One leaf blinds the eyes, classical Chinese translation

1. Translation:

There was a man in the state of Chu whose family was poor and destitute. He read "Huainanzi" and saw this record in the book: When the mantis is catching cicadas, it uses leaves to cover its body, so that other small insects cannot see it. (If someone can get the leaf), it can be used It hides its body. He was very happy, so he ran to a tree and looked up, hoping to find the leaf that the mantis used to cover himself when hunting cicadas. I discovered it by chance and reached out to pick it off.

Unexpectedly, the leaf fell to the ground. There were already fallen leaves under the tree, but they were no longer identifiable (mixed together). So, he simply swept up all the fallen leaves and took several buckets home. After taking it home, he took turns to cover his eyes with leaves one by one, and asked his wife: "Can you still see me?"

At first, his wife kept saying: "Yes." Later, after working hard all day, his wife was tired and impatient, so she lied to him and said, "I can't see it!" When the man heard this, he was secretly happy, and hurriedly put the selected leaves in his arms and ran to the street. Go up.

When he arrived at the busy city, he held up the leaves and took other people's things in front of them as if no one was around. As a result, he was caught on the spot by government officials and escorted to the county government. When the county magistrate interrogated him, he honestly recounted the whole story. The county magistrate laughed loudly and let him go without any punishment.

2. The original text of "A Leaf Blinds the Eyes" by Handan Chun of Wei Dynasty:

In the days when Chu people lived in poverty, I read "Huainanzi" and learned that "the mantis waiting for the cicada can become invisible by blocking the leaf". So he looked up at the foot of the tree to pick up a leaf - the mantis was holding the leaf while the cicada picked it. Leaves fall under the tree. There are fallen leaves under the tree first, and they cannot be separated again. After sweeping back several buckets, he covered himself with leaves and asked his wife, "Have you seen me?" ". Heiran was overjoyed, and the leaves entered the market, and the characters were picked up on the opposite side. The officials then bound Yi County. The county magistrate accepts his resignation and talks about himself. The magistrate laughs and lets it go without curing the matter!

Extended information

Creative background

The article in this film is selected from "The Laughing Forest" written by Handan Chun in the Wei Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms. This article tells the story of the people of Chu State because of a The story of how leaves blocking one’s eyes can prevent one from seeing the vast world outside. The story warns the world that to see the whole picture of things, they cannot blindly believe or worship blindly. They must undergo scientific investigation and verification and treat them with a modest and prudent attitude.

"Laughing Forest" is a collection of ancient jokes, written by Handan Chun in the Wei Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms. Three volumes. All the stories recorded are humorous stories, and it is the earliest joke book in ancient my country. The original book has been lost, but more than 20 copies exist today. Lu Xun's "Ancient Novels Gou Shen" is a relatively complete collection.

About the author

Handan Chun, courtesy name Zishu, was born in Yingchuan (now a native of Yu County, Henan). Handan Chun was erudite and good at calligraphy. The three volumes of "Laughing Forest" compiled by him are all humorous stories that ridicule stupidity, some of which have strong social significance. This book has been lost, and only 29 copies remain. Some joke books in later generations were influenced by the book "Laughing Forest".