拈得せん in a writing by Genkaku


水中に月を捉ふ爭でか拈得せん

What does 拈得せん mean there? Is some classical construction? I cant quite find
an explanation for it




As you said, it's from a Buddhist (zen) verse
[証道歌](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Enlightenment) which is attributed
to [玄覚](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongjia_Xuanjue). As most of zen works
are, it's written in colloquial Middle Chinese, not using the usual vocabulary
of Classical Chinese or Japanese.

  * 拈得 "able to pick up" ← [拈](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%8B%88) (verb) "catch with fingers" + [得](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%BE%97#Pronunciation_2) (modal) "have been able to ...; successfully ..."
  * 拈得せん ← 拈得-す (makes verb) + [む/ん](https://kobun.weblio.jp/content/%E3%82%80) (auxiliary) "will; would; might"

As `question + か + verb + む` is a formula in Classical Japanese to make a
rhetorical question, 爭【いか】でか拈得せん would be translated "how could (you) pick it
up? (no you couldn't)".

(爭 is also a Middle Chinese word otherwise shouldn't have such reading.)




As you said, it's from a Buddhist (zen) verse
[証道歌](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Enlightenment) which is attributed
to [玄覚](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongjia_Xuanjue). As most of zen works
are, it's written in colloquial Middle Chinese, not using the usual vocabulary
of Classical Chinese or Japanese.

  * 拈得 "able to pick up" ← [拈](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%8B%88) (verb) "catch with fingers" + [得](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%BE%97#Pronunciation_2) (modal) "have been able to ...; successfully ..."
  * 拈得せん ← 拈得-す (makes verb) + [む/ん](https://kobun.weblio.jp/content/%E3%82%80) (auxiliary) "will; would; might"

As `question + か + verb + む` is a formula in Classical Japanese to make a
rhetorical question, 爭【いか】でか拈得せん would be translated "how could (you) pick it
up? (no you couldn't)".

(爭 is also a Middle Chinese word otherwise shouldn't have such reading.)

