Original text and translation of Stone Beast in the River

"Stone Beasts in the River" is a classical Chinese novel written by Ji Yun, a writer in the Qing Dynasty. The following is the original text and translation of Stone Beasts in the River that I compiled for everyone. It is for reference only. I hope it can help everyone.

Original text:

The Nanyi Temple in Cangzhou is near the river stem (gān) ①, the mountain gate is ruined (pǐ) by the river ②, and the two stone beasts sank together. When he was more than ten years old③, the monks raised money to rebuild the temple and asked for two stone beasts in the water, but they couldn't find them. They thought they were just flowing down the river. I scanned several small boats, dragging iron palladium (pá)④, but found no trace for more than ten miles. A lecturer set up a tent in the temple. When he heard about it, he laughed and said: "You people can't study physics. How can it be carried away by the sudden surge if it is not a wooden tree? The stone is hard and heavy by nature, and the sand is loose and floating. It is buried in the sand. ⑥, it gradually sinks and deepens. Looking for it along the river, isn't it true? ⑦" Everyone agrees. An old river soldier heard this and said with a smile: "Whenever a stone is lost in the river, it should be found upstream. The stone cover is hard and heavy, and the sand is loose and floating. Water cannot wash away the stone. Its counterattack force must be under the stone to meet the water." The gnawing sand is a ridge hole. ⑨ The stone will be thrown into the ridge hole when it is halfway through. It flows down and is solid; in the land of hope, is it not more upturned? "As he said, the result is obtained several miles away. However, there are many things in the world that only know one of them but don't know the other two. Can we make assumptions based on reason? ⑩

Translation:

There is a temple near the river bank in the south of Cangzhou. The outer door of the Buddhist temple collapsed in the river, and two stone beasts in front of the door sank into the river together. More than ten years later, the monks raised money to rebuild the temple and searched for the two stone beasts in the river, but could not find them. (The monks) thought (the stone beasts) had flowed down the river, so they rowed a few small boats, dragging the iron palladium, and searched (downstream) for more than ten miles, but found no trace (of them).

A lecturer who set up a teaching hall in the temple heard about this and said with a smile: "You people can't explore the truth of things. This (stone beast) is not a piece of wood, how could it be destroyed by the flood?" How about taking them away? It should be that the characteristics of stones are hard and heavy, and the characteristics of river sand are loose and light. The stone beasts are buried in the sand, sinking deeper and deeper. Isn't it very confusing to go down the river to look for them? "Everyone is convinced and thinks it is a correct statement.

After an old river soldier heard about it, he smiled and said: "Any stone that falls into the river should be looked for in the upper reaches. Because the characteristics of stones are hard and heavy, river sand The characteristic is that it is loose and light, and water cannot wash away the stone. (But) the impact of the river water hitting the stone and returning will definitely wash away the area under the stone facing the current into a pit, which will become deeper and deeper. (When the pit extends ) When it reaches the bottom of the stone, it must be dumped into the hole. After repeated washing, the stone will turn forward many times and keep turning. Instead, it will go upstream to find the stone. Beasts are already confused; wouldn't it be even more confusing to look for them in the same place?" (The monks) followed the old river soldier's words, and sure enough they found the stone beast several miles away (upstream). In this case, there are too many situations in the world where we only know one thing but not the other. How can we make subjective judgments based on a certain principle?

Word explanation:

< p> ①Cangzhou: Today’s Cangzhou City, Hebei Province. Lin: close. River: refers to the Yellow River. Stem: Shore.

②Shanmen: the gate of the temple. Ruin: Collapse.

③Read: pass. Sui: year.

④棹: oar. Here it is used as a verb, to row a boat. Drag: pull. Palladium: Tong "rake", a farm tool for soil preparation.

⑤Wood persimmon: wood chips.

⑥Annihilation: Buried.

⑦Dian: upside down, absurd.

⑧River Soldier: Sailor.

⑨gnaize: bite. Here is the meaning of flushing. Kan Cave: Cave.

Meaning of the article

"Stone Beasts in the River" is an article by Ji Yun (jǐ yún), selected from "Guwan Tingzhi", Volume 16 of "Yuewei Thatched Cottage Notes", the main content The stone beast fell into the river. Because of the momentum of the water and the weight of the stone beast itself, you have to look upstream from where the stone beast fell.

The meaning of the article is that when considering a problem, you should analyze the reasons from the outside to the inside, combine experience and reality, and arrive at the correct fundamental solution.

Reading tips: The occurrence of many natural phenomena often has complex reasons. We cannot only know one but not the other and make subjective judgments based on common sense. It should be analyzed correctly and considered comprehensively, like the old river soldier in the article, who not only considers the specific gravity of the stone beasts, but also correctly analyzes the interaction between the impulse of the water and the stone beasts, and then analyzes the impact of the recoil generated by this interaction on the shape of the river bed. local changes. Only in this way can we draw the correct conclusion.

It illustrates these principles:

1. When encountering problems, you should not make subjective inferences and seek truth from facts.

2. Practice brings true knowledge.

3. Practical experience is sometimes more important than book knowledge.

At the same time, it also enlightens us: when encountering problems, we should use our brains to think more, analyze various factors, and make as few jokes as possible where we only know one but not the other.

About the author

Ji Yun (June 1724-February 1805), also known as Xiaolan, Chunfan, late name Shiyun, Taoist name Guanyi Taoist, Literary author of Qing Dynasty. A native of Hejian Prefecture (now Xianxian County, Hebei Province) under the jurisdiction of Zhili Province. He was born in June of the second year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1724) and died in February of the tenth year of Jiaqing (1805). He lived through Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing dynasties at the age of 82.

Ji Yun’s ancestral home is Shangyuan County, Yingtian Prefecture, and his family is said to be Jijiabian. In the second year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1404), he was ordered to "move to Shijifu" (Qianlong's "Xianxian Chronicle"). He was known as the Tea Star and moved to Xianxian County. He entered Sijia in Anminli and lived in Jingcheng Town, ninety miles east of Xianxian County. . By the time Ji Xiaolan arrived, he had moved north for fourteen generations. There is evidence that Ji Xiaolan is the second son of Ji Rongshu, and he was born into such a scholarly family.

When Ji Xiaolan was a child, he lived in Cuierzhuang, three miles east of Jingcheng. He began to study at the age of four. At the age of eleven, he went to Beijing with his father and studied in Yunjingshe. He was a scholar at the age of twenty-one. At the age of twenty-four, he took the Shuntianfu Township Examination and was named Jieyuan. Then my mother died, and I mourned at home and studied behind closed doors. At the age of thirty-one, he passed the Jinshi examination and ranked fourth in the second class. He entered the Hanlin Academy as a Shujishi, was appointed editor, and handled academic affairs. Ding's father was worried when he went abroad to study politics in Fujian for a year. After serving the throne, he moved to serve as a reading and lecturer, and was promoted to the right concubine, in charge of the prince's affairs.

In the thirty-third year of Qianlong's reign (1768), he was granted the title of magistrate of Duyun, Guizhou Province. Before he could take up the post, he was retained in office with a fourth-grade uniform and promoted to a bachelor's degree. In the same year, he was relegated to Urumqi Sasuke Military Affairs because of the Lu Jian Zeng Yanwu case. Call him back and teach him to edit.

During the period when he was editing the "Sikuquanshu", Ji Xiaolan was promoted from a Bachelor of Attendance to a Bachelor of the Cabinet, and was once appointed as the Minister of War. Emperor Jiaqing also personally worked as a cultivator, regained his official position as a bachelor, and was appointed as the chief compiler of "Sikuquanshu". After 13 years of bleak business, "Sikuquanshu" was completed, with voluminous chapters, including 3,460 chapters. Zhong, Volume, is the gateway to the "Sikuquanshu" and is an important reference book for studying literature and history. The completion of the "Sikuquanshu" is undoubtedly a major contribution to the collection and arrangement of ancient books, preservation and promotion of historical and cultural heritage. Seventy-nine thousand three hundred and thirty-nine volumes, divided into four parts: Jing, Shi, Zi, and Ji. Ji Bin personally wrote the "Summary of the General Catalog of Sikuquanshu", which consists of 200 volumes. Each book summarizes the general contents, summarizes the pros and cons, and reviews them carefully. At the same time, he was also ordered to compile 20 volumes of the "Concise Catalog of the Complete Collection of Siku" based on the "Summary of the General Catalog of the Complete Collection of Siku". When the Sikuquanshu was completed, it was moved to the Ministry of Rites to serve as a lecturer for the Sutra Banquet. Emperor Qianlong was particularly gracious and gave him the gift of riding a horse in the Forbidden City. In the eighth year of Jiaqing (1803), Ji Xiaolan celebrated his eightieth birthday. The emperor sent people to congratulate him and gave him treasures. Soon, he became the co-organizer of the bachelor's degree, was given the title of Prince Shaobao, and was also the supervisor of the Imperial Academy. After he turned sixty, he served as the governor of the capital five times and the minister of the Ministry of Rites three times. After Ji Xiaolan died, he built a tomb in Beicun, five miles south of Cuierzhuang. Special officials from the imperial court went to Beicun to offer sacrifices at Linxue, and Emperor Jiaqing personally wrote an inscription for him, which was a moment of great honor and sorrow.