Page:Essays on the Chinese Language (1889).djvu/172

158 易 遠 近 平 中 史記 說苑 馳 義禮 方言 復 勿復道

golden gates of Heaven (複道連雲接金闕). A long, winding passage below ground is called sui (隧)-tao, or in common speech yen (延)-tao, the former denoting a winding, revolving passage, and the latter a long burrow or tunnel. The term sui-tao is also loosely applied to any covered passage or invisible channel, and it is used specially of tunnels made to graves. A road well known and worn by long use is called a kuei (軌)-tao, kuei denoting the rut or groove made by a wheel. The rut in such a road is called tao-kuei, and this is, or was, a local name for a wheel used in reeling silk. Verandahs or covered passages under the eaves of houses are called p'an (盤)-tao, or winding ways, as in the expression miao-yü-pan-tao (廟宇盤道), the temple verandahs. A wu (午)-tao is a place where one road cuts another at right angles ; and a chih (軹 or 枳)-tao is a trivium or meeting of three roads properly. There was once a well-known chih-tao-ting about three miles from Chang-an to the East.-^

It is common in language to find the word for road trans-„ ferred to the journey which is made by road. Thus '* mecum inter vias cogitare " is "to think with myself while walking," while on the journey; and Griffith says of Cardinal Wolsey, "At last, with easy roads, he came to Leicester." In like manner, tao also comes to denote a journey or yoyage. So we find the phrase i (^)'tao used to denote, along with other things, an easy road and an easy journey. Thus also tao-yuan is "the way was long," and yuan-tao has as one of its meanings a long journey, its opposite being chin (5£)-^ao, a short journey. A safe, pleasant journey is expressed by p'ing {Z!^)-tao, level road, and this is also the name of a pair of stars which preside over roads and travellers. The phrase chung (tp)-tao now means "half-way," or, more loosely, " on the way " simply.

"Han-shu," chap. xlix. aud chap. i. ; <'Li-chi," chap. i. ; "Shih-chi" (It IE) . chaps, vii., vi., viii. ; "Shuo-yuan" (^ 9E), chap. xx. ; Kanghsi Diet, s. V. ffi ; " I-li " (^ H), chap, xviii. ; ** Kuang-shih," chap. i. ; " Liao-chai, etc., chap. i. (second story); "MaT. L.," chap. Ixxiii.; " Fang-yen" (^ "§:), chap. V. The word fu (^) means to repeat, do again, return, and the phrase fu-tao is used in senses hke " return passage," "journey back." Such an expression as, " he never will come back," is in Chinese wu-fu-tao (^ ^ jg), used of soldiers going on distant expeditions.