皆因这些年闭门修书
“because it's been compiling texts these years.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
未蒙圣人召幸
“without receiving the emperor's summons,”
皆因这些年 闭门修书
“because it's been compiling texts these years.”
但我想 太后从未忘记过 离山诸多夫子和学子们
“But I think the Empress Dowager has never forgotten the teachers on Lishan Mountain,”
“We haven't been summoned or visited simply because we were entirely immersed in scholarship, not out of neglect.”
In traditional China, retreating to write books was seen as an honorable, neutral justification for avoiding factional court politics or royal summons.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
all because of / solely due to
A literary connective equivalent to formal English 'solely on account of', typical in written or period drama Chinese.
compiling/editing books behind closed doors
An idiom-like collocation describing a scholarly life dedicated entirely to academic writing away from worldly politics.
