Tag: Chinese Idiom

Cóngqián, yǒu gè rén zì yǐwéi hěn cōngmíng, jué de zìjǐ kàn guò hěnduō shū, dǒng dé hěn duō dàolǐ. Yì tiān, tā hé péngyǒu men zài yìqǐ liáotiān. Yí gè rén kàn zhe zhuō shàng de lí hé zǎo, gǎnkǎi de shuō:” nǐ kàn, zhèlí duì yáchǐ yǒu hǎo chù, dànshì chī duō le shāng pí; chī zǎo què xiàng fǎn, zǎo kěyǐ jiànpí, kěxī chī duō le shāng yá. Zhè shìjiè shàng hěn shǎo yǒu liǎngquán-qíměi de shì ér ā.” Dàjiā dōu juéde tā shuō dé yǒu dàolǐ, kěshì zhè gè “cōngmíng rén” què shuō:” zhè hái bú jiǎndān? chī lí de shíhòu, zhī jiáo bú yān; chī zǎo de shíhòu, zhī tūn bù jiáo, bú jiù xíng le!” Qí tā rén tīng le hā hā dà xiào:” Nǐ bǎ zǎo húlún zhe tūn xiàqù, néng xiāohuà ma? zhèyàng duì pí méi hǎochù ā!” Zhè gè rén tīng le yǐhòu, wú huà kě shuō.
从前，有个人自以为很聪明，觉得自己看过很多书，懂得很多道理。一天，他和朋友们在一起聊天。一个人看着桌上的梨和枣，感慨地说：“你看，这梨对牙齿有好处，但是吃多了伤脾；吃枣却相反，枣可以健脾，可惜吃多了伤牙。这世界上很少有两全其美的事儿啊。”大家都觉得他说得有道理，可是这个“聪明人”却说：“这还不简单？吃梨的时候，只嚼不咽；吃枣的时候，只吞不嚼，不就行了！”其他人听了哈哈大笑：“你把枣囫囵着吞下去，能消化吗？这样对脾没好处啊！”这个人听了以后，无话可说。Swallow dates whole—-read hastily and without thinking; gulp down without thought
Once upon a time there was a man who thought himself very intelligent, learned, and wise. One day he was chatting with some friends, and one of them looked at the pears and dates on the table and said with a sigh, "See, these pears are good for your teeth but eating too many will harm the spleen. Dates are the opposite. Dates are good for the spleen but eating too many will ruin your teeth. In this world you can't have it both ways." Everyone felt that what he said was very true. However, the "intelligent" man remarked, "What a simple matter! When eating pears, simply chew and do not swallow; when eating dates, simply swallow and do not chew." The others laughed heartily when they heard this, saying, "If you swallow the date whole, will it digest? Of course it will do your spleen no good!" Upon hearing their words, the man fell silent.
Words：
自以为zìyǐwéi: think oneself as ( v. )
感慨gǎnkǎi: sign with emotion ( v.)
伤shāng: harm ( v.)
健jiàn: stengthen ( v.)
两全其美liǎngquánqíměi: have it both ways (idiom)
嚼jiáo: chew (v.)
咽 yàn: swallow (v.)
吞tūn: swallow sth whole without chewing ( v.)

Chǔguó yǒu gè guìzú shǎng gěi tā de púrén men yì hú jiǔ. Púrén men shāngliàng shuō: ” zhè hú jiǔ rúguǒ dàjiā dōu hē de huà bú gòu, yí gè rén hē zhèng hǎo. Zán men bǐsài-huàshé, shuí xiān huà hǎo, zhè hú jiǔ jiù guī shuí.”
楚国有个贵族赏给他的仆人们一壶酒。仆人们商量说：“这壶酒如果大家都喝的话不够，一个人喝正好。咱们比赛画蛇，谁先画好，这壶酒就归谁。”There was a nobleman in Chu state. One day, he awarded his servants a bottle of wine. The servants discussed together about who should drink the wine. Since the wine was not enough for all but just right for one person, they decided to make it as a prize to the one who was the first to finish a drawing of a snake.
Yǒu yí gè rén zuìxiān bǎ shé huà hǎo le. Tā kàn biérén hái méi huà wán, yúshì zuǒshǒu ná zhe jiǔhú, yòushǒu chí bǐ, shuō:” wǒ hái néng zài gěi tā tiān shàng jǐ zhī jiǎo ne!” Kěshì méi děng tā bǎ jiǎo huà wán, lìng yī gè rén yǐjīng bǎ shé huà hǎo le. Nà rén bǎ jiǔhú qiǎng guòqù, shuō:” shé běnlái shì méiyǒu jiǎo de, nǐ zěnme néng gěi tā tiān shàng jiǎo ne?” Shuō wán jiù bǎ hú zhōng de jiǔ hē le xià qù. Nà gè gěi shé huà jiǎo de rén zuìzhōng méi yǒu hē dào jiǔ.
有一个人最先把蛇画好了。他看别人还没画完，于是左手拿着酒壶，右手持笔，说：“我还能再给它添上几只脚呢！”可是没等他把脚画完，另一个人已经把蛇画好了。那人把酒壶抢过去，说：“蛇本来是没有脚的，你怎么能给它添上脚呢?”说完就把壶中的酒喝了下去。那个给蛇画脚的人最终没有喝到酒。A servant was the first had his drawing done. When he found the others were still busy with drawing, he took the wine in hand and thought there was still enough time for him to add a pair of feet to the snake. However, right before he finished the feet, another man had completed his painting and snatched the wine from his hand. He said:' A snake does not have feet. Why do you add feet to it?' After these words, he drank down the wine. The man who added feet to the snake did not share a little in the end.
Words：
贵族(guìzú) ：aristocrat(n.)
仆人(púrén)：servant(n.)
商量(shāngliang)：discuss(v.)
比赛(bǐ sài) ：compete(v.)
本来(běnlái)：originally(adv.)
添(tiān) ：add (v.)
最终(zuìzhōng) ：finally(adv.)

Xiàngchuán Tángcháo de shíhòu, yǒu yí wèi dàoshì zài yì jiā diàn lǐ yù dào le yì míng shūshēng. Shūshēng xiàng dàoshì biǎomíng tā fēicháng kěwàng dé dào rónghuá-fùguì, dàoshì xiǎng hǎohǎo quànquàn shūshēng fàngqì zhè búqiē shíjì de huànxiǎng, dànshì zěnme quànshuō dōu bú jiànxiào, yúshì, dàoshì nálái yí gè zhěntóu, ràng shūshēng xiān shuì shàng yíjiào. Cǐ shí diàn lǐmiàn diànzhǔ zhèng kāishǐ zuò huángmǐ fàn, bù yí huì ér, shūshēng shuì zháo le, tā zuò le yí gè mèng, zài mèng zhōng, tā jīnglì le hǎo duō mónán, zuìhòu zài rónghuá-fù guì zhōng dù guò le yúshēng. Zuò wán mèng hòu xǐng lái, shūshēng fāxiàn diànzhǔ rén zhēng de huángmǐ fàn hái méi yǒu shú ne.
相传唐朝的时候，有一位道士在一家店里遇到了一名书生。书生向道士表明他非常渴望得到荣华富贵，道士想好好劝劝书生放弃这不切实际的幻想，但是怎么劝说都 不见效，于是，道士拿来一个枕头，让书生先睡上一觉。此时店里面店主正开始做黄米饭，不一会儿，书生睡着了，他做了一个梦，在梦中，他经历了好多磨难，最 后在荣华富贵中度过了余生。做完梦后醒来，书生发现店主人蒸的黄米饭还没有熟呢。According to legend, during the Tang Dynasty, a Taoist priest met a poor scholar at a store. He told the priest that he yearned for wealth and rank. The priest tried to persuade him to give up his unrealistic dreams, but the scholar would not listen. The priest gave the scholar a pillow to rest on. Meanwhile, the store owner began making dinner with millet. Soon after, the poor scholar fell into a deep sleep and began to dream. In the dream, he overcame many difficulties and spent the rest of his life in great wealth. When he woke up, he found that dinner was still not done.
Words：
相传xiāng chuán： according to legend(v.)
道士dàoshi： Taoist priest(n.)
渴望kěwàng： be eager for(v.)
磨难mónàn： suffering(adj.)
余生yúshēng： the remainder of one's life(n.)

Zhànguó shíqī zhào guó hěn ruòxiǎo, zǒng shì bèi qiángdà de Qín guó qīfù. Dāng shí, Zhàoguó yǒu gè jiào Lìn Xiàngrú de rén hěn jīzhì yě hěn yǒnggǎn, tā dàibiǎo Zhàoguó yǔ Qín guó jiāoshè shí wéi zhào guó zhēng huí le bù shǎo miànzǐ. Zhào Wáng kàn tā yǒu zhè me dà běnlǐng, jiù fēng le tā yí gè hěn dà de guān. ér zhè què qì huài le zhào guó de dà jiāngjūn Lián Pō, tā xiǎng: wǒ wèi Zhào guó dǎ le nà me duō cì zhàng, ér Lìn Xiàngrú jiù shuō le jǐ jù huà, yǒu shénme liǎobùqǐ de, dìwèi jūrán bǐ wǒ hái gāo! Tā yuè xiǎng yuè bù fúqì, bìng yángyán yào ràng Lìn Xiàngrú dāng miàn nán kān. Zhè xiē huà chuán dào le Lìn Xiàngrú de ěrduǒ lǐ, tā yǐhòu pèng dào Lián Pō jiù duō cì tuìràng duǒbì. Kě Lián Pō de shǒu xià rén què yuè lái yuè xiāozhāng, yúshì, yǒu rén jiù wèn Lìn Xiàngrú shì bú shì hàipà Lián Pō. Lìn Xiàngrú xiào zhe shuō:” wǒ lián Qín wáng dōu bù hàipà, zěn me huì hàipà Lián jiāngjūn ne? Qín guó zhī suǒyǐ bù gōng dǎ Zhào guó, jiù shì yīnwèi Zhào guó xiànzài wénwǔ guānyuán hěn tuánjié, wǒ rúguǒ gēn Lián jiāngjūn nào máodùn, zhèyàng bú shì gěi le Qín guó yí gè hǎo jīhuì gōngdǎ Zhào guó ma? Yòu zěnme néng ràng guójiā āndìng ne? Yǔ guójiā bǐ qǐlái, gèrén de miànzǐ suàn dé le shénme ne!” Tīng dào zhè fān huà, Lián Pō xiūkuì jí le. Tā tuō diào shàngyī, lù zhe jiānbǎng, bèi zhe yì gēn jīngtiáo, zhí bēn Lìn Xiàngrú de jiā. Lián Pō guì zài dì shàn, bǎ jīngtiáo gāo gāo jǔ qǐ, qǐng Lìn Xiàngrú biāndǎ zìjǐ. Lìn Xiàngrú liánmáng bǎ jīngtiáo rēng zài dì shàng, yòu bǎ Lián Pō fú qǐ. Cóng cǐ, liǎng rén chéng wéi le hǎo péngyǒu, yì wén yì wǔ tóng xīn xiélì xiàozhōng guójiā. Qín guó yīncǐ yě gèng bù gǎn qīfù Zhàoguó le.
战国时期赵国很弱小，总是被强大的秦国欺负。当时，赵国有个叫蔺相如的人很机智也很勇敢，他代表赵国与秦国交涉时为赵国争回了不少面子。赵王看他有这么大本领，就封了他一个很大的官。而这却气坏了赵国的大将军廉颇，他想：我为赵国打了那么多次仗，而蔺相如就说了几句话，有什么了不起的，地位居然比我还高！他越想越不服气，并扬言要让蔺相如当面难堪。这些话传到了蔺相如的耳朵里，他以后碰到廉颇就多次退让躲避。可廉颇的手下人却越来越嚣张，于是，有人就问蔺相如是不是害怕廉颇。蔺相如笑着说：“我连秦王都不害怕，怎么会害怕廉将军呢？秦国之所以不攻打赵国，就是因为赵国现在文武官员很团结，我如果跟廉将军闹矛盾，这样不是给了秦国一个好机会攻打赵国吗？又怎么能让国家安定呢？与国家比起来，个人的面子算得了什么呢！”听到这番话，廉颇羞愧极了。他脱掉上衣，露着肩膀，背着一根荆条，直奔蔺相如的家。廉颇跪在地上，把荆条高高举起，请蔺相如鞭打自己。蔺相如连忙把荆条扔在地上，又把廉颇扶起。从此，两人成为了好朋友，一文一武同心协力效忠国家。秦国因此也更不敢欺负赵国了。In the period of the Warring States, the Sate of Zhao was weak and oppressed by the State of Qin, the strongest power among all states. At the time there was a man in the State of Zhao named Lin Xiangru, who was wise and courageous. He fought hard for the dignity of his state when he participated in the negotiation with Qin as a diplomatic envoy. The king of Zhao gave him a position of authority due to his excellent contributions, which annoyed the general Lian Po, who thought defiantly: “I have fought in so many battles to defend the state. Compared with my feats, Lin Xiangru’s work of simply a few words amounts to nothing at all. Why should he take a position higher than me?” The more he thought about it, the more he got irritated. He said in public that he would disgrace Lin Xiangru in person. Lian Po’s words reached Lin Xiangru’s ears, who then avoided meeting Lian Po on purpose. However, the men of Lian Po became more aggressive and audacious. When people asked Lin Xiangru whether he was afraid of Lian Po, he answered with a smile: “How am I supposed to fear General Lian Po when I am not afraid of the king of Qin? It is because of the unity among the officials of Zhao that Qin can find no opportunity to attack our state. If I get into conflict with General Lian Po, it would allow opportunity for the Qin to wage their attack, and our state would be in great danger. I shouldn’t sacrifice the future of my country for personal dignity.” Later, what Lin Xiangru said was heard by Lian Po, who was greatly ashamed of himself. He took off his upper garments and went to Lin Xiangru’s house with a rod, where he knelt down in front of Lin Xiangru, gave Lin the rod and begged a good lash as a punishment. Seeing this, Lin Xiangru threw away the rod immediately and raised Lian Po from his knees. From then on the two became intimate friends and contributed to their country with their individual strengths, one in battles, the other in foreign affairs, and Qin was terrified by the strengthening of Zhao even more.
Words：
欺负qīfu： to bully(v.)
交涉jiāoshè： to negotiate(v.)
面子miànzi： face(n.)
地位dìwèi： position; place(n.)
服气fúqì： be convinced(v.)
嚣张xiāozhāng： aggressive(adj.)
团结tuánjié： united(adj.)
羞愧xiūkuì： ashamed(adj.)
荆条jīngtiáo： a twig of the chaste tree; a rod(n.)
鞭打biāndǎ： lash(v.)

Gǔ shíhòu, yǒu gè jiào Zhāng sān de rén, shì gè níwǎjiàng. Tā hěn qínkuài, shǒu yì yě búcuò. Jǐ nián lái, Zhāng Sān xīnxīnkǔkǔ, zhōngyú cún le sān bǎi liǎng yínzǐ. Tā hěn gāoxìng, kěshì mǎshàng yòu kǔnǎo le qǐlái, gāi bǎ yínzǐ fàng zài nǎ’ ér ne? Zhāng Sān xiǎng lái xiǎng qù, zhōngyú xiǎng chū le yí gè hǎo zhǔyì.
古时候，有个叫张三的人，是个泥瓦匠。他很勤快，手艺也不错。几年来，张三辛辛苦苦，终于存了三百两银子。他很高兴，可是马上又苦恼了起来，该把银子放在哪儿呢？张三想来想去，终于想出了一个好主意。Once upon a time, there was a mason named Zhang San. He was diligent and skillful. After years of hard work, he saved 300 taels of silver in the end. He was very happy but became worried at the same time, for he didn't know where to store the money in safety. Zhang San thought it over and over and finally hit on a good idea.
Tā chèn zhe hēiyè zài wūhòu qiángjiǎo xià wā le yī gè kēng, qiāoqiāo jiāng yínzǐ mái le jìnqù. cáng hǎo hòu, tā réngrán bú fàngxīn, pà biérén dào zhè’ér lái wā, jiù yòu xiǎng le yī gè shí fèn “qiǎo miào” de bànfǎ. Tā huí dào wūzǐ lǐ, zài yī zhāng zhǐ shàng xiě xià le “cǐ dì wú yín sān bǎi liǎng “ qī gè dàzì, ránhòu tiē zài le qiángjiǎo biān, zhè cái fàngxīn dì zǒu le.
他趁着黑夜在屋后墙脚下挖了一个坑，悄悄将银子埋了进去。藏好后，他仍然不放心，怕别人到这儿来挖，就又想了一个十分“巧妙”的办法。他回到屋子里，在一张纸上写下了“此地无银三百两”七个大字，然后贴在了墙角边，这才放心地走了。Under the cover of the darkness at night, he dug a pit at the foot of the back wall and quietly buried the silver in it. However he didn't feel relived after doing this, because he was afraid that someone might be there to dig them out. Another "smart" idea suddenly occurred to him. He went back into the room and wrote down "此地无银三百两cǐ dì wú yín sānbǎi liǎng" (meaning no 300 taels of silver is buried here) on a piece of paper, and then put the paper on the corner of the wall. Then he went away, feeling quite relaxed.
Tā de línjū Wáng Er kàn dào le zhè zhāng zhǐ, dà xiào:” zhè bú shì míngbǎi zhe gàosù rén men, zhèlǐ yǒu sān bǎi liǎng yínzǐ ma?” Yúshì, dào le bànyè, děng zhāngsān shuì shú yǐ hòu, Wáng èr qiāoqiāo de bǎ yínzǐ wā chū lái tōu zǒu le. Dàn tā yě bú fàngxīn, pà Zhāng Sān zhīdào shì zìjǐ tōu le yínzǐ, yě zài mái yínzǐ de dìfāng tiē le yì zhāng zhǐ, shàng miàn xiě le qī gè dà zì “gébì Wáng èr bù céng tōu”.
他的邻居王二看到了这张纸，大笑：“这不是明摆着告诉人们，这里有三百两银子吗？”于是，到了半夜，等张三睡熟以后，王二悄悄地把银子挖出来偷走了。但他也不放心，怕张三知道是自己偷了银子，也在埋银子的地方贴了一张纸，上面写了七个大字“隔壁王二不曾偷”。When his neighbor Wang Er read the notice, he laughed aloud, saying "Isn't it obviously telling people that there is 300 taels of silver buried here?" So, when Zhang Zan fell into a deep sleep, Wang Er quietly dug out the silver and stole it away. Out of the fear that Zhang San might find him out, he put up a piece of paper where the silver had been buried with the seven big characters on it: "隔壁王二不曾偷gébì wángèr bù cén tōu" (meaning not stolen by your next-door neighbor Wang Er).
Words：
勤快qínkuài： hard-working (adj.)
手艺shǒuyì： workmanship (n.)
趁着chènzhe ： under (the) favor of (v.)
巧妙qiǎomiào： ingenious (adj.)
两liǎng： measure word for silver which was used as currency in China (m.w. )
明摆着míngbǎizhe： obviously (adv. )
隔壁gébì ： next-door neighbor (n.)

Dōngjìn shíqī de Xiè An hěn yǒu cáinéng, dāng zhe yí gè bú dà de guān. Dànshì tā bìng bù xǐhuān zuò guān, bùjiǔ jiù chēngbìng cíguān, dào Zhèjiāng Kuàijī dōng shān guò qǐ yǐnjū shēnghuó. Tā jīngcháng hé péngyǒu men yóushān-wánshuǐ, xīn shǎng, chuàngzuò shīwén, míngqì yuè lái yuè dà.
东晋时期的谢安很有才能，当着一个不大的官。但是他并不喜欢做官，不久就称病辞官，到浙江会稽东山过起隐居生活。他经常和朋友们游山玩水，欣赏、创作诗文，名气越来越大。Xie An of the Eastern Jin dynasty was a very talented man. He was a lower-ranking official, but he did not enjoy this type of work. He soon resigned with the excuse of illness and lived in seclusion on Mount Dongshan of Huiji, Zhejiang Province. He would often explore and enjoy the area with friends and write poetry, gradually growing in his reputation.
Cháotíng xiǎng qǐng tā chūlái zuò guān, cèfēng tā wéi lìbùláng. Suīrán zhè gè guānwèi hěn gāo, dàn tā háishì wǎnyán jùjué le.
朝廷想请他出来做官，册封他为吏部郎。虽然这个官位很高，但他还是婉言拒绝了。The royal court wanted to appoint him as an official and confer upon him the title of Minister of Personal Affairs. Although it was a very high position, he graciously refused it.
Dāng shí, Huán Wēn de quánshì hěn dà, tā qǐng Xiè An zuò Sīmǎ （zhǔguǎn jūnshì de guānyuán）. Xiè An bùgǎn yǔ tā duìkàng, zhī hǎo dā yìng. Nà shíhòu, Xiè An yǐjīng sì shí duō suì le.
当时，桓温的权势很大，他请谢安做司马（主管军事的官员）。谢安不敢与他对抗，只好答应。那时候，谢安已经四十多岁了。At that time, Heng Wen who was very powerful asked Xie An to be the sima (the official in charge of military affairs). Xie An, not daring to oppose him, had no choice but to agree. He was over forty at that time.
Xiè An shàng rèn de nà yì tiān, hěn duō guānyuán dōu lái zhùhè. Yǒu yí gè jiào Gāo Sōng de rén shuō:” nǐ guòqù zài Dōngshān yǐnjū, yīzhí bù kěn chū lái zuò guān, jīntiān zhōngyú gǎibiàn le.”
谢安上任的那一天，很多官员都来祝贺。有一个叫高菘的人说：“你过去在东山隐居，一直不肯出来做官，今天终于改变了。”On the day Xie An assumed office, many officials came to congratulate him. A man named Gao Song said, “You used to live in seclusion on Mount Dongshan and refused to be an official. Now, you have finally changed”.
Yóuyú Xiè An cáihuá chūzhòng, guānzhí bú duàn shēnggāo, hòu lái chéng le zǎixiàng. Tā bāng cháotíng dǎbài qiángdà de dírén, gǒnggù le tǒngzhì.
由于谢安才华出众，官职不断升高，后来成了宰相。他帮朝廷打败强大的敌人，巩固了统治。Due to his talents, he was continuously promoted and later became prime minister. With his help, the government defeated powerful enemies and consolidated its control.

Zhànguó mòqī, Qínguó xiàng wèiguó chūbīng. Wèi wáng bǎ dàchén men zhàojí qǐlái, wèn dàjiā yǒu méiyǒu shǐ Qín guó tuìbīng de bànfǎ. Duō shù dàchén dōu quàn wèi wáng, yǐ tǔdì wéi dàijià, gēràng tǔdì gěi Qínguó, xiàng Qín wáng qiúhé.
战国末期，秦国向魏国出兵。魏王把大臣们召集起来，问大家有没有使秦国退兵的办法。多数大臣都劝魏王，以土地为代价，割让土地给秦国，向秦王求和。In the final years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei. The King of the State of Wei summoned his officials, and asked if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. Most of the officials wanted the king to cede land to the State of Qin in order to preserve peace.
Dàn qí zhōng yí gè móushì bù tóngyì zhè zhǒng qiúhé de fāngfǎ. Tā duì wèi wáng shuō:”Dàwáng, zhè xiē rén yīnwèi zìjǐ dǎnxiǎo-pàsǐ, cái ràng nín qù màiguó-qiúhé, gēnběn búshì Wèi guó jiā zhuóxiǎng. Nín xiǎng, bǎ dà piàn tǔdì gē ràng gěi Qín guó suīrán zànshí mǎnzú le Qín wáng de yěxīn, dàn Qín guó de yùwàng shì wú zhǐjìng de, zhīyào Wèi guó de tǔdì méi gē wán, Qín jūn jiù bú huì tíngzhǐ jìngōng wǒmen.”
但其中一个谋士不同意这种求和的方法。他对魏王说：“大王，这些人因为自己胆小怕死，才让您去卖国求和，根本不是为国家着想。您想，把大片土地割让给秦国虽然暂时满足了秦王的野心，但秦国的欲望是无止境的，只要魏国的土地没割完，秦军就不会停止进攻我们。”However, one advisor did not agree. He rushed to the king’s side and said, “Your Majesty, it is just because they are cowardly and afraid of death that they ask you to cede for peace and betray our country. Of course, you can temporarily satisfy the ambition of the king of the State of Qin, but he is insatiably greedy. He will only stop attacking us when all of our land has been given away.”
Jiēzhe, zhè wèi móushì yòu jiǎng le yí gè gùshì: cóngqián yǒu yí gè rén , tā de fángzǐ qǐhuǒ le, biérén quàn tā kuài yòng shuǐ qù jiāomiè dà huǒ, dàn tā bù tīng, piān bào qǐ yì kǔn cháicǎo qù jiùhuǒ, tā bù dǒng dé cháicǎo bú dàn bùnéng mièhuǒ fǎn’ ér néng zhùzhǎng huǒshì de dàolǐ. Dà wáng ruò tóngyì ná zhe Wèi guó tǔdì qù qiúhé, bù jiù děngyú bào zhe chái cǎo jiù huǒ ma?”
接着，这位谋士又讲了一个故事：从前有一个人，他的房子起火了，别人劝他快用水去浇灭大火，但他不听，偏抱起一捆柴草去救火，他不懂得柴草不但不能灭火反而能助长火势的道理。大王若同意拿着魏国土地去求和，不就等于抱着柴草救火吗？”The advisor then told a story, "Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried kindling to put out the fire, only to make it worse. That was because he didn't understand that instead of putting out the fire, kindling only makes it burn harder. If you agree to cede to preserve the peace isn’t it the same as using kindling to put out a fire?"
Words:
割让gēràng: cede (v.)
召集zhàojí: summon (v.)
胆小dǎnxiǎo: coward (adj.)
满足mǎnzú: satisfy (v.)
攻击gōngjī: assault (v.)
柴草cháicǎo: faggot (n.)
等同于děngtóngyú： equivalent（adj.）

Zài Zhōngguó Dōnghàn mònián, yǒu yí wèi zhùmíng yīshēng míng jiào Huà Tuó. Tā de yīshù fēicháng gāomíng.
在中国东汉末年，有一位著名医生名叫华佗。他的医术非常高明。During the final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there lived a famous physician named Hua Tuo, whose skill with medicine was superb.
Yí cì, yǒu liǎng gè rén dōu huàn le touting-fārè de bìng, tóngshí lái zhǎo Huà Tuó zhìbìng. Jīng guò xiángxì xúnwèn bìngqíng, xìxīn zhěnduàn hòu, Huà Tuó gěi tā liǎng rén gè kāi le yí gè yàofāng. Liǎng gè rén hùxiàng kàn le duìfāng de yàofāng hòu, gǎn dào hěn qíguài, wèn dào:” wǒmen liǎng rén dōu huàn yíyàng de bìng, wèishénme yòng de yào què bù yí yàng ne?”
一次，有两个人都患了头痛发热的病，同时来找华佗治病。经过详细询问病情，细心诊断后，华佗给他俩人各开了一个药方。两个人互相看了对方的药方后，感到很奇怪，问道：“我们两人都患一样的病，为什么用的药却不一样呢？”One day, two men suffering from headaches and fever both came to Hua Tuo. After detailed questioning and careful diagnosis, he prescribed treatments for the two men. Upon comparing the two prescriptions, the two men were puzzled, and asked, ”The two of us are suffering from the same illness .Why are the medications you prescribed different?”
Hua Tuo replied, “Treatment depends on the specific circumstances of the patient.
Huá Tuó jiěshì shuō:” Yòng yào yào kàn bìngrén de jùtǐ bìngqíng. Suīrán nǐ èr rén bìngzhèng xiàngtóng, dàn huànbìng de yuányīn què bù tong. Yí gè rén de shēntǐ nèibù dōu méiyǒu shén shénme máobìng, yóuyú wàibù shòu liáng, gǎnmào yǐn qǐ de, suǒyǐ yào chī fāsàn yào; ér lìng yí gè rén de shēntǐ wàibù méiyǒu shénme máobìng, bìng shì yóu nèibù yǐn qǐ de, yīnwèi chī de dōngxī tài duō le, shāngshí, suǒyǐ yào chī xièyào. Huànbìng de yuányīn bù tong, dāngrán yòng yào jiù bù néng xiàngtóng le.”
华佗解释说：“用药要看病人的具体病情。虽然你二人病症相同，但患病的原因却不同。一个人的身体内部都没有什么毛病，由于外部受凉、感冒引起的，所以要吃发散药；而另一个人的身体外部没有什么毛病，病是由内部引起的，因为吃的东西太多了，伤食，所以要吃泻药。患病的原因不同，当然用药就不能相同了。”Although the two of you have similar illnesses, their causes are actually quite different. One has nothing wrong internally, but has contracted a cold from external causes. The other one has nothing wrong externally, but has become ill from excessive eating and drinking; an internal problem. With two different causes, of course the treatments must be different.
Words:
著名zhùmíng： famous (adj.)
医术yīshù： medical skill (n.)
诊断zhěnduàn： diagnosis (v.)
药方yàofāng： prescription (n.)
泻药xièyào： laxative (n.)
奇怪qíguài： strange (adj.)
解释jiěshì： explain (v.)
病症bìngzhèng： disease (n.)
感冒gǎnmào： cold (n.)