Translation of Japanese Debate between Two Children

Confucius traveled eastward and saw two children arguing. Ask why.

A child said, "I think the sun is close to the sky at sunrise and far from the sky at noon." . "

Another child thinks that the sun is far from the sun when it rises, and it is closer to people at noon.

A child said, "When the sun just came out, the hood of the car was as big as noon and the plate was as small as usual. Is this the reason why it is not far from the big one?" ? "

A Confucius said, "It's cool to get out of the sky at the beginning of the day, and it's like exploring soup in Japan and China. Isn't this near hot and far cold? "

Hearing this, Confucius could not judge who was right or wrong.

The two children said with a smile, "Who (shú) is more knowledgeable (wise) than you (rǔ)?"

To annotate ...

Day: the sun.

Eastbound: Travel to the East.

Debate: Debate to win or lose. Debate: debate; Fight: Fight

So: reason, reason.

Answer: Yes, yes.

Go: distance.

Car cover: The car cover is used to keep out the sun and rain.

Japan and China: noon.

And: to, to.

Then: just.

Pot: A container for holding things. Round is a dish, and square is a bowl.

In favor: use "say", say.

Desolate: cool, slightly cold. Warehouse: It means cold.

Soup exploration: reach into the hot water. Soup and hot water

Decision: judgment.

Who: Who?

Ru: You.

Zhihu: Who said you were smart? Who said you were well informed? ) who? "Wei" and "Wei" are the same, thinking and thinking. "Knowledge" is the same as "wisdom" and wisdom.

[Edit this paragraph] Translation

When Confucius traveled eastward, he saw two children quarrelling endlessly and asked them why they quarreled.

A child said, "I think the sun is close to people at sunrise and far from people at noon."

Another child thinks that the sun is far away from people when it first rises and close to people at noon.

The first child said, "When the sun first rose, it was as big as a hood. At noon, it looked like a plate. Isn't it that far things look small and close? "

Another child said, "when the sun first came out, it felt very cold." At noon, it's as hot as putting your hand into hot water. Isn't it hotter as you get closer and colder as you get farther away? "

Confucius could not judge who was right or wrong.

The two children smiled and said, "Who said you were well informed?"

pronounce

When Confucius traveled eastward, he saw two children arguing and asked why.

A son said, "I've been close to people since the day, but I'm estranged at noon."

A son goes far at the beginning of the day, but the middle of the day is near.

A son said, "The sunrise at the beginning of the day is as big as a car cover, and it is like a dish in the middle of the day. Isn't this because the distance is small and the distance is big? "

A Confucius said, "It's cool at the beginning of the day, like exploring soup at noon. Is this cool for people who are close at hand? "

Confucius never made a decision.

The two children smiled and said, "Who is smarter than the tiger?"

Main idea

"Two Children Arguing about the Sun" describes two children arguing about the distance between the sun and people in the morning and at noon, which embodies the precious spirit of ancient people in China to explore natural phenomena, think independently, question boldly and pursue true knowledge. As for the intention of writing this article, some people think that Liezi used it to satirize Confucius.

scientific explanation

It is incorrect to explain the distance between the ground and the sun according to different feelings.

One of the children in the "Two Children Debate Day" said that the morning is far from noon because the sun is cold and the noon is hot. The other said that the sun is big in the morning and small at noon, so the morning is far from noon, and the fact observation is true. So how to explain it? What the hell is going on?

It seems that the sun is bigger in the morning than at noon because of the illusion of the eyes. The white figure we see is bigger than the black figure of the same size. This is called photodegradation in physics. When the sun rises, the surrounding sky is dark, so the sun appears bright, and at noon, the surrounding sky is bright. In contrast, the brightness difference between the sun and the background is not so big, which is why we look like the sun is bigger in the morning than at noon. In short, the sun is the same distance from us in the morning and at noon, so its size is the same.

In fact, because the solar radiation at noon is too strong, it is unrealistic to directly observe the size of the sun with the naked eye. This may also be caused by people's impression that the sun at noon is only a bright spot, while the sun at sunrise and sunset is an observable circle.

Also, it is hotter at noon than in the morning. Is it because the sun is closer to us at noon than in the morning? Not exactly. Why is this?

It is hotter at noon than in the morning because the sun shines directly on the ground at noon and obliquely on the ground in the morning. It can be seen that when the sun is in direct sunlight, the ground and the air receive more solar radiation heat at the same time and in the same area than when the sun is oblique in the morning, so they are heated the most. So it is hotter at noon than in the morning.

In fact, the hot and cold weather mainly depends on the temperature. The main factor affecting the temperature is determined by the radiation intensity of the sun, but solar photothermal is not the main reason for directly raising the temperature. Because the direct absorption of sunlight by air is only a small part of the total solar radiation, most of it is absorbed by the ground. After the ground absorbs the solar radiation heat, it is conducted upward to the air through radiation, convection and other heat transfer methods, which is the main reason for the temperature rise.

In short, it is not because the sun is far from our ground that it is hot at noon and cold in the morning every day.

[Edit this paragraph] Author introduction

This article is selected from Liezi Tang Wen.

Liezi is said to have been written by Lieyukou, a Zheng man, during the Warring States Period. Yukou was one of the representatives of Taoism in the Warring States Period.

Liezi was originally a compilation of Liezi's works (Zheng Ren Lieyukou in the early Warring States period), Liezi's disciples and Liezi's later research, and was written in the late Warring States period. Qin Shihuang burned books to bury Confucianism,

Liezi was banned. In the early Han Dynasty, Huang Lao was highly praised, and Liezi became famous all over the world. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism and ousted hundreds of schools, and his examples were scattered among the people. Emperor Han Chengdi asked for a suicide note on earth, and Liu Xiang compiled the examples into eight articles and hid them in the secret room of the Inner Palace. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhang Zhan's Notes on Liezi came out and Liezi was widely circulated. Liezi Tang Wen is compiled and annotated by Liezi, which contains many folk stories, fables and myths and legends. Some people say that it was written by Confucius, but there is no conclusion yet. )

Liezi, named Kou, also known as Yu Kou (also known as Guo Kou), was a thinker in the early Warring States period. He is another representative of Taoist thought after Laozi and Zhuangzi. He is a Putian native of Zheng (now Zhengzhou, Henan Province), contemporary with Zheng Miaogong. There is a Liezi Temple in the north of Putian Village, Putian Township, 30 miles east of Zhengzhou. His scholarship originated from Huangdi Laozi, and he advocated inaction. At the end of Han Dynasty, there were eight volumes of Liezi in the Taoist part of Ban Gu's Yi Wen Zhi. Liezi, also known as Xu Chongjing (written from 450 BC to 375 BC), is an important Taoist classic. The Han Book Yiwenzhi contains eight volumes of Liezi, which was lost earlier. Judging from the ideological content and language application, the eight-volume edition of Liezi may have been compiled by modern people according to ancient materials. The book contains 134 fables, myths and legends with a wide range of topics, some of which are quite enlightening.

Liezi devoted his life to moral study, and studied under Guan Yinzi, Hu Qiuzi, Lao Shang and Zhi Bo Gaozi. He lived in seclusion for forty years in Zheng, without seeking fame and fortune, and silently practiced Buddhism. Advocate accountability and responsibility, and do nothing. He wrote 20 books, more than100000 words. There are eight books such as Tian Rui, Zhong Ni, Tang Wen, Yang Zhu, Fu Shuo, Huangdi, Zhou Muwang and Mo Lifeng, all of which have been lost. Among them, there are more than a hundred fables, such as The Yellow Emperor Roaming, Yu Gong Yi Shan, Kuafu Chasing the Sun, and Worrying about the Worries, which are interesting, meaningful and thought-provoking.

Liezi is open-minded, rich and poor, and is not surprised by honor or disgrace. Because my family is poor, I often don't have enough to eat, and my face is pale and thin. Someone advised Zi Yang, the ruler of Zheng State, to subsidize Liezi in order to get a good job, so Zi Yang sent someone to give him ten carts of grain. He thanked him again and again, but refused to accept the real thing. Wife complains: I have long heard that people with good ideas, their wives and children can live happily, but now they often go hungry. The Prime Minister sent you food, but you didn't accept it. I am really unlucky. Liezi smiled and said to his wife, Ziyang doesn't really know me. He didn't bring me food until he listened to others. I may listen to others in the future. Blame me me, I can't accept it. A year later, Zheng had an accident, Ziyang was killed, and many of his henchmen were collectively killed, leaving the bandits in the imperial court safe and sound. Such a legacy is still circulating among Zhengzhou people, and this story is also recorded in the Annals of Zhengzhou in the thirty-second year of Kangxi.

Liezi attached great importance to Shogen, cultivated the technique of wind protection, and was able to keep out the wind. He often goes to the Eight Barrens in spring. In Zhuangzi's Happy Travel, Liezi described the scene of riding the wind. "Ling Ran is good. I will be back in ten days and five days." . Flying in the air, free pursuit, it is easy and enviable. In the first year of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (742), Li Longji named him Xu Chong, whose book was Xu Chongzhen Mirror.

[Edit this paragraph] person

Confucius: Modesty and prudence, seeking truth from facts.

Two children: smart and lovely, good at thinking, good at observing, daring to ask questions about questions that they don't understand, and daring to argue.

character introduction

Confucius (551.9.28 ~ 479.4.11) was born in the Spring and Autumn Period, a native of Lu and a Han nationality. Born in Changping Township (now Luyuan Village, southeast of Qufu City, Shandong Province). After his death, he was buried in Surabaya in the north of Qufu, which is now Kong Lin.

According to historical records, Confucius' family, Confucius' ancestors were descendants of Shang Dynasty. After the destruction of Shang Dynasty in Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Chengwang was made an ordinary brother, and Wei Zi was made a loyal minister in Song Dynasty. Its capital is Shangqiu (now Shangqiu, Henan). After Wei died, his younger brother Wei Zhong succeeded to the throne. Wei Zhong was the ancestor of Confucius. After Jia, the sixth ancestor of Confucius, his father, descendants began to take Kong as their surname. His great-grandfather Kong fled from the Song Dynasty to Shandong to escape the civil strife in the Song Dynasty. Confucius' father, Shu (word, name Ge), was a famous warrior in Lu. Shu married Shi first, gave birth to nine women and no children, and my concubine gave birth to a son, Meng Pi, but she had foot disease. Under the circumstances at that time, neither a woman nor a disabled son should inherit. In his later years, Shu Liangyou and a young woman named Yan gave birth to Confucius. When Confucius was born, his head was sunken in the middle, like loach mountain; Because Confucius' mother went to Niqiu Mountain to pray for blessings, she gave birth to Confucius, so she was named Qiu, the word (which means the second child, the eldest son of Shu is Meng Pi, and Meng Yi is the first). When Confucius was three, Shu died of illness. After that, Confucius' family was quite poor. For various reasons, Confucius didn't make much achievements in politics, but in the three months of governing Lu, it shows that Confucius is worthy of the title of outstanding politician. Political dissatisfaction enabled Confucius to devote a large part of his energy to education. Confucius once worked as a scout in Lu, then traveled around the world with his disciples and finally returned to Lu to concentrate on teaching. Confucius broke the monopoly of education and created a precedent for private schools. There are as many as 3,000 disciples of Confucius, including 72 sages, many of whom are the pillars of senior officials in various countries.

Confucius had a far-reaching influence on later generations. When he was alive, he was known as a "heavenly saint", "many heavenly eyes" and "immortal sage". He was one of the most knowledgeable scholars in the society at that time, and was respected by later generations as the most holy (saint among saints) and the teacher of all ages. He edited poetry books, defined rites and music, prefaced Zhouyi and wrote Chunqiu. Confucius' thoughts and theories have far-reaching influence on later generations. The Analects of Confucius is a classic work of Confucianism, compiled by Confucius' disciples and disciples. It is a book that records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples.

[Edit this paragraph] Use of notional words

Flexible use of parts of speech

Travel eastward: noun as adverbial, eastward

Common words

Know: pass "wisdom", wisdom

In favor: preach "hoo" and say.

polysemy

This is not: this is not. Because, yes.

Zhihu: Who said you were smart? Because, think of.

Different meanings of ancient and modern times

Flat tank:

Ancient meaning: bowls and plates used for eating.

Modern significance: a plate for holding phlegm, garbage and human excrement.

Soup:

Ancient meaning: boiling water, hot water

Today's meaning: food heats the cooked juice.

Ignore the revolution of the earth and only consider the rotation. From the center of the sun to a fixed point on the surface of the earth, it must be a long distance in the morning and a short distance at noon. It's just that the change of this distance is not enough to make it hot at noon and cool in the morning. The heat at noon and the coolness in the morning are all caused by the incident angle of the sun, which is not the truth that "two children argue for a day".

This article is an allegorical story. The article describes that in ancient times, two children relied on their own intuition. One thinks that the sun is close to people in the morning, and the other thinks that the sun is close to people at noon. For this reason, they hold their own opinions and argue endlessly, even a knowledgeable person like Confucius can't make a judgment. This story shows that in order to understand nature and explore objective truth, we must dare to think independently and question boldly; It also shows that the universe is infinite and knowledge is infinite. Even the most knowledgeable people will know something and learn endlessly.

This story can be understood in three parts. Write the argument between Confucius and Lu Yu first, and point out the time, place, characters and reasons of the story. Two children put forward two completely different views on how far the sun is from the earth at different times. Then write about two children who use the intuition (vision and touch) that people can experience in their daily lives to clarify their views in order to refute each other's views. Finally, I wrote that the argument between Confucius and the two children was inconclusive, which led them to "laugh". The full text is only a hundred words, but it can give people a lot of inspiration. It is the characteristic of language expression to express characters and unfold stories through dialogue description, which shows the innocence and loveliness of two children and Confucius' scientific attitude of being modest and seeking truth from facts.

The main purpose of writing this article is to let students understand the language characteristics of ancient Chinese, and at the same time realize that knowledge is endless and learning is endless.

The difference in meaning between ancient and modern times is the difficulty in learning this article. For example, the meaning of "going" in "I want to be close to people when the sun rises" is different from that commonly used in modern times. In addition, there are few words such as "who" and "ru" in modern Chinese, and such words should be understandable by students.

The following translations are for reference only.

Confucius went to the East to study and saw two children arguing on the way. Confucius asked them why they argued.

A child said, "I think the sun is close to people when it first comes out, and far away from people at noon." Another child thinks that the sun is far away from people when it first comes out and close to people at noon.

The previous child said, "The sun was as big as a hood when it first came out, and it was like a bowl at noon. Isn't it far small and near big? "

Another child said, "It's cool as soon as the sun comes out, and it's hot when you put your hand into hot water at noon. Isn't it cool to be near hot and far hot? "

Hearing this, Confucius could not judge who was right and wrong. The two children smiled and said, "Who says you know much?"

Second, learning objectives

1. Learn three new words in this lesson and make sense according to the notes after class.

2. Read the text with emotion. Recite the text and repeat the story.

3. Understand the content of the text, learn from the ancient people's spirit of understanding nature and seeking truth, which is good at thinking and boldly questioning, as well as Confucius' scientific attitude of modesty and seeking truth from facts, and realize the endless truth of learning.

Third, teaching suggestions

1. Before class, the teacher can consult the scientific knowledge involved in the text. Students can also be arranged to ask, "Does the distance between the sun and the earth change during the day?" ? Why does the sun look big in the morning and small at noon? Why does it feel cold in the morning and hot at noon? ".

Although this article is concise, it is still difficult for students to read and understand the different meanings of ancient and modern words. For example, the modal particle "Hu", which rarely appears in modern texts, appears three times in the article. There are three steps to solve this difficulty. (1) After reading the text, students can understand the meaning of each sentence according to their notes. For students who don't understand, the teacher can give them a little guidance to let them understand the context. (2) Read repeatedly to understand the story. (3) Tell this story in your own words.

This story contains profound truth. Teachers can organize students to discuss and exchange their ideas after reading this text. Students should be encouraged to speak freely and feel from multiple angles. For example, two children like to explore, and their spirit is commendable; Two children know things from different angles and have different results; Confucius can treat children's problems correctly and seek truth from facts.

At the end of the article, Confucius was "uncertain", so students should know that many natural phenomena are common-sense scientific knowledge for us, but in ancient times, it was difficult to solve the mystery because of underdeveloped technology, so Confucius' "uncertainty" was understandable. It can be seen that the universe is big and the knowledge is wide, up and down, although the wise can't know everything. Confucius did not "think he knew what he didn't know", but adopted a realistic attitude of "knowing what he knows is knowing, and not knowing is not knowing". So when teaching, don't take Confucius as the theme to understand.

For beginners of classical Chinese, repeated reading is the most important method. When studying this article, we should pay attention to guiding reading aloud. Read the article aloud and read the pause in the sentence according to the following tips.

Confucius traveled eastward to see/two children/debate and asked him why.

A son said, "I started from the day when I was near and the day when I was far away." A child goes far at the beginning of a day and comes near at the beginning of a day.

A son said, "when the sun rises, it is as big as the hood of a car, and at noon, it is like a dish." Isn't this/the far is small/the near is big? "

A son said, "It's cool at sunrise and cool at noon, like exploring soup. Is it not hot near/cold far away? "

Hearing this, Confucius could not judge who was right or wrong. The two children smiled and said, "Who/for you/for Zhihu?"

The description of two children's language and dialogue is the key point for teachers to guide students to read aloud.

In the second paragraph, the two children put forward completely different views on the distance between the sun and the earth at different times, so students should be instructed to read their views and uncompromising attitudes in a positive tone.

In the third and fourth paragraphs, the two children put forward reasons to prove their views and refute each other's views according to their own feelings and experiences. The two paragraphs are consistent in sentence structure and structure, and both end with rhetorical questions, so we should pay attention to the reading of rhetorical questions. Among them, "As Big as a Car Cover" and "As Soup as Soup" should be re-read, while "As a Vegetable Bowl" and "The Vicissitudes of the Beam" should be read lightly, so that they can be read in a contrasting tone, forming an irrefutable and urgent climax.

In the fifth paragraph, when two children saw that Confucius could not govern the country, they laughed and said, "Who is Zhihu?" Rhetorical questions are also used. What is clear here is that the laughter of the two children is not ironic. Students should be instructed to read a lively and relaxed tone to show their innocence and cuteness.

To guide students to read classical Chinese, we should pay attention to model reading and reading guidance. On the basis of students understanding the content of the article and reading the full text with emotion, guide students to read in different roles and try to recite it in class.

5. Expand after class. It is suggested that a Chinese practice activity be arranged to perform the "New Two-Child Debate Day". Before the activity began, the teacher provided the idea of the activity: a modern teenager traveled through time and space to distant ancient times, met two children arguing about Japan, and the two children asked the teenager to make a ruling. In the activity, let the students perform creative performances in groups first, and then communicate in class.

Fourth, reference materials.

1. This article is selected from Liezi Tang Wen. Liezi is said to have been written by Lieyukou, a native of Lu during the Warring States Period (about 450-375 BC), which preserved many excellent fables and folk stories in the pre-Qin period.

2. Confucius (5565438 BC+0-479 BC), whose name is Zhong Ni. Lu Yi (now southeast of Qufu, Shandong Province) was a thinker, politician, educator and founder of Confucianism in the late Spring and Autumn Period. His words and deeds throughout his life were compiled into The Analects by his students and spread all over the world.

3. Scientific knowledge about "two children debating on the same day".

The distance between the sun and the earth is the same in the morning and at noon. Why does the sun look bigger in the morning than at noon? This is a visual error and illusion. The same object appears small in a group of larger objects, but large in a group of smaller objects. Similarly, the morning sun rises from the horizon with trees, houses, distant mountains and a small corner of the sky as the background. In this contrast, the sun looks bigger at this time. At noon, the sun rises high and the vast sky is the background. At this time, the sun appears small. Secondly, the white object of the same object is bigger than the black object. This physical phenomenon is called "light penetration". When the sun rises, the background is a dark sky and the sun is particularly bright; At noon, the background is the blue sky in Wan Li, and there is little contrast between the sun and its brightness, so it is smaller.

The temperature at noon is higher than in the morning. Is the sun closer to us than in the morning? Not exactly. The main reason is that the sun shines obliquely on the earth in the morning and directly on the earth at noon. At the same time and in the same area, the direct heat is higher than the oblique heat. At the same time, at night, the heat of the sun on the ground dissipates, so it feels cool in the morning; At noon, the heat of the sun shines on the ground, so I feel hot. A cold or hot temperature does not mean that the sun is far or near the ground.