Classical Chinese translation and annotation of inkstone

This article is selected from Feng Menglong's A Brief Introduction to Ancient and Modern Times in Ming Dynasty. This book is a collection of jokes and humorous sketches, divided into 36 parts. Let's take a look at the translation and annotation of classical Chinese inkstone.

original text

In the Ming Dynasty, Lu Gong and Lu Feng stayed in Beijing. Try to meet a good inkstone in the market, and the bargaining is undecided. When you return the house, let the owner go, and a gold is easy to return. The master returned with the inkstone, and the public was stunned by it. The master firmly proved that it was. Qi Huangong said, "I have a good eye for Xiangguan inkstone. Why not today? " Answer: "I think it is slightly convex, Lu Yu masonry. Fortunately, there is more silver, so it can be smoothed." University of Technology regrets. It is better to cover this inkstone than to cover your eyes.

translate

In the Ming Dynasty, there was a man named Lu Lufeng who was waiting for the appointment of the imperial court in Beijing. He once met a good inkstone in the market, and the price was controversial. When you get to the mansion, ask the servant to buy the inkstone with a silver or two. The servant came back with an inkstone. Liu Lufeng was very surprised. This inkstone was not like the original one. The servant insisted that it was this inkstone. Lu Lufeng said, "The inkstone has starling eyes. Why not now? " The servant replied, "I don't like it to be a little convex." Fortunately, I met a stonemason on the road, so let him polish it and make it smooth. " Lu Lufeng was greatly sorry.

Discipline guidance

This inkstone won Lu Lufeng's love because it has this precious thing: it has a "myna eye", which is its magic. However, Lu Lufeng's servant did not understand. As a result, the servant regarded the rarity on the inkstone as an unnecessary protrusion and decided to spend money on polishing it without authorization. As a result, a treasure in the inkstone was scrapped. Explain that Lu Lufeng's servant is not pretending to understand. Self-assertion is bound to backfire. Because of this, Lu Lufeng felt pity.

Inspiration and reference

Don't be self-righteous, make your own decisions. The precious part of the inkstone is slightly raised, but the servant thinks it is a flaw and does the opposite. Subjective desire should be combined with objective reality, and you can't make your own decisions and pretend to understand. The shortcoming of some things is its value.

Classical Chinese knowledge

Ping is a causative verb. The word "flattening" in the above "flattening" should be understood as "flattening", that is, masons grind and flatten slight protrusions. If you don't understand it this way, it won't work, because there is no such thing as "leveling it out". So in this sentence, "Ping" becomes a causative verb.

Word annotation

On standby: waiting for the appointment of the court.

It's already started.

Di (dǐ): official hotel.

Kim: Silver.

Yes: that's right.

Item: Before.

Qú yù: Bird name, commonly known as "myna".

Value: Encountered.

Taste: Once.

One gold: a catty of gold in Han Dynasty is regarded as one gold. Later, silver was used as the currency, and one or two pieces of silver were called one gold.