Editing Openai/6913bc28-779c-8001-ac46-e9542d91fa75 (section)

===== (2) 「將什麼過與」 =====

: “What will you pass over to him?”
* 過與 (guò yǔ) literally means “to pass across and give.” - The word 過 also means to cross over, to transcend, to surpass, and even a fault or mistake in other contexts.
* So “將什麼過與” can carry multiple resonances: 1. “What will you hand across to him?” 2. “What transcendence will you grant him?” 3. “What ‘fault’ (過) will you share with him?” — a humorous pun in some commentarial readings.
* The choice of 過 softens “物” (thing), turning the question more toward relationship or movement than object.

Zhaozhou’s answer “不貧” thus shifts focus from object to subject: the so-called poor man is not poor; there’s nothing to hand over or cross.