一切經音義 25.273

25.273

珂貝（上苦何反廣雅美石次玉也埤蒼瑪瑙也玉篇云貝螺屬也出海中色白如雪所以纓馬膺下補蓋反說文海介蟲也玉篇云古者貨貝而寶龜傳曰貝錦文古者無錢唯傳貝齒且如資財貨賄之字皆從於貝中天五印度見今行用此方殷周廢貝行錢于今不絕）。

White shells and cowries (珂: the first character is ku + he fan; the Guangya says: "A fine stone second to jade"; the Picang says: "Agate"; the Yupian says: "A type of shell and conch, produced in the sea, white as snow, used to ornament the breast of horses." 貝: the second character is bu + gai fan; the Shuowen says: "Sea shelled creature"; the Yupian says: "In ancient times, cowries served as currency and tortoises were treasures"; the tradition says: "Cowrie brocade patterns. In ancient times there were no coins, only cowrie teeth circulated; furthermore, characters relating to assets, wealth, and commodities all contain the radical bei. In Central India and the five Indias, this is currently in use; in this land, the Yin and Zhou discarded cowries and circulated coins, continuing uninterrupted to this day").