聘即聘問，本為西周時期諸侯與周天子，或諸侯之間往來的重要邦交禮儀。「應 聘」、「聘問」、「歴聘（諸侯）」等語義相近。「應聘」解作：接受聘問或接受聘 請；「應聘」解作「聘問」，最早出現於《說苑》，是否有特殊義涵？鄭玄注解《禮 記‧表記》有「應聘諸侯」一語；敦煌寫本鄭玄《孝經‧序》作「應聘諸侯」；吐魯 番唐寫本鄭玄《孝經義‧序》有「歷國應職」。白居易在〈三教論衡〉也討論孔子 「棲棲應聘，七十餘國。」《四庫全書》有715 次「應聘」，並未出現「歷國應 職」，卻出現「應聘諸侯」、「歷聘諸侯」等語。其中僅9 次非指稱「孔子」，應是 表達相同義涵。本文將釐清並見教於方家。

“聘 (pin)” means “to be appointed.” It was originally an important diplomatic etiquette for a feudal baron (ruler) to contact and interact with emperor or other feudal barons.The meanings of “To be employed,” “to be appointed,” and “traveling around the countries for rulers’ employment”are much the same. “To be employed” means: accepting appointment or accepting employment. “應聘” (ying-pin) can be explained as “to be employed.”It ’s explained as “to be appointed”first appear in Shuo yuan. Does it have any special meaning?Hsuan Cheng provided explanatory notes on “Liji - The record on example” where there is the phrase “To be employed by rulers.” Hsuan Cheng mentioned “To be employed by rulers” in the Dunhuang manuscripts of “The Classic of Filial Piety – Introduction.” Hsuan Cheng mentioned “Travelling around the country for employment” in the Turpan Tang Dynasty manuscripts of “Annotations of The Classic of Filial Piety – Introduction.” Ju-yi Bai also discussed Confucius’ “Waiting for employment and travelling around 70 countries” in the “Balancing the Three Religions.” “To be employed” is mentioned 715 times in electronic version of “Imperial Collection of Four.” The phrase “Seeking for employment by travelling around countries” is not mentioned. However, “To be employed by rulers” and “Traveling around the countries for rulers’ employment” is mentioned . Only nine of them are irrelevant to “Confucius. ” These terms should be the expression of the same meaning.This study intends to clarify these questions , and ask for scholarly commentaries from experts.