Translation of "I Don't Know the Car"

Translation:

There were no cars in the country of Yue. A traveling Yue man got a car on the outskirts of the junction of Jin and Chu. The axles and wheels were rotten, and the shafts were destroyed.

This car can no longer be used, but there is no such car in Yue. So he sent it home by ship and showed off to others, thinking that the car was originally made like this, so they all imitated it and made it similar.

After some time, the people of Jin and Chu saw and laughed at the clumsiness of their cars. When the enemy invaded their country, the Yue people led this dilapidated car to resist the enemy. As a result, the cars were broken down and the battle was defeated by the enemy, but they still had no idea how the real cars were made.

Original text:

"I Don't Know the Car"

Author: Fang Xiaoru

Dynasty: Ming

Yue Wu A traveler found a chariot in the suburbs of Jin and Chu. The spokes were rotten, the wheels were broken, the rollers were broken, and the shaft was broken, leaving it useless. However, there is no such thing as his hometown, and he returns home in a boat and praises everyone. The spectators who hear its praise will believe in it, and those who act accordingly will belong to the same group. In the future, when the people of Jin and Chu saw this and laughed at his clumsiness, and when the invaders invaded their territory, they would lead their chariots to defend them. The car breaks down, the car is defeated, and you don’t know where the car is.

Extended information:

In order to show off to others, he transported the broken car back to his hometown to show off as a good car, causing the villagers to imitate the broken car; in the face of doubts, he was stubborn Think their junk car is a good car. This ultimately led to the defeat of the Yue people.

From the observation of the phenomenon, the Yue people seemed to be very careful in their work and fully prepared before the war. However, it was this "carefulness" and "adequacy" that ruined their victory. Because they ignore the most important point: things develop and change, and people's understanding must keep pace with the times.

About the author:

Fang Xiaoru was smart, eager to learn, and alert since childhood. When he grew up, he became a disciple of the great scholar Song Lian and was highly respected by his peers. In the 31st year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty died. After Emperor Hui ascended the throne, he followed Taizu's instructions and summoned Fang Xiaoru to Beijing to appoint him with important responsibilities. He was successively made a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy and a bachelor in the Hanlin Academy.

The King of Yan, Zhu Di, swore an oath to "Jingnan" and sent his troops south to the capital. Emperor Hui also sent troops to the Northern Expedition. At that time, all the edicts and texts against King Yan were written by Fang Xiaoru. In May of the fourth year of Jianwen, after King Yan came to Beijing, many civil and military officials saw the wind and surrendered to King Yan. Fang Xiaoru refused to surrender and was arrested and imprisoned.

Fang Xiaoru is good at expressing his cynicism by "combining hotness with coldness and conveying spirit through form". For example, the article "I don't know the car at all" falls into this category. The article uses the image of Zhang Shicheng to satirize those in power who are partial to belief and care less about employing people. It also uses the image of the "Qiantang scoundrels" who associate with Wu Shi to reveal the social foundation of the exaggerated style.

"Strict selection of materials and deep excavation" are also the characteristics of his literary works. "I Don't Know the Car" can be regarded as an example. It is an argumentative essay composed of two parts: narrative and theory. The first part narrates, and the latter part explains the truth contained in what is narrated. Using "metaphor" to establish a theory, the two are closely integrated and complement each other.

Later, he was killed by Zhu Di because he refused to draft an accession edict for Yan King Zhu Di who launched the "Jingnan Campaign". Fang Xiaoru endured the grief and remained unyielding. He was executed outside Jubao Gate in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province at the age of 46. In "History of Ming Dynasty", it is Shi Yilingchi. During the reign of King Fu of the Southern Ming Dynasty, he was given the posthumous title "Wenzheng".

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