轅門

See also: 辕门

Chinese

		shafts of cart; yamen	opening; door; gate opening; door; gate; doorway; gateway; valve; switch; way to do something; knack; family; house; (religious) sect; school (of thought); class; category; (taxonomy) phylum or division
trad. (轅門)		轅	門
simp. (辕门)		辕	门

Etymology

轅 (the shaft which connects a carriage to its horse) + 門 (gate)

In ancient times, when a monarch went on an expedition (ex. for hunting), the place where he stopped would be made into a camp by surrounding the location with a baricade of horse-drawn vehicles. Two of the vehicles would be upended, and their shafts would be made to meet, so as to form a makeshift gateway of sorts.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yuánmén

(Zhuyin): ㄩㄢˊ ㄇㄣˊ
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): oân-bûn

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yuánmén
  - Zhuyin: ㄩㄢˊ ㄇㄣˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yuánmén
  - Wade–Giles: yüan²-mên²
  - Yale: ywán-mén
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yuanmen
  - Palladius: юаньмэнь (juanʹmɛnʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɥɛn³⁵ mən³⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: oân-bûn
  - Tâi-lô: uân-bûn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: oanbuun
  - IPA (Xiamen): /uan²⁴⁻²² bun²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /uan²⁴⁻²² bun²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /uan¹³⁻²² bun¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /uan²⁴⁻¹¹ bun²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /uan²³⁻³³ bun²³/

Noun

轅門

(archaic) the entrance to a military camp
- 項羽召見諸侯將，入轅門，無不膝行而前，莫敢仰視。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  项羽召见诸侯将，入辕门，无不膝行而前，莫敢仰视。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
  Xiàng Yǔ zhàojiàn zhūhóu jiāng, rù yuánmén, wúbù xīxíng ér qián, mò gǎn yǎngshì. [Pinyin]
  Xiang Yu summoned the vassals' generals, all of whom, when entering the barracks gate, walked on their knees forwards, none daring to look up.
(archaic) the outer entrance gate to a high level official's office
- 今有蔚州衛拿獲妖賊二名，解到轅門外，伏聽鈞旨。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
  今有蔚州卫拿获妖贼二名，解到辕门外，伏听钧旨。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
  From: Feng Menglong, "Stories Old and New" published in 1620
  Jīn yǒu Yùzhōu wèi náhuò yāozéi èr míng, jiě dào yuánmén wài, fú tīng jūn zhǐ. [Pinyin]
  Just now the Yuzhou guards have captured two heretical rebels and delivered them to outsides of the office's gate; and they're waiting to hear your orders.

Proper noun

轅門

(～社區) Yuanmen (a residential community of Tancheng, Pingtan, Fuzhou, Fujian, China)