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)
simp. (辕门)

Etymology

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


Noun

轅門

  1. (archaic) the entrance to a military camp
  2. (archaic) the outer entrance gate to a high level official's office

Proper noun

轅門

  1. (社區) Yuanmen (a residential community in Tancheng, Pingtan, Fuzhou, Fujian, China)
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