中國傳統(tǒng)文化經(jīng)典哲理故事（英文）

中國傳統(tǒng)文化經(jīng)典哲理故事（英文）HarmonyofHumounandNature天人合一〖ZhuangzhouDreamedaButterfly〗Onedayatsunset，Zhuangzidozedoffanddreamedthatheturnedintoabutterfly．Heflappedhiswingsandmadesureenoughhewasabutterfly．Hehadsuchajoyfulfeel-ingasheflutteredaboutthathecompletelyforgotthathewasZhuangzi．Soonthough，herealizedthatproudbutterflywasreallyZhuangziwhodreamedhewasabutterfly．OrwasitabutterflywhodreamedhewasZhuangzi?MaybeZhuangziwasthebutterfly，andmaybethebutterflywasZhungzi?Thisiswhatismeantbythe“transformationofthings．”莊周夢蝶一天，落日時分，莊子夢見自己變成一只蝴蝶。他撲打撲打翅膀，確信自己已經(jīng)變成一只蝴蝶。這時他十分愜意，飄飄然竟完全忘記了自己是莊子。一會兒醒來，他明白了，那只驕傲的蝴蝶正是夢見自己變成蝴蝶的莊子?；蛟S是蝴蝶做夢自己變成了莊子也未可知。莊子是蝴蝶?亦或蝴蝶是莊子?這正是所謂的“事物轉(zhuǎn)換”的道理啊!〖AFondDreamofNanke〗IntheTangDynasty，therelivedapersoncalledChunYufen．Oneday，hisfriendscametocelebratehisbirthday，andChunYufenwasdrinkingunderanoldpagodatree．Whenhebecamedrunk，hefellasleep．Suddenly，ChunYufenmetwithtwoatomieswhotookhimintoagiantholeinthetree，havingaridetothegreatKingdomofPagoda．ChunYufenfoundhimselfinafairyworldwithmanyredgates，magnificentpalaces，luxuriantpavilionsandbeautifulgardens．南柯一夢在中國唐朝，有個人叫淳于棼。一天他過生日，在門前大槐樹下擺下宴席和朋友飲酒作樂，好不快活。喝醉了之后，他便睡著了。迷迷糊糊之中，他突然感覺有兩個使者請他上車，馬車朝大槐樹下一個樹洞駛?cè)?，駛向“槐安國”。他發(fā)現(xiàn)樹洞里另有一番仙境。有許多朱紅色的大門，大門里面是華麗的宮殿，周圍是亭臺樓閣和美麗的花園。ThekingappreciatedhimverymuchsothathewasnamedthemayorofNanke，asmalltownintheKingdom．Soonafter，hemarriedtheking’sbeautifuldaughter．ChunYufenwassohappywiththelifetherethathetotallyforgothishometown．Twentyyearspassed，andChunYufenstayedastheverysuccessfulmayorofNankeandraisedabigfamilyoffivesonsandtwodaughters．國王非常欣賞淳于棼，封他為“南柯郡太守”。后來，國王還將公主許配給他。淳于棼與公主過得非常幸福以致完全忘了自己的家鄉(xiāng)。淳于棼上任南柯郡太守后，前后二十年的時間，把南柯郡治理得井井有條，還和公主生了五個兒子，兩個女兒。However,thekingdomwasinvadedbyanothercountryandChunYufenhadtoleadthetroopstoholdouttheenemies．Unfortunately，histroopsweredefeatedandhiswifedied．ChunYufendecidedtoleavetheKingdomofPagoda．Hewassenthomebythe2atomies.Assoonashearrivedhome，hewokeuptorealizewhathadhappenedwasjustadream.Itwasonlyashortnap，eventhoughinhisdreamhehadexperiencedawhole20yearsoflife．ChunYufen’sfriendswereinterestedinhisdream.Theylookeddownthetreeandfoundanantnestconnectedtoasmallernestinthesouthdirection．Obviously，thesenestsexplainedwhat“PagodaKingdom”and“Nanke”reallywere!不料，有個國家突然入侵，淳于棼不得不率兵迎擊，不過他還是打了敗仗。這時公主又不幸去世了。淳于棼決定離開“槐安國”，仍是由兩名使者送行。淳于棼回到家中，突然驚醒過來，原來是一場夢。不過是小睡一會兒，而夢中經(jīng)歷卻整整二十年。淳于棼把夢境告訴朋友，大家感到十分有趣，一齊找到大槐樹下，挖出一個很大的螞蟻洞，旁邊有孔，通向南邊樹枝，那里有一個小螞蟻洞。很顯然，這就是所謂的“南柯郡”、“槐安國”！〖ThePenumbrasandtheShadow〗Thepenumbrasaskedtheshadow，“Amomentagoyouwerelookingdownandnowyouarelookingup；amomentagoyourhairwastiedupandnowitishangingloose；amomentagoyouweresittingandnowyouarestanding；amomentagoyouwerewalkingandnowyouarestandingstill．Howisallthis?”罔兩問影虛影問影子說：“你先前低著頭現(xiàn)在仰起頭，先前束著發(fā)髻現(xiàn)在披著頭發(fā)，先前坐著現(xiàn)在站起，先前行走現(xiàn)在停下來，這是什么原因呢?”Theshadowsaid，“Gentlemen，whydoyoubotheraskingmesuchtriflingques-tions?IdothesethingsbutIdon’tknowwhy．AmIliketheshellofacicadaoramIlikethesloughofasnake?Ilookliketherealthing，butIamnottherealthing．Iappearwiththeflameorthesun，butfadewiththeshadeorthenight．影子同答：“你為什么拿這樣微不足道的事情煩我呢?我就是這樣地隨意運動，我自己也不知道為什么會是這樣。我，就如同寒蟬蛻下來的殼、蛇蛻下來的皮，跟那本體事物相似卻又不是那事物本身?；鸸馀c陽光使我顯現(xiàn)，陰暗與黑夜使我隱形。DoIdependontherealthing?Buttherealthingitselfhastodependonsomethingelse!whentherealthingcomes，Icomewithit;whentherealthinggoes,Igowithit;whentherealthingmovestoandfro，Imovetoandfrowithit.Whatistheretoaskabout?”我依賴有形的事物嗎?而有形的事物又依賴什么呢?有形的物體到來我便隨之而來，有形的物體離去我也隨之而去，有形的物體俳徊不定我就隨之不停地運動。這有什么可問的呢?”〖LipsGone，TeethCold〗TheKingofJinwasgoingtoattackGuo，astateontheothersideofJin’sneighborcountryYu．TheJintroopshadtohaveYu’spermissiontogothroughitsterritory，which，mostlikely，theKingofYuwouldrefuse．TheKingofJincouldnotworkoutaplan．Oneday，XunXi，oneofhisministers，putforwardasuggestion，“YourMajesty，ifyousendyourmostpreciousgiftstotheKingofYu，hewillprobablybebribedintogiv-ingconsent．”唇亡齒寒晉國的國君想要攻打虢國，但隔著一個虞國，討伐虢國必須經(jīng)過虞地。對此，虞國的國君可能會拒絕。晉君一直沒能想出個好辦法。一天，大臣荀息獻計說：“大王，如果您能將珍寶獻給虞國，他不會不答應借道的?！盩heKingofJinlookedreluctant，soXunXisaid，“Evenifheacceptsthegifts，itdoesn’tmeanthathepossessesthem，astheywillsoonbetakenbackbyus．Thenwhatistheretobeworriedabout?”ThustheKingofJintookuphisplan．晉獻公一聽有點舍不得，荀息就說：“即使他接受了禮物，也不意味著他就會擁有它們，很快，我們還會把它們拿回來的。您擔心什么呢?”晉獻公采納了荀息的計策。TheKingofYuagreedatonceassoonashesawthegifts。ButGongZhiqi，aminis-terofYu，tookobjectiontoit，saying，“Guoisourneighborcountry，ourreliablefriend,andtherelationshipbetweenusisjustlikethatbetweenlipsandteeth.Asanoldsayinggoes,‘whenthelipsaregone，theteethwillfeelcold’，sowillourcountrybeindangerwhenGuoisconquered．IfwelettheJintroopspass，thegapbetweenGuo'sdestructionandoursisonlyaperiodofmorningtoevening．”ButGong’sadvicewasrejected.WhathappenedthereafterjustprovedwhatGonghadsaid.虞國國君見到禮物，當時就滿口答應下來。虞國大夫?qū)m之奇聽說后，趕快阻止道：“虢國是虞國的近鄰，有事可以彼此幫助，我們之間就好像嘴唇和牙齒之間的關系。俗話說：‘唇亡齒亡’，萬一虢國滅了，我們虞國也就難保了。如果我們借道給晉國，那么虢國和虞國的滅亡就是旦夕之間的事了?！钡輫鴩龥]有聽從宮之奇的勸說，結(jié)果不久晉國就滅掉了虢國和虞國?！糚erfectlyImpartial〗KingJinPinggongonceaskedhisministerQiHuangyang，“IamgoingtoappointamagistrateandsendhimtogovernNanyangCounty．Whodoyouthinkwillfittheof-fice?”Qiansweredwithouthesitation，“XieHumaybethechoice．”TheKingfeitsurprisedandsaid，“Isn’tXieHuyourpersonalenemy?”大公無私晉平公有一次問大臣祁黃羊說：“南陽縣缺個縣長，你看，應該派誰去當比較合適呢?”祁黃羊毫不遲疑地同答說：“解狐。”平公驚奇地問：“解狐不是你的仇人嗎?”“Yes，”Qireplied，“butYourMajesty，youaskmewhowillfitthepost，notwhoismyenemy．”SoXieHutookoffice，andhediddoalotofgoodthingsforcommonpeoplein：NanyangCounty．SometimelaterwhentheKinginquiredwhocouldtakecommandofthearmy，Qirespondedreadily，“QiWuismostsuited．”TheKingwaspuzzledagain，said，“Well，IwonderifQiWuisyourson．”祁黃羊回答說：“是的，但陛下問我誰合適，并沒有問誰是我的仇人呀!”于是，解狐就被派到南陽縣上任了。到任后，他確實為百姓辦了許多好事。過了一些日子，當平公需要一個人去指揮軍隊的時候，祁黃羊說：“祁午能夠勝任?！逼焦制婀制饋砹?，問道：“祁午不是你的兒子嗎?”“Yes，heis，”Qianswered，“butwhathasthattodowiththepointatthisissue?YourMajesty，youjustaskwhoiscompetentasageneral，andIairedmyopinion．”SoQiWuwasappointedageneral，whichlaterprovedoneofthewisestappoint-ments．Hearingaboutthis，ConfuciusspokehighlyofQiforhisrecommendationinconsid-erationofone’svirtueandtalent，brushingasideanythoughtofwhetheronewashisen-emyorrelative．Hesaidthatitwasreallyperfectlyimpartial．祁黃羊說：“是的，但這和推薦有什么關系呢?您只問我誰可以勝任，我就表達了我的想法?！逼焦团闪似钗缛プ鲋笓]官，他的表現(xiàn)，證明了這是一個最明智的選擇?？鬃勇牭竭@兩件事，十分贊賞祁黃羊“內(nèi)舉不避親，外舉不避仇”的薦才標準，并且說：“這才夠得上‘大公無私’呀!”〖EveryWordCounts〗DuringtheWarringStatesPeriod，thetroopsoftheStateofQinsurroundedHanDancity，thecapitaloftheStateofZhao，andthesituationwasverycritical．SotheKingofZhaosentLordPingYuantotheStateofChuforhelp．LordPingYuanintendedtoleadtwentyassistantstoaccomplishthismission．Nineteenqualifiedpeoplewereselect-ed，andonemorewasneeded．Atthistime，MaoSuivolunteeredtoforwardapleatogowithLordPingYuan．AlthoughLordPingYuanwasdubiousabouthiscapability，hestillaskedMaoSuitogowiththemintheend．一言九鼎戰(zhàn)國時，秦國的軍隊團團包圍了趙國的都城邯鄲，形勢十分危急，趙國國君派平原君到楚國去求援。平原君打算帶領二十名門客前去完成這項使命。已挑了十九名，尚少一個定不下來。這時，毛遂自告奮勇提出要去，平原君雖然對他的能力有所懷疑，但最終還是帶著他一起前往了楚國。AssoonasLordPingYuanarrivedintheStateofChu，hestartedtolobbyforChu’ssupport，butmadenoprogress．Accordingly，MaoSuisaidtotheKingofChu，“Wecomeheretoaskyoutosendreliefforces，butyoudidnotutteraword．Pleasedon’tfor-get，althoughyouarestrongerthanus，youhavelostmanybattlesandevenyourcapital.Frommypointofview，unitingZhaoagainstQinismoreurgentforyou．”MaoSui’scommentsmadetheKingofChuStatesincerelyconvinced，andpromisedtosendrefiefforcesimmediately．平原君到了楚國后，立即與楚王談及“援趙”之事，談了半天也毫無結(jié)果。這時，毛遂對楚王說：“我們來請你派兵援助，你卻一言不發(fā)。別忘了，雖然楚國比趙國強大，卻連連吃敗仗，連國都也丟掉了，依我看，楚國比趙國更需要聯(lián)合起來抗秦呀!”毛遂的一席話說得楚王心服口服，立即答應出兵援趙。AfterLordPingYuancamebacktotheStateofZhao，hesaidwithemotion：“MaoSui’swordsaremoreimportantthanninehugetripods．”平原君回到趙國后感慨地說：“毛遂的一席話真是重于九鼎大呂?！薄糃astaBricktoAttractJade〗IntheTangDynasty，thereweretwopoets．OnewascalledChangJianandtheoth-er，snamewasZhaoGu．ZhaoGu’spoemsweremuchappreciatedbyChangJian.OnceZhaoGuwasgoingtoSuzhou．WhenhearingZhaoGuwouldvisitLingyanTemple，拋磚引玉唐代有兩個詩人，一個叫常健，一個叫趙嘏。常健很仰慕趙暇的詩才。一次，趙嘏要去蘇州。當常健聽說他會去靈巖寺時，使先趕到靈巖，ChangJianwentthere．firstandwrotetwolinesofapoemonaconspeincuswallinhopeofZhao’scompletion.Soonafter,ZhaoGuarrivedathtetemple.Henoticedtheincom-pletepoemonthewallimmediatelyandcompletedthepoem．ChangJian’sfirsttwosen-在一面顯眼的墻上題寫了兩行詩，希望趙嘏看到后能續(xù)成一首。不久趙嘏到了靈巖寺，他一眼就看到了墻上不完整的詩，便續(xù)上一兩行，tenceswerenotasgoodasZhaoGu’s，buthestimulatedZhaotowritedownexcellentones．Peoplecallitanactionof“tocastingabricktoattractjade”，whichreferstoputtingforthone’ssuperficialsuggestionorarticleinordertodrawoutothers’betterviewsorworks．將詩補充完整。常健的詩沒有趙嘏寫得好，卻能引出趙嘏的佳句。后來的人，就把這種做法叫作“拋磚引玉”，以此比喻用粗淺的意見或文章引發(fā)別人發(fā)表更高明的見解或作品?！糀SighofRiver〗AtthetimeofautumnfloodswhenhundredsofstreamspouredintotheYellowRiv-er．thetorrentsweresoviolentthatitwasimpossibletodistinguishanoxfromahorsefromtheothersideoftheriver．ThentheRiverGodwasoverwhelmedwithjoy，feelingthatallthebeautyundertheheavenbelongedtohimalone．DowntheriverhetraveledeastuntilhereachedtheNorthSea．Lookingeastwardsattheboundlessexpanseofwa-ter，hechangedhiscountenanceandsighedtotheSeaGod，saying，“Asthepopularsay-inggoes，‘TherearemenwhohaveheardalittleaboutTaobutstillthinkthatnoonecansurpassthem．’Iamoneofsuchmen．”望洋興嘆秋汛的季節(jié)到了，無數(shù)條溪流匯入黃河，河水猛漲，河面寬得連對岸的牛馬都辨不清。這樣一來，河伯就洋洋自得起來了，以為世界上所有壯麗的景色都集中在自己身上了。他順看河水向東行，一直來到北海，向東一望，一片遼闊的大海，看不見水的邊際。這時，河伯才改變了他驕傲的神態(tài)，望著海洋感慨地說：“俗話說‘有人的只學到分之一的道理，就以為誰也比不上自己’，我正是這樣的人啊！”NatureofDoctrineandlouv道法自然〖MakeDressesaccordingtoMeasurements〗It’ssaidthatinthepastdaystherewasatailorinBeijingCity.Whenhemadedressesforpeople，apartfromaskingtheirsize，healsowouldliketoaskthecustomers’disposition，age，thetimewhentheypassedtheimperialexaminationandsoon．The量體裁衣傳說以前北京城里有個裁縫，在替人做衣服時，除了量身材尺寸外，還要詢問對方的性情、年紀以及中舉時間等等。人們感到奇怪，folksfeltstrangeandaskedhimwhy．Hesaid，“Ifamanpassedtheimperialexaminationatayoungage，hemustbecomearrogant，andholdhisheadhighwhenhewalks，soIneedtomakethefrontofclotheslongerthantheback；onthecontrary，amanwhopassedtheimperialexaminationatanoldagewillnotfeelsoexcited．Healwaysbe問他為什么要這樣。他說：如果是青年中舉，必定性情驕傲，走起路來抬頭挺胸，因此衣服要做得前長后短；如果是老年中舉，大都沒那hisbackwhenwalking,sothefrontofhisclothesshouldbemadealittlebitshorter.Thequicktemperprefersshorterclothes；whereastheslowtemperpreferslongerclothes.”Later，thisidiomdescribessomebodywhocandealwithdifferentproblemsaccordingtodifferentsituations.么興奮，走路不免彎腰曲背，衣服就要做得前短后長；性情急躁的，衣服要做得短；性子慢的，衣服應做得長些。后來“量體裁衣”這個成語泛指人們根據(jù)具體的情況處理問題。〖DukeLuRaisedaSeabird〗AseabirdwasonceseenperchingonthecitygateofthecapitalofLu．Nobodyhadseensuchabirdbefore，sotheycalleditthe“holybird．”魯侯養(yǎng)鳥從前有只海鳥，在魯國城門上棲息。因為從來沒有人見過這種鳥，所以人們都叫它“神鳥”。DukeLuorderedhismentocapturetheseabirdalive．TheykeptitinagoldencageandbroughtittotheImperialAncestralTemple．DukeLutreatedtheseabirdasthoughitwerehisguestofhonor．Eachdaytherewouldbebanquetswheredaintiesanddelicaciesofeverykindwouldbeofferedtotheseabird．EventheDukeLu’smusicianshadtoper-formfortheseabird’ssoleamusement．魯侯命侍從活捉海鳥。侍從將海鳥關在金籠內(nèi)，并放在太廟里供養(yǎng)。魯侯視海鳥如國賓。每天都有各式各樣的珍饈百味供海鳥品嘗，甚至魯侯的樂師，也要為海鳥演奏。Buttheseabirdwasterrifiedbyallthisgrandness.Itbecamesofrightenedandsadthatitdarednoteatordrink．Afterthreedays,itdied.DukeLuthoughtthathehadbeenagoodhosttohisguest．Whynot?Hewastreatingtheseabirdthesamewayhetreatedhimself.可是，海鳥卻被這些豪華排場所嚇倒，心里既驚慌又悲痛，不敢飲食，過了三天，終于死去。魯侯以為他款待海鳥已十分周到?？刹皇菃?？他是用對待自己的方法去對待海鳥的?！糋rapplingbetweenaSnipeandaClam〗Aclamwaslyingontheedgeofthewaterwithhershellopentoenjoythesun.ThesweetfleshOftheclamattractedasnipestrollingalongtheriverbank.鷸蚌相爭一只河蚌躺在河灘上張開殼兒曬太陽。河蚌鮮美的肉吸引了一只沿著河岸散步的鷸鳥。Thesnipeatoncepouncedontheclamandpeckedherflesh．Swiftlytheclamfold-edhershellandclampeddownonthesnipe’sbilltightly．Theneachonewashandi-cappedbytheother，andneithercouldmoveaninch．Thesnipesneered，“Ifitdoesn’trainforacoupleofdays，let’swaittoseewhatwillbecomeofyou!”Theclamretort,“Surelyinthesametimeyouwilleitherstarvetodeathorthirsttodeath．”鷸鳥立刻撲過來啄河蚌的肉，蚌靈敏地合攏了自己堅硬的殼，把鷸鳥尖尖的長嘴緊緊夾住?，F(xiàn)在，他們都被對方鉗制住了，動彈不得。鷸對蚌說：“今天不下雨，明天不下雨，你就會曬死?！卑鲆矊栒f：“你的嘴今天拔不出，明天拔不出，你就要渴死餓死!”Sotheyarguedandabusedeachotherforquitealongtime，neitherreadytogivein．Justthen，afishermanhappenedtopassby.Hesawthesnipeandtheclam，andtohisde-light，hecaughtthembothwiththegreatestease．鷸和蚌就這樣爭吵咒罵了半天，誰也不肯讓步。這時，一個漁翁碰巧打這兒經(jīng)過，看到這一情景，十分高興，跑過去毫不費力地把他們都捉住了。〖ReadyImagesofBambooinBosom〗WenTongwhostyledhimselfYukewasanartistintheSongDynasty.Heenjoyedwidespreadrenownforhisbamboopainting．Everydaymanypeoplealwayscalledathishometoaskforhispaintings．Whatwashisknackofpaintingbamboos?Actually，wenTonghadgrownvariousbambooseverywherearoundhishouse.Nomatterwhatseasonitwasandnomatterwhetheritwassunnyorrainy，heoftenwenttoobservehowthey胸有成竹宋代畫家文同，字與可。他畫的竹子遠近聞名，每天總有許多人登門求畫。文同畫竹的妙訣在哪里呢?原來，文同在自己家的房前屋后種上了各種竹子。無論春夏秋冬，陰晴風雨，他都經(jīng)常去觀察竹子weregrowing.Heponderedoverthelengthandbreadthofthebamboopolesaswellastheshapesandcolorsoftheleaves．Wheneverhehadgainedanewunderstanding,hewentbacktohisstudyanddrewwhatwasinhismindonthepaper．Overalongperiodoftime，theimagesofbamboosindifferentseasons，underdifferentweatherconditionsandatdifferentmomentsweredeeplyimprintedinhismind．Sowheneverhestoodbe-forethepaperandpickedupapaintingbrushwithconcentratedattention，thevariousformsofthebambooswhichhehadobservedatordinarydaysatoncerosebeforehiseyes．Thereforeeverytimehewaspaintingbamboosheappearedconfidentandatease,andallthebambooshehadpaintedwereveryvividandtruetolife．的生長變化情況，琢磨竹枝的長短粗細，葉子的形態(tài)、顏色。每當有新的感受就回到書房，把心中的印象畫在紙上。日積月累，竹子在不同季節(jié)、不同天氣、不同時辰的形象都深深地印在他的心中，只要凝神提筆，在畫紙前一站，平日觀察到的各種形態(tài)的竹子立刻浮現(xiàn)在眼前。所以每次畫竹，他都很從容自信，畫出的竹子，無不逼真?zhèn)魃?。ThepoetChaoBuzhiwhohadmadeaprofoundstudyofWenTong’sartofpaintingswrote：“WhenYukewaspaintingbamboos，hehadtheirimagesreadyinhisbosom.”Theidiomindicateshavingreadyplansordesignsinone’smindbeforedoingacer-tainjobsothatitssuccessisguaranteed.詩人晁補之對文同的畫很有研究，曾寫下詩句：“與可畫竹，胸中有成竹。”“胸有成竹”比喻做事之前已作好充分準備，對成功十分有把握?！糘ldHorseKnowstheWay〗DuringtheSpringandAutumnPeriod，KingHuanofQiinvadedtheStateofGuzhu．ThearmywasstuckinGuzhuforawholeyear．Springpassedandwintercame．WhenQi’ssoldiersfinallyconqueredGuzhu，theygotlostandcouldn’tfindtheirwaybacktotheStateofQi．Qi’sministerGuanZhongcameupwithanidea．Heletthesoldierstakeoutsever-aloldhorsestoleadtheway．Thearmyfollowedthehorsesclosely，andfinallymadetheirwayoutofGuzhuandbacktotheirhomeland．老馬識途春秋時期，齊國國王齊桓公帶兵攻打孤竹國。齊國大軍在孤竹國困了整整一年的時間。春去冬來，當齊軍終于打敗了孤竹國的時候，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)他們迷失了方向，找不到回齊國的路了。這時候，大臣管仲想出了個辦法。他讓士兵牽出幾匹老馬在前面帶路。大軍緊緊地跟在后面，就這樣終于走出了孤竹國，回到了故鄉(xiāng)?！糏mpossibletoCarveinRottenWood〗ConfuciusisagreateducationistduringtheSpringandAutumnPeriod．Oneofhisstudentsappearedimpressiveineverywordhesaidwhichwascloselyreasonedandwellargued．Confuciusthoughtthatthisstudentwouldmakegreatachievementsinthefuture．Butbeforelongthestudentexposedhislaziness．朽木難雕孔子是春秋時期一位偉大的教育家。他有一個學生，說起話來頭頭是道，很有自己的理論和見解?？鬃右詾檫@個學生日后會有很大的成就?？刹痪煤?，這個學生就暴露出懶惰的毛病。OnedayhewassleepingsoundlyinhisroomasConfuciuswasgivinglessons．Con-fuciusfeltverysorryatitandsaid：“Itisimpossibletocarveinrottenwood．Thesamegoesforpaintingwallsmadeofdunganddirt．Whathesaysdoesn’tawordwithwhathedoes．HehastaughtmealessonthatIshouldvalueastudentthroughhispracticalcon-ductinsteadofhiswords．”有一天，孔子在給學生講課，這個學生卻在房間里睡大覺?？鬃又篮蠛茈y過，他說：“朽爛的木頭是不能雕刻的，糞土一樣的墻壁是粉刷不了的。那是一個說話與行為不一致的學生。他給了我一個教訓：我應該以實際行為而不是言談來評價學生”。Later,peopleusethisphrase“XiuMuNanDiao”(impossibletocarveinrottenwood)todescribeahopelesspersonwhoisnotlikelytobeimprovedbyeducation.后來，人們用這個成語“朽木難雕”比喻那難以教化、不能造就成才的人。JmmenseJmagewithoutShape大象無形〖NeverTrustAppearance〗IntheStateofZhao，therewasonceascholarbythenameofGongsunLong．“Idon’tkeepcompanywithpeoplewhohavenotalents，”hetoldhisdisciples.Onedayamandressedinragscameuptohimsaying，“Pleasetakemeasyourdisciple.”Afterlookingthemanupanddown，GongsunLongsaid，“Tellmeaboutyourtalents.”不可貌相趙國有個學者名字叫公孫龍。他曾對弟子說：“我不會和沒有本領的人交往?！币惶?，有個衣衫襤褸的人，走上前對他說：“請您收我做徒弟吧!”公孫龍打量了那人一番，問道：“你有何本領?”“Well,”saidtheman，“Ihavealoudvoicewhichcantravelveryfar．”Isthereany-oneamongyouwhohasaloudvoice?”GongsunLongaskedhisdisciples．“No，sir!”theyreplied.GongsunLongtookthemanashisdisciple．Hisotherdiscipleswerelaugh-ing．“Whatistheuseofaloudvoice?”theysneered．那人回答說：“我有一個洪亮的嗓音，它能傳得很遠?！惫珜O龍問弟子道：“你們當中有沒有聲音洪亮的?”弟子回答說：“沒有?！庇谑枪珜O龍收那人做徒弟。其他弟子竊竊私語，還嘲笑道：“聲音洪亮有什么用?”Afewdayslater，GongsunLongandhisdiscipleshadtomakeatriptotheStateofYan．Theyhadtocrossawideriver．However，therewasonlyoneboatlyingonthedis-tantshore．GongsunLongtoldhisnewdiscipletoprovehistalent.Themangladlyheed-edtherequestandyelledloudly．Verysoontheboatwasrowedovertoferrythemall.過了幾天，公孫龍和弟子們要到燕國去。他們來到一條大河前，可是岸邊卻沒有渡船，只有一艘船停泊在遠遠的對岸。公孫龍就令新弟了施展其技。新弟子欣然答允，便大喊一聲。很快，那艘渡船就劃了過求，載他們渡河去?！糡woConcubines〗Y(jié)angziwenttotheStateofSongandspentthenightinaninn．Theinnkeeperhadtwoconcubines．Onewasverybeautiful；theotherwasveryugly．Theuglyonewasfa-vored；thebeautifulone，onthecontrary，wasnotfavored．Yangziaskedwhythiswas．Theinnkeeperreplied，“Thebeautifulconcubineconsidersherselfverybeautiful，butIcertainlydonotthinksheisbeautiful．TheuglyconcubineconsidersherselfveryuglybutIcertainlydonotthinksheisugly．”Yangzisaid，“Disciples，rememberthesewords，ifapersoncandovirtuousdeedswhileriddinghimselfofanyfeelingsofconceit，thenwherecouldhegowithoutbeingwelcomed?”逆旅二妾陽子到宋國去，住在旅館里。旅館的主人有兩個姨太太，一個很美麗，另一個很丑陋。丑的受寵，美的反倒不受寵。陽子問店主為什么會是這樣，店主回答說：“那個美的覺得她自己很美，可是我并不感到她美；那個丑的覺得她自己很丑，可是我并不感到她丑?！标栕诱f：“徒弟們記住這句話，要是一個人做高尚的事，又沒有覺得自己很高尚的心理，那么他到哪兒都會受到歡迎的。”〖TheFrogintheShallowWell〗Afrogwholivedinashallowwellmetaturtlewholivedinthesea．TheFrogsaid，“Iamsohappy!WhenIgoout．Ijumpaboutontherailingbesidethewell．WhenIcomehome，Irestintheholesonthebrokenwallofthewell．IfIjumpintothewater，itcomesuptomyarmpitsandholdsupmycheeks．IfIwalkinthemud，itcoverupmyfeet．Ilookaroundatthewrigglyworms，crabsandtadpoles，andnoneofthemcancomparewith井底之蛙一只青蛙住在井里。有一天，青蛙在井邊遇上了一只從海里來的大龜。青蛙就對大龜夸口說：“你看，我住在這里多么快樂啊!高興的時候，可以在井欄邊跳躍玩耍；疲倦的時候，就回到井里睡在磚洞里。如果我跳入水中，水流穿過我的腋窩，支撐我的頭部。如果我在泥地上走，泥漿便蓋過我的腳面。我看看周圍的蚯蚓啦、螃蟹啦、還有蝌蚪me．Moreover，IamthelordofthistroughofwaterandIstandtallinthisshallowwell．Myhappinessisfull．Mydearturtle，whydon’tyoucomeoftenandtakealookaroundmyplace?”Beforetheturtlefromtheseacouldgetitsleftfootinthewell，itsrightkneegotstuck．Ithesitatedandretreated．Theturtletoldthefrog：等，他們哪里能跟我比呢?我是這個井里的主人，自由自在的好不逍遙快樂!親愛的海龜，你常到我的井里來游玩吧!”大龜試著把它的左腳伸進井里去，但是右腿已經(jīng)被絆住了。它踟躇著退卻下來，對青蛙說：“Haveyouseentheseabefore?Evenadistanceofathousandlicannotgiveyouanideaofthesea’swidth；evenaheightofathousandzhangcannotgiveyouanideaofitsdepth．InthetimeoftheXiaDynasty，therewerefloodsnineyearsoutoften，butthewa-tersintheseadidnotincreasemuch．InthetimeoftheShangDynastythereweredroughtssevenYearsoutofeight，butthewatersintheseadidnotdecreasemuch.Therealhappinessistoliveinthesea．”Hearingthesewords．thefrogoftheshallowwellwasshockedintorealizinghisowninsignificance．“你見過大海嗎?海的廣大，何止千里；海的深度，何止千丈。夏朝的時候，每十年中有九年發(fā)大水，但是海里的水并不漲；到后來商朝，每八年中有七年大旱，海里的水，也沒有少了多少。住在大海里，才是真正的快樂呢!”青蛙聽了海龜?shù)脑?，吃驚不小，開始認識到自己的淺薄和無知?！糦uGongRemovedtheMountains〗TaihangandWangwuaretwomountains，withanareaofsevenhundredsquareliandagreatheightofthousandsofzhang.NorthofthemountainslivedanoldmancalledYugongwhowasnearlyninetyvearsold．Sincehishomefacedthetwomountains，hewastroubledbythefactthattheyblockedthewayoftheinhabitantswhohadtotakearoundaboutroute.Hegatheredhisfamiliestogethertodiscussthematter．“LetusdoeverythinginourpowertoflattentheseforbiddingmountainssothatthereisadirectroutetothesouthofYuzhoureachingthesouthembankoftheHanRiver．Whatdoyousay?”Everyoneapplaudedhissuggestion.愚公移山太行、王屋兩座山，方圓七百里，高數(shù)萬丈。北山住著一個名叫愚公的老人，年紀將近九十歲了。他的家門正面對著這兩座大山。愚公苦于道路阻塞，出去進來都要繞遠路，便召集全家人商量說：“我和你們盡力挖平兩座大山，直通到豫州南部，到達漢水南岸，好嗎?”大家紛紛表示贊同。Therefore，Yugongtookthreesonsandgrandsonswhocouldcarryaloadontheirshoulders．TheybrokeuprocksanddugupmoundsofearthwhichweretransportedtotheedgeoftheBoSeainbaskets．AnoldmancalledZhisouwholivedinHequ，nearabankofabranchoftheYellowRiver，wasamusedanddissuadedYugong，“Howcanyoubesofoolish?Withyourad-vancedyearsandthelittlestrengththatyouhaveleft，youcannotevendestroyabladeofgrassonthemountain，nottospeakofitsearthandstone．”愚公于是帶領子孫中能挑擔子的三個兒子和孫子們干了起來。鑿石頭，挖泥土，用畚箕運送到渤海的邊上。住在黃河支流邊河曲的一個名字叫智叟的老人笑著阻止愚公說：“你怎么那么傻呀，憑你的有生之年和余力，尚不能毀掉山上的草木，更不用說泥土和石頭啦!”Yugongheavedalongsigh．“ThoughIdie，mysonliveson.Sonsfollowsonsandgrandsonsfollowsons．Mysonsandgrandsonsgoonandonwithoutend，butthemoun-tainswillnotgrowinsize．Thenwhyworryaboutnotbeingabletoflattenthem?”ZhisouofHequwasbereftofspeech．GodwasmovedbyYugong’ssincerityandcommandedthetwosonsofKua’eshitocarryawaythetwomountainsontheirbacks：onewasputeastofShuozhouandtheothersouthofYongzhou．FromthattimeonwardsnomountainstoodbetweenthesouthofYuzhouandthesouthernbankoftheHanRiver.愚公長嘆一聲說：“即使我死了，還有兒子在呀；兒子又生孫子，孫子又生兒子；子子孫孫沒有窮盡的，可是山不會增高加大，何愁挖不平它們呢?”河曲智叟沒有話來回答。天帝被愚公的誠心感動，命令夸娥氏的兩個兒子背走兩座山，一座放在朔州的東部，一座放在雍州的南部。從此以后，從豫州的南部，直到漢水的南面，再也沒有大山擋路了?！糞howingoffOne’sSkillbeforeLuBan〗Inancienttimes，LuBanwassupposedtobeaconsummatemasterinconstructionandsculpture．Carpentersrespecthimastheirancestormaster．Itissaidthatheoncecarvedacolorfulwoodenphoenixthatwassolifelikethatitactuallyflewintheskyforthreedays．Thusitwasconsideredtheheightoffollytoshowoffone’sskillwithanaxeinfrontofLuBan．Thisidiomexcoriatesthosewhoshowofftheirslightaccomplishmentsinfrontofexperts．班門弄斧從古代時起，魯班被認為是一個建筑與雕塑方面的藝術大師，木匠們把魯班奉為他們的始祖。據(jù)說，他曾經(jīng)惟妙惟肖地雕刻出一個木鳳凰，木鳳凰栩栩如生竟然真的在天上飛了三天。誰敢在魯班面前賣弄使用斧子的技術，也就是說，想在大行家面前顯示自己的本領，被人們認為是十分荒唐可笑的行為。這個成語用來諷刺那些在專家面前賣弄的人。〖Mr．DongGuo〗Mr．Dongguowasaverykindscholarwhoenjoyedhelpingpeople.Oneday，Mr.Dongguowaswalkingontheroad，carryingafullbagofbooks．Suddenly，hesawawolfrunningtowardshim．ThewolfsaidtoMr．Dongguo，“Help，please!Somebodywantstokillme．”東郭先生東郭先生是一個仁慈的學者，很樂于助人。一天，他背著書袋在路上走著。忽然，從后面跑來一只狼。狼對東郭先生說：“先生，救救我吧!有人要殺我!”SoMr．Dongguotookthebooksoutofthebag，andletthewolfgetin．Soon，amancameandasked，“Isthereawolfhere?”Mr．Dongguosaid，“No，thereisn’t．”Afterthemanwentaway，thewolfcried，“Letmeout!”Mr．Dongguoletthewolfout，butthewolfsaid，“Mr．Dongguo，I’mhungry，Imusteatyou!”Atthismoment，afarmercamealong．Mr．Dongguotoldhimwhathappenedandaskedhimforheip．However，thewolfsaidtothefarmer，“Mr．Dongguoputmeintohisbag．whichalmostchokedme．Shouldn’tIeathim?”于是東郭先生倒出口袋里的書，把狼藏了進去。不一會兒，一個人找了來，問東郭先生：“看見一只狼沒有?”東郭先生說：“我沒看見。”獵人走了，狼在口袋里喊到：“讓我出去!”東郭先生把它放了出來。狼嚷道：“我要餓死了，東郭先生，我要吃了你!”這時有個農(nóng)夫走過來。東郭先生急忙把事情的經(jīng)過告訴他，求他救命。狼卻對農(nóng)夫說：“他把我裝進口袋，差點把我悶死。我不應該吃他嗎?”Thefarmersaid，“Thebagissosmall，youaresobig，howcouldyoufitinit?”Thewolfsaid，“OK，letmeshowyou．”Mr．Dongguoputthewolfintothebagforthesecondtime．ThefarmersaidtoMr．Dongguo，“Nowhurry，sealthebagandkillitwithashovel．Howcouldyoubekindtoawolf?Nowolfisgood．”農(nóng)夫?qū)钦f：“那么小的口袋怎么能裝得下你?”狼說：“好吧，我給你看看是怎么裝的。”它讓東郭先生再次把它裝進口袋。這時農(nóng)夫說：“快，把口袋扎緊，用鐵鍬把它打死。你對狼怎么能講仁慈?狼都不是好東西!”〖PleaseComeintotheVat〗Inordertosuppressthosewhowereagainsther，WuZetian，theEmpressofTangDynasty，appointedafewmercilesspersonstobejudges．Twoofthemwereextremelybrutal：onewasZhouXingandtheotherwasLaiJunchen．EmpressWuoncereceivedaletterwhichinformedagainstZhouXingforplottingarebellionincollaborationwithothers．Shewasfuriouslyangrywhenshereadtheletter，andimmediatelyorderedLaiJunchentodealwiththecaseseverely．請君入甕唐朝女皇武則天，為了鎮(zhèn)壓反對她的人，任用了一批酷吏。其中兩個最為狠毒，一個叫周興，一個叫來俊臣。有一回，武則天收到一封信，竟是告發(fā)周興與人聯(lián)絡謀反。武則天大怒，責令來俊臣嚴查此事。LaiJunchenknewthatZhouXingcouldnotbeforcedtotellthetruthmerelybyaletterbecausehewasveryslyandcrafty．SoLaiJunchenhadpreparedasumptuousfeast，andinvitedZhouXingtohishome．Bothofthemurgedeachothertodrink，andtheytalkedwhiledrinking．LaiJunchenpretendedtosigh，“WhenIhandlecasesinordi-narydays，Ioftencomeacrossprisonerswhostubbornlyrefusetoadmittheirguilt．Iwonderifyouhaveanyeffectivemeasures．”Smilinginsidiously，ZhouXingsaid，“Getabigvat，scorchithotwithcharcoalfireallaround，andthenlettheprisonercomeintothevat．Willtheprisonerrefusetomakeaconfessionofhiscrime?”LaiJunchennoddedhis來俊臣知道周興狡猾奸詐，僅憑一封信，是無法讓他說實話的。于是，來俊臣準備了一桌豐盛的酒席，把周興請到家里。兩個人你勸我喝，邊喝邊聊。來俊臣假裝嘆氣說：“兄弟我平日辦案，常遇到一些犯人死不認罪，不知老兄有何辦法?”周興陰笑著說：“你找一個大甕，四周用炭火烤熱，再讓犯人進到甕里，他還會不招供嗎?”來俊headinapprovalrepeatedly．Hethenorderedhissubordinatestobringabigvat，andhadacharcoalfirelitallarounditasZhouXinghadsaid．Andthenhesaid，“Someoneintheimperialcourthasinformedagainstyouforplottingarebellion．TheEmpresshasorderedmetodealwiththecaseseverely．SoIbegyourpardon，butwouldyoukindlystepintothevat?”Hearingthis，ZhouXingkneltdown，kowtowedrepeatedlyandsaid，“Iamguilty．IconfessIamguilty．”臣連連點頭稱是，隨即命人抬來一口大甕，按周興說的那樣，在四周點上炭火，然后對周興說：“宮里有人密告你謀反，上邊命我嚴查。對不起，現(xiàn)在就請老兄自己鉆進甕里吧?！敝芘d一聽，連連磕頭說：“我有罪，我招供?！薄糃rossingaRiverintheSa