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【中英对照】中国传统文化经典名人故事CountriesandStatesssicAnecdotesofTraditionalChineseCultureCla一、江山社稷1.大禹治水KingYuTamedtheFloodLongtimeago,itwassaidthatadelugeengulfedahugeareaoflandclaimedmanylives,soKingShunsentYutocontroltheflood.Talkingwithseniors,Yudrewlessonsfromthepastwater-controlexperience.Afterthefieldsurvey,hemadeupafeasibleplan.Thenheledpeopletodiverthefloods,andduringthistime,thoughheactuallypassedbythedoorofhisownhomeforthreetimes,hedidn’tgoin.With13-yearpersistenteffortsunderhisleadership,9largeriverswerefinallydredgedleadingfloodsintothesea.Whileharnessingthefloods,Yu,alongwithothers,helpedpeoplerebuildtheirhomes,fallowedlandsandresumedproduction.Inthisway,hegavethecommonpeopleapeacefulandcontentedlifeandachievedanimmortalfeat.Atthattime,tocommemorateYutheGreat,thewholecountrywascalled“theCityofYu”;andforhisfeat,amausoleumcalled“YuLing”wasbuiltinhishonorbythelatergenerations.2.贞观之治ReignofZhenguanReignofZhenguan(627-649AD)wasthegoldenandprosperousageofearlyTangDynastyunderthereignofEmperorTaizong,LiShimin.HeistypicallyconsideredoneofthegreatestemperorsinthewholeChinesehistory.EmperorTaizong’sreignwasregadedadtheexemplarymodelagainstwhicjtheemperorsoflatergenerationsweremeasured,andwasconsideredrequiredstudyforfuturecrownprinces.Duringhis23-yearreign,thenationenjoyedstabilityandprosperitywiththefourishingeconomyandpowerfultroops,andthepeoplelivedinpeace.Theemperorputpeopleinthefirstplace.Hesawpeopleaswaterandemperorasboat,andbelievedthatthewatercouldbearthecoatandswallowitaswell(民，水也；君，舟也。水能载舟，亦能覆舟。)TakingthedownfallofSuiDynastyasanegativeexample,EmperorTaizongappointedpeopleontheirmeritsandputtheminthemostsuitableplace,besides,heencouragedthefreeairingofviews,acceptedcriticismwithmodestyandgaveimportantpositiontothecapablechancellorssuchas房玄龄、杜如晦和魏征andsoon.Hemadeapeacefulsocietybytakibgaseriesofpolicies,suchasputtinggreatemphasisonagriculture,cuttingtaxesuponfarmers,takingthepolicyofrecuperationandstrictlyenforcingthrift.BecausehiseranamewasZhenguan,thegrandtimesunderhisrulewasgenerallyrecognizedasReignofZhenguan,whichlaidasolidfoundationforthepeaceandprosperityoflaterTangDynasty.Afteralongtimedeposition,feudalchinausheredontheageofintegrationinsuchfieldsaspolitics,economyandcultureduringthe60-yearreignofEmperorQianlong.3.SleepingonBrushwoodandTastingGall卧薪尝胆IntheSpringandAutumnPeriod,theStateofWudefeatedtheStateofYue,andtooktheKingGouJianandhiswifeprisoner.Forseveralyears,GouJianlabouredassalveinWu.WhenhewasreleasedandreturnedtoYue,GouJianwasdeterminedtotakerevengeforlosinghisstate.Inorderthathewouldnec\verforgethishumiliation,GouJiansleptonapieofbrushwoodandtastedgallbeforeeverymealinordertoremindhimoftheshameandrevenge.Aftertenyearsofcarefulpreparations,heattackedandfinallyconqueredtheStateofWu.Thisidiomisusedtodescribeinspiringoneselftoaccomplishanambition.春秋战国时代，越国被吴国打败，越往勾践和妻子雅鱼被俘虏，咋吴国做了几年奴役。后来勾践被放回越国，他立志要要报亡国之仇。从此每天夜里睡在稻草上，每天吃饭前吃一个苦胆，以提醒自己不忘记过去的耻辱和仇恨。经过十年艰苦奋斗，越过终于雪耻战胜吴国。4.JingKeAssassinatedtheKingofQin荆轲刺秦DuringthewarringStatesPeriods,thePrinceofYansentafamousassassinatorJingKetokilltheKingofQin.JingKe,togetherwithanotherwarrior,leftforQinwiththeheadof樊於期，adefectorofQinandthemapof督康，themostfertilelandofYan.ApproachingtheRiverYi,JingKesungaheartbrokensongimpassionedly,“theRiverYiiscoldasthewindblows,theherowillneverreturnafterthisdeparture.”Knowingthattheenvoyfromyanbroughtboththeheadof樊於期andthemapof督康，theKingofQinfeltveryhappyandorderedtomeetJingKeatXianyangPalacerightaway.Seeingtheking,JingKetalkedwithease.Hehandedthemaptotheking.NosoonerhadthekingfullyunrolledthemapthanJingKetookoutthedaggerhiddeninthemapandgrabbedtheking’ssleevetryingtostabhim.Thekingtorethesleeveandjumpedbythenearbyscreenheadingout.Nobodycoulddoanythingtohelp.(难道都看傻眼了吗？汗⊙﹏⊙)ThekingmanagedtopullouthislongswordandchoppedofftheleftlegofJingKewhofinallydiedatQin’spalace.Thoughtheassassinationfailed,JingKetookhisplaceinthehistorybookforeverduetohisbravery战国时期，燕国太子丹派著名刺客荆轲前往刺杀秦王。荆轲与另一勇士一起，带着秦国叛将樊於期的头颅和燕国最肥沃的土地督康地图向秦国出发。临近易水，荆轲慷慨悲歌：风萧萧兮易水寒，壮士一去兮不复返。秦王听说燕使者把叛将的头颅的督康的地图送了了，于是很高兴，立即下令在咸阳宫接见荆轲。一见秦王，荆轲谈笑自若，在将地图献给秦始皇时，趁始皇展开地图之际，荆轲抽出藏在图中的匕首一把打着始皇衣袖，向他刺去。始皇扯断衣袖（楼主其实并不解，皇帝衣服材料应该很好吧，怎么一扯能断？当真神力啊还是衣料不好啊？），跳过旁边的屏风往外跑。众人却毫无办法（朝堂上都是文官）秦王好不容易拔出长剑，将荆轲左腿砍断，杀死在殿上。荆轲虽然行刺失败，但荆轲却因自己的英勇而被永载史册。（明知不可为而为之~~）