一切經音義 4.164

4.164

鴻鴈 (Wild geese: The upper character has the fanqie 胡公 [hóng]. The Yunying says: "A waterbird." The Kaosheng says: "Hong means succession." Guo Pu says: "The hong bird understands seasonal transition." It is also written as 𨾊 or 䲨, both being ancient characters. The lower character has the fanqie 顏諫 [yàn]. It is also written identically as 鴈. The Mao commentary to the Classic of Poetry says: "The large ones are called hong, the small ones are called yan." Note that wild geese are birds that follow the sun. The 'Monthly Ordinances' of the Book of Rites says: "In the last month of autumn, the wild geese arrive as guests." That is, every year at the start of autumn, the geese lead their young south to avoid frost and snow; at the start of spring, they pursue the north to avoid scorching heat. The Shuowen says: "The yan belongs to the goose family." It is also named gejia. The Fangyan says: "East of the Pass, the yan is called ge; outside Southern Chu, it is called cangge." Today, the people of Jiangdong call the yan a ge'e (ge-goose). It is also written as 歌, which is an ancient character. Or it is written as 駕; the Rhapsody of Master Void says: "The white swans are linked with the ge-geese"; this is it).