　　The Story of Xi

　　Ancient Chinese sat on an oblong straw mattress on the floor called a xi (seat). A xi was used to distinguish the honored and the humble, the self and the other, or the range of influence. When necessary, a xi could be cut in two, the act of which was called “gexi” (literally: cutting a straw mattress into two).

　　There is a story about Ren An and Tian Ren, two officials in Eastern Han Dynasty. They were arranged to share a xi with servants at a dinner party when visiting Princess Pingyang, the emperor’s elder sister, so they cut the xi in two in protest against the disgrace. Another story tells about Guan Ning and Hua Xin, two friends studying together. (One day, during studying time, there was a loud commotion outside). In response to the bustle and noise outside, out rushed Hua Xin to see what was happening. Upon his return, Guan Ning cut the xi in two to show his contempt toward Hua Xin for saying, “you are no longer my friend.” The two stories indicate that there were clearly rules surrounding the proper use of a xi (called “tong xi” in Chinese).

　　There are other detailed rules for sharing a xi as well. The seat located on the east side of the room/table is called the shou xi (primary seat) while the seat located on the west side of the room/table is called the xi mo (end seat). Some commonly used expressions regarding xi are derived from this, such as “chu xi” (be present), “ru xi” (enter and seat oneself), “yan xi” (a banquet), “jiu xi” (a dinner party), “li xi” (leave the seat), “tao xi” (stay away from the seat), “que xi” (be absent), and “zhu xi” (to chair). Other expressions that include the term “xi” include “bi xi er zuo” (stand up and away from one’s seat in an inviting posture), “yue xi er dui” (leave one’s seat to face someone), “ce xi er zuo” (reserve a special seat for someone), “fu zi bu tong xi” (father and son do not share a seat), “nan nü bu tong xi” (men and women do not share a seat), and “xi bu zheng bu zuo” (do not take the seat not properly placed).

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