翻譯名義集 3.49

3.49

[Kapilavastu] Kapila here means 'tawny yellow'. Vastu here means 'dwelling place'. In high antiquity there was an immortal named Yellow Head who cultivated the Way relying on this place. The Record of the Western Regions says: "Kapilavastu, formerly called Jiabiwei, which is corrupt." It was also named Jiaweiwei, or Jiayi, which here translates as 'Red Marsh'. Or named Pādau-śākya-so, which here translates as 'Dwelling Place of the Capable and Benevolent One', which are sound corruptions. Zhu Falan replied to Emperor Ming of Han: "Kapilavastu is the center of the great chiliocosm." When the Song śramaṇa Huiyan and He Chengtian, the Commandant of the Southern Barbarians, jointly discussed the meaning of center and periphery regarding China and India, [Huiyan] cited Duke of Zhou's method of measuring shadows, stating that in this land on the summer solstice there is still remaining shadow, whereas in India there is none. Regarding measuring shadows: in the fourth year of the Duke of Zhou's regency, seeking the center of the earth to build the royal city, he measured the shadow with an earthen sundial and obtained Yangcheng in Yingchuan, whereupon he founded the capital. The earthen sundial was one foot and five inches long. At midday on the summer solstice, an eight-foot gnomon was erected; north of the gnomon a shadow of one foot and five inches was obtained, equal to the earthen sundial, and this was considered the center of the earth. Zheng Sinong said: "Generally, the solar shadow on earth varies by one inch every thousand li." One should know that Yangcheng is merely the center within this land itself. Since it still had a gnomon shadow, is that not a remaining shadow? Moreover, this land borders the great sea on the east, and the other three directions are likewise not centered; viewed from this, its peripheral status becomes clear.