Why you should care

為何需要關(guān)心

Because you probably don’t know as much as you should about one of the biggest countries on the planet. Yet.

因?yàn)槟憧赡軐?duì)地球上最大國(guó)之一的了解還沒(méi)有你應(yīng)該知道得多。

What do you think when you think of China? A repressive government, human rights abuse, corruption scandals, terrible pollution? Admit it, I’m right.

當(dāng)你想到中國(guó)你會(huì)聯(lián)想到什么？一個(gè)專(zhuān)政的政府，人權(quán)踐踏，貪污丑聞，糟糕污染問(wèn)題？我猜對(duì)了吧。

Here’s what you probably don’t know: China is as rich in language as it is in engineers.

你可能不知道的是：中國(guó)在語(yǔ)言上的和它在工程上一樣頗有建樹(shù)。

Many modern, everyday Chinese idioms have their roots in ancient poetry. These idioms, which are each composed of four Chinese characters, are totally unique to the language. Chinese has 20,000 such idioms in total; only one or two thousand are commonly used. But Chinese schoolkids often spend their days reciting them in class.

很多現(xiàn)代日常中國(guó)成語(yǔ)都留有古代詩(shī)詞的基礎(chǔ)。這些成語(yǔ)由四個(gè)中文字組成，形成了獨(dú)特的語(yǔ)言。中國(guó)總計(jì)有20,000個(gè)成語(yǔ)；只有1000或2000常用。但中國(guó)學(xué)生常會(huì)在課堂上背誦它們。

Chinese poetry “is a window to a world that is very foreign and advanced,” says Ron Egan, a professor of Chinese literature at Stanford University. “By the 7th and 8th century, the Chinese [had] mastered the art of expressing themselves, which didn’t happen in any other place in the world.”

美國(guó)斯坦福大學(xué)漢學(xué)家艾朗諾教授曾說(shuō)中國(guó)詩(shī)詞”是一扇打開(kāi)未知先進(jìn)世界的窗戶(hù)“，”早在7、8世紀(jì)，中國(guó)就（已經(jīng)）掌握了表述自己的藝術(shù)，而其他地方都沒(méi)萌芽。“

This is no esoteric idea. There’s even a hot television program called China Idiom Convention. This show, which aired Sundays from April to June, tested competitors’ knowledge of idioms. More than 30,000 people signed up to compete. Videos netted nearly 2 million clicks on Youku, one of China’s biggest online video sites.

這個(gè)并不深?yuàn)W。甚至有欄很火的電視節(jié)目《中國(guó)成語(yǔ)大會(huì)》這檔欄目從四月至六月每周日播放，考驗(yàn)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者的成語(yǔ)知識(shí)。超過(guò)30,000群眾報(bào)名參加，視頻在優(yōu)酷——中國(guó)最大的在線(xiàn)視頻網(wǎng)站之— ——的點(diǎn)擊率將近200萬(wàn)。

So if you’re trying to understand the Asian giant, boning up on your Chinese idioms might help.

所以如果你想試著了解亞洲巨人，突擊學(xué)習(xí)一下中國(guó)詩(shī)詞可能有所幫助。

A SHADE OF A WILLOW AND BRIGHT FLOWERS

柳暗花明

Hillary Clinton quoted the Chinese poem “A Trip to Mountain West Village” by Lu You at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo to celebrate the hard work in building the USA pavilion, which Clinton financed by raising $60 million in private cash.

希拉里·克林頓曾在2010年上海世博會(huì)上引言中國(guó)詩(shī)人陸游《游山西村》的詩(shī)句來(lái)祝賀在建設(shè)美國(guó)館時(shí)的努力工作，克林頓為此以私人名義籌集了6000萬(wàn)美元的資金。

“There is a poem from the Southern Song dynasty that reads: ‘After endless mountains and rivers that leave doubt whether there is a path out, suddenly one encounters the shade of a willow, bright flowers and a lovely village.’”

“這是一首南宋時(shí)代的詩(shī)句“‘山重水復(fù)疑無(wú)路，柳暗花明又一村。'”

The original meaning? “A favorable turn of fortune will often appear just when there seems to be no way out of trouble.”

其實(shí)質(zhì)意思是說(shuō)”看起來(lái)陷入危機(jī)無(wú)法逃脫，突然事情出現(xiàn)了轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)“

 Lotus and Green Birds by Wang Zhen
Clinton implied that difficulties came with establishing the U.S. pavilion. The Chinese use the same idiom in less vaunted settings, such as: “My new job is a lot of hard work; I haven’t found that feeling of ‘the shade of a willow and bright flowers.’”

克林頓暗指建立美國(guó)館所帶來(lái)的困難。中國(guó)人也使用同樣成語(yǔ)在不吹噓的情況下，如”我的新工作充滿(mǎn)挑戰(zhàn)，我還沒(méi)有找到'柳暗花明'的感覺(jué)“

HEARTS WITH MAGICAL RHINOCEROS

心有靈犀

Rhinoceros horns are powerful, supernatural objects in old Chinese sayings.

在中國(guó)古籍上記載犀牛角是強(qiáng)大而又神圣的事物。

“Even though my body is not a colorful phoenix with two wings to fly [to my lover], we have hearts that understand each other immediately as though connected with a magical rhinoceros.”

“身無(wú)彩鳳雙飛翼，心有靈犀一點(diǎn)通�！�

So wrote Li Shangyin, a famous male poet from the Tang dynasty (7th–10th B.C.) in an untitled poem.

出自李商隱，唐朝（公元前7、8年）著名女詩(shī)人的《無(wú)題》

Today in China, people often say, “You get me — we really [have] hearts with ‘magical rhinoceros.’”

如今在中國(guó)人們常說(shuō)”你跟我——咱兩真是‘心有靈犀‘�！�

LEAVING [YOUR] NAME ON LIGHT-GREEN HISTORY

名垂青史

Sure, you want to make your mark on history — but why “l(fā)ight-green” history? Before paper was invented in 105 B.C. in China, events were recorded on light-green bamboo slips, which involved “sweating” bamboo over a fire to get the moisture out.

當(dāng)然，你想在歷史上留下你的標(biāo)記——但是為什么是“青色”歷史？在紙張于公元前105年在中國(guó)發(fā)明以前，事件都是記錄在青色的竹簡(jiǎn)上，竹簡(jiǎn)都先用火烤干使其出“汗”。

In the 13th century, ages after Sun-Tzu penned The Art of War, Chinese poets were using literature to document military ambitions.

在13世紀(jì)，孫子兵法問(wèn)世之后，中國(guó)詩(shī)人通過(guò)著作來(lái)證明軍事野心。

This idiom comes from the poem “Passing by Lingdingyang” (also known as “Crossing the Lonely Ocean”) by the great politician and poet Wen Tianxiang. The poem, which Tianxiang wrote while leading an army to fight for the fate of the Song dynasty, reads:

該成語(yǔ)出自偉大政治家、詩(shī)人文天祥的《過(guò)伶仃洋》（也稱(chēng)《過(guò)零丁洋》）的詩(shī)句、文天祥寫(xiě)此詩(shī)詞時(shí)正帶領(lǐng)軍隊(duì)為宋朝的命運(yùn)而奮斗，寫(xiě)到：

“In history, what man does not die? [I’d rather] leave my red heart to shine on light-green sweat.”

“人生自古誰(shuí)無(wú)死，留取丹心照汗青�！�

A RED APRICOT BLOSSOM PEEKS OVER THE YARD FENCE

紅杏出墻

A pretty plant, but so much more.

一株美麗的植物，但是太過(guò)艷麗了。

“[The] whole garden can no longer confine the lively energy of spring; a spray of red apricot blossom [already] peeks over the fence.”

“春色滿(mǎn)園關(guān)不住 一枝紅杏出墻來(lái)。”

So wrote Song dynasty poet Ye Shaoweng in “On Visiting a Garden, When Its Master Is Absent.”

出自宋朝詩(shī)人葉紹翁的《游園不值》。

Modern readers see this as symbolizing a woman’s infidelity to her husband. The “red apricot blossom” symbolizes a young and attractive woman, while “peeking over the fence” shows her sneaking out.

現(xiàn)代讀者常用這個(gè)指代妻子對(duì)丈夫不忠。“紅杏”象征年輕有誘惑力的少婦，而“出墻”表示她偷偷溜出去。

Even today, Chinese people will say, behind gossipy hands: “Behind her husband’s back, she [is like] ‘a(chǎn) red apricot blossom peeking over the yard fence.’”

即使如今，中國(guó)人會(huì)在背后竊談時(shí)說(shuō)：“那個(gè)女人背著她的丈夫，'紅杏出墻'�！�

REACH A HIGHER LEVEL ON THE TOWER

更上一層樓

The idiom comes from the poem “On the Yellow Crane Tower” by Wang Zhihuan of the Tang dynasty. After climbing the famous tower, Zhihuan writes:

成語(yǔ)出自唐朝王之渙的詩(shī)詞《登鸛雀樓》。在登上著名的塔樓之后，之渙寫(xiě)道：

“[I ] desire to see thousands of miles [from this tower], [so I need to] climb to a higher level.”

“欲窮千里目，更上一層樓�！�

To see farther, you need to stand higher. This poem is often used to encourage students and workers alike to set higher goals.

要想看得遠(yuǎn)，你就得站得更高。這句詩(shī)常用于激勵(lì)學(xué)生和工作者設(shè)立更高的目標(biāo)。

Now you know why Chinese students work so hard. You would, too, if you had to memorize idioms like this from a young age.

現(xiàn)在該懂得中國(guó)學(xué)生為何學(xué)習(xí)如此刻苦。如果你在這個(gè)年紀(jì)熟記類(lèi)似這樣的成語(yǔ)，也會(huì)如此。