Harmony of Humoun and Nature 天人合一〖Zhuangzhou Dreamed a Butterfly〗One day at sunsetZhuangzi dozed off and dreamed that he turned into a butterflyHe flapped his wings and made sure enough he was a butterflyHe had such a joyful feel-ing as he fluttered about that he completely forgot that he was ZhuangziSoon thoughhe realized that proud butterfly was really Zhuangzi who dreamed he was a butterflyOr was it a butterfly who dreamed he was Zhuangzi Maybe Zhuangzi was the butterflyand maybe the butterfly was Zhungzi This is what is meant by the“transformation of things” 庄周梦蝶一天落日时分庄子梦见自己变成一只蝴蝶。他扑打扑打翅膀确信自己已经变成一只蝴蝶。这时他十分惬意飘飘然竟完全忘记了自己是庄子。一会儿醒来他明白了那只骄傲的蝴蝶正是梦见自己变成蝴蝶的庄子。或许是蝴蝶做梦自己变成了庄子也未可知。庄子是蝴蝶亦或蝴蝶是庄子这正是所谓的“事物转换”的道理啊〖A Fond Dream of Nanke〗In the Tang Dynastythere lived a person called Chun YufenOne dayhis friends came to celebrate his birthdayand Chun Yufen was drinking under an old pagoda treeWhen he became drunkhe fell asleepSuddenlyChun Yufen met with two atomies who took him into a giant hole in the treehaving a ride to the great Kingdom of PagodaChun Yufen found himself in a fairy world with many red gatesmagnificent palacesluxuriant pavilions and beautiful gardens 南柯一梦在中国唐朝有个人叫淳于棼。一天他过生日在门前大槐树下摆下宴席和朋友饮酒作乐好不快活。喝醉了之后他便睡着了。迷迷糊糊之中他突然感觉有两个使者请他上车马车朝大槐树下一个树洞驶去驶向“槐安国”。他发现树洞里另有一番仙境。有许多朱红的大门大门里面是华丽的宫殿周围是亭台楼阁
和美丽的花园。The king appreciated him very much so that he was named the mayor of Nankea small town in the KingdomSoon afterhe married the king‟s beautiful daughterChun Yufen was so happy with the life there that he totally forgot his hometownTwenty years passedand Chun Yufen stayed as the very successful mayor of Nanke and raised a big family of five sons and two daughters 国王非常欣赏淳于棼封
他为“南柯郡太守”。后来国王还将公主许配给他。淳于棼与公主过得非常幸福以致完全忘了自己的家乡。淳于棼上任南柯郡太守后前后二十年的时间把南柯郡治理得井井有条还和公主生了五个儿子两个女儿。Howeverthe kingdom was invaded by another country and Chun Yufen had to lead the troops to hold out the enemiesUnfortunatelyhis troops were defeated and his wifediedChun Yufen decided to leave the Kingdom of PagodaHe was sent home by the 2 atomies.As soon as he arrived homehe woke up to realize what had happened was just a dream.It was only a short napeven though in his dream he had experienced a whole 20 years of life Chun Yufen‟s friends were interested in his dream.They looked down the tree and found an ant nest connected to a smaller nest in the south directionObviouslythese nests explained
what“Pagoda Kingdom”and“Nanke”really were 不料有个国家突然入侵淳于棼不得不率兵迎击不过他还是打了败仗。这时公主又不幸去世了。淳于棼决定离开“槐安国”仍是由两名使者送行。淳于棼回到家祁黄羊
中突然惊醒过来原来是一场梦。不过是小睡一会儿而梦中经历却整整二十年。淳于棼把梦境告诉朋友大家感到十分有趣一齐到大槐树下挖出一个很大的蚂蚁洞旁边有孔通向南边树枝那里有一个小蚂蚁洞。很显然这就是所谓的“南柯郡”、“槐安国” 〖The Penumbras and the Shadow〗The penumbras asked the shadow“A moment ago you were looking down and now you are looking upa moment ago your hair was tied up and now it is hanging loosea moment ago you were sitting and now you are standinga moment ago you were walking and now you
are standing stillHow is all this” 罔两问影虚影问影子说“你先前低着头现在仰起头先前束着发髻现在披着头发先前坐着现在站起先前行走现在停下来这是什么原因呢” The shadow said“Gentlemenwhy do you bothe r asking me such trifling ques-tionsI do these things but I don‟t know whyAm I like the shell of a cicada or am I like the slough of a snakeI look like the real thingbut I am not the real thingI appear with the flame or the sunbut fade with the shade or the night 影子同答“你为什么拿这样微不足道的事情烦我呢我就是这样地随意运动我自己也不知道为什么会是这样。我就如同寒蝉蜕下来的壳、蛇蜕下来的皮跟那本体事物相似却又不是那事物本身。火光与阳光使我显现阴暗与黑夜使我隐形。Do I depend on the real thingBut the real thing itself has to depend on something elsewhen the real thing comesI come with it when the real thing goesI go with it when the real thing moves to and froI move to and fro with it.What is there to ask about” 我依赖有形的事物吗而有形的事物又依赖什么呢有
形的物体到来我便随之而来有形的物体离去我也随之而去有形的物体俳徊不定我就随之不停地运动。这有什么可问的呢” 〖Lips GoneTeeth Cold〗The King of Jin was going to attack Guoa state on the other side of Jin‟s neighbor country YuThe Jin troops had to have Yu‟s permission to go through its territory whichmost likelythe King of Yu would refuseThe King of Jin could not work out a planOne dayXun Xione of his ministersput forward a suggestion“Your Majestyif you send your most precious gifts to the King of Yuhe will probably be bribed into giv-ing consent” 唇亡齿寒晋国的国君想要攻打虢国但隔着一个虞国讨伐虢国必须经过虞地。对此虞国的国君可能会拒绝。晋君一直没能想出个好办法。一天大臣荀息献计说“大王如果您能将珍宝献给虞国他不会不答应借道的。” The King of Jin looked reluctantso Xun Xi said“Even if he accepts the giftsit doesn‟t mean that he possesses themas they will soon be taken back by usThen what is there to be worried about”Thus the King of Jin took up his plan 晋献公一听有点舍不得荀息就说“即使他接受了礼物也不意味着他就会拥有它们很快我们还会把它们拿回来的。您担心什么呢”晋献公采纳了荀息的计策。The King of Yu agreed at once as soon as he saw the gifts。But Gong Zhiqia minis-ter of Yutook objection to itsaying“Guo is our neighbor countryour reliable friend and the relationship between us is just like that between lips and teeth.As an old saying goes…when the lips are gonethe teeth will feel cold‟so will our country be in danger when Guo is conqueredIf we let the Jin troops passthe gap between Guos destruction and ours is only a period of morning to evening”But Gong‟s advice was rejected.What happened ther eafter just
proved what Gong had said. 虞国国君见到礼物当时就满口答应下来。虞国大夫宫之奇听说后赶快阻止道“虢国是虞国的近邻有事可以彼此帮助我们之间就好像嘴唇和牙齿之间的关系。俗话说…唇亡齿亡‟万一虢国灭了我们虞国也就难保了。如果我们借道给晋国那么虢国和虞国的灭亡就是旦夕之间的事了。”但虞国国君没有听从宫之奇的劝说结果不久晋国就灭掉了虢国和虞国。〖Perfectly Impartial〗King Jin Pinggong once asked his ministe r Qi Huangyang“I am going to appoint a magistrate and send him to govern Nanyang CountyWho do you think will fit the of-fice” Qi answered without hesitation“Xie Hu may be the choice” The King feit surprised and said“Isn‟t Xie Hu your personal enemy” 大公无私晋平公有一次问大臣祁黄羊说“南阳县缺个县长你看应该派谁去当比较合适呢” 祁黄羊毫不迟疑地同答说“解狐。” 平公惊奇地问“解狐不是你的仇人吗” “Yes”Qi replied“but Your Majestyyou ask me who will fit the postnot
who is my enemy” So Xie Hu took officeand he did do a lot of good things for common people inNanyang County Some time later when the King inquired who could take command of the armyQi responded readily“Qi Wu is most suited” The King was puzzled againsaid“WellI wonder if Qi Wu is your son” 祁黄羊回答说“是的但陛下问我谁合适并没有问谁是我的仇人呀” 于是解狐就被派到南阳县上任了。到任后他确实为百姓办了许多好事。过了一些日子当平公需要一个人去指挥军队的时候祁黄羊说“祁午能够胜任。” 平公又奇怪起来了问道“祁午不是你的儿子吗” “Yeshe is”Qi answered“but what ha
s that to do with the point at this issue Your Majestyyou just ask who is competent as a generaland I aired my opinion” So Qi Wu was appointed a generalwhich later proved one of the wisest appoint-ments Hearing about thisConfucius spoke highly of Qi for his recommendation in consid-eration of one‟s virtue and talentbrushing aside any thought of whether one was his en-emy or relativeHe said that it was really perfectly impartial 祁黄羊说“是的但这和推荐有什么关系呢您只问我谁可以胜任我就表达了我的想法。” 平公就派了祁午去做指挥官他的表现证明了这是一个最明智的选择。孔子听到这两件事十分赞赏祁黄羊“内举不避亲外举不避仇”的荐才标准并且说“这才够得上…大公无私‟呀” 〖Every Word Counts〗During the Warring States Periodthe troops of the State of Qin surrounded Han Dan citythe capital of the State of Zhaoand the situation was very criticalSo the King of Zhao sent Lord Ping Yuan to the State of Chu for helpLord Ping Yuan intended to lead twenty assistants to accomplish this missionNineteen qualified people were select-edand one more was neededAt this timeMao Sui volunteered to forward a plea to go with Lord Ping YuanAlthough Lord Ping Yuan was dubious about his capabilityhe still asked Mao Sui to go with them in the end 一言九鼎战国时秦国的军队团团包围了赵国的都城邯郸形势十分危急赵国国君派平原君到楚国去求援。平原君打算带领二十名门客前去完成这项使命。已挑了十九名尚少一个定不下来。这时毛遂自告奋勇提出要去平原君虽然对他的能力有所怀疑但最终还是带着他一起前往了楚国。As soon as Lord Ping Yuan arrived in the State of Chuhe started to lobby for Chu‟s supportbut made no progressAccordinglyMao Sui said to t
he King of Chu“We come here to ask you to send relief forcesbut you did not utter a wordPle ase don‟t for-getalthough you are stronger than usyou have lost many battles and even your capital. From my point of viewuniting Zhao against Qin is more urgent for you”Mao Sui‟s comments made the King of Chu State sincerely convincedand promised to send refief forces immediately 平原君到了楚国后立即与楚王谈及“援赵”之事谈了半天也毫无结果。这时毛遂对楚王说“我们来请你派兵援助你却一言不发。别忘了虽然楚国比赵国强大却连连吃败仗连国都也丢掉了依我看楚国比赵国更需要联合起来抗秦呀”毛遂的一席话说得楚王心服口服立即答应出兵援赵。After Lord Ping Yuan came back to the State of Zhaohe said with emotion“Mao Sui‟s words are more important than nine huge tripods” 平原君回到赵国后感慨地说“毛遂的一席话真是重于九鼎大吕。” 〖Cast a Brick to Attract Jade〗In the Tang Dynastythere were two poetsOne was called Chang Jian and the oth-ers name was Zhao GuZhao Gu‟s poems were much appreciated by Chang Jian.Once Zhao Gu was going to SuzhouWhen hearing Zhao Gu would visit Lingyan Temple 抛砖引玉唐代有两个诗人一个叫常健一个叫赵嘏。常健很仰慕赵暇的诗才。一次赵嘏要去苏州。当常健听说他会去灵岩寺时使先赶到灵岩Chang Jian went therefirst and wrote two lines of a poem on a conspeincus wall in hope of Zhao‟s completion.Soon afterZhao Gu
arrived at hte temple.He noticed the incom-plete poem on the wall immediately and completed the po
emChang Jian‟s first two sen- 在一面显眼的墙上题写了两行诗希望赵嘏看到后能续成一首。不久赵嘏到了灵岩寺他一眼就看到了墙上不完整的诗便续上一两行tences were not as good as Zhao Gu‟sbut he stimulated Zhao to write down excelle nt onesPeople call it an action of“to casting a brick to attract jade”which refers to putting forth one‟s superficial suggestion or article in order to draw out others‟better views or works 将诗补充完整。常健的诗没有赵嘏写得好却能引出赵嘏的佳句。后来的人就把这种做法叫作“抛砖引玉”以此比喻用粗浅的意见或文章引发别人发表更高明的见解或作品。〖A Sigh of River〗At the time of autumn floods when hundreds of streams poured into the Yellow Riv-erthe torrents were so violent that it was impossible to distinguish an ox from a horse from the other side of the riverThen the River God was overwhelmed with joyfeeling that all the beauty under the heaven belonged to him aloneDown the river he traveled east until he reached the North SeaLooking eastwards at the boundless expanse of wa-terhe changed his countenance and sighed to the Sea Godsaying“A s the popular say-ing goes…There are men who have heard a little about Tao but still think that no one can surpass them‟I am one of such men” 望
洋兴叹秋汛的季节到了无数条溪流汇入黄河河水猛涨河面宽得连对岸的牛马都辨不清。这样一来河伯就洋洋自得起来了以为世界上所有壮丽的景都集中在自己身上了。他顺看河水向东行一直来到北海向东一望一片辽阔的大海看不见水的边际。这时河伯才改变了他骄傲的神态望着海洋感慨地说“俗话说…
有人的只学到分之一的道理就以为谁也比不上自己‟我正是这样的人啊” Nature of Doctrine and louv 道法自然〖Make Dresses according to Measurements〗It‟s said that in the past days there was a tailor in Beijing City.When he made dresses for peopleapart from asking their size he also would like to ask the customers‟dispositionagethe time when they passed the imperial examination and so onThe 量体裁衣传说以前北京城里有个裁缝在替人做衣服时除了量身材尺寸外还要询问对方的性情、年纪以及中举时间等等。人们感到奇怪folks felt strange and asked him whyHe said“If a man passed the imperial examination at a young agehe must become arrogantand hold his head high when he walksso I need to make the front of clothes longer than the backon the contrarya man who passed the imperial examination at an old age will not feel so excitedHe always be
问他为什么要这样。他说如果是青年中举必定性情骄傲走起路来抬头挺胸因此衣服要做得前长后短如果是老年中举大都没那his back when walkingso the front of his clothes should be made a little bit shorter.The quick temper prefers shorter clotheswhereas the slow temper prefers longer clothes.” Laterthis idiom describes somebody who can deal with different problems according to different situations. 么兴
奋走路不免弯腰曲背衣服就要做得前短后长性情急躁的衣服要做得短性子慢的衣服应做得长些。后来“量体裁衣”这个成语泛指人们根据具体的情况处理问题。〖Duke Lu Raised a Seabird〗A seabird w
as once seen perching on the city gate of the capital of LuNobody had seen such a bird beforeso they called it the“holy bird” 鲁侯养鸟从前有只海鸟在鲁国城门上栖息。因为从来没有人见过这种鸟所以人们都叫它“神鸟”。Duke Lu ordered his men to capture the seabird aliveThey kept it in a golden cage and brought it to the Imperial Ancestral TempleDuke Lu treated the seabird as though it were his guest of honorEach day there would be banquets where dainties and delicacies of
every kind would be offered to the seabirdEven the Duke Lu‟s musicians had to per-form for the seabird‟s sole amusement 鲁侯命侍从活捉海鸟。侍从将海鸟关在金笼内并放在太庙里供养。鲁侯视海鸟如国宾。每天都有各式各样的珍馐百味供海鸟品尝甚至鲁侯的乐师也要为海鸟演奏。But the seabird was terrified by all this grandness.It became so frightened and sad that it dared not eat or drinkAfter three daysit died.Duke Lu thought that he had beena good host to his guestWhy not He was treating the seabird the same way he treated himself. 可是海鸟却被这些豪华排场所吓倒心里既惊慌又悲痛
不敢饮食过了三天终于死去。鲁侯以为他款待海鸟已十分周到。可不是吗他是用对待自己的方法去对待海鸟的。〖Grappling between a Snipe and a Clam〗A clam was lying on the edge of the water with her shell open to enjoy the sun.The sweet flesh Of the clam attracted a snipe strolling along the river bank. 鹬蚌相争一只河蚌躺在河滩上张开壳儿晒太阳。河蚌鲜美的肉吸引了一只沿着河岸散步的
鹬鸟。The snipe at once pounced on the clam and pecked her fleshSwiftly the clam fold-ed her shell and clamped down on the snipe‟s bill tightlyThen each one was handi-capped by the otherand neither could move an inchThe snipe sneered“If it doesn‟t rain for a couple of dayslet‟s wait to see what will become of .
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