Seeking Simplicity in the Translation of Beasts in the River

There is a temple near the river bank in the south of Cangzhou. The outer gate of the Buddhist temple collapsed in the river, and the two stone beasts in front sank into the river together. After more than ten years, the monks raised money to rebuild the temple and searched for two stone beasts in the river, but they couldn't find them. The monks thought that the stone beasts were going down the river, so they rowed several boats, dragged iron and palladium, and searched for more than ten miles downstream, but found no trace of them.

A lecturer set up a museum and taught in a temple. When he heard about it, he smiled and said, "You people can't explore the truth of the matter. This stone beast is not sawdust. How could it be swept away by the flood? "

But the stone should be hard and heavy, and the river sand is loose and light. Stone animals are buried in the sand and sink deeper and deeper. Isn't it ridiculous to look for them downstream? "Everyone is convinced that this is the right statement.

When an old river soldier heard this, he said with a smile, "Any stone that falls into the river must be found upstream. Because the stone is hard and heavy, the river sand is loose and light, and the water cannot wash away the stone.

However, the impact of the river on the stone will certainly wash the place under the stone facing the current into a hole, and the deeper it is, the stone will be dumped in the hole when the hole extends to half of the bottom of the stone.

If you wash it many times like this, the stone will turn forward many times and keep turning, but the stone beast will go upstream instead. It is absurd to look for stone beasts downstream; Wouldn't it be more ridiculous to find them in situ? "

The monks in the temple did as the old river soldier told them. They found the stone beast a few miles upstream. In this case, we only know one thing in the world and we don't know another thing too much. How can we make a subjective judgment based on a certain truth?

The Origin of Yuewei Caotang Notes

Year of establishment Qing dynasty

Author Ji Yun

Extended data:

Literary appreciation

This article tells an instructive fable in concise language, praising the old river soldiers with rich practical experience, mocking the stupidity of monks and satirizing the self-righteousness of Confucianism and Taoism. It is of great enlightenment and guiding significance to people's thinking and understanding.

Although the story of this article is simple, the philosophy contained in it is intriguing. It shows that although things in the world have the same laws, they are more unique.

The particularity of a thing is inseparable from its environment and conditions, so it develops and changes. Many life experiences in reality can actually prove this point. This is the practical significance of this article.

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