Tol Eressëa "The Lonely Isle"

Ch2
Ministry of rites：禮部

"A cleavage between the top and the bottom," which, he went to explain, meant
"the separation of the interior from the exterior." "Never since ancient
times,"he continued, "has a state under these conditions managed to remain
in peace and order for long."：
上下否隔，中外睽攜，自古國家未有如此而能長治久安者

a man who refused to stand on precipitous cliffs：蘊藉不立崖異

reader-and-waiting：侍讀
vice-minister：侍郎
Han-lin bachelor：翰林修撰