Tag: Chinese Idiom

Hàndài chūqī, Xiàguī（guī ）xiàn de Zhái Gōng céng shuō guò, tā kāishǐ zuò tíngwèi （gǔdài de yì zhǒng guānzhí）shí, jiā zhōng yǒu hěn duō kèrén lái bàifǎng; děng hòu lái guānzhí méi le, jiā mén wài jiù biàn dé fēicháng lěngqīng, dōu kěyǐ nòng yì yī zhāng wǎng bǔ què le （luó ：zhāng kāi wǎng bǔ zhuō ）. Zài dào hòulái, Zhái Gōng huīfù le guānzhí, hěn duō rén yòu xiǎng lái tā jiā bàifǎng. Zhái Gōng jiù zài dà mén shàng xiě le yí jù huà, yìsī shì: zhī yǒu shēngsǐ huànnán shí, yǒu pínfù hé guìjiàn de chājù shí, cái néng xiǎnchū yǒuqíng de zhēn wěi.
汉代初期，下邽（龟）县的翟公曾说过，他开始做廷尉（古代的一种官职）时，家中有很多客人来拜访；等后来官职没了，家门外就变得非常冷清，都可以弄一张网捕雀了（罗：张开网捕捉）。再到后来，翟公恢复了官职，很多人又想来他家拜访。翟公就在大门上写了一句话，意思是：只有生死患难时，有贫富和贵贱的差距时，才能显出友情的真伪。In the early Han Dynasty, Zhaigong of the Xia Gui town once said when he started to take the official position as a Tingwei, there were numerous visitors in his house; the time he lost his job, nobody came to visit him and even one was able to catch birds by a net at the door. Later, he was reinstated so many people remembered him again and wanted to visit him. Thus, Zhaigong wrote a sentence on his door to the effect that only through death and adversity, through poverty and humble status, one could tell true friendship from untrue.
Words：
拜访bàifǎng： visit, call on(v.)
官职guānzhí： official position(n.)
冷清lěng qing： quiet(a.)
恢复huīfù： recover(v.)
患难huànnàn： misfortune, sorrows, woe(n.)
差距chājù： gap, difference(n.)
真伪zhēnwěi： true or false(n.)

Sānguó shí, Liú Bèi jiànlì Shǔguó. Tā sǐ hòu, érzǐ Liú Chán jìwèi. Yīnwèi Liú Chán hūnyōng wúnéng, gōngyuán 263 nián, Shǔ Guó bèi Wèi guó miè diào le. Liú Chán tóu xiáng hòu, Wèi Wáng ràng tā zài Wèi Guó dūchéng Luò Yáng jūzhù. Dāng shí, Wèi Guó zhǎng dà quán de shì dàchén Sīmǎ Zhāo. Zài yí cì yànhuì shàng, Sīmǎ Zhāo gùyì ānpái biǎoyǎn Shǔ Guó de gēwǔ. Shǔ Guó yuánlái de dàchén xiǎng dào mièwáng de gùguó, dōu fēicháng nánguò, Liú Chán què duì Sīmǎ Zhāo shuō:”cǐ jiān lè, bù sī shǔ.” Yìsī shì “zhè lǐ hěn kuàilè, wǒ yì diǎn ér yě bù xiǎngniàn Shǔ Guó.”
三国时，刘备建立蜀国。他死后，儿子刘禅继位。因为刘禅昏庸无能， 公元263年，蜀国被魏国灭掉了。刘禅投降后，魏王让他在魏国都城洛阳居住。当时，魏国掌大权的是大臣司马昭。在一次宴会上，司马昭故意安排表演蜀国的歌舞。蜀国原来的大臣想到灭亡的故国，都非常难过,刘禅却对司马昭说：“此间乐,不思蜀。”意思是“这里很快乐,我一点儿也不想念蜀国。”In the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei established the state of Shu. After his death, his son Liu Chan succeeded to the throne. Liu Chan was a fatuous and incompetent king that his was soon overthrown by the state of Wei in 263 B.C. After Liu Chan’s surrender, the king of Wei allowed him to live in Luoyang, the capital of Wei. At that time Sima Zhao was the person with most power, who deliberately arranged a dance performance of the Shu state on a banquet, and invited Liu Chan and his former ministers. All of the ministers couldn’t help feeling sad about their perished nation at the sight of the dance, but only Liu Chan, the former king, expressed his satisfaction of being in Wei and he missed his homeland no more.
Words：
继位jìwèi： to succeed to the throne(v.)
昏庸hūnyōng： stupid; fatuous(adj.)
无能wú néng： incompetent(adj.)
投降tóuxiáng： surrender(v.)
都城dūchéng： capital(n.)
宴会yànhuì： banquet(n.)
故意gùyì： deliberately(adv.)
安排ānpái： to arrange(v.)
表演bǐaoyǎn： perform(v.)

Cóngqián, Wèiguó yǒu gè jiào Gēng Léi de shén jiànshǒu. Yǒu yì tiān, tā hé Wèi Wáng yìqǐ chūqù yóuwán, kàn dào yì zhī dàyàn fēi lái. Tā duì Wèi wáng shuō:” wǒ zhī yòng gōng, bú yòng jiàn, jiù néng bǎ zhè zhī niǎo shè xiàlái.” Wèi Wáng bù xiàngxìn:” nándào nǐ shèjiàn néng dá dào zhè me gāo de shuǐpíng ma?”
从前，魏国有个叫更羸的神箭手。有一天，他和魏王一起出去游玩，看到一只大雁飞来。他对魏王说：“我只用弓，不用箭，就能把这只鸟射下来。”魏王不相信：“难道你射箭能达到这么高的水平吗？”Once upon a time, there was a marksman named Geng Ying in the state of Wei. One day, he along with Emperor Wei went out for some amusement. He spotted a wild goose flying ahead and he said to Emperor Wei, “I only have a bow, but I can shoot that bird down without an arrow.” Emperor Wei not believing him replied, “Could it really be that your archery has reached such a high level?”
Gēng Léi bǎi hǎo zīshì, lā kāi gōng xián, xū shè yí jiàn. Nà zhī dàyàn jìngrán zhēn de luò le xiàlái. Wèi Wáng jiǎn zhí bù gǎn xiàng xìn zì jǐ de yǎnjīng, wèn dào: ” Nándào nǐ de jiànshù zhēn de néng dào dá zhè gè jìng jiè?” Gēng Léi shuō :”zhè zhī dàyàn bèi rén yòng jiàn shāng guò. Tā shì tīng dào gōng xián xiǎng, shòu dào jīng xià diào xià lái de, bìng bú shì wǒ de jiànshù gāomíng.” Wèi wáng wèn:” nǐ zěnme zhīdào tā shòu guò shāng?” Gèng Léi jiěshì dào:”tā fēi dé hěn màn, jiàoshēng bēiqī, kěyǐ zhīdào tā líkāi yàn qún hěn cháng shíjiān le. Tā shāng kǒu téngtòng, yòu shì dúzì fēixíng, jīng kǒng de xīnlǐ hái méiyǒu xiāochú. Tīng dào gōng xián xiǎng, wèi le táomìng, tā huì pīnmìng wǎng gāochù fēi, yí yòng lì shāngkǒu lièkāi, jiéguǒ jiù diào xià lái le.”
更羸摆好姿势，拉开弓弦，虚射一箭。那只大雁竟然真的落了下来。魏王简直不敢相信自己的眼睛，问道：“难道你的箭术真的能到达这个境界？”更羸说：“这只大雁被人用箭伤过。它是听到弓弦响，受到惊吓掉下来的,并不是我的箭术高明。”魏王问：“你怎么知道它受过伤？”更羸解释道：“它飞得很慢，叫声悲凄，可以知道它离开雁群很长时间了。它伤口疼痛，又是独自飞行，惊恐的心理还没有消除。听到弓弦响，为了逃命，它会拼命往高处飞，一用力伤口裂开，结果就掉下来了。”Geng Ying positioned himself, drew back his empty bowstring and feigned the shot of his arrow. The wild goose did indeed fall from the sky. Emperor Wei simply could not believe his eyes and asked, “Could it really be that your archery has reached such a high level?”Geng Ying replied, “This wild goose has been wounded by an arrow once before. When he heard the sound of my bow, he fell out of fear, not because my archery is good.”Emperor Wei asked, “How did you know he was injured?”Geng Ying explained, “He was flying slowly and singing sadly. It is evident that he left the flock a long time ago. His wounds were aching, and his flight lonesome, fear had not been removed from his heart. When he heard the sound of my bow, desperate in his attempt to escape, he reached for the heights with all his might. However, his very effort caused his wounds to split, and so he fell.”
Words：
魏国Wèiguó： the Kingdom Wei (n.)
大雁dàyàn： wild migratory goose (n.)
姿势zīshì： posture (n.)
弓弦gōngxián： bowstring (n.)
虚xū： in vain (ad.)
箭术jiànshù： archery (n.)
悲凄bēiqī： mournful (a.)
裂开lièkāi： to split(v.)

Jìncháo shí, yǒu yí wèi dà xuéwènjiā, míng jiào Guō Xiàng(gōngyuán 252 nián -gōng yuán 312 nián). Tā niánqīng de shíhòu, jiù yǐjīng shì yí gè hěn yǒu cáixué de rén le.
晋朝时，有一位大学问家，名叫郭象（公元252年-公元312年）。他年轻的时候，就已经是一个很有才学的人了。There was a famous scholar named Guo Xiang (252 AD -312 AD) in Jin Dynasty. When he was young, he was already a very talented scholar.
Tā zhīshí yuānb, duì xǔduō shìqíng chángcháng yǒu dúdào de jiànji, wúlùn shénme shìqíng dōu néng shuō dé tóutóu-shìdà. Tā de kǒucái yě hěnhǎo, měi dāng tā fābiǎo yánlùn, rén men dōu tīng dé jīnjīn-yǒuwèi. Dāngshí yǒu yí wèi Tàiwèi, jiào Wáng Yǎn, shífēn xīnshǎng Guō Xiàng de kǒucá. Tā chángcháng zài biérén miànqián chēngzàn Guō Xiàng shuō:” Guō Xiàng shuō huà, jiù hǎoxiàng yì tiáo dǎoxuán qǐlái de héliú, tāotāo-bùjué de xiàng xià guànzhù, yǒngyuǎn méiyǒu kūjié de shíhòu.”
他知识渊博，对许多事情常常有独到的见解，无论什么事情都能说得头头是道。他的口才也很好，每当他发表言论，人们都听得津津有味。当时有一位太尉，叫王衍，十分欣赏郭象的口才。他常常在别人面前称赞郭象说：“郭象说话，就好像一条倒悬起来的河流，滔滔不绝地向下灌注，永远没有枯竭的时候。”He was knowledgeable and had his unique opinions on many things. He was very eloquent and could talk about everything in a clear and logical way. Every time when he gave a speech, people around him all listened with great interest. There was an official named Wang Yan. He appreciated Guo Xiang's eloquence very much. He often praised Guo Xiang in front of other people, "When Guo Xiang gives a talk, his speech is like a waterfall. It flows out and never dries up."
Words：
渊博yuānbó： profound (adj.)
见解jiànjiě： opinion (n.)
头头是道tóutóushìdào： clear and logical
津津有味jīnjīnyǒuwèi： with great interest
称赞chēngzàn： praise (v.)
枯竭kūjié： dry up (v.)

Tàiyángshén Yándì yǒu yí gè zuì chǒng’ài de nǚ’ér, jiào Nǚ Wá. Yǒu yí cì, tā yí gè rén jià zhe xiǎochuán qù Dōnghǎi yóuwán, búxìng hǎi shàng qǐ le fēngbào, bǎ xiǎochuán dǎ fān, Nǚ Wá luò rù hǎi zhōng yān sǐ le. Rán’ér, tā de línghún biàn chéng le yì zhī niǎo, chángcháng fā chū “jīngwèi, jīngwèi” de jiàoshēng, yīncǐ rénmen jiào tā jīngwèiniǎo.
太阳神炎帝有一个最宠爱的女儿，叫女娃。有一次，她一个人驾着小船去东海游玩，不幸海上起了风暴，把小船打翻，女娃落入海中淹死了。然而，她的灵魂变成了一只鸟，常常发出“精卫、精卫”的叫声，因此人们叫她精卫鸟。The god of sun Yan Emperor had a favorite daughter named Nv Wa. Once she traveled to the East Sea by a boat alone. Unluckily, a storm came and turned the boat upside down. Nv Wa fell into the sea and got drowned. However, her soul became a bird, crying like "jingwei, jingwei", so people call her Jingwei bird.
Jīngwèi niǎo tòng hèn dàhǎi duó qù le zìjǐ de shēngmìng, tā xiǎng yào bàochóu. Yúshì, tā xià juéxīn yào bǎ dàhǎi tián chéng píngdì, zhè yàng dàhǎi jiù bú huì duó qù gèng duō rén de shēngmìng le. Měi tiān, Jīngwèiniǎo dōu yíkè bùtíng de bǎ shízǐ hé shùzhī rēng jìn hǎi lǐ. Dàhǎi cháoxiào tā shuō: nǐ jiù shì gàn yì bǎi wàn nián, yě bié xiǎng bǎ wǒ tiánpíng.” Jīngwèi gāoshēng dá dào:” nǎ pà gàn shàng yì qiān wàn nián ，yí wàn wàn nián ，gàn dào shí jiān de jìn tóu ，wǒ yě yí dìng yào bǎ nǐ tiánpíng!” Jīngwèi líkāi dàhǎi, jìxù qù xián shízǐ hé shùzhī. Zhí dào jīn tiān, tā hái zài zuò zhe zhè gè gōngzuò.
精卫鸟痛恨大海夺去了自己的生命，她想要报仇。于是，她下决心要把大海填成平地，这样大海就不会夺去更多人的生命了。每天，精卫鸟都一刻不停地把石子和树枝扔进海里。大海嘲笑她说：你就是干一百万年，也别想把我填平。”精卫高声答道：“哪怕干上一千万年，一万万年，干到时间的尽头，我也一定要把你填平！”精卫离开大海，继续去衔石子和树枝。直到今天，她还在做着这个工作。The bird Jingwei hated the sea for claiming her life, and wanted to revenge. She decided to fill up the sea, so to prevent it taking other men's lives. Every day, she kept busy picking stones and sticks and threw them into the sea without a stop. The sea laughed at her and said, "You can never level me up even after one million years.” Jingwei raised her voice and replied, "I will fill you up no matter if I have to work for ten million years, one hundred million years, or even until the end of time." Jingwei then left and continued to pick stones and sticks. Up till now, she is still doing the same work.
Words：
宠爱chǒnɡài: favour; love ardently; dote on(v.)
驾jià: drive; ride（v. ）
风暴fēngbào: storm（n.）
灵魂línghún: soul（n.）
夺 duó: seize(v.)
嘲笑cháoxiào: laugh at （v.）
尽头jìntóu: end（n.）
衔xián: hold in the mouth（v.）

Yì tiān, yì zhī lǎohǔ fēicháng jī’è, sìchù xúnzhǎo shíwù. Hǎo bù róngyì lǎohǔ zhuā dào le yì zhī húlí, zhèng yào zhāng kǒu chī diào tā, húlí kāi kǒu shuō huà le:” wǒ shì Yùdì pài lái de, tā ràng wǒ zuò bǎi shòu zhī wáng. Nǐ bù néng chī diào wǒ, rúguǒ nǐ chī diào wǒ, jiù shì wéikàng le Yùdì de zhǐyì.” Lǎohǔ tīng húlí shuō wán zhī hòu bànxìn-bànyí. Húlí kàn dào lǎohǔ zhèng zài yóuyù, yòu shuō:” rúguǒ nǐ bú xìn, nǐ jiù gēn zài wǒ hòumiàn zǒu, kàn kàn dòngwù men shì bú shì pà wǒ.” Lǎohǔ jué dé yǒu dàolǐ, jiù gēn zài húlí hòumiàn zǒu, jiéguǒ, dòngwù men kàn jiàn zhī hòu, dōu fēn fēn táopǎo. Lǎohǔ bù zhīdào zhè xiē dòngwù shì pà zìjǐ, hái zhēn yǐ wéi shì pà húlí ne!
一天，一只老虎非常饥饿，四处寻找食物。好不容易老虎抓到了一只狐狸，正要张口吃掉它，狐狸开口说话了：“我是玉帝派来的，他让我做百兽之王。你不能吃掉我，如果你吃掉我，就是违抗了玉帝的旨意。”老虎听狐狸说完之后半信半疑。狐狸看到老虎正在犹豫，又说：“如果你不信，你就跟在我后面走，看看动物们是不是怕我。”老虎觉得有道理，就跟在狐狸后面走，结果，动物们看见之后，都纷纷逃跑。老虎不知道这些动物是怕自己，还真以为是怕狐狸呢！One day, a tiger was out hunting for food. He caught a fox and was just about to eat it when the fox said: "How dare you to eat me? I am sent by heavenly god to this forest to rule all the beasts. If you eat me, you'll be going against god's will and you know what'll happen when God is angry."The tiger looked doubtful and thus the fox continued, "If you don't believe me, just walk behind me and see if any animal dares to approach me."The tiger agreed. The fox went ahead and the tiger followed closely. Seeing the tiger coming, all the animals ran away. The tiger thought that these animals were really in awe of the fox. Totally being convinced, the tiger let the fox go.
Words：
玉帝yùdì： the Jade Emperor (the Supreme Deity of Taoism) (n.)
饥饿jī'è： hungry (adj.)
违抗wéikàng： defy (v.)
旨意zhǐyì： decree (n.)
犹豫yóuyù： hesitate (v.)
道理dàolǐ： truth (n.)
怕pà： be afraid (v.)

Jìn Wǔdì de shūshū sī mǎ lún, yěxīn hěn dà, tā chèn Jìn Wǔdì qùshì, guójiā bú gòu wěndìng, jiù hé jǐ gè dàchén mìmóu cuànduó le wángwèi. Dāng shàng huángdì yǐhòu, wèi le lālǒng dàchén, jiāqiáng zìjǐ de tǒngzhì, Sīmǎ Lún kāishǐ húluàn fēngguān, qīnqī péngyǒu, shènzhì shì jiā lǐ de púrén, dōu dāng shàng le dàguān. ànzhào dāngshí de guīdìng, zhèngfǔ guānyuán de màozǐ dōu bìxū zhuāngshì zhēnguì de diāowěi, kěshì yóuyú Sīmǎ Lún fēng de guānyuán shízài tài duō le, quánguó shàngxià gēnběn zhǎo bú dào nà me duō de diāowěi, zuìhòu zhīhǎo yòng kàn qǐlái chà bú duō de gǒu wěibā lái dàitì le.
晋武帝的叔叔司马伦，野心很大，他趁晋武帝去世，国家不够稳定，就和几个大臣密谋篡夺了王位。当上皇帝以后，为了拉拢大臣，加强自己的统治，司马伦开始胡乱封官，亲戚朋友、甚至是家里的仆人，都当上了大官。按照当时的规定，政府官员的帽子都必须装饰珍贵的貂尾，可是由于司马伦封的官员实在太多了，全国上下根本找不到那么多的貂尾，最后只好用看起来差不多的狗尾巴来代替了。Sima Lun, uncle of Sima Yan (Emperor Wu of Jin) was very ambitious. When Emperor Wu died and the country was not stable, he conspired with several ministers to usurp the throne. Upon becoming emperor, in order to manipulate the Cabinet and strengthen his control, he recklessly appointed his relatives, friends and even servants to be officials. According to regulation at that time, the hats of the government officials were to be decorated with precious ferret tails. However, because there were so many officials appointed by Sima Lun, there were not enough tails available. In the end, the ferret tails were replaced with tails of dogs, which looked similar.
Yóuyú Sīmǎ Lún fēng de guānyuán yòu duō yòu bù rénmín bànshì, zhī zhīdào qīyā bǎixìng, yīncǐ ，rénmen jiù yòng “gǒuwěi xùdiāo ”lái fěngcì dāngshí de zhèngfǔ.
由于司马伦封的官员又多又不为人民办事，只知道欺压百姓，因此，人们就用“狗尾续貂”来讽刺当时的政府。Because the officials appointed by Sima Lun were excessive and did not serve the people, but rather oppressed them, people used “狗尾续貂” to satirize the government at that time.
Words：
野心yěxīn： ambition; careerism（n.）
趁chèn： while; take the chance of（prep.）
去世qùshì： die; pass away（v.）
稳定wěndìng： stable（adj.）
密谋mìmóu： plot; conspire（v.）
篡夺cuànduó： usurp; seize（v.）
拉拢lālǒng： draw sb. over to one's side; cozy up to; rope in（v.）
封fēng： confer (a title, territory, etc.) upon（v.）
仆人púrén： (domestic) servant（n.）
规定guīdìng： rule; provision（n.）
装饰zhuāngshì： ornament; decorate（v/n.）
珍贵zhēnguì： valuable; precious; rare（adj.）
貂尾diāowěi： ferret tail（n.）
代替dàitì： replace（v.）
欺压qīyā： bully and oppress; ride roughshod over’ （v.）
讽刺fěngcì： satirize; mock; make a crack（v.）

Gōngyuán qián 475 nián －gōngyuán 221 nián de Zhànguó shíqī, Yànguó yǒu gè qīngnián, tā tīngshuō Zhàoguó dūchéng Hándān de rén zǒulù zīshì tèbié hǎokàn, yúshì zhè wèi niánqīngrén juédìng mán zhe jiārén qù xuéxí Hándānrén zǒulù de zīshì. Jiù zhèyàng, tā lái dào le Hándān. Yíngmiàn zǒu lái yī gè hé tā niánlíng xiàngfǎng de rén, kànjiàn nà rén zǒu guò, zhè wèi Yànguó de qīngnián biàn gēn zài tā hòumiàn kāishǐ mófǎng. Nà rén mài zuǒjiǎo, Yànguó qīngnián yě mài zuǒjiǎo, nà rén mài yòujiǎo, Yànguó qīngnián yě mài yòujiǎo. Rán’ér, tā yì niǔtóu yòu kàn dào lìng yí gè zhōngniánrén, tā yòu jiào dé nà rén zǒu lù de zī shì hěn hǎokàn, yúshì yòu gēn zhe zhōngnián rén xué zǒulù. hòulái tā yòu kàn dào yí wèi fùnǚ, yòu gēn zhe xué ……. Zhuǎnyǎn hǎo jǐ gè yuè guòqù le, Yànguó qīngnián yuè xué zǒulù de zīshì yuè bù hǎokàn, bùjǐn méi xué huì Hándān rén de zǒufǎ, érqiě hái bǎ zìjǐ yuánlái de zǒulù zīshì yě wàng le. Zhè shí, dài lái de qián yě yǐjīng huā guāng, tā zhī hǎo huíjiā, kěshì tā yòu wàng le zìjǐ yuánlái shì zěnyàng zǒulù de. Wúnài, Yànguó qīngnián zhīhǎo zài dìshàng pá zhe huíqù le.
公元前475年－公元221年的战国时期，燕国有个青年，他听说赵国都城邯郸的人走路姿势特别好看，于是这位年轻人决定瞒着家人去学习邯郸人走路的姿势。就这样，他来到了邯郸。迎面走来一个和他年龄相仿的人，看见那人走过，这位燕国的青年便跟在他后面开始模仿。那人迈左脚，燕国青年也迈左脚，那人迈右脚，燕国青年也迈右脚。然而，他一扭头又看到另一个中年人，他又觉得那人走路的姿势很好看，于是又跟着中年人学走路。后来他又看到一位妇女，又跟着学……。转眼好几个月过去了，燕国青年越学走路的姿势越不好看，不仅没学会邯郸人的走法，而且还把自己原来的走路姿势也忘了。这时，带来的钱也已经花光，他只好回家，可是他又忘了自己原来是怎样走路的。无奈，燕国青年只好在地上爬着回去了。During the Warring States Period (475 – 221 BC), a young man from the State of Yan heard that in Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao, people's walking posture was graceful and elegant. The young man wanted to make his walking posture look better, so he decided to learn from the Handanners without telling his family. Then, he traveled a long way to Handan, where first he saw a young man walking towards him. After allowing him pass, the young man from Yan soon followed behind him, imitating his strides. When the young man of Handan took a step with his left foot, he took a step with his left foot. He then saw a middle-aged man and thought his posture attractive, too, so he followed and imitated him as well. After that, he imitated a woman's walking style.
But however he tried, he just couldn't walk the way the Handanners did. After a few months of learning, the young man had spent all the money he had brought. To make things worse, when he decided to give up and went home, he found he had forgotten his own way of walking. In the end, the young man had no choice but to crawl all the way back home.
Words：
邯郸hándān： a name of place in China (n. )
姿势zīshì： style; posture (n.)
模仿mófǎng： imitate; copy (v. )
无奈wúnài： have no choice; cannot help but (adj.)

Kǒngzǐ yóulì de lù shàng, pèng jiàn yí gè xiǎohái zhèngzài yòng nítǔ duī yí zuò chéngbǎo, zìjǐ zuò zài lǐmiàn bù chūlái, yě bù gěi Kǒngzǐ de chēzǐ rànglù. Kǒng zǐ rěnbú zhù wèn:” nǐ wèi shénme bú bìràng chēzǐ?” ”Wǒ zhī tīngshuō chēzǐ yào rào zhe chéng zǒu, méi yǒu tīngshuō guò chéngbǎo hái yào bìràng chēzǐ de!” Hái zǐ shuō.
孔子游历的路上，碰见一个小孩正在用泥土堆一座城堡，自己坐在里面不出来，也不给孔子的车子让路。孔子忍不住问：“你为什么不避让车子？”“我只听说车子要绕着城走，没有听说过城堡还要避让车子的！”孩子说。While traveling, Confucius met a little kid building a castle with mud. He sat inside, refusing to come out or give way to Confucius’ carriage. Confucius could not help but ask him, “Why didn’t you keep clear?” The child replied, “I’ve heard the carriage should drive around the castle, but never that the castle should avoid the carriage.”
Kǒngzǐ fēicháng jīngyà: zhè me xiǎo de háizǐ jìng huì shuō chū zhè zhǒng huà, shízài shì liáobùqǐ. “ nǐ zhème xiǎo de niánjì, dǒng dé de shìlǐ zhēn bú shǎo ya!” Kǒngzǐ shuō. Xiǎohái què huídá dào: ” wǒ tīng rén shuō, yú shēng xiàlái, sāntiān jiù huì yóuyǒng; tùzǐ shēng xiàlái, sāntiān jiùnéng zài dì lǐ pǎo, mǎ shēng xiàlái, sāntiān jiù kě gēn zhe mǔ mǎ xíngzǒu. Zhè xiē dōu shì zìrán de shì, yǒu shénme dàxiǎo zhī bié ne?” Kǒngzǐ gǎntàn de shuō: ” hǎo ā, wǒ xiànzài cái zhīdào shǎonián rén shízài liáobùqǐ ya!”
孔子非常惊讶：这么小的孩子竟会说出这种话，实在是了不起。“你这么小的年纪，懂得的事理真不少呀！”孔子说。小孩却回答道：“我听人说，鱼生下来，三天就会游泳；兔子生下来，三天就能在地里跑，马生下来，三天就可跟着母马行走。这些都是自然的事，有什么大小之别呢？”孔子感叹地说：“好啊，我现在才知道少年人实在了不起呀！”Confucius was very surprised that such a small child could say such words. “You are so young, but you know much!” he said. The kid merely replied, “I’ve heard that fish can swim three days after they’re born; rabbits can run in the field three days after they’re born; a horse can walk and follow its mother after three days. This is natural, so what’s the difference between old and young?” Confucius exclaimed, “Now I finally know how amazing a young human child can be! ”
Words：
 游历yóu lì: travel for pleasure (v.)
 城堡chéngbǎo: castle (n.)
 避让bìràng: to avoid (v.)
 了不起liǎo bù qǐ: great (adj.)
 事理shìlǐ: reason.logic ( n.)
 感叹gǎntàn： exclaim (v.)