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(2184, 1, '2020-05-01 00:37:36', '2020-05-01 04:37:36', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. Ba Jin references the letter he received in his reply, so if I were you, I\'d read that first. Plus, in Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded how similar all societies are, how similar our worries and aspirations, how we all struggle with the materialism that engulfs us, and that the great writers in every culture are the ones who show us how to stave off despair. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nSmall point of order: You\'ve probably noticed by now, Chinese sentences can get way longer than English sentences, so I messed with the punctuation in the translation a little to make things a little clearer. Sorry about that, if you\'re using punctuation to track your place in the translation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve seen and heard, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, good people offering assistance and doing good works in every quarter, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are always many difficulties; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, the wind didn\'t [start] blowing this way in the last couple of days. \r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 00:37:36', '2020-05-01 04:37:36', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2185, 1, '2020-05-01 00:38:37', '2020-05-01 04:38:37', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. Ba Jin references the letter he received in his reply, so if I were you, I\'d read that first. Plus, in Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded how similar all societies are, how similar our worries and aspirations, how we all struggle with the materialism that engulfs us, and that the great writers in every culture are the ones who show us how to stave off despair. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nSmall point of order: You\'ve probably noticed by now, Chinese sentences can get way longer than English sentences, so I messed with the punctuation in the translation a little to make things a little clearer. Sorry about that, if you\'re using punctuation to track your place in the translation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, good people offering assistance and doing good works in every quarter, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are always many difficulties; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, the wind didn\'t [start] blowing this way in the last couple of days. \r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 00:38:37', '2020-05-01 04:38:37', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2194, 1, '2020-05-01 10:34:27', '2020-05-01 14:34:27', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. In Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded that in all societies, there are those who struggle with the materialism that engulfs us.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we most value generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of the same. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, and when one person is in trouble, good people [appear from] all directions to offer assistance, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are [still] always many troubles; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, this wind didn\'t blow in over the last couple of days.\r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 10:34:27', '2020-05-01 14:34:27', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2186, 1, '2020-05-01 00:40:24', '2020-05-01 04:40:24', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. Ba Jin references the letter he received in his reply, so if I were you, I\'d read that first. Plus, in Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded how similar all societies are, how similar our worries and aspirations, how we all struggle with the materialism that engulfs us, and that the great writers in every culture are the ones who show us how to stave off despair. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nSmall point of order: You\'ve probably noticed by now, Chinese sentences can get way longer than English sentences, so I messed with the punctuation in the translation a little to make things a little clearer. Sorry about that, if you\'re using punctuation to track your place in the translation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, and when one person is in trouble, good people [appear from] all directions to offer assistance, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are always many difficulties; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, the wind didn\'t [start] blowing this way in the last couple of days. \r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 00:40:24', '2020-05-01 04:40:24', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2188, 1, '2020-05-01 00:42:24', '2020-05-01 04:42:24', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. Ba Jin references the letter he received in his reply, so if I were you, I\'d read that first. Plus, in Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded how similar all societies are, how similar our worries and aspirations, how we all struggle with the materialism that engulfs us, and that the great writers in every culture are the ones who show us how to stave off despair. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nSmall point of order: You\'ve probably noticed by now, Chinese sentences can get way longer than English sentences, so I messed with the punctuation in the translation a little to make things a little clearer. Sorry about that, if you\'re using punctuation to track your place in the translation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, and when one person is in trouble, good people [appear from] all directions to offer assistance, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are [still] always many troubles; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, this wind didn\'t blow in over the last couple of days.\r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 00:42:24', '2020-05-01 04:42:24', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2187, 1, '2020-05-01 00:41:35', '2020-05-01 04:41:35', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. Ba Jin references the letter he received in his reply, so if I were you, I\'d read that first. Plus, in Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded how similar all societies are, how similar our worries and aspirations, how we all struggle with the materialism that engulfs us, and that the great writers in every culture are the ones who show us how to stave off despair. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nSmall point of order: You\'ve probably noticed by now, Chinese sentences can get way longer than English sentences, so I messed with the punctuation in the translation a little to make things a little clearer. Sorry about that, if you\'re using punctuation to track your place in the translation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, and when one person is in trouble, good people [appear from] all directions to offer assistance, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are [still] always many troubles; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, the wind didn\'t [start] blowing this way in the last couple of days. \r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 00:41:35', '2020-05-01 04:41:35', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2189, 1, '2020-05-01 01:05:20', '2020-05-01 05:05:20', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\n一边... 一边...\r\n手忙脚乱\r\n咦\r\n多么\r\n什么也帮不上\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. Father ate his breakfast [with one hand], and [with the other] felt his pockets, Ai!, where did the train tickets go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could help with. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories:《帮忙》 Helping Out', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 01:05:20', '2020-05-01 05:05:20', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2190, 1, '2020-05-01 01:06:51', '2020-05-01 05:06:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\n一边... 一边...\r\n手忙脚乱\r\n咦\r\n多么\r\n什么也帮不上\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. Father ate his breakfast [with one hand], and [with the other] felt his pockets, Ai!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could help with. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories:《帮忙》 Helping Out', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 01:06:51', '2020-05-01 05:06:51', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2191, 1, '2020-05-01 01:23:40', '2020-05-01 05:23:40', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\n一边... 一边...\r\n手忙脚乱\r\n咦\r\n多么\r\n\r\n什么也帮不上 - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy characters, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here:\r\n\r\n什么 - anything / nothing\r\n也 - even\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n上 - rise\r\n\r\nHm, still hard. We can probably figure out that 什么也帮不 means \"Can\'t even help anything\", but this confused by the appearance of 上, \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". So, all together, 帮不上 means \"cannot not rise to the task of helping\", and 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". 帮不上 is an action + result structure. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ai!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could help with. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories:《帮忙》 Helping Out', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 01:23:40', '2020-05-01 05:23:40', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2192, 1, '2020-05-01 01:32:04', '2020-05-01 05:32:04', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\n一边... 一边... - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two things that are happening at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n手忙脚乱\r\n咦\r\n多么\r\n\r\n什么也帮不上 - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy characters, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here:\r\n\r\n什么 - anything / nothing\r\n也 - even\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n上 - rise\r\n\r\nHm, still hard. We can probably figure out that 什么也帮不 means \"Can\'t even help anything\", but this is confused by the appearance of 上, \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". So, all together, 帮不上 means \"cannot not rise to the task of helping\", and 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ai!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories:《帮忙》 Helping Out', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 01:32:04', '2020-05-01 05:32:04', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2223, 1, '2020-05-02 09:11:25', '2020-05-02 13:11:25', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis essay is about a kid who takes his father\'s advice a little too literally (with amusing results). <!--more-->\r\n\r\nOnly thing intermediate about this read is the very first sentence, which we\'ll talk about here. After this it\'s pretty easy going. The essay starts out 童年仿佛是一条小船，里面装满了甜蜜的糖果，也装满了许多忧伤。 Let\'s break this one down word by word:\r\n\r\n童年 - [pinyin]tong2 nian2[/pinyin] - Childhood\r\n仿佛 - [pinyin]fang3 fu2[/pinyin] - seems like\r\n是 - [pinyin]shi4[/pinyin] - [it] is\r\n一条 - [pinyin]yi1 tiao2[/pinyin] - a (literally: the word \"one\" plus the classifier for boats, which is 条)\r\n小船,  - [pinyin]xiao3 chuan2[/pinyin] - boat,\r\n里面  - [pinyin]li3 mian4[/pinyin] - inside\r\n装满了  - [pinyin]zhuang1 man3 le5[/pinyin] - is full (of)\r\n甜蜜的  - [pinyin]tian2 mi4 de5[/pinyin] - sweet\r\n糖果,  - [pinyin]tang2 guo3[/pinyin] - candy,\r\n也  - [pinyin]ye3[/pinyin] - also\r\n装满了  - [pinyin]zhuang1 man3 le5[/pinyin] - is full (of)\r\n许多  - [pinyin]xu3 duo1[/pinyin] - much\r\n忧伤 - [pinyin]you1 shang1[/pinyin] - distress.\r\n\r\nPretty straightforward when you look at it that way. A quick note on that: though the word 糖果 (which appears a lot in this text) means \"candy\", it does not mean \"candy fruit\" or \"sweet fruit\", as you might guess from the character 果. This is just a general word for candy, though the Chinese don\'t consider chocolate a \"candy\" - it\'s in its own category. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>童年傻事</h4>\r\n童年仿佛是一条小船，里面装满了甜蜜的糖果，也装满了许多忧伤。\r\n\r\n我出生在一个幸福的六口之家。有爸爸、妈妈、爷爷、奶奶、姐姐，还有我。\r\n\r\n我四岁时，一个<strong>烈日</strong><strong>炎炎</strong>的中午。爷爷、奶奶、妈妈和姐姐都忙着自己手中的活。爸爸<strong>抱上</strong>我去商店、给我买了很多<strong>糖果</strong>。回到家中，爸爸放下我，就去我们家的后院<strong>种</strong>苹果树去了。我也跟了过去，我问爸爸你在干什么？爸爸说：“我在种苹果树，到了秋天你就有苹果吃了。”爸爸还说：“你种什么<strong>种子</strong>就会长什么。”爸爸说完就回家喝茶去了。当时我<strong>心想</strong>如果把刚刚买的糖果种到土中，秋天不就有很多糖果了吗！\r\n\r\n我说做就做，我<strong>刨</strong>了个<strong>坑</strong>，把刚才剩下的糖果都放在坑里，用土<strong>埋</strong>了。我<strong>默默</strong>的许下愿说：“糖果快长！糖果快长！长成大树，长出很多很多糖果。”我把这个愿望告诉了爸爸，爸爸听了。大笑起来说：“糖果不会长出大树，也更不会长出糖果。”我听了爸爸话坐在地上大哭起来，我的糖果，我的糖果。爸爸赶快跑到我面前，抱起我说：“哦，不哭了小<strong>宝贝</strong>，爸爸给你买很多很多糖果。我听了就不哭了。\r\n\r\n<strong>如今</strong>我已经长大了，种糖果的傻事也不会再做了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nChildhood seems like a boat that is full of sweet candy, but is also laden with grief. \r\n\r\nI was born into a happy six-person family. There\'s father, mother, grandpa, grandma, my elder sister and myself. \r\n\r\n[The story begins] when I was four, on a scorching afternoon. Grandpa, grandma, mother and my elder sister were all busy doing their own thing. Dad picked me up and carried me to the store, and bought me lots of candy. On the way back to the house, dad put me down, and went to our house\'s back garden to plant apple trees. I went with him, and asked him \'what are you doing\'? Father said: \"I\'m planting apple trees, when autumn arrives you\'ll have apples to eat.\" Father continued: \"Whatever seeds you plant will grow.\" Father finished speaking and went back into the house to drink tea. Then I thought to myself, if I take the candy I just bought and plant it in the earth, in autumn I should have lots of candy! \r\n\r\nI did just that, I dug a hole, took my leftover candy and put it all in the hole, using dirt to bury it. In silence I fervently hoped: \"Candy, grow quickly! Candy, grow quickly! Grow into a big tree, and sprout lots and lots of candy.\" I told this wish to my father, and he listened. Laughing heartily he said: \"Candy can\'t grow into a big tree, and it definitely can\'t sprout more candy.\" I heard my father\'s words and I sat down on the grass and started sobbing, my candy, my candy. Father quickly ran up to me, embraced me and said: \"Oh, don\'t cry little darling, daddy will buy you lots and lots of candy.\" I listened to him and stopped crying.\r\n\r\nNowadays I\'ve already grown up, and I won\'t try foolishly planting candy again.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'A Foolish Affair from my Childhood', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1235-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:11:25', '2020-05-02 13:11:25', '', 1235, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/1235-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2193, 1, '2020-05-01 01:33:27', '2020-05-01 05:33:27', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\n一边... 一边... - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n手忙脚乱\r\n咦\r\n多么\r\n\r\n什么也帮不上 - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy characters, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here:\r\n\r\n什么 - anything / nothing\r\n也 - even\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n上 - rise\r\n\r\nHm, still hard. We can probably figure out that 什么也帮不 means \"Can\'t even help anything\", but this is confused by the appearance of 上, \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". So, all together, 帮不上 means \"cannot not rise to the task of helping\", and 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ai!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories:《帮忙》 Helping Out', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 01:33:27', '2020-05-01 05:33:27', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2195, 1, '2020-05-01 10:35:04', '2020-05-01 14:35:04', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. In Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded that in all societies, there are those who struggle with the materialism that engulfs us.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we most value generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of the same. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, and when one person is in trouble, good people [appear from] all directions to offer assistance, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are [still] always many troubles; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, this wind didn\'t blow in over the last couple of days.\r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 10:35:04', '2020-05-01 14:35:04', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2196, 1, '2020-05-01 10:36:11', '2020-05-01 14:36:11', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. In Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded that in all societies, there are those who struggle with the materialism that engulfs us.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we most value generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of the same. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, and when one person is in trouble, good people [appear from] all directions to offer assistance, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are [still] always many troubles; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, this wind didn\'t blow in over the last couple of days.\r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. I\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded that in all societies, there are those who struggle with the materialism that engulfs us.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 10:36:11', '2020-05-01 14:36:11', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2197, 1, '2020-05-01 10:45:59', '2020-05-01 14:45:59', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. In Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded that in all societies, there are those who struggle with the materialism that engulfs us.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we most value generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of the same. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, and when one person is in trouble, good people [appear from] all directions to offer assistance, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are [still] always many troubles; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, this wind didn\'t blow in over the last couple of days.\r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because an ideal [world] is still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. I\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded that in all societies, there are those who struggle with the materialism that engulfs us.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 10:45:59', '2020-05-01 14:45:59', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2198, 1, '2020-05-01 10:47:55', '2020-05-01 14:47:55', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. In Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded that in all societies, there are those who struggle with the materialism that engulfs us.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we most value generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of the same. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, and when one person is in trouble, good people [appear from] all directions to offer assistance, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are [still] always many troubles; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, this wind didn\'t blow in over the last couple of days.\r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because an ideal is still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. I\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded that in all societies, there are those who struggle with the materialism that engulfs us.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 10:47:55', '2020-05-01 14:47:55', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2199, 1, '2020-05-01 10:52:15', '2020-05-01 14:52:15', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jia_Pingwa\">Jia Pingwa</a> (贾平凹) is one of China\'s modern literary greats, and in this short story, it shows. I don\'t know how this guy crammed so many insights on the human condition into a few paragraphs about a rock, but he undeniably did. \n\nI\'ve read one of Jia Pingwa\'s more recent works,<a href=\"https://amzn.to/3eZEKGd\">《自在独行》<em>Walking Alone Freely</em></a>, which was pretty solid, but I still haven\'t read his most famous novel, 《废都》 <em>Ruined City</em>, which was banned for 13 years in China due to sexual content.\n\nAnyway, I couldn\'t love this little story any more. In it, you\'ll sympathize with an inanimate object, wonder at the glory of the night sky, shake your head at your own small-mindedness, and wonder whether or not this constitutes satirical commentary on the art world or a jab at those who judge by appearances.\n\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\nThe difficult language here mostly isn\'t grammatically difficult, it\'s just referencing stuff we don\'t see in daily life outside of China, so it\'s hard to imagine the scene, or it\'s colloquial Chinese that doesn\'t show up in the dictionary. \n\n<strong>想以它垒山墙</strong> - In paragraph two, the narrator is talking about ways the ugly rock was to be used, and he mentions that uncle \"wanted to use it to lay (垒) the gables (山墙)\". I had to look up pictures of 山墙-style gables to understand what they were talking about, because western gables don\'t require stone. <a href=\"http://image.baidu.com/search/index?tn=baiduimage&ps=1&ct=201326592&lm=-1&cl=2&nc=1&ie=utf-8&word=%E5%B1%B1%E5%A2%99&ie=utf-8\">Take a look</a>, makes a lot more sense if you do. \n\n<strong>洗一台石磨</strong> - Same kind of thing here: this says, \"to wash a millstone\". But \"washing a millstone\" doesn\'t make sense in context. Turns out 洗 in this case does not mean \"wash\". The process of making a millstone involves carving a pit out of rock and rinsing it off as you go. So, in the context of the story, this means \"to make a millstone\". \n\n<strong>我们这些做孩子的</strong> - Colloquial Chinese, meaning \"we kids\". \n\n<strong>每每到了十五的夜晚</strong> - Literally, \"Every time it reached the 15 night.\" Took me a sec to figure out what he meant by 十五, since he doesn\'t say 十五日， or 十五天, but in context, he\'s talking about the night of the full moon, so the \"15\" is in reference to the 15th of the month, or the middle of the month, around which time the full moon appears. \n\n<strong>丑得不能再丑的丑石</strong> - Also colloquial phrasing. Let\'s break this one down real quick:\n\n丑 - Ugly\n得 - To the point that\n不能 - Could not\n再 - Again\n丑的 - Ugly\n丑石 - Ugly rock. \n\nThat\'s a whole lot of ugly. This is equivalent to the English phrase \"An ugly rock so ugly that it couldn\'t be uglier.\" You can use this phrasing with many different descriptors. \"美不能再美\" = \"Couldn\'t be more beautiful\", or \"普通不能再普通\" = \"Couldn\'t be more ordinary\".\n\n<strong>以丑为美</strong> - This construction is little difficult because both 以 and 为 have so many meanings in Chinese. In this case 以 means \"on the basis of\", and 为 is \"to be\". In English, we\'d probably flip this around: \"To attain beauty through ugliness\", or \"To be beautiful because of one\'s ugliness\".\n\nIf you want more Jia Pingwa, you can pick up <em>Ruined City</em> in <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2W53bcV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinese</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/3aMNlZu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">English</a>. \n\n<a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201308/16709.htm\">Source here</a>\n\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]\n\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\n[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>《丑石》</h4>\n\n我常常遗憾我家门前的那块丑石呢：它黑黝黝地卧在那里，牛似的模样；谁也不知道是什么时候留在这里的，谁也不去理会它。只是麦收时节，门前摊了麦子，奶奶总是要说：这块丑石，多碍地面哟，多时把它搬走吧。\n\n于是，伯父家盖房，<span class=\"highlightText\">想以它垒山墙</span>，但苦于它极不规则，没棱角儿，也没平面儿；用錾破开吧，又懒得花那么大气力，因为河滩并不甚远，随便去掮一块回来，哪一块也比它强。房盖起来，压铺台阶，伯父也没有看上它。有一年，来了一个石匠，为我家<span class=\"highlightText\">洗一台石磨</span>，奶奶又说：用这块丑石吧，省得从远处搬动。石匠看了看，摇着头，嫌它石质太细，不太采用。\n\n它不像汉白玉那样的细腻，可以凿下刻字雕花，也不像大青石那样的光滑，可以供来浣纱捶布；它静静地卧在那里，院边的槐荫没有庇覆它，花儿也不再在它身边生长。荒草便繁衍出来，枝蔓上下，慢慢地，竟锈上了绿苔、黑斑。我们这些做孩子的，也讨厌起它来，曾合伙要搬走它，但力气又不足；虽时时咒骂它，嫌弃它，也无可奈何，只好任它留在那里去了。\n\n稍稍能安慰我们的，是在那石上有一个不大不小的坑凹儿，雨天就盛满了水。常常雨过三天了，地上已经干燥，那石凹里水儿还有，鸡儿便去那里渴饮。<span class=\"highlightText\">每每到了十五的夜晚</span>，我们盼着满月出来，就爬到其上，翘望天边；奶奶总是要骂的，害怕我们摔下来。果然那一次就摔了下来，磕破了我的膝盖呢。\n\n人都骂它是丑石，它真是<span class=\"highlightText\">丑得不能再丑的丑石</span>了。\n\n终有一日，村子里来了一个天文学家。他在我家门前路过，突然发现了这块石头，眼光立即就拉直了。他再没有走去，就住了下来；以后又来了好些人，说这是一块陨石，从天上落下来已经有二三百年了，是一件了不起的东西。不久便来了车，小心翼翼地将它运走了。\n\n这使我们都很惊奇！这又怪又丑的石头，原来是天上的呢！它补过天，在天上发过热，闪过光，我们的先祖或许仰望过它，它给了他们光明，向往，憧憬；而它落下来了，在污土里，荒草里，一躺就是几百年了？！\n\n奶奶说：“真看不出！它那么不一般，却怎么连墙也垒不成，台阶也垒不成呢？”\n\n “它是太丑了。”天文学家说。\n\n“真的，是太丑了。”\n\n“可这正是它的美!”天文学家说，“它是<span class=\"highlightText\">以丑为美</span>的。”\n\n“以丑为美？”\n\n“是的，丑到极处，便是美到极处。正因为它不是一般的顽石，当然不能去做墙，做台阶，不能去雕刻，捶布。它不是做这些玩意儿的，所以常常就遭到一般世俗的讥讽。”\n\n奶奶脸红了，我也脸红了。\n\n我感到自己的可耻，也感到了丑石的伟大；我甚至怨恨它这么多年竟会默默地忍受着这一切，而我又立即深深地感到它那种不屈于误解的寂寞的生存的伟大。\n\n<h6>Buy on Amazon</h6>\n<em>Ruined City</em> in <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2W53bcV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinese</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/3aMNlZu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">English</a>. \n\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nI often think regretfully of that ugly rock outside the door of our home: it lay there darkly, looking like a cow; no one knew when it had been left there, and no one paid it any attention. It was only in harvest season, when wheat was spread before the door, that grandma would always say: That ugly rock, takes up all the [space on the] ground, we should move it before long. \n\nAnd so, [when] my uncle was building a house [there], he wanted to use it to lay the gables, but was troubled that it was uneven, it had no edges and corners, and wasn\'t flat; he [could have] used a chisel to break it open, but was too lazy to expend that much effort, because the riverbank wasn\'t far away, he could carry a rock back from there on his shoulders, and any one of [those rocks by the river] were better than it. [Once] the house was built, [uncle was] laying the stairs, and [for this] also didn\'t see it as [suitable]. One year, a stonemason came to fashion a millstone for our family, and grandma said again: How about you use that ugly rock, save [yourself the effort] of bringing one from far away. The stonemason gave it a lookover, shook his head, disliking the smooth quality of the stone, which wasn\'t of much use. \n\nIt wasn\'t fine like marble, which could be engraved with letters and flowers, and it wasn\'t as smooth as limestone, which could be used to wash cloth, it lay there silently, the shade of the scholartrees didn\'t cover it, and flowers wouldn\'t grow at its side. Weeds [sprouted] out in profusion, branches and tendrils all over, and slowly, it rusted over with green moss and black stripes. We kids also began to hate it, and we once banded together to move it away, but we weren\'t strong enough; so sometimes we would curse it, or avoid it, but we had no choice, we had to allow it to stay there.  \n\nWhat comforted us a little was that the top of the rock had a pit in it neither large nor small, which would fill up with water on a rainy day. Often three days after a rain had passed, the ground was already dry, but the pit in that rock still had water in it, and the birds would go there to drink. Whenever it reached the middle night of the month, we would watch the full moon come out, and climb on top of it, to gaze up at the sky; grandma always yelled [at us], afraid we would fall off. Naturally it happened, and I smashed open my knee.\n\nEveryone cursed it as an ugly rock, an ugly rock so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier. \n\nFinally one day, an astronomer came to the village. He passed in front of our house, and suddenly saw this stone, and his gaze was immediately drawn to it. he didn\'t keep walking, but stopped there; later many more people arrived, saying this was a meteorite, which had fallen from the sky and had already been here for two or three hundred years, that it was a praiseworthy thing. Soon a car came, and carefully took it away. \n\nThis shocked us all! As it turned out, this strange and ugly rock was from the heavens! It had mended the sky [NOTE: A reference to a mythological story in which a goddess uses molten rocks to mend a tear in the sky], it had burned in the firmament, had sparkled with light, our ancestors may have looked upon it, it had given them radiance, hope, yearning; but it fell here, in the filth, in the weeds, and lay there several hundred years?!  \n\nGrandma said: \"You couldn\'t tell by looking at it! So unique, yet it couldn\'t brace a gable, or be used to make stairs?\" \n\n\"It\'s too ugly,\" the astronomer said. \n\n\"Yes, too ugly.\" \n\n\"But this is its beauty!\" the astronomer said, \"It\'s beauty comes from its ugliness.\" \n\n\"Beauty from ugliness?\" \n\n\"Yes, when ugliness reaches its extreme, it also reaches the extreme of beauty. Precisely because it isn\'t average stone, of course it can\'t [be used to] make a wall, or [be used to] make stairs, and can\'t be carved or wash cloth. It\'s not made to do those things, so it often suffers common ridicule.\"\n\nGrandma\'s face reddened, my face reddened also. \n\nI felt my own humiliation, and felt the rock\'s greatness. I even resented it for silently enduring everything for years, and I deeply felt the greatness of its lonely existence unbent for having been misunderstood. \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《丑石》The Ugly Rock by Jia Pingwa', 'Jia Pingwa (贾平凹) is one of China\'s modern literary greats, and in this short story, it shows. I don\'t know how this guy crammed so many insights on the human condition into a few paragraphs about a rock, but he undeniably did. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1983-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 10:52:15', '2020-05-01 14:52:15', '', 1983, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/1983-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2200, 1, '2020-05-01 10:53:51', '2020-05-01 14:53:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jia_Pingwa\">Jia Pingwa</a> (贾平凹) is one of China\'s modern literary greats, and in this short story, it shows. I don\'t know how this guy crammed so many insights on the human condition into a few paragraphs about a rock, but he undeniably did. \r\n\r\nI\'ve read one of Jia Pingwa\'s more recent works,<a href=\"https://amzn.to/3eZEKGd\">《自在独行》<em>Walking Alone Freely</em></a>, which was pretty solid, but I still haven\'t read his most famous novel, 《废都》 <em>Ruined City</em>, which was banned for 13 years in China due to sexual content.\r\n\r\nAnyway, I couldn\'t love this little story any more. In it, you\'ll sympathize with an inanimate object, wonder at the glory of the night sky, shake your head at your own small-mindedness, and wonder whether or not this constitutes satirical commentary on the art world or a jab at those who judge by appearances.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThe difficult language here mostly isn\'t grammatically difficult, it\'s just referencing stuff we don\'t see in daily life outside of China, so it\'s hard to imagine the scene, or it\'s colloquial Chinese that doesn\'t show up in the dictionary. \r\n\r\n<strong>想以它垒山墙</strong> - In paragraph two, the narrator is talking about ways the ugly rock was to be used, and he mentions that uncle \"wanted to use it to lay (垒) the gables (山墙)\". I had to look up pictures of 山墙-style gables to understand what they were talking about, because western gables don\'t require stone. <a href=\"http://image.baidu.com/search/index?tn=baiduimage&ps=1&ct=201326592&lm=-1&cl=2&nc=1&ie=utf-8&word=%E5%B1%B1%E5%A2%99&ie=utf-8\">Take a look</a>, makes a lot more sense if you do. \r\n\r\n<strong>洗一台石磨</strong> - Same kind of thing here: this says, \"to wash a millstone\". But \"washing a millstone\" doesn\'t make sense in context. Turns out 洗 in this case does not mean \"wash\". The process of making a millstone involves carving a pit out of rock and rinsing it off as you go. So, in the context of the story, this means \"to make a millstone\". \r\n\r\n<strong>我们这些做孩子的</strong> - Colloquial Chinese, meaning \"we kids\". \r\n\r\n<strong>每每到了十五的夜晚</strong> - Literally, \"Every time it reached the 15 night.\" Took me a sec to figure out what he meant by 十五, since he doesn\'t say 十五日， or 十五天, but in context, he\'s talking about the night of the full moon, so the \"15\" is in reference to the 15th of the month, or the middle of the month, around which time the full moon appears. \r\n\r\n<strong>丑得不能再丑的丑石</strong> - Also colloquial phrasing. Let\'s break this one down real quick:\r\n\r\n丑 - Ugly\r\n得 - To the point that\r\n不能 - Could not\r\n再 - Again\r\n丑的 - Ugly\r\n丑石 - Ugly rock. \r\n\r\nThat\'s a whole lot of ugly. This is equivalent to the English phrase \"An ugly rock so ugly that it couldn\'t be uglier.\" You can use this phrasing with many different descriptors. \"美不能再美\" = \"Couldn\'t be more beautiful\", or \"普通不能再普通\" = \"Couldn\'t be more ordinary\".\r\n\r\n<strong>以丑为美</strong> - This construction is little difficult because both 以 and 为 have so many meanings in Chinese. In this case 以 means \"on the basis of\", and 为 is \"to be\". In English, we\'d probably flip this around: \"To attain beauty through ugliness\", or \"To be beautiful because of one\'s ugliness\".\r\n\r\nIf you want more Jia Pingwa, you can pick up <em>Ruined City</em> in <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2W53bcV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinese</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/3aMNlZu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">English</a>. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201308/16709.htm\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《丑石》</h4>\r\n\r\n我常常遗憾我家门前的那块丑石呢：它黑黝黝地卧在那里，牛似的模样；谁也不知道是什么时候留在这里的，谁也不去理会它。只是麦收时节，门前摊了麦子，奶奶总是要说：这块丑石，多碍地面哟，多时把它搬走吧。\r\n\r\n于是，伯父家盖房，<span class=\"highlightText\">想以它垒山墙</span>，但苦于它极不规则，没棱角儿，也没平面儿；用錾破开吧，又懒得花那么大气力，因为河滩并不甚远，随便去掮一块回来，哪一块也比它强。房盖起来，压铺台阶，伯父也没有看上它。有一年，来了一个石匠，为我家<span class=\"highlightText\">洗一台石磨</span>，奶奶又说：用这块丑石吧，省得从远处搬动。石匠看了看，摇着头，嫌它石质太细，不太采用。\r\n\r\n它不像汉白玉那样的细腻，可以凿下刻字雕花，也不像大青石那样的光滑，可以供来浣纱捶布；它静静地卧在那里，院边的槐荫没有庇覆它，花儿也不再在它身边生长。荒草便繁衍出来，枝蔓上下，慢慢地，竟锈上了绿苔、黑斑。我们这些做孩子的，也讨厌起它来，曾合伙要搬走它，但力气又不足；虽时时咒骂它，嫌弃它，也无可奈何，只好任它留在那里去了。\r\n\r\n稍稍能安慰我们的，是在那石上有一个不大不小的坑凹儿，雨天就盛满了水。常常雨过三天了，地上已经干燥，那石凹里水儿还有，鸡儿便去那里渴饮。<span class=\"highlightText\">每每到了十五的夜晚</span>，我们盼着满月出来，就爬到其上，翘望天边；奶奶总是要骂的，害怕我们摔下来。果然那一次就摔了下来，磕破了我的膝盖呢。\r\n\r\n人都骂它是丑石，它真是<span class=\"highlightText\">丑得不能再丑的丑石</span>了。\r\n\r\n终有一日，村子里来了一个天文学家。他在我家门前路过，突然发现了这块石头，眼光立即就拉直了。他再没有走去，就住了下来；以后又来了好些人，说这是一块陨石，从天上落下来已经有二三百年了，是一件了不起的东西。不久便来了车，小心翼翼地将它运走了。\r\n\r\n这使我们都很惊奇！这又怪又丑的石头，原来是天上的呢！它补过天，在天上发过热，闪过光，我们的先祖或许仰望过它，它给了他们光明，向往，憧憬；而它落下来了，在污土里，荒草里，一躺就是几百年了？！\r\n\r\n奶奶说：“真看不出！它那么不一般，却怎么连墙也垒不成，台阶也垒不成呢？”\r\n\r\n “它是太丑了。”天文学家说。\r\n\r\n“真的，是太丑了。”\r\n\r\n“可这正是它的美!”天文学家说，“它是<span class=\"highlightText\">以丑为美</span>的。”\r\n\r\n“以丑为美？”\r\n\r\n“是的，丑到极处，便是美到极处。正因为它不是一般的顽石，当然不能去做墙，做台阶，不能去雕刻，捶布。它不是做这些玩意儿的，所以常常就遭到一般世俗的讥讽。”\r\n\r\n奶奶脸红了，我也脸红了。\r\n\r\n我感到自己的可耻，也感到了丑石的伟大；我甚至怨恨它这么多年竟会默默地忍受着这一切，而我又立即深深地感到它那种不屈于误解的寂寞的生存的伟大。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon</h6>\r\n<em>Ruined City</em> in <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2W53bcV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinese</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/3aMNlZu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">English</a>. \r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nI often think regretfully of that ugly rock outside the door of our home: it lay there darkly, looking like a cow; no one knew when it had been left there, and no one paid it any attention. It was only in harvest season, when wheat was spread before the door, that grandma would always say: That ugly rock, takes up all the [space on the] ground, we should move it before long. \r\n\r\nAnd so, [when] my uncle was building a house [there], he wanted to use it to lay the gables, but was troubled that it was uneven, it had no edges and corners, and wasn\'t flat; he [could have] used a chisel to break it open, but was too lazy to expend that much effort, and because the riverbank wasn\'t far away, he could carry a rock back from there on his shoulders, and any one of [those rocks by the river] were better than it. [Once] the house was built, [uncle was] laying the stairs, and [for this purpose he] also didn\'t see it as [suitable]. One year, a stonemason came to fashion a millstone for our family, and grandma said again: How about you use that ugly rock, and save [yourself the effort] of bringing one from far away. The stonemason gave it a look over, shook his head, disliking the smooth quality of the stone, which wasn\'t of much use. \r\n\r\nIt wasn\'t fine like marble, which could be engraved with letters and flowers, and it wasn\'t as smooth as limestone, which could be used to wash cloth, it lay there silently, the shade of the scholartrees didn\'t cover it, and flowers wouldn\'t grow at its side. Weeds [sprouted] out in profusion, branches and tendrils all over, and slowly, it rusted over with green moss and black stripes. We kids also began to hate it, and we once banded together to move it away, but we weren\'t strong enough; so sometimes we would curse it, or avoid it, but we had no choice, we had to allow it to stay there.  \r\n\r\nWhat comforted us a little was that the top of the rock had a pit in it neither large nor small, which would fill up with water on a rainy day. Often three days after a rain had passed, the ground was already dry, but the pit in that rock still had water in it, and the birds would go there to drink. Whenever it reached the middle night of the month, we would watch the full moon come out, and climb on top of it, to gaze up at the sky; grandma always yelled [at us], afraid we would fall off. Naturally it happened, and I smashed open my knee.\r\n\r\nEveryone cursed it as an ugly rock, an ugly rock so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier. \r\n\r\nFinally one day, an astronomer came to the village. He passed in front of our house, and suddenly saw this stone, and his gaze was immediately drawn to it. He didn\'t keep walking, but stopped there; and later, many more people arrived, saying this was a meteorite, which had fallen from the sky and had already been here for two or three hundred years, that it was a praiseworthy thing. Soon a car came, and carefully took it away. \r\n\r\nThis shocked us all! As it turned out, this strange and ugly rock was from the heavens! It had mended the sky [NOTE: A reference to a mythological story in which a goddess uses molten rocks to mend a tear in the sky], it had burned in the firmament, had sparkled with light, our ancestors may have looked upon it, it had given them radiance, hope, yearning; but it fell here, in the filth, in the weeds, and lay there several hundred years?!  \r\n\r\nGrandma said: \"You couldn\'t tell by looking at it! So unique, yet it couldn\'t brace a gable, or be used to make stairs?\" \r\n\r\n\"It\'s too ugly,\" the astronomer said. \r\n\r\n\"Yes, too ugly.\" \r\n\r\n\"But this is its beauty!\" the astronomer said, \"It\'s beauty comes from its ugliness.\" \r\n\r\n\"Beauty from ugliness?\" \r\n\r\n\"Yes, when ugliness reaches its extreme, it also reaches the extreme of beauty. Precisely because it isn\'t average stone, of course it can\'t [be used to] make a wall, or [be used to] make stairs, and can\'t be carved or wash cloth. It\'s not made to do those things, so it often suffers common ridicule.\"\r\n\r\nGrandma\'s face reddened, my face reddened also. \r\n\r\nI felt my own humiliation, and felt the rock\'s greatness. I even resented it for silently enduring everything for years, and I deeply felt the greatness of its lonely existence unbent for having been misunderstood. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《丑石》The Ugly Rock by Jia Pingwa', 'Jia Pingwa (贾平凹) is one of China\'s modern literary greats, and in this short story, it shows. I don\'t know how this guy crammed so many insights on the human condition into a few paragraphs about a rock, but he undeniably did. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1983-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 10:53:51', '2020-05-01 14:53:51', '', 1983, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/1983-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2202, 1, '2020-05-01 20:57:41', '2020-05-02 00:57:41', 'h1.entry-title, h2.entry-title {text-align:left;}\nh2.entry-title {font-size: 4.2rem;}\n.section-inner.medium, .section-inner {max-width:100%;}\nh2.widget-title {font-size: 16px}\n.featured-media {display:none;}\n.entry-categories-inner {justify-content: left; }\n.archive-header-inner {text-align:left;}\n.post-meta-single-top .post-meta {justify-content: left;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {max-width: 100%;}\nul.primary-menu {font-size: 16px;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.post-inner {padding-top: 3rem;}\n.entry-content > *:not(.alignwide):not(.alignfull):not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.is-style-wide) {\n    max-width: 100%;\n	width: calc(100% - 8rem);}\n	\n	#mandarinspot-tip {padding: 15px!important; border-radius: 0 !important; border: none !important; background-color: #000 !important; color: #fff !important;}\n.sub-menu li a {font-size: 12px;}\n.hide-this-part-more, .inline-link-button {background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n	font-weight: bold;\n	text-decoration:none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;}\n.hide-this-part-more:hover, .inline-link-button {cursor:pointer;, background-color: #9f00fc;}\n.readingPassage {padding: 40px; background-color: #fffbcc;}\n.entry-content #chinesetext h4 {margin-top: 0;}\n.post-meta-wrapper.post-meta-single-bottom  {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.single-post .intro-text {display:none;}\n.site-description {display: none;}\nspan.highlightText {background-color: #d3fbcc;}\np.toggleButton {\n    background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n    font-weight: bold;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif;\n    margin-bottom: 10px;\n  }', 'twentytwenty', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1649-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 20:57:41', '2020-05-02 00:57:41', '', 1649, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/1649-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2204, 1, '2020-05-01 21:01:26', '2020-05-02 01:01:26', 'h1.entry-title, h2.entry-title {text-align:left;}\nh2.entry-title {font-size: 4.2rem;}\n.section-inner.medium, .section-inner {max-width:100%;}\nh2.widget-title {font-size: 16px}\n.featured-media {display:none;}\n.entry-categories-inner {justify-content: left; }\n.archive-header-inner {text-align:left;}\n.post-meta-single-top .post-meta {justify-content: left;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {max-width: 100%;}\nul.primary-menu {font-size: 16px;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.post-inner {padding-top: 3rem;}\n.entry-content > *:not(.alignwide):not(.alignfull):not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.is-style-wide) {\n    max-width: 100%;\n	width: calc(100% - 8rem);}\n	\n	#mandarinspot-tip {padding: 15px!important; border-radius: 0 !important; border: none !important; background-color: #000 !important; color: #fff !important;}\n.sub-menu li a {font-size: 12px;}\n.hide-this-part-more, .inline-link-button {background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n	font-weight: bold;\n	text-decoration:none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;}\n.hide-this-part-more:hover, .inline-link-button {cursor:pointer;, background-color: #9f00fc;}\n.readingPassage {padding: 40px; background-color: #fffbcc;}\n.entry-content #chinesetext h4 {margin-top: 0;}\n.post-meta-wrapper.post-meta-single-bottom  {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.single-post .intro-text {display:none;}\n.site-description {display: none;}\nspan.highlightText {background-color: #d3fbcc;}\np.toggleButton {\n    background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n    font-weight: bold;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif;\n    margin-bottom: 10px;\n  }\np.toggleButton:hover {\n    cursor: pointer;\n  }', 'twentytwenty', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1649-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 21:01:26', '2020-05-02 01:01:26', '', 1649, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/1649-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2206, 1, '2020-05-01 21:10:07', '2020-05-02 01:10:07', 'h1.entry-title, h2.entry-title {text-align:left;}\nh2.entry-title {font-size: 4.2rem;}\n.section-inner.medium, .section-inner {max-width:100%;}\nh2.widget-title {font-size: 16px}\n.featured-media {display:none;}\n.entry-categories-inner {justify-content: left; }\n.archive-header-inner {text-align:left;}\n.post-meta-single-top .post-meta {justify-content: left;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {max-width: 100%;}\nul.primary-menu {font-size: 16px;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.post-inner {padding-top: 3rem;}\n.entry-content > *:not(.alignwide):not(.alignfull):not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.is-style-wide) {\n    max-width: 100%;\n	width: calc(100% - 8rem);}\n	\n	#mandarinspot-tip {padding: 15px!important; border-radius: 0 !important; border: none !important; background-color: #000 !important; color: #fff !important;}\n.sub-menu li a {font-size: 12px;}\n.hide-this-part-more, .inline-link-button {background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n	font-weight: bold;\n	text-decoration:none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;}\n.hide-this-part-more:hover, .inline-link-button {cursor:pointer;, background-color: #9f00fc;}\n.readingPassage {padding: 40px; background-color: #fffbcc;}\n.entry-content #chinesetext h4 {margin-top: 0;}\n.post-meta-wrapper.post-meta-single-bottom  {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.single-post .intro-text {display:none;}\n.site-description {display: none;}\nspan.highlightText {background-color: #d3fbcc;}\np.toggleButton {\n    background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n    font-weight: bold;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif;\n    margin-bottom: 10px;\n  }\np.toggleButton:hover {\n    cursor: pointer;\n  }\n.fontSizeAdjust {font-size: 50% !important;}', 'twentytwenty', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1649-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 21:10:07', '2020-05-02 01:10:07', '', 1649, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/1649-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2269, 1, '2020-05-09 20:39:45', '2020-05-10 00:39:45', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nMr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n胆子 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - In English, when we want to describe someone who\'s brave, we may say they have \"lots of courage\". In Chinese, they use \"big courage\" (胆子大) and \"small courage\" (胆子小) instead. In Mr. Coward\'s name, this has been shortened to 胆小.\r\n\r\n放 [pinyin]fang4[/pinyin] - The most common usage of this word is \"to put\", but in this case, its alternate meaning is being used: \"to let go\", or \"to set free\", as in birds or captives. \r\n\r\n配 [pinyin]pei4[/pinyin] - One definition for this word is \"match\", as in \"Does this shirt match this blouse?\" But here, it\'s being used as \"deserve\", as in \"You don\'t deserve me!\"\r\n\r\n...呀...呀 [pinyin]ya[/pinyin] - So, this one\'s interesting. The sound 呀 can be used when you\'re listing out similar things. You use it after every item in the list. Take the English sentence: \"They feasted on pies, and cakes, and cookies, and candy... it was a real banquet!\" In Chinese, you\'d add 呀 like this: \"They feasted on pies 呀, and cakes 呀, and cookies 呀 and candy 呀...\". You can do it with actions, too: \"We were at the beach for hours, we played 呀, and swam 呀, and lay in the sun 呀.\" This adds an unspoken sense of happy abundance to your sentence. \r\n\r\n咚 [pinyin]dong1[/pinyin] - An onomatopoeia describing the sound of a thump\r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - Often means \"originally\", as in \"I originally intended to come Monday\", but in this case means \"Turns out\", as in \"Turns out I had something else to do that day.\"\r\n \r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - I just covered this one in <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/chinese-childrens-stories-tomato-girl/\">a recent beginner post</a>, so if you\'re a frequent reader, you\'ll get to use what you learned here. If not, go check it out.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>胆小先生</h4>\r\n有一位先生，住在一座漂亮的房子里。因为他的<span class=\"highlightText\">胆子</span>很小，大家都叫他胆小先生。\r\n\r\n一天，一只大老鼠闯进了他的房子。胆小先生马上去捉，结果在地下室捉住了它。\r\n\r\n\"你<span class=\"highlightText\">放</span>了我!\"大老鼠挣扎着说，\"我要是一跺脚，整个房子就塌了。\"\r\n\r\n胆小先生害怕了，连忙放开了他，还允许他住在地下室里。\r\n\r\n地下室里吃的东西真多，大老鼠吃<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，喝<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，真开心。后来，大老鼠生了一窝小老鼠，小老鼠又长成大老鼠……很快，地下室住满了老鼠。\r\n\r\n\"不行，不行!\"大老鼠冲着胆小先生嚷嚷：\"这么多老鼠住这么一个小小的地下室，而你一个人住那么多房间，太不合理了，得换房子。\"\r\n\r\n\"换房子?\"胆小先生住在地下室，老鼠们住进各个房间，他们在宽大的客厅里唱<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，跳<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，在喷香的厨房里喝<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，吃<span class=\"highlightText\">呀</span>，每天都像过节一样。\r\n\r\n\"你应该搬出去!\"大老鼠又冲着胆小先生嚷嚷，\"你干嘛住在地下室?这么好的地下室，你<span class=\"highlightText\">配</span>住吗?\"\r\n\r\n\"什么?\"胆小先生气愤得跺了一下右脚，\"<span class=\"highlightText\">咚</span>\"老鼠们害怕了，他们个个抱头乱窜，以为地震了。\r\n\r\n\"哦，<span class=\"highlightText\">原来</span>我是很有力量的!\"胆小先生抓起旧扫帚，这儿一扑，那儿一打，这儿一戳，那儿一捣，老鼠被打得\"吱吱\"叫，全逃走了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who lived in a beautiful house. Because he had very little courage, everyone called him Mr. Coward. \r\n\r\nOne day, a big mouse charged into his house. Mr. Coward immediately went to catch it, and the result was that he caught it in the basement. \r\n\r\n\"Let me go!\" the big mouse said, struggling, \"If I stamp one foot, the whole house will fall down.\" \r\n\r\nMr. Coward was afraid, and hurriedly let him go, and even allowed him to live in the basement. \r\n\r\nThere was lots to eat in the basement, and the big mouse ate, and drank, and had lots of fun. Later, the big mouse birthed a nest of little mice, and the little mice grew into big mice.... soon, the basement was full of mice.\r\n \r\n\"This won\'t do, this won\'t do!\" the big mouse yelled at Mr. Coward, \"This many mice living in this small, small basement, and you alone living in that many rooms, it\'s too unreasonable, we have to switch quarters.\" \r\n\r\n\"Switch quarters?\" So Mr. Coward [went to] live in the basement, the mice moved into every [upstairs] room, and in the wide living room they sange, and jumped, and in the fragrant kitchen they drank, and ate, and every day was like a holiday.  \r\n\r\n\"You should move out!\" the big mouse again yelled at Mr. Coward, \"What are you doing living in the basement? Such a nice basement, do you deserve to live there?\"\r\n\r\n\"What?\" Mr. Coward was so angry he stamped his right foot, <em>\"Dong...\"</em> The mice were afraid, they covered their heads and fled in disarray, thinking it was an earthquake. \r\n\r\n\"Oh! Turns out I\'m quite fierce!\" Mr. Coward grabbed up an old broom, pouncing here, hitting there, stabbing here and beating there, beating the mice until they squeaked \"<em>zhi zhi</em>\", and they all ran away.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward', 'Mr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2006-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-09 20:39:45', '2020-05-10 00:39:45', '', 2006, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/09/2006-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2213, 1, '2020-05-01 21:30:24', '2020-05-02 01:30:24', 'h1.entry-title, h2.entry-title {text-align:left;}\nh2.entry-title {font-size: 4.2rem;}\n.section-inner.medium, .section-inner {max-width:100%;}\nh2.widget-title {font-size: 16px}\n.featured-media {display:none;}\n.entry-categories-inner {justify-content: left; }\n.archive-header-inner {text-align:left;}\n.post-meta-single-top .post-meta {justify-content: left;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {max-width: 100%;}\nul.primary-menu {font-size: 16px;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.post-inner {padding-top: 3rem;}\n.entry-content > *:not(.alignwide):not(.alignfull):not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.is-style-wide) {\n    max-width: 100%;\n	width: calc(100% - 8rem);}\n	\n	#mandarinspot-tip {padding: 15px!important; border-radius: 0 !important; border: none !important; background-color: #000 !important; color: #fff !important;}\n.sub-menu li a {font-size: 12px;}\n.hide-this-part-more, .inline-link-button {background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n	font-weight: bold;\n	text-decoration:none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;}\n.hide-this-part-more:hover, .inline-link-button {cursor:pointer;, background-color: #9f00fc;}\n.readingPassage {padding: 40px; background-color: #fffbcc;}\n.entry-content #chinesetext h4 {margin-top: 0;}\n.post-meta-wrapper.post-meta-single-bottom  {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.single-post .intro-text {display:none;}\n.site-description {display: none;}\nspan.highlightText {background-color: #d3fbcc;}\np.toggleButton {\n    background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n    font-weight: bold;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif;\n    margin-bottom: 10px;\n  }\np.toggleButton:hover {\n    cursor: pointer;\n  }\n.fontSizeAdjust {font-size: 50% !important;}', 'twentytwenty', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1649-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 21:30:24', '2020-05-02 01:30:24', '', 1649, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/1649-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2209, 1, '2020-05-01 21:28:33', '2020-05-02 01:28:33', 'h1.entry-title, h2.entry-title {text-align:left;}\nh2.entry-title {font-size: 4.2rem;}\n.section-inner.medium, .section-inner {max-width:100%;}\nh2.widget-title {font-size: 16px}\n.featured-media {display:none;}\n.entry-categories-inner {justify-content: left; }\n.archive-header-inner {text-align:left;}\n.post-meta-single-top .post-meta {justify-content: left;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {max-width: 100%;}\nul.primary-menu {font-size: 16px;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.post-inner {padding-top: 3rem;}\n.entry-content > *:not(.alignwide):not(.alignfull):not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.is-style-wide) {\n    max-width: 100%;\n	width: calc(100% - 8rem);}\n	\n	#mandarinspot-tip {padding: 15px!important; border-radius: 0 !important; border: none !important; background-color: #000 !important; color: #fff !important;}\n.sub-menu li a {font-size: 12px;}\n.hide-this-part-more, .inline-link-button {background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n	font-weight: bold;\n	text-decoration:none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;}\n.hide-this-part-more:hover, .inline-link-button {cursor:pointer;, background-color: #9f00fc;}\n.readingPassage {padding: 40px; background-color: #fffbcc;}\n.entry-content #chinesetext h4 {margin-top: 0;}\n.post-meta-wrapper.post-meta-single-bottom  {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.single-post .intro-text {display:none;}\n.site-description {display: none;}\nspan.highlightText {background-color: #d3fbcc;}\np.toggleButton {\n    background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n    font-weight: bold;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif;\n    margin-bottom: 10px;\n  }\np.toggleButton:hover {\n    cursor: pointer;\n  }\n.fontSizeAdjust {font-size: 50% !important;}\nruby(margin:0 0.2ex);', 'twentytwenty', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1649-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 21:28:33', '2020-05-02 01:28:33', '', 1649, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/1649-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2211, 1, '2020-05-01 21:29:19', '2020-05-02 01:29:19', 'h1.entry-title, h2.entry-title {text-align:left;}\nh2.entry-title {font-size: 4.2rem;}\n.section-inner.medium, .section-inner {max-width:100%;}\nh2.widget-title {font-size: 16px}\n.featured-media {display:none;}\n.entry-categories-inner {justify-content: left; }\n.archive-header-inner {text-align:left;}\n.post-meta-single-top .post-meta {justify-content: left;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {max-width: 100%;}\nul.primary-menu {font-size: 16px;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.post-inner {padding-top: 3rem;}\n.entry-content > *:not(.alignwide):not(.alignfull):not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.is-style-wide) {\n    max-width: 100%;\n	width: calc(100% - 8rem);}\n	\n	#mandarinspot-tip {padding: 15px!important; border-radius: 0 !important; border: none !important; background-color: #000 !important; color: #fff !important;}\n.sub-menu li a {font-size: 12px;}\n.hide-this-part-more, .inline-link-button {background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n	font-weight: bold;\n	text-decoration:none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;}\n.hide-this-part-more:hover, .inline-link-button {cursor:pointer;, background-color: #9f00fc;}\n.readingPassage {padding: 40px; background-color: #fffbcc;}\n.entry-content #chinesetext h4 {margin-top: 0;}\n.post-meta-wrapper.post-meta-single-bottom  {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.single-post .intro-text {display:none;}\n.site-description {display: none;}\nspan.highlightText {background-color: #d3fbcc;}\np.toggleButton {\n    background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n    font-weight: bold;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif;\n    margin-bottom: 10px;\n  }\np.toggleButton:hover {\n    cursor: pointer;\n  }\n.fontSizeAdjust {font-size: 50% !important;}\nruby{margin:0 0.2ex};', 'twentytwenty', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1649-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 21:29:19', '2020-05-02 01:29:19', '', 1649, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/1649-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2486, 1, '2020-06-01 22:45:25', '2020-06-02 02:45:25', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=\"https://amzn.to/3cq55ea\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n\r\n<strong>Super challenge time:</strong> this is the longest and most difficult read I\'ve ever posted. Long, because I wanted to put up the entire first chapter. Difficult, because... well, I explain below. Wang Shuo has been called \"China\'s Kerouac\", I might lean more towards \"China\'s Bukowski\", and as such, this piece is not appropriate for children. There is some swearing and (very) mild sexual content - you have been warned. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Shuo\">Wang Shuo (王朔)</a> is the bad boy of contemporary Chinese writers, a real controversial figure, and his work, which centers around the dark underbelly of Beijing in the 1970s and 80s, spawned its own genre of \"hooligan\" fiction. This isn\'t the organized, moneyed mob fiction of Hong Kong, this is the small-scale thievery that reflects urban life on the mainland right after the Cultural Revolution, when the country just started opening up to international trade and society was a mess. Wang Shuo\'s plots are so ugly, dark and brutal that he has been called a \"spiritual pollutant\" by the powers that be.  \r\n\r\nThis is the complete first chapter of his book <em>Hot and Cold, Measure for Measure</em>, or 《一半是火焰，一半是海水》. The book contains several short novellas, but the namesake work is only around 90 pages long in total. I\'m just about to finish reading it. The plot is horrendously depressing: the story of a thug who casually seduces a young high school girl with a bright future, breaks her down with his callousness until she becomes a prostitute and eventually kills herself, which sets off another chain of events. The extremely relatable realism with which Wang Shuo describes her destruction will have any woman who has ever been involved with a bad-news boyfriend cringing. \r\n\r\nThis chapter sets up the rest of the book in two main scenes: One, we meet the protagonist as he is in the middle of a scam he often runs. I\'m going to explain the nature of the scam here because it\'s confusing unless you spent time in China twenty years ago. Basically, the protagonist works with a gang that includes a friend of his (named 方方) and a few prostitutes (mainly one lady named 亚红). During this time in China, it was very common for prostitutes to work in and around hotels, they would push their cards under the door of hotel rooms, or cold-call the room to ask if services were required. Prostitution was illegal, but this still happened all the time. The protagonist and his friend wait until one of the prostitutes in the gang have landed a client. Then complicit hotel staff (named 卫宁) calls the gang, who burst into the room dressed like policemen and demand money as a \"fine\" from the hotel guest, and take the prostitute out as if they are arresting her. So this is where the book starts, with a phone call from a corrupt staff member at the hotel\'s front desk to the gangsters, telling them which rooms the prostitutes are in with their clients.\r\n\r\nIn the second half of the chapter, the protagonist goes about the next day of his life doing some errands, and eventually meets and has a conversation with this girl whose life he will later ruin. She is spunky but naive, daring and precocious in the way that young people can be when they think they can handle themselves, but haven\'t yet encountered real danger or darkness in their lives. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nLinguistically speaking, this is one of the hardest Chinese books I\'ve ever read, because it\'s full of underworld colloquialisms and swear words, and like a lot of great fiction, some of the things that happen aren\'t clearly spelled out, they\'re only suggested and you have to read between the lines. This chapter isn\'t too bad, but subsequent chapters are pretty heavy on that stuff. I\'m going to explain some of the slang used here that isn\'t in the dictionary. \r\n\r\nFirst, though, a couple of proper nouns: 白茹 is a brand of car, the old Chinese name for a Peugeot. Peugeot\'s official Chinese name is 标致, but the cars were being imported into China probably before the company released an official Chinese name for them, so since 白茹 kind of sounds like \"Peugeot\", this is probably just the Chinese-ified brand name given by locals. Happened with quite a few brands back then. 燕都 is the name of a hotel. \r\n\r\n<strong>野鸽</strong> [pinyin]ye3 ge1[/pinyin] - 鸽 means \"dove\", but here it is slang for \"prostitute\". 野, as you probably know from the word 野生, means \"wild\" or \"untamed\". 野鸽 refers to a prostitute that is not working for the gang. In the first paragraph, 野 is used by itself, this is what it\'s referring to.\r\n\r\n<strong>小子</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 zi[/pinyin] - This is a derogatory way to refer to someone. It translates to something like, \"little shit\". \r\n\r\n<strong>他妈</strong> [pinyin]ta1 ma1[/pinyin] - Usually 他妈的, the swear word \"fuck\" or \"fucking\", but not referring to the sexual act itself, just used for emphasis, as in \"What the fuck are you doing here?\"\r\n\r\n<strong>没劲</strong> [pinyin]mei2 jin4[/pinyin] - This usually means \"no energy\", but in this case, it means \"uninteresting\" or \"dull\". \r\n\r\n<strong>倒霉蛋</strong> [pinyin]dao3 mei2 dan4[/pinyin] - \"Unfortunate guy\", in this case probably better translated as \"sucker\", as it\'s referring to people who were scammed by this gang.\r\n\r\n<strong>三联单</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 zi[/pinyin] - An invoice that has three copies (one of those old white / pink / yellow carbon-copied invoices). In this chapter, the protagonist gets one from a medical clinic, and it is not made clear here what is being done with it, except that it\'s clearly being used in some kind of dishonest dealing.\r\n\r\n<strong>四胜三和五负</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 zi[/pinyin] - This phrase is being used in relation to a game of Go. It isn\'t in the dictionary - literally: \"To win four (games), tie three, and lose five\". Here just means \"to win a few and lose a few\". \r\n\r\n<strong>小毛头</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 mao2 tou[/pinyin] - \"Little boy\", used as an insult here.\r\n\r\n<strong>丫头</strong> [pinyin]ya1 tou[/pinyin] - \"Girl\", usually with overtones of naivety, in this case used insultingly / dismissively. \r\n\r\n<strong>凑人</strong> [pinyin]cou4 ren2[/pinyin] - A casual phrase meaning \"to get some people together\" for a party or activity.\r\n\r\n<strong>来劲</strong> [pinyin]lai2 jin4[/pinyin] - To be annoying, to pester or hassle someone. \r\n \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《一半是火焰，一半是海水》第一章</h4>\r\n	\r\n“喂，两对都进房了。房间号927、1208，还有一只<span class=\"highlightText\">野</span>的，进了1713.”\r\n\r\n“知道了。” \r\n\r\n我放下电话，马上穿上西服外套，提起书包，招呼正在看电视的<span class=\"highlightText\">方方</span>，三步并作两步跑下楼。我那辆花四千元买来的旧<span class=\"highlightText\">“白茹”</span>车停在街角便道上。我们坐进车里，把汽车迅速地开上马路，直驶远处灯火辉煌的<span class=\"highlightText\">“燕都”</span>大饭店。在饭店旁边的一条林荫道上，我招手停在一溜轿车的后边，下了车“乒乓”关好门，快步加入一群刚从一辆大旅行车下来的日本游客中间，走进“燕都”饭店富丽堂皇的大厅。彬彬有礼地站在总服务台里的<span class=\"highlightText\">卫宁</span>不易察觉地给我们使个眼声：一切正常。我和方方走进盥洗室，打开皮包，拿出两套警服换上，走出盥洗室，沿安全楼梯爬上去。爬到第九层，我们都是气喘吁吁，待呼吸均匀了，我们走向服务台，坐着的服务员抬头诧异地看我们。\r\n\r\n“我们是公安局的，请开927房间。”\r\n\r\n服务员顺从地拎起一串钥匙领着我们走向长廊尽头的一间客房。“里边有客人。”服务员看到门上挂的“请勿打扰”的小牌，回头对我说。\r\n\r\n“知道，打开锁。”我命令道。\r\n\r\n服务员钮开锁，站在一旁。\r\n\r\n“你回去吧。”方方粗鲁地挥手避开服务员。\r\n\r\n服务员消逝在走廊的另一端，我和方方立即开门冲了进去……我和方方带着<span class=\"highlightText\">亚红</span>出来，皮包里塞着几千崭新的钞票，神情严肃地走服务台进了电梯间，方方和亚红忍不住笑起来。\r\n\r\n“你们笑什么，真<span class=\"textHighlight\">他妈没劲</span>。”我说着也忍不住笑了，对亚红说：“你在楼下酒吧等会儿，我们还得上去收拾12层那小子。”我们把电梯开到底层，让亚红出去，又开上12层。\r\n\r\n十五分钟后，我们换下警服带着另一个姑娘在酒吧找到亚红，一起喝了杯酒，亚红挽着方方先出去。我给总服务台的卫宁打了电话，告诉他事已办完，十七层那只<span class=\"highlightText\">野鸽</span>让她舒舒服服睡一宿，早晨报警。我挽着另一个姑娘坦然走出饭店。方方已经把“白茹”发动了，我们一上车就开走了。\r\n\r\n早晨，我被电话铃吵醒，睡在我旁边的亚红接了电话，告诉我，卫宁说那两个受到我们讹诈的<span class=\"highlightText\">倒霉蛋</span>已经结了房钱走了，那只野鸽也被在大门等着的警察塞上车抓走了。亚红翻身又睡了。我却睡不着，一支接一支地抽起烟。阳光从厚重的窗帘后倾泄出来，我轻轻走到窗前，从窗帘缝隙看了会儿外面车水马龙，阳光明媚的街道，把窗帘拉严。我不喜欢晴朗的早晨，看到成千上万的人兴冲冲地去上班、上学，我就感到形孤影单。白天我没有什么事可干，也没什么人等我，我的朋友们都在睡觉。我又抽了五支烟，看了看日历，然后穿衣服，洗脸刷牙，走出我住的这套公寓。我走过街角停放的“自茹”车，径直走向公共汽车站。尽管上班高峰已过，车内还是十分拥挤。一个坐着的中年男人下车，我刚要坐下，看到一个抱小孩的年轻妇女，便呼招她过来。\r\n\r\n\"谢谢。\" 年轻妇女坐下后，又逗弄着小孩说：\"谢谢叔叔。\"\r\n\r\n\"谢谢叔叔。\"\r\n\r\n我冲小孩笑笑，小孩从衣兜里掏出一块彩纸包装的巧克力，剥开纸刚要往嘴里填，看我瞅着他，举起巧克力给我。\r\n\r\n\"不要，叔叔不吃。\"\r\n\r\n\"吃吧，没事。\"\r\n\r\n\"真的不吃，叔叔要下车了。\"\r\n\r\n我挤下车，沿街走了一站，到单位医务室要了张\"<span class=\"highlightText\">三联单</span>\"，打电话约了一肝不太好的朋友去医院替我抽了一管血。又在商业区的两个储蓄所把我昨晚挣的那笔钱分别用我去世父母的名字存了进去，然后去邮局给一个交钱即可注册入学，不须考试的函授大学汇了报名款和一年的学费。我报的专业是法律。办完这些事，我到一家人不太多的豪华餐厅吃午饭。这家餐厅菜做的十分讲究，我看着漂亮的图案喝了不少红酒，又吃了几个浇了巧克力汁的冰淇淋，下午才走出餐厅，在报亭买当天所有的日报和晚报，坐在电报局等长途电话的排椅上细细测览。黄昏时我给家里打了个电话，方方接的。我们聊了会儿，他正在和卫宁下围棋，卫宁一早前来了，他们下了一天棋，他<span class=\"highlightText\">四胜三和五负</span>，晚上准备<span class=\"highlightText\">凑人</span>撞麻将。我告诉他我晚点回去，就挂了电话。\r\n\r\n暮春时节，树木草地都绿遍了，花丛怒放。我走进一个举办晚间音乐会的公园，在音乐亭前等退票。一个老人送了我一张，我又转送给一对只有一张票的青年伴侣，坚决不要他们加倍的票款。在高大、油漆剥落的廊柱间，我看到一美丽少女坐以汉白玉石台上看书，悬在空中的两条长腿互相勾着脚，一翘一翘。她一手棒书，一手从放在身旁的一个袋袋中抓瓜子磕，吐出的皮儿拢成一堆，嘴里哼着歌，间或翻一页书，悠闲自在，楚楚动人。我悄悄走到她身后，踮脚看那本使她入迷的书。是一本很深奥的文艺理论著作，我一目十行地看了一会儿，索然无味，正要转身走开，忽听女孩说：\r\n\r\n“看不懂吧。”她仰起脸，笑吟吟地望着我。\r\n\r\n我脸红了，感到不知所措，因为我还会脸红。片刻，我镇静下来，说：\"就是学生，这会儿在公司看书也有点装模作样。”“我在这儿坐了一下午了，你瞧，我看了多少。\"\r\n\r\n她快速地把看过一页数捻了一遍，我捏捏那厚厚的一迭，联想到书的内容，怀疑地问：\"你看这么快？\"\r\n\r\n\"我也看不懂呗，就看得快。\"\r\n\r\n我们都笑了。\"不看了。\" 女孩把书撂到一旁。“你有事吗”她问我。\r\n\r\n\"没有。\" 我说：\"没人约我。\"\r\n\r\n\"聊聊？\"\r\n\r\n\"聊聊。\"\r\n\r\n我在她旁边坐，她把瓜子袋推给我。我不大会磕瓜子，磕得皮瓤唾液一塌糊涂。\r\n\r\n\"瞧我。\" 女孩示范性地磕了一个瓜子，洁白的贝齿一闪，我下意识地闭紧自己被烟熏得黑黄的牙齿。女孩倒没注意，晃悠着腿四处张望。“你是哪个学校的”我注意到她里面毛衣上别着一枚校徽。女孩龇齿咬着瓜子看着我笑起来。\r\n\r\n\"这就叫\'套瓷\'吧。\" 女孩说：\"下边你该说自己是哪个学校的，我们两校挨得如何近，没准天天能碰见……\"\r\n\r\n\"你看我象学生吗？” 我说：\"我是劳改释放犯，现在还靠敲诈勒索为生。\"\r\n\r\n\"我才不管你是什么呢。\" 女孩笑着瞅着自己的脚尖，似乎那儿有什么好玩可笑的，\"你是什么我都无所谓。\"\r\n\r\n我半天没说话，女孩也没说话，只是美滋滋地看着天边夕阳消逝后迅即黯淡下来，却又不失瑰丽的云彩：“那块云象马克思、那块象海盗，象吗，你说象吗”\r\n\r\n\"你多大了？\" 女孩转过头看我，仔仔细细打量了我一遍：\"你，过去没怎么跟女孩接触过吧。\"\r\n\r\n\"没有。\" 我面不改声色心不跳地骗她。\r\n\r\n\"我早看出来了，小男孩！刚才我看书时就看见你远远地，想过来搭讪又胆怯，怕我臊你一顿是不是？\"\r\n\r\n\"我和一百多个女的睡过觉。\"\r\n\r\n女孩放声笑起来，笑得那么肆无忌惮，那么开心。\r\n\r\n\"你笑起来，\" 我说：\"跟个傻丫头似的。\"\r\n\r\n女孩一下不笑了，悻悻地白了我一眼：\"我不说你，你也别说我了。实话告诉你，我已经谈了一年多恋爱了。”女孩又笑了，有几分得意。\r\n\r\n\"是你的傻冒同学吧？\"\r\n\r\n\"他才不傻呢，是学生会干部。\"\r\n\r\n\"那还不傻傻得已经没法练了。\"\r\n\r\n\"哼，你这种只被爸爸妈妈吻过的<span class=\"highlightText\">小毛头</span>也<span class=\"highlightText\">配</span>说他。\"\r\n\r\n\"我要是他，就敢跟你睡觉。\" 我微笑地说：\"他敢吗？\"\r\n\r\n尽管天色已经很暗了，我也察觉得出女孩的脸排红了：\"他很尊重我。\"\r\n\r\n我哧笑：\"嘁，尊重，别说了，咱甭说了。你也别装傻了。\"\r\n\r\n女孩闷了半天没吭声。我吹起口哨，叼起一支烟，把烟盒递给她，她摇摇头。\r\n\r\n\"又完了不是？\" 我取笑她，\"敢在光天化日之下看书，不会抽烟，时髦半截。\"\r\n\r\n\"你别来劲。\" 女孩不服地说，\"给我一支！\"\r\n\r\n我把嘴上的烟给她，她抽了一口，\"呼\"地全吹了出去。我伸胳膊搭在她肩上，她哆嗦了一下，并没拒绝。我把她搂过来，她近在咫尺地看看我，拔拉掉我的胳膊，强笑着说：\r\n\r\n\"我有点儿信你和一百多个女人睡过觉了。\"\r\n\r\n\"干吗有点信，就应该信。知道我外号叫什么吗？老枪！\" 我听到完完全全收拾书的声音，恶意地笑着说：“我叫你害怕了。”\r\n\r\n\"才没有呢。\" 女孩站起来：“我只是该走了。”\r\n\r\n\"敢告诉我你叫什么，住哪儿吗？\"\r\n\r\n女孩跳下石台，亮晶晶的眼睛在黑暗中闪烁，笑着说：\"啊哈！我还以为你能始终不同凡响，闹了半天，也落了俗套。\"\r\n\r\n\"好，我俗。你走吧。哎，\" 我叫住她：\"咱们要是再见了，就得算朋友了吧？\"\r\n\r\n\"算朋友。\" 女孩笑着走了。\r\n\r\n我笑眯眯地在石台上坐了一会儿，也跳下石台走了。\r\n\r\n <a href=\"https://amzn.to/3cq55ea\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buy the book on Amazon</a>.\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n\"Hey, both pairs just went into their rooms, the room numbers are 927, 1208, and there\'s one other [that isn\'t part of our gang], went into 1713.\" \r\n\r\n\"Got it.\" \r\n\r\nI put down the phone, immediately put on my suit jacket, picked up my book bag, and called to Fangfang who was watching TV, and we ran down the stairs two at a time. The “Peugeot” car I paid 4000 RMB for was parked on the corner of the street. We got in the car, and drove quickly onto the road, and drove directly towards the brilliant lights of the Yandu Hotel. On a shady street next to the hotel, I waved to stop behind a row of cars, our doors closed with a <em>ping pang</em>, and we quickly stepped in to intermingle with a group of Japanese tourists that had just gotten off a tour bus, walking [among them] into the Yandu Hotel\'s resplendent lobby. Courteously standing behind the main service counter, Weining surreptitiously shot us a look: everything was normal. Fangfang and I walked into the washroom, opened the leather bag, took out two police uniforms and changed into them, walked out of the washroom, and took the emergency exit stairs up. We climbed to the 9th floor, both of us huffing and puffing, and waiting until our breath came easier, then we walked towards the [floor\'s] service counter. The service personnel sitting there raised his head and looked at us astonished. \r\n\r\n\"We\'re the police, please open room 927.\" \r\n\r\nThe staff compliantly lifted out a chain of keys and lead us to a room at the end of the long hall. \r\n\r\n\"There\'s a guest inside.\" The staff saw the \"do not disturb\" sign hung on the door, and said looking back at us. \r\n\r\n\"We know, open the lock.\" I ordered. \r\n\r\nThe service staff twisted open the lock, and stood to one side.\r\n\r\n\"Get back,\" Fangfang roughly waved away the staffer. \r\n\r\nThe staff disappeared down another hallway, and Fangfang and I immediately opened the door and charged inside.... Fangfang and I walked out with Yahong, our leather bag stuffed full of a few thousand fresh bank notes, and with serious expressions entered the elevator next to the service desk, then Fangfang and Yahong could [no longer] suppress their laughter. \r\n\r\n\"What are you two laughing at, what the fuck is so funny [lit: it\'s really fucking uninteresting].\" But as I spoke I couldn\'t help laughing myself, and I said to Yahong, \"Wait in the bar downstairs for a bit, we\'ve still got to go grab up those little shits on the 12th floor.\" We took the elevator to the lower floor, let Yahong out, then went back up to 12.  　\r\n\r\nFifteen minutes later, we changed out of our police clothes and took the second girl to the bar to find Yahong, had some drinks together, and Yahong left on Fangfang\'s arm. I gave Weining at the main service desk a call, told him it was done, and to let the hooker on the 17th floor sleep soundly for the night, then call the [real] cops [on her] in the morning. With the other girl on my arm I walked casually out of the hotel. Fangfang had already started up the Peugeot, and he drove off as soon as we got in.\r\n\r\nIn the morning, I was woken up by a phone call, and Yahong who had been sleeping by my side answered it. She told me: Weining said that the two sorry suckers that we\'d scammed had already paid for the rooms and left, the other prostitute had been taken away by the cops that were waiting at the main entrance. Yahong rolled over and went back to sleep. I couldn\'t fall asleep again, [so I just] smoked one cigarette after another. Sunlight was spilling at an angle through the thick curtains, and I walked quietly to the window, looking out through the crack in the curtains onto the flow of people and traffic outside, the sun shining brightly on the street, and pulled the curtains firmly shut. I don\'t like the early morning, seeing people in their hundreds and thousands rush to work, to school, makes me feel like an isolated shadow. I don\'t have anything to do during the day, and no one\'s waiting for me, my friends are all asleep. I smoked another five cigarettes, looked at the calendar, then put on my clothes, washed my face and brushed my teeth, and walked out of the apartment where I was staying. I walked past the Peugot parked at the corner, and walked straight to the bust stop. Even though rush hour was already over, the bus was still pretty packed. One guy who was sitting down got off the bus, and I was just about to sit [in his place], when I saw a young woman carrying a small child, and called her to sit.\r\n\r\n\"Thank you.\" After the young woman sat down, she cutely said to the kid: \"Thank the uncle.\"　\r\n\r\n\"Thank you uncle.\"\r\n\r\nI smiled at the kid, and he fished a piece of chocolate wrapped in colored paper out of his pocket, ripped open the packet and was about to stuff it into his mouth, saw me watching him, and held up the chocolate to me.\r\n\r\n\"No thanks, uncle doesn\'t want it.\" \r\n\r\n\"Have it, it\'s nothing.\" \r\n\r\n\"No, really, uncle\'s got to get off.\" \r\n\r\nI pushed my way off the bus, walked along the road as far as the next stop, arrive an infirmary and asked for asked for a triplicate invoice, then called an acquaintance to go to the hospital and get some blood drawn in my place. At two [separate] savings banks in the business district I deposited the money I\'d gotten last night under my dead parents\' names, then I went to the post office and sent a tuition payment to a correspondence university where you didn\'t have to take a test to register, just pay. I registered to major in law. Once I\'d finished these things, I went to eat lunch at a fine dining restaurant where there weren\'t too many patrons. The food at this restaurant was exquisite. I drank no small measure of wine while looking at the lovely picture [menu], ate a few ice creams drizzled with chocolate sauce, left the restaurant in the afternoon, bought the morning and evening papers at the news stand, and sat on the long-distance call waiting bench in the telegraph office and browsed them thoroughly. I called the house around dusk, Fangfang picked up. We talked for a while, he\'d just been playing Go with Weining. Weining had come over earlier, they\'d been playing Go all day, he won a few, tied a few and lost a few，and tonight they were planning to get some people together for a Majiang game. I told him I\'d be back that night, and hung up the phone.\r\n\r\nIt was late spring, the trees and grasses had turned green, the flowers bloomed in profusion. I went into a park where they\'d organized an evening music event, and waited in line to return my ticket. An old man had given me one ticket, I ended up re-gifting it to a young couple who only had one, refused their offer to make up the difference. Between the huge, green-painted pillars, I saw a beautiful young woman sitting on the marble platform reading a book, her two long legs hanging in the air hooked at the ankles, swinging up [and down]. She was holding a book in one hand, and was picking sunflower seeds out of the bag at her side with the other, the shells she\'d spit out had amassed into a pile, she was humming a song, turning a page now and then, leisurely and unrestrained, delicate and lovely. I quietly walked up behind her, and stood on tiptoe to look at the book that had fascinated her so. It was a profound works of literary theory, I skimmed it for bit, [found it] dull and insipid, and I was just about to turn around and leave, when I suddenly heard the girl say:\r\n\r\n\"You don\'t understand it, huh?\" she turned up her face, looking at me with a smile. \r\n\r\nMy face turned red, and I felt at a loss that I [was still capable of] getting embarrassed. After a moment, I settled down, and said: \"You\'re just a student, sitting here in the park reading is a bit of affectation.\" \r\n\r\n\"I\'ve been sitting here all afternoon, look here you, see how much I\'ve read.\"\r\n\r\nShe quickly flipped through all the pages she\'d read, and I pinched that thick stack, and thinking back on the contents, asked doubtfully, \"You read that quickly?\" \r\n\r\n\"I don\'t understand it either, but I read it quickly.\" \r\n\r\nWe both smiled. \"I\'m done reading.\" The girl put the book to one side. \"You have somewhere to be?\" she asked me. \r\n\r\n\"No,\" I said. \"No appointments.\" \r\n\r\n\"[Shall we] chat [for a bit]?\"\r\n\r\n\"Let\'s chat.\" \r\n\r\nI sat down next to her, and she pushed the bag of sunflower seeds over to me. I didn\'t really know how to crack the sunflower seeds [with my teeth], and [when I tried] spittle went everywhere.\r\n\r\n\"Watch me.\" The girl demonstrated with a single sunflower seed, her pure white teeth flashing, and I subconsciously closed my mouth over my own tobacco smoke-yellowed teeth. But she didn\'t notice, swinging her legs in all directions. \"What school are you from?\" I noticed there was a school emblem on her inside sweater. Biting down on a sunflower seed, the girl looked at me and smiled. \r\n\r\n\"That\'s called \'cottoning up\',\" she said. \"Next you\'ll probably say whatever school you\'re from, and that our schools are so close to each other, maybe we can run into each other every day...\" \r\n\r\n\"You think I look like a student?\" I said. \"I\'m a criminal freed from the work camps, I extort people for a living.\"\r\n\r\n\"I don\'t care what you are,\" the girl said, smiling and looking at her toes, as if there was something amusing there. \"Whatever you are is nothing to me.\" \r\n\r\nI didn\'t speak for a while, and the girl didn\'t speak either, just looked on, pleased, as the evening light disappeared on the horizon and the sky quickly dimmed, but didn\'t lose its magnificent clouds: \"That cloud looks like Marx, that one looks like a pirate, doesn\'t it, don\'t you think so?\" \r\n\r\n\"How old are you?\" the girl turned her head to look at me, carefully looking me over. \"You, doesn\'t look like you\'ve been with that many women.\" \r\n\r\n\"I haven\'t,\" I said, lying to her without a change in expression or a thump of the heart. \r\n\r\n\"I could tell right away, little boy! As I was reading my book just now, I saw you standing far away, wanting to talk to me but also timid, afraid I\'d curse you, huh?\"　\r\n\r\n\"[Actually,] I\'ve slept with over 100 women.\"\r\n\r\nThe girl let loose a laugh, unbridled and amused. \r\n\r\n\"You laugh,\" I said, \"like a dumb chick.\"　　\r\n\r\nShe suddenly stopped laughing, angrily throwing me a scornful glance, \"I didn\'t criticize you, don\'t criticize me. Truthfully speaking, I\'ve already been with someone for a year.\" The girl smiled again, quite satisfied with herself. \r\n\r\n\"Is it one of your idiot classmates?\" 　\r\n\r\n\"He\'s not an idiot, he\'s a cadre in the student union.\"　　\r\n\r\n\"Then he\'s stupid beyond measure.\"　\r\n\r\n\"Huh, a little baby like you who\'s only been kissed by his parents doesn\'t deserve to speak of him.\"　\r\n\r\n\"If I was him, I\'d already have had the courage to sleep with you,\" I said, smiling lightly. \"Has he dared?\"　　\r\n\r\nAlthough the sky was already gloomy, I perceived the girl\'s face reddening, \"He respects me.\" \r\n\r\nI tittered, \"Oh, respect, don\'t even, no need for us to talk about that. And no need for you to play dumb.\"  \r\n\r\nThe girl sat there vexed for a while saying nothing. I started whistling, started sucking on a cigarette, passed her the cigarette pack, she shook her head. \r\n\r\n\"Busted again, aren\'t you?\" I teased her, \"willing to read a book in broad daylight, but can\'t smoke cigarettes, [guess you\'re] only half-fashionable.\"\r\n\r\n\"Don\'t be obnoxious.\" Still, unwilling to be conquered, she said, \"Give me one!\"\r\n\r\nI passed her the cigarette that was in my mouth, she took a puff, and <em>heng</em>, blew it all out. I stretched an arm around her shoulder, she trembled a second, but didn\'t refuse. I pulled her near to me, she looked at me from close up, pushed my arm off, and with a forced smile said: \r\n\r\n\"I might believe a little that you\'ve slept with over 100 women.\" \r\n\r\n\"What are you doing only \'believing a little\', you ought to just believe. You want to know what they call me? The Old Pistol.\"　I heard her grabbing up all of her books, and said with a nasty smile, \"I think you\'re scared.\" \r\n\r\n\"Well, I\'m not.\" The girl stood up: \"I should probably go.\"\r\n\r\n\"Do you dare tell me your name, or where you live?\"　\r\n\r\nThe girl jumped off the platform, her bright, crystal eyes flashed in the darkness, and she said smiling, \"Ah ha! I thought maybe you weren\'t like everyone else, [talking shit] half the day, but then sinking into mediocrity.\"　　\r\n\r\n\"Fine, I\'m mediocre. Go. Hey,\" I called her to stop, \"If we meet again, let\'s consider ourselves friends.\"\r\n\r\n\"Sure, friends,\" she said, and smiling, left.　\r\n\r\nI sat for a while on the platform smiling genially, then I too jumped down and left. 　\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese gangster novel 《一半是火焰，一半是海水》by Wang Shuo', 'In my most challenging post yet, you\'ll read the first chapter of controversial literary bad boy Wang Shuo\'s dark plunge into the criminal underbelly of Beijing. HSK 6+, not suitable for children.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2453-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-06-01 22:45:25', '2020-06-02 02:45:25', '', 2453, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/06/01/2453-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2215, 1, '2020-05-01 21:36:15', '2020-05-02 01:36:15', 'h1.entry-title, h2.entry-title {text-align:left;}\nh2.entry-title {font-size: 4.2rem;}\n.section-inner.medium, .section-inner {max-width:100%;}\nh2.widget-title {font-size: 16px}\n.featured-media {display:none;}\n.entry-categories-inner {justify-content: left; }\n.archive-header-inner {text-align:left;}\n.post-meta-single-top .post-meta {justify-content: left;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {max-width: 100%;}\nul.primary-menu {font-size: 16px;}\n.post-meta-wrapper {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.post-inner {padding-top: 3rem;}\n.entry-content > *:not(.alignwide):not(.alignfull):not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.is-style-wide) {\n    max-width: 100%;\n	width: calc(100% - 8rem);}\n	\n	#mandarinspot-tip {padding: 15px!important; border-radius: 0 !important; border: none !important; background-color: #000 !important; color: #fff !important;}\n.sub-menu li a {font-size: 12px;}\n.hide-this-part-more, .inline-link-button {background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n	font-weight: bold;\n	text-decoration:none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px;}\n.hide-this-part-more:hover, .inline-link-button {cursor:pointer;, background-color: #9f00fc;}\n.readingPassage {padding: 40px; background-color: #fffbcc;}\n.entry-content #chinesetext h4 {margin-top: 0;}\n.post-meta-wrapper.post-meta-single-bottom  {margin-top: 1rem;}\n.single-post .intro-text {display:none;}\n.site-description {display: none;}\nspan.highlightText {background-color: #d3fbcc;}\np.toggleButton {\n    background-color: #b31ffd;\n    display: inline-block;\n    padding: 12px;\n    color: #fff;\n    font-weight: bold;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-family: sans-serif;\n    margin-bottom: 10px;\n  }\np.toggleButton:hover {\n    cursor: pointer;\n  }\n.fontSizeAdjust {font-size: 50% !important;}\n.chinesetextFooterCredit {\nmargin-bottom: 0;\n    padding: 20px;\n    background-color: #ffeaee;\n    font-size: 0.8em;\n}', 'twentytwenty', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1649-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 21:36:15', '2020-05-02 01:36:15', '', 1649, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/01/1649-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2216, 1, '2020-05-06 00:00:34', '2020-05-06 04:00:34', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. \r\n\r\nI\'m probably going to say this a billion more times on this blog, but seriously: this poem is <em>1400 years old</em>. Think about that. English, as we know it, did not exist at the time. You\'re about to read something that was written a couple of hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. The more things change, the more geese stay the same.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis poem is only four lines long, and also contains some simple, modern characters. That said, the language is one degree harder than Li Bai\'s <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, China\'s most famous poem, which I translated <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/21/chinas-most-famous-poem-by-li-bai/\">here</a>. <em>Quiet Night Thought</em> is a great introduction to how Tang poetry works, a careful selection of characters that paint a picture, so if you haven\'t read that one, try it first before you do this one. \r\n\r\nThere are a couple of harder characters in here you should not expect to know, so reading this is an exercise in going slow, learning new characters and after each line, trying to imagine the scene the author is painting with the characters he chose. As with <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, this poem has almost no grammar, it\'s just nouns and verbs, so don\'t try to make English sentences out of the characters, just let the meaning of the characters wash over you and picture the meaning of each one.\r\n\r\nOne thing to draw your attention to (and I don\'t think I\'m spoiling much here): the opening line is simply, 鹅鹅鹅 [pinyin]e2 e2 e2[/pinyin], which means \"geese, geese, geese\". But you\'ll also notice that the sound of the word \"geese\" ([pinyin]e2[/pinyin]) also sounds like geese honking. So, this does double-duty as a noun and an onomatopoeia. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《咏鹅》</h4>\r\n鹅鹅鹅，\r\n曲项向天歌。\r\n白毛浮绿水，\r\n红掌拨清波。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Ode to Geese</h4>\r\nGeese, geese, geese,\r\nCrooked necks towards heaven they sing,\r\nWhite feathers float on green water,\r\nRed feet push up clear waves.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Famous poetry: 《咏鹅》Ode to Geese by Luo Binwang', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'famous-chinese-poetry-ode-to-geese-luo-binwang', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:00:05', '2020-05-02 13:00:05', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2216', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(2217, 1, '2020-05-02 08:54:08', '2020-05-02 12:54:08', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. \r\n\r\nI\'m probably going to say this a billion more times on this blog, but seriously: this poem is <em>1400 years old</em>. Think about that. English, as we know it, did not exist at the time. You\'re about to read something that a poet wrote a couple of hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. Chinese lets you direct-dial antiquity.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis poem is only four lines long, and also contains some simple, modern characters. That said, the language is one degree harder than Li Bai\'s <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, China\'s most famous poem, which I translated <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/21/chinas-most-famous-poem-by-li-bai/\">here</a>. <em>Quiet Night Thought</em> is a great introduction to how Tang poetry works, a careful selection of characters that paint a picture, so if you haven\'t read that one, try it first before you do this one. \r\n\r\nThere are a couple of harder characters in here you should not expect to know, so reading this is an exercise in going slow, learning new characters and after each line, trying to imagine the scene the author is painting with the characters he chose. As with <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, this poem has almost no grammar, it\'s just nouns and verbs, so don\'t try to make English sentences out of the characters, just let the meaning of the characters wash over you and picture the meaning of each one.\r\n\r\nAlso, in this poem, there are no two-character words. All the characters can stand alone. \r\n\r\nOne thing to draw your attention to (and I don\'t think I\'m spoiling much here): the opening line is simply, 鹅鹅鹅 [pinyin]e2 e2 e2[/pinyin], which means \"geese, geese, geese\". But you\'ll also notice that the sound of the word \"geese\" ([pinyin]e2[/pinyin]) also sounds like geese honking. So, this does double-duty as a noun and an onomatopoeia. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《咏鹅》</h4>\r\n鹅鹅鹅，\r\n曲项向天歌。\r\n白毛浮绿水，\r\n红掌拨清波。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Ode to Geese</h4>\r\nGeese, geese, geese,\r\nTwisted necks towards heaven they sing,\r\nWhite feathers float on green water,\r\nRed feet kick up clear waves.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Famous poetry: 《咏鹅》Ode to Geese by Luo Binwang', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2216-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 08:54:08', '2020-05-02 12:54:08', '', 2216, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2216-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2218, 1, '2020-05-02 08:56:31', '2020-05-02 12:56:31', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. \r\n\r\nI\'m probably going to say this a billion more times on this blog, but seriously: this poem is <em>1400 years old</em>. Think about that. English, as we know it, did not exist at the time. You\'re about to read something that a poet wrote a couple of hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. Chinese lets you direct-dial antiquity.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis poem is only four lines long, and also contains some simple, modern characters. That said, the language is one degree harder than Li Bai\'s <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, China\'s most famous poem, which I translated <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/21/chinas-most-famous-poem-by-li-bai/\">here</a>. <em>Quiet Night Thought</em> is a great introduction to how Tang poetry works, a careful selection of characters that paint a picture, so if you haven\'t read that one, try it first before you do this one. \r\n\r\nThere are a couple of harder characters in here you should not expect to know, so reading this is an exercise in going slow, learning new characters and after each line, trying to imagine the scene the author is painting with the characters he chose. As with <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, this poem has almost no grammar, it\'s just nouns and verbs, so don\'t try to make English sentences out of the characters, just let the meaning of the characters wash over you and picture the meaning of each one.\r\n\r\nAlso, in this poem, there are no two-character words. All the characters can stand alone. \r\n\r\nOne thing to draw your attention to (and I don\'t think I\'m spoiling much here): the opening line is simply, 鹅鹅鹅 [pinyin]e2 e2 e2[/pinyin], which means \"geese, geese, geese\". But you\'ll also notice that the sound of the word \"geese\" ([pinyin]e2[/pinyin]) also sounds like geese honking. So, this does double-duty as a noun and an onomatopoeia. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《咏鹅》</h4>\r\n鹅鹅鹅，\r\n曲项向天歌。\r\n白毛浮绿水，\r\n红掌拨清波。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Ode to Geese</h4>\r\nGeese, geese, geese,\r\nCrooked necks towards heaven they sing,\r\nWhite feathers float on green water,\r\nRed feet kick up clear waves.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Famous poetry: 《咏鹅》Ode to Geese by Luo Binwang', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2216-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 08:56:31', '2020-05-02 12:56:31', '', 2216, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2216-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2221, 1, '2020-05-02 09:00:05', '2020-05-02 13:00:05', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. \r\n\r\nI\'m probably going to say this a billion more times on this blog, but seriously: this poem is <em>1400 years old</em>. Think about that. English, as we know it, did not exist at the time. You\'re about to read something that was written a couple of hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. The more things change, the more geese stay the same.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis poem is only four lines long, and also contains some simple, modern characters. That said, the language is one degree harder than Li Bai\'s <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, China\'s most famous poem, which I translated <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/21/chinas-most-famous-poem-by-li-bai/\">here</a>. <em>Quiet Night Thought</em> is a great introduction to how Tang poetry works, a careful selection of characters that paint a picture, so if you haven\'t read that one, try it first before you do this one. \r\n\r\nThere are a couple of harder characters in here you should not expect to know, so reading this is an exercise in going slow, learning new characters and after each line, trying to imagine the scene the author is painting with the characters he chose. As with <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, this poem has almost no grammar, it\'s just nouns and verbs, so don\'t try to make English sentences out of the characters, just let the meaning of the characters wash over you and picture the meaning of each one.\r\n\r\nOne thing to draw your attention to (and I don\'t think I\'m spoiling much here): the opening line is simply, 鹅鹅鹅 [pinyin]e2 e2 e2[/pinyin], which means \"geese, geese, geese\". But you\'ll also notice that the sound of the word \"geese\" ([pinyin]e2[/pinyin]) also sounds like geese honking. So, this does double-duty as a noun and an onomatopoeia. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《咏鹅》</h4>\r\n鹅鹅鹅，\r\n曲项向天歌。\r\n白毛浮绿水，\r\n红掌拨清波。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Ode to Geese</h4>\r\nGeese, geese, geese,\r\nCrooked necks towards heaven they sing,\r\nWhite feathers float on green water,\r\nRed feet push up clear waves.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Famous poetry: 《咏鹅》Ode to Geese by Luo Binwang', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2216-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:00:05', '2020-05-02 13:00:05', '', 2216, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2216-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2219, 1, '2020-05-02 08:57:20', '2020-05-02 12:57:20', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. \r\n\r\nI\'m probably going to say this a billion more times on this blog, but seriously: this poem is <em>1400 years old</em>. Think about that. English, as we know it, did not exist at the time. You\'re about to read something that was written a couple of hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. The more things change, the more geese stay the same.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis poem is only four lines long, and also contains some simple, modern characters. That said, the language is one degree harder than Li Bai\'s <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, China\'s most famous poem, which I translated <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/21/chinas-most-famous-poem-by-li-bai/\">here</a>. <em>Quiet Night Thought</em> is a great introduction to how Tang poetry works, a careful selection of characters that paint a picture, so if you haven\'t read that one, try it first before you do this one. \r\n\r\nThere are a couple of harder characters in here you should not expect to know, so reading this is an exercise in going slow, learning new characters and after each line, trying to imagine the scene the author is painting with the characters he chose. As with <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, this poem has almost no grammar, it\'s just nouns and verbs, so don\'t try to make English sentences out of the characters, just let the meaning of the characters wash over you and picture the meaning of each one.\r\n\r\nAlso, in this poem, there are no two-character words. All the characters can stand alone. \r\n\r\nOne thing to draw your attention to (and I don\'t think I\'m spoiling much here): the opening line is simply, 鹅鹅鹅 [pinyin]e2 e2 e2[/pinyin], which means \"geese, geese, geese\". But you\'ll also notice that the sound of the word \"geese\" ([pinyin]e2[/pinyin]) also sounds like geese honking. So, this does double-duty as a noun and an onomatopoeia. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《咏鹅》</h4>\r\n鹅鹅鹅，\r\n曲项向天歌。\r\n白毛浮绿水，\r\n红掌拨清波。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Ode to Geese</h4>\r\nGeese, geese, geese,\r\nCrooked necks towards heaven they sing,\r\nWhite feathers float on green water,\r\nRed feet kick up clear waves.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Famous poetry: 《咏鹅》Ode to Geese by Luo Binwang', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2216-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 08:57:20', '2020-05-02 12:57:20', '', 2216, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2216-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2220, 1, '2020-05-02 08:58:29', '2020-05-02 12:58:29', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. \r\n\r\nI\'m probably going to say this a billion more times on this blog, but seriously: this poem is <em>1400 years old</em>. Think about that. English, as we know it, did not exist at the time. You\'re about to read something that was written a couple of hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. The more things change, the more geese stay the same.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis poem is only four lines long, and also contains some simple, modern characters. That said, the language is one degree harder than Li Bai\'s <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, China\'s most famous poem, which I translated <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/21/chinas-most-famous-poem-by-li-bai/\">here</a>. <em>Quiet Night Thought</em> is a great introduction to how Tang poetry works, a careful selection of characters that paint a picture, so if you haven\'t read that one, try it first before you do this one. \r\n\r\nThere are a couple of harder characters in here you should not expect to know, so reading this is an exercise in going slow, learning new characters and after each line, trying to imagine the scene the author is painting with the characters he chose. As with <em>Quiet Night Thought</em>, this poem has almost no grammar, it\'s just nouns and verbs, so don\'t try to make English sentences out of the characters, just let the meaning of the characters wash over you and picture the meaning of each one.\r\n\r\nAlso, in this poem, there are no two-character words. All the characters can stand alone. \r\n\r\nOne thing to draw your attention to (and I don\'t think I\'m spoiling much here): the opening line is simply, 鹅鹅鹅 [pinyin]e2 e2 e2[/pinyin], which means \"geese, geese, geese\". But you\'ll also notice that the sound of the word \"geese\" ([pinyin]e2[/pinyin]) also sounds like geese honking. So, this does double-duty as a noun and an onomatopoeia. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《咏鹅》</h4>\r\n鹅鹅鹅，\r\n曲项向天歌。\r\n白毛浮绿水，\r\n红掌拨清波。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Ode to Geese</h4>\r\nGeese, geese, geese,\r\nCrooked necks towards heaven they sing,\r\nWhite feathers float on green water,\r\nRed feet push up clear waves.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Famous poetry: 《咏鹅》Ode to Geese by Luo Binwang', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2216-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 08:58:29', '2020-05-02 12:58:29', '', 2216, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2216-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2224, 1, '2020-05-02 09:13:18', '2020-05-02 13:13:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis essay is about a kid who takes his father\'s advice a little too literally (with amusing results). <!--more-->\r\n\r\nOnly thing intermediate about this read is the very first sentence, which we\'ll talk about here. After this it\'s pretty easy going. The essay starts out 童年仿佛是一条小船，里面装满了甜蜜的糖果，也装满了许多忧伤。 Let\'s break this one down word by word:\r\n\r\n童年 - [pinyin]tong2 nian2[/pinyin] - Childhood\r\n仿佛 - [pinyin]fang3 fu2[/pinyin] - seems like\r\n是 - [pinyin]shi4[/pinyin] - [it] is\r\n一条 - [pinyin]yi1 tiao2[/pinyin] - a (literally: the word \"one\" plus the classifier for boats, which is 条)\r\n小船,  - [pinyin]xiao3 chuan2[/pinyin] - boat,\r\n里面  - [pinyin]li3 mian4[/pinyin] - inside\r\n装满了  - [pinyin]zhuang1 man3 le5[/pinyin] - is full (of)\r\n甜蜜的  - [pinyin]tian2 mi4 de5[/pinyin] - sweet\r\n糖果,  - [pinyin]tang2 guo3[/pinyin] - candy,\r\n也  - [pinyin]ye3[/pinyin] - also\r\n装满了  - [pinyin]zhuang1 man3 le5[/pinyin] - is full (of)\r\n许多  - [pinyin]xu3 duo1[/pinyin] - much\r\n忧伤 - [pinyin]you1 shang1[/pinyin] - distress.\r\n\r\nPretty straightforward when you look at it that way. A quick note on that: though the word 糖果 (which appears a lot in this text) means \"candy\", it does not mean \"candy fruit\" or \"sweet fruit\", as you might guess from the character 果. This is just a general word for candy, though the Chinese don\'t consider chocolate a \"candy\" - it\'s in its own category. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>童年傻事</h4>\r\n童年仿佛是一条小船，里面装满了甜蜜的糖果，也装满了许多忧伤。\r\n\r\n我出生在一个幸福的六口之家。有爸爸、妈妈、爷爷、奶奶、姐姐，还有我。\r\n\r\n我四岁时，一个<strong>烈日</strong><strong>炎炎</strong>的中午。爷爷、奶奶、妈妈和姐姐都忙着自己手中的活。爸爸<strong>抱上</strong>我去商店、给我买了很多<strong>糖果</strong>。回到家中，爸爸放下我，就去我们家的后院<strong>种</strong>苹果树去了。我也跟了过去，我问爸爸你在干什么？爸爸说：“我在种苹果树，到了秋天你就有苹果吃了。”爸爸还说：“你种什么<strong>种子</strong>就会长什么。”爸爸说完就回家喝茶去了。当时我<strong>心想</strong>如果把刚刚买的糖果种到土中，秋天不就有很多糖果了吗！\r\n\r\n我说做就做，我<strong>刨</strong>了个<strong>坑</strong>，把刚才剩下的糖果都放在坑里，用土<strong>埋</strong>了。我<strong>默默</strong>的许下愿说：“糖果快长！糖果快长！长成大树，长出很多很多糖果。”我把这个愿望告诉了爸爸，爸爸听了。大笑起来说：“糖果不会长出大树，也更不会长出糖果。”我听了爸爸话坐在地上大哭起来，我的糖果，我的糖果。爸爸赶快跑到我面前，抱起我说：“哦，不哭了小<strong>宝贝</strong>，爸爸给你买很多很多糖果。我听了就不哭了。\r\n\r\n<strong>如今</strong>我已经长大了，种糖果的傻事也不会再做了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nChildhood seems like a boat that is full of sweet candy, but is also laden with grief. \r\n\r\nI was born into a happy six-person family. There\'s father, mother, grandpa, grandma, my elder sister and myself. \r\n\r\n[The story begins] when I was four, on a scorching afternoon. Grandpa, grandma, mother and my elder sister were all busy doing their own thing. Dad picked me up and carried me to the store, and bought me lots of candy. On the way back to the house, dad put me down, and went to our house\'s back garden to plant apple trees. I went with him, and asked him \'what are you doing\'? Father said: \"I\'m planting apple trees, when autumn arrives you\'ll have apples to eat.\" Father continued: \"Whatever seeds you plant will grow.\" Father finished speaking and went back into the house to drink tea. Then I thought to myself, if I take the candy I just bought and plant it in the earth, in autumn I should have lots of candy! \r\n\r\nI did just that, I dug a hole, took my leftover candy and put it all in the hole, using dirt to bury it. In silence I fervently hoped: \"Candy, grow quickly! Candy, grow quickly! Grow into a big tree, and sprout lots and lots of candy.\" I told this wish to my father, and he listened. Laughing heartily he said: \"Candy can\'t grow into a big tree, and it definitely can\'t sprout more candy.\" I heard my father\'s words and I sat down on the grass and started sobbing, my candy, my candy. Father quickly ran up to me, embraced me and said: \"Oh, don\'t cry little darling, daddy will buy you lots and lots of candy.\" I listened to him and stopped crying.\r\n\r\nNowadays I\'ve already grown up, and I won\'t try foolishly planting candy again.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Essay: A Foolish Affair from my Childhood', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1235-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:13:18', '2020-05-02 13:13:18', '', 1235, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/1235-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2225, 1, '2020-05-02 09:32:01', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nXu Zhimo was everything you want in a modern poet: he was in love with being in love, treated women like crap under the guise of romantic free-spiritedness, was at times outrageously depressed, and he died tragically in a plane crash. HE ALSO SPENT TIME IN ENGLAND STUDYING AT CAMBRIDGE. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nUnlike China\'s ancient poetic styles which are often hyper-condensed and stripped of grammatical guideposts, this modern poem spoils us with full-fledged sentences and recognizable grammar. \r\n\r\nI didn\'t do the English translation for this piece. It\'s well-known enough in English-speaking lit circles that there are lots of English versions out there, I chose my favorite, which I picked up <a href=\"https://eastasiastudent.net/china/mandarin/xu-zhimo-goodbye-cambridge/\">here</a>, but I did update the translation a smidge where I thought it was not quite right.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《再别康桥》</h4>\r\n轻轻的我走了，\r\n正如我轻轻的来；\r\n我轻轻的招手，\r\n作别西天的云彩。\r\n\r\n那河畔的金柳，\r\n是夕阳中的新娘；\r\n波光里的艳影，\r\n在我的心头荡漾。\r\n\r\n软泥上的青荇，\r\n油油的在水底招摇；\r\n在康河的柔波里，\r\n我甘心做一条水草！\r\n\r\n那榆荫下的一潭，\r\n不是清泉，是天上虹；\r\n揉碎在浮藻间，\r\n沉淀着彩虹似的梦。\r\n\r\n寻梦？撑一支长篙，\r\n向青草更青处漫溯；\r\n满载一船星辉，\r\n在星辉斑斓里放歌。\r\n\r\n但我不能放歌，\r\n悄悄是别离的笙箫；\r\n夏虫也为我沉默，\r\n沉默是今晚的康桥！\r\n\r\n悄悄的我走了，\r\n正如我悄悄的来；\r\n我挥一挥衣袖，\r\n不带走一片云彩。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Modern Chinese Poetry: 《再别康桥》Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again by Xu Zhimo', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', 'modern-chinese-poetry-saying-goodbye-to-cambridge-again-by-xu-zhimo', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:32:01', '2020-05-02 13:32:01', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2225', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(2226, 1, '2020-05-02 09:31:30', '2020-05-02 13:31:30', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nXu Zhimo was everything you want in a modern poet: he was in love with being in love, treated women like crap under the guise of romantic free-spiritedness, was at times outrageously depressed, and he died tragically in a plane crash. HE ALSO SPENT TIME IN ENGLAND STUDYING AT CAMBRIDGE. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nUnlike China\'s ancient poetic styles which are often hyper-condensed and stripped of grammatical guideposts, this modern poem spoils us with full-fledged sentences and recognizable grammar. \r\n\r\nI didn\'t do the English translation for this piece. It\'s well-known enough in English-speaking lit circles that there are lots of English versions out there, I chose my favorite, which I picked up <a href=\"https://eastasiastudent.net/china/mandarin/xu-zhimo-goodbye-cambridge/\">here</a>, but I did update the translation a smidge where I thought it was not quite right.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《再别康桥》</h4>\r\n轻轻的我走了，\r\n正如我轻轻的来；\r\n我轻轻的招手，\r\n作别西天的云彩。\r\n\r\n那河畔的金柳，\r\n是夕阳中的新娘；\r\n波光里的艳影，\r\n在我的心头荡漾。\r\n\r\n软泥上的青荇，\r\n油油的在水底招摇；\r\n在康河的柔波里，\r\n我甘心做一条水草！\r\n\r\n那榆荫下的一潭，\r\n不是清泉，是天上虹；\r\n揉碎在浮藻间，\r\n沉淀着彩虹似的梦。\r\n\r\n寻梦？撑一支长篙，\r\n向青草更青处漫溯；\r\n满载一船星辉，\r\n在星辉斑斓里放歌。\r\n\r\n但我不能放歌，\r\n悄悄是别离的笙箫；\r\n夏虫也为我沉默，\r\n沉默是今晚的康桥！\r\n\r\n悄悄的我走了，\r\n正如我悄悄的来；\r\n我挥一挥衣袖，\r\n不带走一片云彩。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Modern Chinese Poety: 《再别康桥》Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again by Xu Zhimo', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2225-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:31:30', '2020-05-02 13:31:30', '', 2225, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2225-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2227, 1, '2020-05-02 09:32:01', '2020-05-02 13:32:01', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nXu Zhimo was everything you want in a modern poet: he was in love with being in love, treated women like crap under the guise of romantic free-spiritedness, was at times outrageously depressed, and he died tragically in a plane crash. HE ALSO SPENT TIME IN ENGLAND STUDYING AT CAMBRIDGE. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nUnlike China\'s ancient poetic styles which are often hyper-condensed and stripped of grammatical guideposts, this modern poem spoils us with full-fledged sentences and recognizable grammar. \r\n\r\nI didn\'t do the English translation for this piece. It\'s well-known enough in English-speaking lit circles that there are lots of English versions out there, I chose my favorite, which I picked up <a href=\"https://eastasiastudent.net/china/mandarin/xu-zhimo-goodbye-cambridge/\">here</a>, but I did update the translation a smidge where I thought it was not quite right.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《再别康桥》</h4>\r\n轻轻的我走了，\r\n正如我轻轻的来；\r\n我轻轻的招手，\r\n作别西天的云彩。\r\n\r\n那河畔的金柳，\r\n是夕阳中的新娘；\r\n波光里的艳影，\r\n在我的心头荡漾。\r\n\r\n软泥上的青荇，\r\n油油的在水底招摇；\r\n在康河的柔波里，\r\n我甘心做一条水草！\r\n\r\n那榆荫下的一潭，\r\n不是清泉，是天上虹；\r\n揉碎在浮藻间，\r\n沉淀着彩虹似的梦。\r\n\r\n寻梦？撑一支长篙，\r\n向青草更青处漫溯；\r\n满载一船星辉，\r\n在星辉斑斓里放歌。\r\n\r\n但我不能放歌，\r\n悄悄是别离的笙箫；\r\n夏虫也为我沉默，\r\n沉默是今晚的康桥！\r\n\r\n悄悄的我走了，\r\n正如我悄悄的来；\r\n我挥一挥衣袖，\r\n不带走一片云彩。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Modern Chinese Poetry: 《再别康桥》Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again by Xu Zhimo', 'This well-known nursery jingle that Chinese kids learn in kindergarten was written 1400 years ago, by Tang Dynasty poet <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luo_Binwang\">Luo Binwang</a>, who, in the tradition of great artists everywhere, did some jail time for dissing the reigning empress. You don\'t get much sense of Luo\'s rebellious side in this short poem, though - it\'s about geese, and that\'s about it. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2225-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 09:32:01', '2020-05-02 13:32:01', '', 2225, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2225-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2232, 1, '2020-05-02 10:28:22', '2020-05-02 14:28:22', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n咦 [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n多么 [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:28:22', '2020-05-02 14:28:22', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2228, 1, '2020-05-02 10:23:24', '2020-05-02 14:23:24', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian4[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n咦 [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n多么 [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang4 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard. With the alternative definitions, we can probably figure out that 什么也帮不 means \"Can\'t even help anything\", but this is confused by the appearance of 上, \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:23:24', '2020-05-02 14:23:24', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2229, 1, '2020-05-02 10:24:21', '2020-05-02 14:24:21', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n咦 [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n多么 [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang4 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard. With the alternative definitions, we can probably figure out that 什么也帮不 means \"Can\'t even help anything\", but this is confused by the appearance of 上, \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:24:21', '2020-05-02 14:24:21', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2230, 1, '2020-05-02 10:26:03', '2020-05-02 14:26:03', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n咦 [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n多么 [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard. With the alternative definitions, we can probably figure out that 什么也帮不 means \"Can\'t even help anything\", but this is confused by the appearance of 上, \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:26:03', '2020-05-02 14:26:03', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2231, 1, '2020-05-05 11:31:45', '2020-05-05 15:31:45', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\n \n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar words are paired with two other similar words to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 胡思乱想 [pinyin]hu1 si1 luan4 xiang3[/pinyin], literally \"muddled consider messy think\", or \"let one\'s imagination run wild\". \n\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\n\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\n\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is hard if you only know one definition of each of these characters, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them are being used with their secondary, slightly less-common definitions. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \n\n什么 - what?\n也 - also\n帮 - help\n不 - no / not\n上 - up / over / above\n\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\n\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\n帮 - help\n不 - not\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\n\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \n\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]\n\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\n[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-05 11:31:45', '2020-05-05 15:31:45', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2233, 1, '2020-05-02 10:30:16', '2020-05-02 14:30:16', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is a rough ride for beginners, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them don\'t mean what they look like they mean. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:30:16', '2020-05-02 14:30:16', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2234, 1, '2020-05-02 10:32:07', '2020-05-02 14:32:07', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar nouns are paired with two similar verbs to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 东奔西跑 [pinyin]dong1 ben1 xi1 pao3[/pinyin], literally \"east flee west run\", or \"bustling about\". \r\n\r\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is hard if you only know one definition of each of these characters, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them are being used with their secondary, slightly less-common definitions. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:32:07', '2020-05-02 14:32:07', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2235, 1, '2020-05-02 10:35:10', '2020-05-02 14:35:10', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar words are paired with two other similar words to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 胡思乱想 [pinyin]hu1 si1 luan4 xiang3[/pinyin], literally \"muddled consider messy think\", or \"let one\'s imagination run wild\". \r\n\r\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is hard if you only know one definition of each of these characters, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them are being used with their secondary, slightly less-common definitions. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (around HSK 3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 10:35:10', '2020-05-02 14:35:10', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2236, 1, '2020-05-02 11:34:26', '2020-05-02 15:34:26', '<h3>The Basics</h3>\r\nMy name is: <strong>Kendra Schaefer <a href=\"http://www.kendraschaefer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(My personal site)</a></strong>\r\nFollow on Twitter: <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/chinesereading\">@ChineseReading</a>\r\nEmail me at: me@kendraschaefer.com\r\nI live in: <strong>Beijing</strong>\r\nAge: <strong>37</strong> \r\nIn China since: <strong>2002</strong>\r\nMy day job: <a href=\"http://www.triviumchina.com\">Tech research</a>\r\n\r\n<h3>The Backstory</h3>\r\nI got my BA in Mandarin at a university in Beijing, and though I\'ve been out of school for a while, reading Chinese is one of the few things I never get bored of, probably because no matter how long I study, there\'s always more to learn. \r\n\r\nI originally became interested in learning Chinese primarily because I wanted to read the language. And though reading textbooks is an important, I found the readings outrageously boring. I wanted to read important works of Chinese fiction, Chinese news, Chinese fables and myths - in other words, I wanted real reading, something a Chinese kid might read in school or online.\r\n\r\nBut I soon found that tracking down reading materials was difficult and frustrating. Everything I picked up tended to be too long, too short, too easy, or too hard, and I ended up spending more time looking for something that was suitable than actually doing any reading. I wanted something challenging, and was willing to work to understand it, but every time I found something new to read, I never knew if I would be able to finish it. I\'d often get through a few paragraphs only to hit a phrase I couldn\'t decipher and, with no one to ask, would have to put the reading aside. \r\n\r\nOnce I did get to a place where my reading level was high enough to get through most pieces, I started this site to keep my own skills fresh, and to pay it forward for those students who are in the same spot I was. \r\n\r\n<h4>How I Classify Reading Levels</h4>\r\nNothing on this site is truly beginner reading. If you just picked up Chinese yesterday, or if you\'re at HSK 1 or 2, even the beginner stuff is going to be a rough ride for you - I only have found a couple of pieces that HSK 1-2 might be able to tackle. This is because for any story, article or essay to really take shape, it usually has to have some higher-level grammar or vocabulary mixed in. This is why most truly beginner textbooks stick to dialogs (你好! 你好吗? 我很好!) as opposed to actual stories. And the truth is, truly fluent native readers read at well above HSK 6. And, in the real world, many pieces of writing are mixed-level; the first few paragraphs might be intermediate, with an advanced paragraph thrown in. So, my classifications are the same classifications you might apply to a native speaker, not a learner. I also don\'t classify by HSK level. But, as a general guideline, on this site:\r\n\r\nBeginner: HSK 2-4\r\nIntermediate: HSK 5-6\r\nAdvanced: HSK 6+\r\n\r\nThe idea is not to give you something you can read without difficulty, but something that is an appropriate challenge at your reading level. So, I try to put texts into the lowest level at which someone, with a little work, might be able to figure the text out. So if, for example, you\'re at HSK 4, there are some pieces in the intermediate section you should be able to get through with some work. And if you can\'t figure something out, post in the comments. I\'ll try to answer you.\r\n\r\n<h4>About the Translations</h4>\r\nMost (but not all) of the translations on this site are done by me. I am not a linguist, and I translate for readability. I don\'t post anything unless I\'ve checked it several times, but that doesn\'t mean I haven\'t made a mistake. Do feel free to comment if you see anything that ought to have a better translation - it won\'t be taken amiss. \r\n\r\n<h4>How did you do those pop-up Chinese hover effects?</h4>\r\nThanks to Alex, the coder behind <a href=\"http://mandarinspot.com/\">Mandarinspot.com</a>, Chinese Reading Practice now has pop-up translation on Chinese texts - hover over any mandarin word in the reading text to see the definition. If you\'d like to implement something similar on your own blog, you can head over there and grab his Javascript file / annotations API. \r\n\r\n<h4>Commenting rules</h4>\r\nI try to maintain a pleasant learning environment, so abusive (you idiot!), pointless (I am Groot.),  or unhelpful (Hi.) comments will be deleted. I will also delete links from your comments unless those links are very relevant to the post. For example, it\'s fine to link to a Wikipedia page that\'s relevant to Chinese or to the content of the translation, but if you link to your own site, I sadly don\'t have time to verify if it\'s a phishing link or malware or inappropriate content so I\'m just gonna take it out. I don\'t always manage to catch all the spam that slips through, though, so apologies if there\'s some clutter.\r\n\r\nEnjoy, and good luck with your studies.', 'About', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 11:34:26', '2020-05-02 15:34:26', '', 2, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2239, 1, '2020-05-07 00:00:18', '2020-05-07 04:00:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOh man, I just found a <a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201202/9103.htm\">huge trove</a> of essays by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Ching-hsuan\">Lin Qingxuan</a> (林清玄), all of which are just the right length and language level for intermediate readers, so expect a ton more from him.  \r\n\r\nLin Qingxuan was an award-winning Taiwanese essayist. He studied Buddhism, and following along as he marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation, you can tell. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and all that kind of stuff. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI changed one word of the Chinese original, because the version I found included the name of some kind of fish (娃鱼 [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin]) that I couldn\'t find online anywhere, so it was either a typo, or that fish is just too obscure for the internet, or maybe it\'s the way that fish is referred to in Taiwanese but not in mainland Mandarin. I changed it to 鲸鱼, \"whale\", because it makes sense in context and [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin] kind of sounds like \"whale\", but if anyone knows what a 娃鱼 is, by all means, enlighten me.\r\n\r\nAll the grammatical structures in here, to my eye, were uncomplicated, and there are no colloquialisms, so I think all the work in understanding this piece is just learning new animal-related vocab. Do comment if you see something I ought to explain.  \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《蝴蝶的种子》</h4>\r\n我在院子里，观察一只蛹，如何变成蝴蝶。\r\n\r\n那只蛹咬破了壳，全身湿软地从壳中钻了出来，它的翅膀卷曲皱缩成一团，它站在枝桠上休息晒太阳，好像钻出壳已经用了很大的力气。\r\n\r\n它慢慢地、慢慢地，伸直翅膀，飞了起来。\r\n\r\n它在空中盘桓了一下子，很快地找寻到一朵花，它停在花上，专注、忘情地吸着花蜜。\r\n\r\n我感到非常吃惊，这只蝴蝶从来没有被教育怎么飞翔，从来没有学习过如何去吸花蜜，没有爸爸妈妈教过它，这些都是它的第一次，它的第一次就做得多么精确而完美呀！\r\n\r\n我想到，这只蝴蝶将来还会交配、繁衍、产卵、死亡，这些也都不必经由学习和教育。\r\n\r\n然后，它繁衍的子孙，一代一代，也不必教育和学习，就会飞翔和采花了。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶是依赖什么来安排它的一生呢？未经教育与学习，它又是如何来完成像飞翔或采蜜如此复杂的事呢？\r\n\r\n这个世界不是有很多未经教育与学习就完美展现的事吗？鸟的筑巢、蜘蛛的结网多么完美！孔雀想谈恋爱时，就开屏跳舞！云雀有了爱意，就放怀唱歌；天鹅和鲸鱼历经千里也不迷路；印度豹与鸵鸟天生就是赛跑高手。\r\n\r\n这些都使我相信轮回是真实的。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶乃是带着前世的种子投生到这个世界，在它的种子里，有一个不可动摇的信念：\r\n\r\n“我将飞翔！我将采蜜！我将繁衍子孙！”\r\n\r\n在那只美丽的蝴蝶身上，我看到空间的无限与时间的流动，深深地感动了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Seed of a Butterfly</h4>\r\n[When] I was in the yard, I observed how a pupa became a butterfly. \r\n\r\nThat pupa bit open its casing, its soft, moist body burrowing out of its shell, its wings curled and wrinkled around him, it stood on the branch and rested while sunning itself, as if in burrowing out of its shell it had already used up a large amount of strength.  \r\n\r\nIt slowly, slowly, straightened its wings, and flew. \r\n\r\nIt lingered in the air a while, and quickly sought out a flower, it paused on the flower, intently, indifferently sucking up the flower\'s honey.\r\n\r\nI felt extremely surprised, this butterfly was never taught how to fly, had never studied how to suck down honey, no mother and father taught it, all of this was its first time, and did this so precisely and perfectly the first time! \r\n\r\nI thought, this butterfly will go on to mate, reproduce, spawn and die, and none of this requires study or education. \r\n\r\nAnd then, the offspring it breeds, generation by generation, will also need no education or study, but will fly and pluck flowers.\r\n\r\nWhat does a butterfly depend on to arrange [the course of] its life? Without undergoing education or study, how does it then complete such complicated tasks as flying and gathering flowers? \r\n\r\nDoesn\'t this world have so many things that don\'t require education or study? How perfect are the nests that birds construct and the webs that spiders tie! When a peacock wants to find a mate, it simply spreads its tail and dances! When a sparrow has an inclination to love, it sings its heart out; swans and whales can travel ten thousand miles and not lose their way; the Indian leopard and the ostrich are innately master racers. \r\n\r\nAll this makes me believe that reincarnation is real. \r\n\r\nA butterfly is still carrying the seeds of its past lives as it enters this world, and in its seed, there is an unwavering conviction:\r\n\r\n\"I will fly! I will gather honey! I will breed offspring!\"\r\n\r\nIn the body of that beautiful butterfly, I could see the limitlessness of space and the flow of time, and was deeply moved. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《蝴蝶的种子》Seed of a Butterfly by Lin Qingxuan', 'Taiwanese Buddhist essayist Lin Qingxuan marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and lots of animal names.', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-essays-seed-of-a-butterfly-lin-qingxuan', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:46:45', '2020-05-07 21:46:45', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2239', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(2240, 1, '2020-05-02 23:23:42', '2020-05-03 03:23:42', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOh man, I just found a <a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201202/9103.htm\">huge trove</a> of essays by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Ching-hsuan\">Lin Qingxuan</a> (林清玄), all of which are just the right length and language level for intermediate readers, so expect a ton more from him.  \r\n\r\nLin Qingxuan was an award-winning Taiwanese essayist. He studied Buddhism, and following along as he marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation, you can tell. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and all that kind of stuff. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI changed one word of the Chinese original, because the version I found included the name of some kind of fish (娃鱼 [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin]) that I couldn\'t find online anywhere, so it was either a typo, or that fish is just too obscure for the internet, or maybe it\'s the way that fish is referred to in Taiwanese but not in mainland Mandarin. I changed it to 鲸鱼, \"whale\", because it makes sense in context and [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin] kind of sounds like \"whale\", but if anyone knows what a 娃鱼 is, by all means, enlighten me.\r\n\r\nAll the grammatical structures in here, to my eye, were uncomplicated, and there are no colloquialisms, so I think all the work in understanding this piece is just learning new animal-related vocab. Do comment if you see something I ought to explain.  \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《蝴蝶的种子》</h4>\r\n我在院子里，观察一只蛹，如何变成蝴蝶。\r\n\r\n那只蛹咬破了壳，全身湿软地从壳中钻了出来，它的翅膀卷曲皱缩成一团，它站在枝桠上休息晒太阳，好像钻出壳已经用了很大的力气。\r\n\r\n它慢慢地、慢慢地，伸直翅膀，飞了起来。\r\n\r\n它在空中盘桓了一下子，很快地找寻到一朵花，它停在花上，专注、忘情地吸着花蜜。\r\n\r\n我感到非常吃惊，这只蝴蝶从来没有被教育怎么飞翔，从来没有学习过如何去吸花蜜，没有爸爸妈妈教过它，这些都是它的第一次，它的第一次就做得多么精确而完美呀！\r\n\r\n我想到，这只蝴蝶将来还会交配、繁衍、产卵、死亡，这些也都不必经由学习和教育。\r\n\r\n然后，它繁衍的子孙，一代一代，也不必教育和学习，就会飞翔和采花了。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶是依赖什么来安排它的一生呢？未经教育与学习，它又是如何来完成像飞翔或采蜜如此复杂的事呢？\r\n\r\n这个世界不是有很多未经教育与学习就完美展现的事吗？鸟的筑巢、蜘蛛的结网多么完美！孔雀想谈恋爱时，就开屏跳舞！云雀有了爱意，就放怀唱歌；天鹅和鲸鱼历经千里也不迷路；印度豹与鸵鸟天生就是赛跑高手。\r\n\r\n这些都使我相信轮回是真实的。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶乃是带着前世的种子投生到这个世界，在它的种子里，有一个不可动摇的信念：\r\n\r\n“我将飞翔！我将采蜜！我将繁衍子孙！”\r\n\r\n在那只美丽的蝴蝶身上，我看到空间的无限与时间的流动，深深地感动了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Seed of a Butterfly</h4>\r\n[When] I was in the yard, I observed how a pupa became a butterfly. \r\n\r\nThat pupa bit open its casing, it\'s soft, moist body burrowing out of its shell, it\'s wings rolled up and wrinkled, it stood on the branch and rested while sunning itself, as if in burrowing out of its shell it had already used up a large amount of strength.  \r\n\r\nIt slowly, slowly, straightened its wings, and flew. \r\n\r\nIt lingered in the air a while, and quickly sought out a flower, it paused on the flower, intently, indifferently sucking up the flower\'s honey.\r\n\r\nI felt extremely surprised, this butterfly was never taught how to fly, had never studied how to suck down honey, no mother and father taught it, all of this was its first time, and did this so precisely and perfectly the first time! \r\n\r\nI thought, this butterfly will go on to mate, reproduce, spawn and die, and none of this requires study or education. \r\n\r\nAnd then, the offspring it breeds, generation by generation, will also need no education or study, but will fly and pluck flowers.\r\n\r\nWhat does a butterfly depend on to arrange [the course of] its life? Without undergoing education or study, how does it then complete such complicated tasks as flying and gathering flowers? \r\n\r\nDoesn\'t this world have so many things that don\'t require education or study? How perfect are the nests that birds construct and the webs that spiders tie! When a sparrow wants to find a mate, it simply spreads its tail and dances! When a peacock has an inclination to love, it sings its heart out; swans and whales can travel ten thousand miles and not lose their way; the Indian leopard and the ostrich are innately master racers. \r\n\r\nAll this makes me believe that reincarnation is real. \r\n\r\nA butterfly is still carrying the seeds of its past lives as it enters this world, and in its seed, there is an unwavering conviction:\r\n\r\n\"I will fly! I will gather honey! I will breed offspring!\"\r\n\r\nIn the body of that beautiful butterfly, I could see the limitlessness of space and the flow of time, and was deeply moved. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《蝴蝶的种子》Seed of a Butterfly by Lin Qingxuan', 'Taiwanese Buddhist essayist Lin Qingxuan marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and lots of animal names.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2239-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 23:23:42', '2020-05-03 03:23:42', '', 2239, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2239-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2241, 1, '2020-05-02 23:30:18', '2020-05-03 03:30:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOh man, I just found a <a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201202/9103.htm\">huge trove</a> of essays by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Ching-hsuan\">Lin Qingxuan</a> (林清玄), all of which are just the right length and language level for intermediate readers, so expect a ton more from him.  \r\n\r\nLin Qingxuan was an award-winning Taiwanese essayist. He studied Buddhism, and following along as he marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation, you can tell. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and all that kind of stuff. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI changed one word of the Chinese original, because the version I found included the name of some kind of fish (娃鱼 [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin]) that I couldn\'t find online anywhere, so it was either a typo, or that fish is just too obscure for the internet, or maybe it\'s the way that fish is referred to in Taiwanese but not in mainland Mandarin. I changed it to 鲸鱼, \"whale\", because it makes sense in context and [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin] kind of sounds like \"whale\", but if anyone knows what a 娃鱼 is, by all means, enlighten me.\r\n\r\nAll the grammatical structures in here, to my eye, were uncomplicated, and there are no colloquialisms, so I think all the work in understanding this piece is just learning new animal-related vocab. Do comment if you see something I ought to explain.  \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《蝴蝶的种子》</h4>\r\n我在院子里，观察一只蛹，如何变成蝴蝶。\r\n\r\n那只蛹咬破了壳，全身湿软地从壳中钻了出来，它的翅膀卷曲皱缩成一团，它站在枝桠上休息晒太阳，好像钻出壳已经用了很大的力气。\r\n\r\n它慢慢地、慢慢地，伸直翅膀，飞了起来。\r\n\r\n它在空中盘桓了一下子，很快地找寻到一朵花，它停在花上，专注、忘情地吸着花蜜。\r\n\r\n我感到非常吃惊，这只蝴蝶从来没有被教育怎么飞翔，从来没有学习过如何去吸花蜜，没有爸爸妈妈教过它，这些都是它的第一次，它的第一次就做得多么精确而完美呀！\r\n\r\n我想到，这只蝴蝶将来还会交配、繁衍、产卵、死亡，这些也都不必经由学习和教育。\r\n\r\n然后，它繁衍的子孙，一代一代，也不必教育和学习，就会飞翔和采花了。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶是依赖什么来安排它的一生呢？未经教育与学习，它又是如何来完成像飞翔或采蜜如此复杂的事呢？\r\n\r\n这个世界不是有很多未经教育与学习就完美展现的事吗？鸟的筑巢、蜘蛛的结网多么完美！孔雀想谈恋爱时，就开屏跳舞！云雀有了爱意，就放怀唱歌；天鹅和鲸鱼历经千里也不迷路；印度豹与鸵鸟天生就是赛跑高手。\r\n\r\n这些都使我相信轮回是真实的。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶乃是带着前世的种子投生到这个世界，在它的种子里，有一个不可动摇的信念：\r\n\r\n“我将飞翔！我将采蜜！我将繁衍子孙！”\r\n\r\n在那只美丽的蝴蝶身上，我看到空间的无限与时间的流动，深深地感动了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Seed of a Butterfly</h4>\r\n[When] I was in the yard, I observed how a pupa became a butterfly. \r\n\r\nThat pupa bit open its casing, it\'s soft, moist body burrowing out of its shell, it\'s wings curled and wrinkled around him, it stood on the branch and rested while sunning itself, as if in burrowing out of its shell it had already used up a large amount of strength.  \r\n\r\nIt slowly, slowly, straightened its wings, and flew. \r\n\r\nIt lingered in the air a while, and quickly sought out a flower, it paused on the flower, intently, indifferently sucking up the flower\'s honey.\r\n\r\nI felt extremely surprised, this butterfly was never taught how to fly, had never studied how to suck down honey, no mother and father taught it, all of this was its first time, and did this so precisely and perfectly the first time! \r\n\r\nI thought, this butterfly will go on to mate, reproduce, spawn and die, and none of this requires study or education. \r\n\r\nAnd then, the offspring it breeds, generation by generation, will also need no education or study, but will fly and pluck flowers.\r\n\r\nWhat does a butterfly depend on to arrange [the course of] its life? Without undergoing education or study, how does it then complete such complicated tasks as flying and gathering flowers? \r\n\r\nDoesn\'t this world have so many things that don\'t require education or study? How perfect are the nests that birds construct and the webs that spiders tie! When a sparrow wants to find a mate, it simply spreads its tail and dances! When a peacock has an inclination to love, it sings its heart out; swans and whales can travel ten thousand miles and not lose their way; the Indian leopard and the ostrich are innately master racers. \r\n\r\nAll this makes me believe that reincarnation is real. \r\n\r\nA butterfly is still carrying the seeds of its past lives as it enters this world, and in its seed, there is an unwavering conviction:\r\n\r\n\"I will fly! I will gather honey! I will breed offspring!\"\r\n\r\nIn the body of that beautiful butterfly, I could see the limitlessness of space and the flow of time, and was deeply moved. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《蝴蝶的种子》Seed of a Butterfly by Lin Qingxuan', 'Taiwanese Buddhist essayist Lin Qingxuan marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and lots of animal names.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2239-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-02 23:30:18', '2020-05-03 03:30:18', '', 2239, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/02/2239-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2243, 1, '2020-05-05 11:44:12', '2020-05-05 15:44:12', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this one-paragraph read (around HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>一边... 一边...</strong> [pinyin]yi1 bian1[/pinyin] - This is one of the earliest structures you learn when you start taking classes, so you may have picked this up already, but these two \"一边\"s tie together two tasks that someone is doing at the same time. Like, definitely do not 一边开车，一边看手机 (Drive a car, while looking at your phone).\r\n \r\n<strong>手忙脚乱</strong> [pinyin]shou3 mang2 jiao3 luan4[/pinyin] - This phrase means \"flustered\", or \"in confusion\", and if you look at each character individually, you can see why - if our hands (手) and feet (脚) are busily (忙) and messily (乱) moving around, we\'re probably flustered, or frantic. I translated this as \"scrambling\" in the below essay, because it works in context. This structure, where two similar words are paired with two other similar words to describe lots of frantic activity, is common. Another example of this 东望西看 [pinyin]dong1 wang4 xi1 kan4[/pinyin], literally \"east gaze west look\", which means \"looking around everywhere\", and 胡思乱想 [pinyin]hu1 si1 luan4 xiang3[/pinyin], literally \"muddled consider messy think\", or \"let one\'s imagination run wild\". \r\n\r\n<strong>咦</strong> [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - A sound that expresses surprise, like \"Ack!\" or \"Agh!\"\r\n\r\n<strong>多么</strong> [pinyin]duo1 me[/pinyin] - Translates as \"so\", as in \"I so wanted to be there!\" or \"I so wish he would answer the phone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>什么也帮不上</strong> [pinyin]shen2 me ye3 bang1 bu shang4[/pinyin] - This structure is hard if you only know one definition of each of these characters, because although these are all individually easy words, three of them are being used with their secondary, slightly less-common definitions. So, let\'s break down their most obvious meanings first: \r\n\r\n什么 - what?\r\n也 - also\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - no / not\r\n上 - up / over / above\r\n\r\nThat makes no sense. So let\'s look again with the alternate definitions that are actually being used here, with differences in bold:\r\n\r\n<strong>什么 - anything / nothing</strong>\r\n<strong>也 - even</strong>\r\n帮 - help\r\n不 - not\r\n<strong>上 - rise</strong>\r\n\r\nHm, still hard, especially the appearance of \"rise\". In this case, 上 does not mean \"rise\" in the directional sense, like \"to rise up in the air\". It means \"rise\", as in \"rise to the task\". 帮不上 is one of those action + result structures that we see all the time in Chinese. The action is helping (帮), the result is that one \"couldn\'t rise\" (不上) to the task of helping.  So, all together, 什么也帮不上 translates to \"nothing one can even do to help\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>帮忙</h4>\r\n爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>吃早餐，<span class=\"highlightText\">一边</span>摸口袋，<span class=\"highlightText\">咦</span>，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，<span class=\"highlightText\">手忙脚乱</span>地找车票。小弟弟<span class=\"highlightText\">多么</span>想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他<span class=\"highlightText\">什么也帮不上</span>。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nFather was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: \"How about I help dad eat breakfast.\" He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay:《帮忙》 Helping Out', 'In this one-paragraph read (HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2004-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-05 11:44:12', '2020-05-05 15:44:12', '', 2004, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/05/2004-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2244, 1, '2020-05-05 11:46:51', '2020-05-05 15:46:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nBorn in the early 1900s, Li Yaotang, pen name <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a> was a fervent anarchist and activist, translator, and one of China\'s most beloved writers. He\'s most famous as the author of <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(Ba_Jin_novel)\">The Family</a></em>, one of modern Chinese literature\'s most cutting social critiques of traditional Confucian values.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2038\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"350\"]<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/chinese-reading-practice-famous-authors-bajin.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Reading Practice Essays Letters Translated Mandarin Simplified Reading: Author Bajin\" width=\"350\" height=\"457\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2038\" /> Ba Jin in 1938 - <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin#/media/File:Ba_Jin_1938.jpg\">Source</a> [/caption]\r\n\r\nBut this two-part post isn\'t about Ba Jin\'s days as a young socialist crusader and novelist. Ba Jin lived to be 100 years old - he passed away in 2005. And though he was ill with Parkinson\'s for the last decades of his life, he was still writing well into the 1980s. \r\n\r\nThe late 80s were a rough time for China ideologically. The country had just flip-flopped from hard-core Cultural Revolution-era Communism to a budding market economy in just 10 years. Social values were turned on their head, and all the things that were so important in the 1970s – the Party, the Motherland, the socialist struggle – were devalued. Suddenly, what mattered most was making enough  money to survive.\r\n\r\nIn 1987, Ba Jin received a letter from 10 elementary school students confused by the mixed messages they felt society was sending them. What\'s more important: money or ideals? Their letter, which I translate below, is striking... though I have a hard time imagining a bunch of ten-year-olds deciding to convene a committee to draft a plea for moral guidance, so I\'m kind of convinced one kid\'s dad wrote this thing and made them all sign it. \r\n\r\nAnyway, Ba Jin\'s reply, which I\'ll translate in a <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/05/chinese-essay-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-ii/\">Part II</a> sometime soon, is much longer. Taken together, these two letters form a beautiful cross-general dialogue, the young seeking wisdom from the old, the old pushing the young out of the nest and into the sun. The letters were published in 1987 under the title 《寻找理想的少年朋友》<em>Young Friends Seeking Ideals</em>, to much acclaim.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n“三好” [pinyin]san1 hao3[/pinyin] and “品学兼优” [pinyin]pin3 xue2 jian1 you1[/pinyin] - These are the names of well-known awards given to students that excel in several areas. The first, the \"Three Goods\" award, is for students that are of good character, study well, and excel in sports. The second is a general award for good students of high moral virtue. \r\n\r\n三句不离钞票 [pinyin]san1 ju4 bu4 li2 chao1 piao4[/pinyin] - This is a phrase you won\'t find in the dictionary. If you dissect it, it\'s not too hard to sort out what it means, so let\'s do that:\r\n\r\n三句 - Three sentences\r\n不 - Not, no\r\n离 - To leave, to separate from\r\n钞票 - Bank notes, cash money\r\n\r\nSo, you could understand this as \"For every three sentences spoken, not one of them diverges from money\" or in better English, \"to talk about money all the time\" or \"to be overly-focused on money\". \r\n\r\n难道 [pinyin]nan2 dao4[/pinyin] - This is in the dictionary, but it\'s important vocab, so pay attention to how this is used. It indicates a rhetorical question. Like, \"Could it be that... ?\" \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n敬爱的巴金爷爷：\r\n\r\n我们是十个小学五年级的学生，平均年龄不到十一周岁，在学校里都获得了<span class=\"highlightText\">“三好”</span>或<span class=\"highlightText\">“品学兼优”</span>的奖励。但是近年来，我们被一些新的现象迷惑了。爸爸妈妈说话<span class=\"highlightText\">三句不离钞票</span>，社会上常以收入多作为自己的骄傲。\r\n\r\n有位每月工资是三十多元的老师，当我们问她工资多少时，她脸红了。我们有位同学数学考了九十四分，她呜咽起来，原来爸爸答应她，考了九十五分可得五元奖金。许多家长都用金钱、新衣、旅游来鼓励我们取得好成绩。有些同学在谈到将来时，往往把单位好、工资高、奖金多作为自己最好的向往。\r\n\r\n一句话，为金钱工作、为金钱学习，已经成为理所当然的事。这<span class=\"highlightText\">难道</span>就是我们八十年代的少年应该追求的理想吗？作为三好学生，我们可以攻克学习上的重重难关，但是在这里，在理想问题上我们成了十只迷途的羔羊。但是我们不甘沉沦，我们决心探索、寻求，我们十个朋友决定开展一个“寻求理想”的活动。\r\n\r\n巴金爷爷，我们读过您写的很多书。现在您已上了年纪，可是我们还常常在报纸上、电视里看到您在忙碌地工作。我们想您那里一定有一种神奇的力量，有打开我们心灵窗户的神秘钥匙，因此，我们想向您请教。当您伏案写作的时候，您想的是什么？您写了那么多的书，您追求的是什么？\r\n\r\n巴金爷爷，我们知道您很忙，您有很重要的工作，您还需要休息，我们实在不愿意打搅您，但是我们十分需要您的帮助。十只迷途的羔羊向您呼救，请您以最快的速度给我们指点。\r\n\r\n祝您长寿。\r\n\r\n十个寻找理想的孩子\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nRespected Grandfather Ba Jin: \r\n\r\nWe are ten elementary school students, on average not yet 11 years old, and in school we\'ve all received \"Three Goods\" or \"Excellent Student\" awards. But in recent years, we\'ve been puzzled by some new phenomena. Father and mother are always focused on money, and in greater society [people] base their pride on their income.  \r\n\r\nThere\'s a teacher who makes over 30 RMB per month, but when we ask her how much her salary is, she turns red [with embarrassment]. We have a classmate who got 94% on a math test, but she started bawling, turns out her father agreed that if she got 95% she\'d get a prize of 5 RMB. Many parents use money, new clothes, or travel to encourage us to get good grades. When some of our classmates talk about their future, often it\'s a good job, a high salary, or accolades that they most yearn for. \r\n\r\nIn a word, working for [the sole purpose of making] money, and studying for [the purpose of making] money, has already become an expected thing. Could it be that this is the ideal that the youth of the 80s should be chasing? As excellent students, we can overcome any kind of study-related difficulty, but in this, on questions of ideals, we\'ve become ten lost lambs. But we\'re unwilling to sink [down to that level], we\'ve decided to explore, to seek, we ten friends decided to launch an endeavor [centered around] \"seeking ideals\".\r\n\r\nGrandfather Ba Jin, we\'ve read many books that you\'ve written. Now you\'re already in your later years, be we often see in newspapers and on TV that you\'re still hard at work. We think you certainly must have a kind of mystical power, a mysterious key to unlock the windows of our spirits, and because of this, we want to ask your advice. When you\'re bent over your desk writing, what are you thinking of? You\'ve written so many books, what are you chasing after? \r\n\r\nGrandfather Ba Jin, we know you\'re very busy, and you have very important work, and you also need to rest, we truly don\'t wish to trouble you, but we really need your help. Ten lost lambs are calling for your aid, please give us direction as quickly as you can. \r\n\r\nWe wish you long life.\r\n\r\nSigned, Ten Youths Seeking Ideals\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part I', 'In the first of a two-part post, we\'ll look at a letter sent in 1987 from a group of elementary school students to the anarchist writer Ba Jin (most famous for his 1931 novel The Family) as they struggle to cope with China\'s changing social values. In Part II, I\'ll translate Ba Jin\'s reply.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2034-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-05 11:46:51', '2020-05-05 15:46:51', '', 2034, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/05/2034-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2245, 1, '2020-05-06 09:24:47', '2020-05-06 13:24:47', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nMr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? A little story that will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n胆子很小 - This is \r\n放\r\n配\r\n咚\r\n抱头乱窜\r\n原来\r\n以为 - I just covered this one in the last beginner post, so if you\'re a frequent reader, you\'ll get to use what your learned here. If not, go check \r\n\r\nNOTES\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>胆小先生</h4>\r\n有一位先生，住在一座漂亮的房子里。因为他的胆子很小，大家都叫他胆小先生。\r\n\r\n一天，一只大老鼠闯进了他的房子。胆小先生马上去捉，结果在地下室捉住了它。\r\n\r\n\"你放了我!\"大老鼠挣扎着说，\"我要是一跺脚，整个房子就塌了。\"\r\n\r\n胆小先生害怕了，连忙放开了他，还允许他住在地下室里。\r\n\r\n地下室里吃的东西真多，大老鼠吃呀，喝呀，真开心。后来，大老鼠生了一窝小老鼠，小老鼠又长成大老鼠……很快，地下室住满了老鼠。\r\n\r\n\"不行，不行!\"大老鼠冲着胆小先生嚷嚷：\"这么多老鼠住这么一个小小的地下室，而你一个人住那么多房间，太不合理了，得换房子。\"\r\n\r\n\"换房子?\"胆小先生住在地下室，老鼠们住进各个房间，他们在宽大的客厅里唱呀，跳呀，在喷香的厨房里喝呀，吃呀，每天都像过节一样。\r\n\r\n\"你应该搬出去!\"大老鼠又冲着胆小先生嚷嚷，\"你干嘛住在地下室?这么好的地下室，你配住吗?\"\r\n\r\n\"什么?\"胆小先生气愤得跺了一下右脚，\"咚--\"老鼠们害怕了，他们个个抱头乱窜，以为地震了。\r\n\r\n\"哦，原来我是很有力量的!\"胆小先生抓起旧扫帚，这儿一扑，那儿一打，这儿一戳，那儿一捣，老鼠被打得\"吱吱\"叫，全逃走了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who lived in a beautiful house. Because he had very little courage, everyone called him Mr. Coward. \r\n\r\nOne day, a big mouse charged into his house. Mr. Coward immediately went to catch it, and the result was that he caught it in the basement. \r\n\r\n\"Let me go!\" the big mouse said, struggling, \"If I stamp one foot, the whole house will fall down.\" \r\n\r\nMr. Coward was afraid, and hurriedly let him go, and even allowed him to live in the basement. \r\n\r\nThere was lots to eat in the basement, and the big mouse ate, and drank, and had lots of fun. Later, the big mouse birthed a nest of little mice, and the little mice grew into big mice.... soon, the basement was full of mice.\r\n \r\n\"This won\'t do, this won\'t do!\" the big mouse yelled at Mr. Coward, \"This many mice living in this small, small basement, and you alone living in that many rooms, it\'s too unreasonable, we have to switch quarters.\" \r\n\r\n\"Switch quarters?\" So Mr. Coward [went to] live in the basement, the mice moved into every [upstairs] room, and in the wide living room they sange, and jumped, and in the fragrant kitchen they drank, and ate, and every day was like a holiday.  \r\n\r\n\"You should move out!\" the big mouse again yelled at Mr. Coward, \"What are you doing living in the basement? Such a nice basement, do you deserve to live there?\"\r\n\r\n\"What?\" Mr. Coward was so angry he stamped his left foot, <em>\"Dong...\"</e> The mice were afraid, they covered their heads and fled in disarray, thinking it was an earthquake. \r\n\r\n\"Oh! Turns out I\'m quite fierce!\" Mr. Coward grabbed up an old broom, pouncing here, hitting there, stabbing here and beating there, beating the mice until they squeaked \"zhi zhi\", and they all ran away.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2006-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-06 09:24:47', '2020-05-06 13:24:47', '', 2006, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/06/2006-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2246, 1, '2020-05-07 16:10:51', '2020-05-07 20:10:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nMr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThere\'s not much rough grammar here, but there are few words being used in their less common definitions. \r\n\r\n胆子 [pinyin]dan3 zi[/pinyin] - In English, when we want to describe someone who\'s brave, we may say they have \"lots of courage\". In Chinese, they use \"big courage\" (胆子大) and \"small courage\" (胆子小) instead. In Mr. Coward\'s name, this has been shortened to 胆小.\r\n\r\n放 [pinyin]fang4[/pinyin] - The most common usage of this word is \"to put\", but in this case, its alternate meaning is being used: \"to let go\", or \"to set free\", as in birds or captives. \r\n\r\n配 [pinyin]pei4[/pinyin] - One definition for this word is \"match\", as in \"Does this shirt match this blouse?\" But here, it\'s being used as \"deserve\", as in \"You don\'t deserve me!\"\r\n\r\n咚 [pinyin]dong1[/pinyin] - An onomatopoeia describing the sound of a thump\r\n\r\n原来 [pinyin]yuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - Often means \"originally\", as in \"I originally intended to come Monday\", but in this case means \"Turns out\", as in \"Turns out I had something else to do that day.\"\r\n \r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - I just covered this one in <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/chinese-childrens-stories-tomato-girl/\">a recent beginner post</a>, so if you\'re a frequent reader, you\'ll get to use what you learned here. If not, go check it out.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>胆小先生</h4>\r\n有一位先生，住在一座漂亮的房子里。因为他的胆子很小，大家都叫他胆小先生。\r\n\r\n一天，一只大老鼠闯进了他的房子。胆小先生马上去捉，结果在地下室捉住了它。\r\n\r\n\"你放了我!\"大老鼠挣扎着说，\"我要是一跺脚，整个房子就塌了。\"\r\n\r\n胆小先生害怕了，连忙放开了他，还允许他住在地下室里。\r\n\r\n地下室里吃的东西真多，大老鼠吃呀，喝呀，真开心。后来，大老鼠生了一窝小老鼠，小老鼠又长成大老鼠……很快，地下室住满了老鼠。\r\n\r\n\"不行，不行!\"大老鼠冲着胆小先生嚷嚷：\"这么多老鼠住这么一个小小的地下室，而你一个人住那么多房间，太不合理了，得换房子。\"\r\n\r\n\"换房子?\"胆小先生住在地下室，老鼠们住进各个房间，他们在宽大的客厅里唱呀，跳呀，在喷香的厨房里喝呀，吃呀，每天都像过节一样。\r\n\r\n\"你应该搬出去!\"大老鼠又冲着胆小先生嚷嚷，\"你干嘛住在地下室?这么好的地下室，你配住吗?\"\r\n\r\n\"什么?\"胆小先生气愤得跺了一下右脚，\"咚--\"老鼠们害怕了，他们个个抱头乱窜，以为地震了。\r\n\r\n\"哦，原来我是很有力量的!\"胆小先生抓起旧扫帚，这儿一扑，那儿一打，这儿一戳，那儿一捣，老鼠被打得\"吱吱\"叫，全逃走了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a man who lived in a beautiful house. Because he had very little courage, everyone called him Mr. Coward. \r\n\r\nOne day, a big mouse charged into his house. Mr. Coward immediately went to catch it, and the result was that he caught it in the basement. \r\n\r\n\"Let me go!\" the big mouse said, struggling, \"If I stamp one foot, the whole house will fall down.\" \r\n\r\nMr. Coward was afraid, and hurriedly let him go, and even allowed him to live in the basement. \r\n\r\nThere was lots to eat in the basement, and the big mouse ate, and drank, and had lots of fun. Later, the big mouse birthed a nest of little mice, and the little mice grew into big mice.... soon, the basement was full of mice.\r\n \r\n\"This won\'t do, this won\'t do!\" the big mouse yelled at Mr. Coward, \"This many mice living in this small, small basement, and you alone living in that many rooms, it\'s too unreasonable, we have to switch quarters.\" \r\n\r\n\"Switch quarters?\" So Mr. Coward [went to] live in the basement, the mice moved into every [upstairs] room, and in the wide living room they sange, and jumped, and in the fragrant kitchen they drank, and ate, and every day was like a holiday.  \r\n\r\n\"You should move out!\" the big mouse again yelled at Mr. Coward, \"What are you doing living in the basement? Such a nice basement, do you deserve to live there?\"\r\n\r\n\"What?\" Mr. Coward was so angry he stamped his left foot, <em>\"Dong...\"</e> The mice were afraid, they covered their heads and fled in disarray, thinking it was an earthquake. \r\n\r\n\"Oh! Turns out I\'m quite fierce!\" Mr. Coward grabbed up an old broom, pouncing here, hitting there, stabbing here and beating there, beating the mice until they squeaked \"<em>zhi zhi</em>\", and they all ran away.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward', 'Mr. Coward\'s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn\'t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2006-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 16:10:51', '2020-05-07 20:10:51', '', 2006, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2006-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2247, 1, '2020-05-07 16:22:05', '2020-05-07 20:22:05', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOh man, I just found a <a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201202/9103.htm\">huge trove</a> of essays by <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Ching-hsuan\">Lin Qingxuan</a> (林清玄), all of which are just the right length and language level for intermediate readers, so expect a ton more from him.  \r\n\r\nLin Qingxuan was an award-winning Taiwanese essayist. He studied Buddhism, and following along as he marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation, you can tell. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and all that kind of stuff. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI changed one word of the Chinese original, because the version I found included the name of some kind of fish (娃鱼 [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin]) that I couldn\'t find online anywhere, so it was either a typo, or that fish is just too obscure for the internet, or maybe it\'s the way that fish is referred to in Taiwanese but not in mainland Mandarin. I changed it to 鲸鱼, \"whale\", because it makes sense in context and [pinyin]wa2 yu2[/pinyin] kind of sounds like \"whale\", but if anyone knows what a 娃鱼 is, by all means, enlighten me.\r\n\r\nAll the grammatical structures in here, to my eye, were uncomplicated, and there are no colloquialisms, so I think all the work in understanding this piece is just learning new animal-related vocab. Do comment if you see something I ought to explain.  \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《蝴蝶的种子》</h4>\r\n我在院子里，观察一只蛹，如何变成蝴蝶。\r\n\r\n那只蛹咬破了壳，全身湿软地从壳中钻了出来，它的翅膀卷曲皱缩成一团，它站在枝桠上休息晒太阳，好像钻出壳已经用了很大的力气。\r\n\r\n它慢慢地、慢慢地，伸直翅膀，飞了起来。\r\n\r\n它在空中盘桓了一下子，很快地找寻到一朵花，它停在花上，专注、忘情地吸着花蜜。\r\n\r\n我感到非常吃惊，这只蝴蝶从来没有被教育怎么飞翔，从来没有学习过如何去吸花蜜，没有爸爸妈妈教过它，这些都是它的第一次，它的第一次就做得多么精确而完美呀！\r\n\r\n我想到，这只蝴蝶将来还会交配、繁衍、产卵、死亡，这些也都不必经由学习和教育。\r\n\r\n然后，它繁衍的子孙，一代一代，也不必教育和学习，就会飞翔和采花了。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶是依赖什么来安排它的一生呢？未经教育与学习，它又是如何来完成像飞翔或采蜜如此复杂的事呢？\r\n\r\n这个世界不是有很多未经教育与学习就完美展现的事吗？鸟的筑巢、蜘蛛的结网多么完美！孔雀想谈恋爱时，就开屏跳舞！云雀有了爱意，就放怀唱歌；天鹅和鲸鱼历经千里也不迷路；印度豹与鸵鸟天生就是赛跑高手。\r\n\r\n这些都使我相信轮回是真实的。\r\n\r\n一只蝴蝶乃是带着前世的种子投生到这个世界，在它的种子里，有一个不可动摇的信念：\r\n\r\n“我将飞翔！我将采蜜！我将繁衍子孙！”\r\n\r\n在那只美丽的蝴蝶身上，我看到空间的无限与时间的流动，深深地感动了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n<h4>Seed of a Butterfly</h4>\r\n[When] I was in the yard, I observed how a pupa became a butterfly. \r\n\r\nThat pupa bit open its casing, its soft, moist body burrowing out of its shell, its wings curled and wrinkled around him, it stood on the branch and rested while sunning itself, as if in burrowing out of its shell it had already used up a large amount of strength.  \r\n\r\nIt slowly, slowly, straightened its wings, and flew. \r\n\r\nIt lingered in the air a while, and quickly sought out a flower, it paused on the flower, intently, indifferently sucking up the flower\'s honey.\r\n\r\nI felt extremely surprised, this butterfly was never taught how to fly, had never studied how to suck down honey, no mother and father taught it, all of this was its first time, and did this so precisely and perfectly the first time! \r\n\r\nI thought, this butterfly will go on to mate, reproduce, spawn and die, and none of this requires study or education. \r\n\r\nAnd then, the offspring it breeds, generation by generation, will also need no education or study, but will fly and pluck flowers.\r\n\r\nWhat does a butterfly depend on to arrange [the course of] its life? Without undergoing education or study, how does it then complete such complicated tasks as flying and gathering flowers? \r\n\r\nDoesn\'t this world have so many things that don\'t require education or study? How perfect are the nests that birds construct and the webs that spiders tie! When a sparrow wants to find a mate, it simply spreads its tail and dances! When a peacock has an inclination to love, it sings its heart out; swans and whales can travel ten thousand miles and not lose their way; the Indian leopard and the ostrich are innately master racers. \r\n\r\nAll this makes me believe that reincarnation is real. \r\n\r\nA butterfly is still carrying the seeds of its past lives as it enters this world, and in its seed, there is an unwavering conviction:\r\n\r\n\"I will fly! I will gather honey! I will breed offspring!\"\r\n\r\nIn the body of that beautiful butterfly, I could see the limitlessness of space and the flow of time, and was deeply moved. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《蝴蝶的种子》Seed of a Butterfly by Lin Qingxuan', 'Taiwanese Buddhist essayist Lin Qingxuan marvels at the wonders of nature, time, space, and reincarnation. This piece is all about awe of the natural world, and you\'ll learn some Discovery Channel vocab, like \"pupa\", \"mate\", \"breed\", \"spawn\", and lots of animal names.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2239-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 16:22:05', '2020-05-07 20:22:05', '', 2239, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2239-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2248, 1, '2020-05-13 00:00:24', '2020-05-13 04:00:24', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nWe\'ve got a few proper nouns here. We have the name of a painter Zhang Sengyao (张僧繇 - my pinyin generator erroneously translates \"yao\" as \"you\"), a city called Jinling 金陵, which is present-day Nanjing (南京), and Anle Temple (安乐寺). Since 乐 can be pronounced both [pinyin]le4[/pinyin] and [pinyin]yue4[/pinyin], I had to look this one up - apparently it\'s [pinyin]le4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\n<strong>顷刻间</strong> [pinyin]qing3 ke4 jian1[/pinyin] - A word worth noting, since it\'s not used too often: this means \"in an instant\".\r\n\r\n<strong>腾空而去</strong> [pinyin]teng2 kong1 er2 qu4[/pinyin]  - This one is notable because of the 而去. The 而 here is used to describe the manner in which one is leaving (去). This construction is pretty common. There\'s 拂袖而去, or \"to turn on one\'s heels and go\" / \"to leave abruptly\"; there\'s 悠然而去, or \"to leisurely take one\'s leave\"; 哄然而去, or \"to leave boisterously\". You can also use other words like 走 after the 而 to describe how someone is moving forward, like 沿江而走, or \"to travel on following the river\", or 不胫而走, \"to get around fast / spread like wildfire\". In this case, 腾空 means to rise into the air, so 腾空而去 means to \"lift off into the air (and leave)\".\r\n\r\n<strong>两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</strong> - Now that we understand 而去, we can tackle this beast of a clause. First, the subject of the sentence: 两条巨龙, two giant dragons. Then, a present-tense verb: 转动着, in this case \"rotating\" or \"moving around in a circular or twisting motion\". What is moving around in a circular motion? That would be the dragon\'s 眼睛 - their eyes. What kind of eyes do they have? They have 光芒四射的 eyes, or \"radiating beams of light\". The hard part in translating this is really 转动着, because in English we don\'t describe eyes as \"revolving / twisting\". But you can kind of get the idea that the eyes of these two dragons are sweeping around as they look all about themselves, and their eyes are shooting beams of lights as they look around. Finally, we have 冲天而起 - 冲天, to charge towards the sky, and 而, \"the manner in which something is done\", and 起, to rise up. So the two dragons (两条巨龙) rise charging into the sky (冲天而起) casting about with beams of light shooting from their eyes (转动着光芒四射的眼睛). Whew.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫<span class=\"highlightText\">张僧繇</span>，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在<span class=\"highlightText\">金陵</span>（现在<span class=\"highlightText\">南京</span>）<span class=\"highlightText\">安乐寺</span>的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来？”\r\n\r\n他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”\r\n\r\n大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，<span class=\"highlightText\">顷刻间</span>电闪雷鸣。<span class=\"highlightText\">两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">腾空而去</span>。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLegend has it that in ancient times there was a painter named Zhang Sengyao, and he drew dragons very well.\r\n\r\nOne time, he painted four giant dragons on a wall at Anle Temple in Jinlong (present-day Nanjing). The dragons were vividly drawn, extremely lifelike, but they didn\'t have eyes. Peopled asked Zhang Sengyao：\"Why don\'t you draw the eyes?\" \r\n\r\nHe said: \"The eyes can\'t be painted on rashly! Once they\'re drawn, the dragons will take to the air and fly away!\" \r\n\r\nEveryone listened, but no one believed, everyone thought he was bragging. Later, he couldn\'t bear people coming repeatedly to beg him, so Zhang Sengyao had to agree to paint eyes on the dragons. The strange event happened as expected, he had just draw the eyes on the second dragon, when suddenly a big wind gusted up, and in an instant lightning flashed and thunder sounded. Two giant dragons, casting about with beams of light radiating from their eyes, rose charging towards the sky, and took off into the air. Each of the bystanders looked on dumbfounded, and admired Zhang Sengyao even more.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Perfect words at a critical moment', 'This is the legend that underpins the idiom \"画龙点睛\", which typically describes the use of a couple of perfectly-chosen words or sentences, added a critical moment in written works or spoken arguments, which illuminate a deeper meaning and give the content more power. The story itself, though, it about dragons, and is only tied to that concept in the loosest way. ', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-chengyu-idioms-perfect-words', '', '', '2020-05-13 00:13:29', '2020-05-13 04:13:29', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2248', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(2249, 1, '2020-05-07 17:07:10', '2020-05-07 21:07:10', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nLanguage notes\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>画龙点睛</h4>\r\n\r\n传说古时候有个画家叫张僧繇，他画龙画得特别好。\r\n\r\n有一次，他在金陵（现在南京）安乐寺的墙壁上画了四条巨龙，那龙画得活灵活现，非常逼真，只是都没有眼睛。人们问张僧繇：“为什么不把眼睛画出来。”他说：“眼睛可不能轻易画呀！一画了，龙就会腾空飞走的！”大家听了，谁也不信，都认为他在说大话。后来，经不起人们一再请求，张僧繇只好答应把龙的眼睛画出来。奇怪的事情果然发生了，他刚刚点出第二条龙的眼睛，突然刮起了大风，顷刻间电闪雷鸣。两条巨龙转动着光芒四射的眼睛冲天而起，腾空而去。围观的人，个个看得目瞪口呆，对张僧繇更佩服了。\r\n\r\n成语“画龙点睛”就是从这个传说中来的。现在一般用来比喻写作、讲话时，在关键性的地方用上一两句精辟的语言来点明含义，使内容更加生动有力。这种手法也称为“点睛”之笔。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nEnglish\r\n\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story behind the idiom: 画龙点睛 - Put the finishing touch on something', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2248-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:07:10', '2020-05-07 21:07:10', '', 2248, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/2248-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2250, 1, '2020-05-07 17:08:43', '2020-05-07 21:08:43', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nWelp, I swore I would never do this again but I found this (and several other short stories) in Hainan Airlines\' in-flight magazine (I\'m in Prague!) and couldn\'t resist typing it up (as opposed to copy-pasting from an online source). I\'ve checked and checked for typos, but I\'m not always the best at that, so if you run across one, please comment.\r\n\r\nThis is one of those reads where the sentence structure is basic and in parts very repetitive, but quite a few advanced words are used - \"advanced\" only because they\'re not used often in casual conversation, like parts of an animal (hooves, horns, etc.) So beginners, you can give this a go if you\'re feeling very patient but you\'ll be looking up every other word in some paragraphs even though you will be able to predict generally what the next few sentences are about.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI wanted to post a quick comment about the words 一箭一般, because this looks like a typical four-character idiom, but it\'s actually two separate words, 一箭 (an arrow) and 一般 (like, as if). Together this means \"like an arrow\", or in context of this sentence \"to take off (running) like a shot\". \r\n\r\nThere\'s also the phrase 从草丛中闪出. We\'re talking here about a dog that is \"[darting] out in a flash\" (闪出) \"from the middle of a cluster of grasses\" (从草丛中). We can imagine a dog charging out of a field of tall grass and into a clearing. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>沉默的狗</h4>\r\n傍晚，一只羊独自在<strong>山坡</strong>上玩，突然从树木中<strong>窜</strong>出一只狼来，要吃羊，羊跳起来，拼命用角<strong>抵抗</strong>，并大声地向朋友喊救命。\r\n\r\n牛在树丛中向这个地方望了一眼，发现是狼，跑走了。\r\n\r\n马低头一看，发现是狼，一<strong>溜烟</strong>跑了。\r\n\r\n驴停下脚步，发现是狼，悄悄溜下山坡。\r\n\r\n猪经过这里，发现是狼，冲下山坡。\r\n\r\n兔子一听，更是<strong>一箭一般</strong>离去。\r\n\r\n山下的狗听见羊的呼喊，急忙<strong>奔</strong>上坡来，<strong>从草丛中闪出</strong>，一下咬住了狼的脖子，狼疼得直叫唤, 趁够<strong>换气</strong>时，<strong>怆惶</strong>挑走了。\r\n\r\n回到家，朋友都来了，\r\n牛说：你怎么不告诉我？我的角可以<strong>剜出</strong>狼的肠子。\r\n马说：你怎么不告诉我？我的<strong>蹄子</strong>能踢碎狼的脑袋。\r\n驴说：你怎么不告诉我？我一声吼叫，吓破狼的胆。\r\n猪说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我用嘴<strong>一拱</strong>，就让它摔下山去。\r\n兔子说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我跑得快，可以传信呀。\r\n\r\n在这闹嚷嚷的一群中，<strong>唯独</strong>没有狗。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nOne nightfall, a sheep was playing alone on the mountainside, when suddenly a wolf emerged from among the trees, wanting to eat the sheep, so the sheep jumped up, using his horns to defend himself with all his might, and loudly called out for his friends to save his life.\r\n\r\nThe bull looked over from among a cluster of trees, saw there was a wolf, and ran away.\r\n\r\nThe horse lowered its head and looked, discovered there was a wolf, and slipped away in a puff of smoke.\r\n\r\nThe mule stopped walking for a moment, discovered there was a wolf, and quietly slipped down the mountain.\r\n\r\nThe pig passed through there, found out there was a wolf, and rushed down the mountainside.\r\n\r\nThe rabbit listened a moment, then took off like a shot.\r\n\r\nFrom the bottom of the mountain, the dog heard the sheep\'s cry, and ran quickly up the mountainside, came out of the grass in a flash, and in a moment had grabbed the wolf\'s neck in his teeth, the wolf cried out in pain, and taking advantage of the dog\'s intake of breath, ran away full of sorrow and fear.\r\n\r\n[When the sheep] returned home, his friends all came over.\r\n\r\nThe bull said: Why didn\'t you tell me? My horns could have gouged out the wolf\'s intestines.\r\nThe horse said: Why didn\'t you tell me? My hooves could have kicked the wolf\'s skull apart.\r\nDonkey said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I could have brayed and startled the wolf so as to break his courage. \r\nPig said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I could nuzzle him with my snout, and make him fall down the mountain.\r\nRabbit said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I run fast, I could have spread the word.\r\nIn this noisy group, the only one who wasn\'t present was the dog.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Fable: 《沉默的狗》The Silent Dog', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1432-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:08:43', '2020-05-07 21:08:43', '', 1432, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1432-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2251, 1, '2020-05-07 17:09:02', '2020-05-07 21:09:02', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nI love it when I find a longer story that\'s suitable for beginning readers. This one, which is either a tale that reminds us what happens when you try to be something you\'re not, or a tale that reminds us that men should never be allowed to give each other fashion advice, definitely fits the bill. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe first sentence isn\'t super simple, so push through that one if you can, it gets much easier in the following paragraphs. Four points of grammar: \r\n\r\n能有幸请 [pinyin]neng2 you3 xing4 qing3[/pinyin] - A politely formal phrase of invitation \"May have the pleasure of inviting you ...\" or more specifically, \"May I be so lucky as to...\" (have this dance?) (take you on a date?). \r\n\r\n看上去 [pinyin]kan4 shang4 qu4[/pinyin] - To look like. \r\n\r\n你要是再不走开 [pinyin]ni3 yao4 shi4 zai4 bu4 zou3 kai1[/pinyin] - This one might be a little confusing. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n你 - You\r\n要是 - If\r\n再不 - Otherwise / If not\r\n走开 - Go away\r\n\r\nThe full phrase means \"If you don\'t go away....\"\r\n\r\n他会来收拾你的 [pinyin]ta1 hui4 lai2 shou1 shi5 ni3 de5[/pinyin]. In the story, Miss Pig says this to an unwelcome guest. The \"他\" in this case is Mr. Pig. The Beginners often learn the word \"收拾\", meaning \"to tidy up\". Usually, this means exactly what it sounds like, and applies to cleaning up a room or an apartment. In this case, it\'s being used in kind of an action movie way, meaning \"He\'ll come over and <strong>deal with</strong> you!\" or \"He\'ll come <strong>straighten you out</strong>!\". So Miss Pig is threatening the unwelcome guest, telling him that Mr. Pig will come over and beat him up. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>猪先生去野餐</h4>\r\n今天，真是个<strong>野餐</strong>的好日子。 猪先生精心打扮着自己，他<strong>期待</strong>着猪小姐能与他一起去野餐。\r\n\r\n“呵呵，真希望她会说‘我愿意’啊。 嗯，我再摘朵花送给她，一定能够打<strong>动她</strong>！”\r\n\r\n路上，猪先生<strong>遇到</strong>了他的朋友狐狸。狐狸听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的尾巴<strong>借</strong>去吧。瞧，你<strong>看上去</strong>有多聪明啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。\r\n\r\n<strong>接着</strong>，他又遇到了他的朋友狮子。狮子听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的头发借去吧。 瞧，你看上去有多<strong>威猛</strong>啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。\r\n\r\n后来，他又遇到他的朋友斑马。斑马听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的条纹借去吧。 瞧，你看上去有多<strong>英俊</strong>啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。他觉得自己从来没有这样英俊过。\r\n\r\n终于来到猪小姐家了，猪先生<strong>激动</strong>地敲了敲门。“能有幸请你一起去野餐吗？”他问。\r\n\r\n猪小姐吓了一大跳：“噢，不行！你是哪儿来的<strong>妖怪</strong>呀？你要是<strong>再不走开</strong>，我就去叫猪先生了，他会来收拾你的！”\r\n\r\n猪先生连忙往回跑。一路上，他把条纹还给了斑马，把头发还给了狮子，把尾巴还给了狐狸。然后，他又赶回到猪小姐的家，再一次摁响了门铃。\r\n\r\n“能有幸请你一起去野餐吗？”他又问。\r\n\r\n“啊呀，猪先生！” 猪小姐叫道，“看到你我真是太高兴啦，我很愿意跟你一起去野餐。刚才来了个<strong>丑八怪</strong>，就站在我的院子里，可把我吓坏啦。”\r\n\r\n一路上，猪小姐把那个丑八怪的故事仔细地讲给了猪先生。她英俊的朋友猪先生，则一直满怀同情地听着。这真是一个去野餐的好日子啊。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nToday, it\'s a great day for a picnic. Mr. Pig dressed himself with care, looking forward to [the possibility of] Miss Pig and himself going on a picnic together.\r\n\r\n\"Heh, I hope she says \'Yes\' [lit: I\'m willing]. Hm, I\'ll also pick some flowers to give her, that will certainly be enough to sway her!\"\r\n\r\nOn the road, Mr. Pig ran into his friend Fox. When fox heard about the picnic, he said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, let me lend you my beautiful tail. See, you look so clever, Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased. \r\n\r\nContinuing on, he ran into his friend Lion. Lion heard about the picnic and said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, borrow my beautiful hair for when you go over there. See, you look so powerful, Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased.  \r\n\r\nAfter a while, he ran into his friend Zebra. Zebra heard about the picnic and said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, I\'ll lend you my beautiful stripes. See, you look so handsome. Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased. He felt that he\'d never before looked so handsome.\r\n\r\nFinally arriving at Miss Pig\'s house, Mr. Pig excitedly knocked on the door. \"Would you do me the honor of going on a picnic with me?\" he asked. \r\n\r\nMiss Pig was terrified: \"Oh, no way! What kind of monster are you? If you don\'t go away, I\'ll go get Mr. Pig, he\'ll straighten you out!\"\r\n\r\nMr. Pig hurriedly ran away. On the road, he gave the stripes back to Zebra, the hair back to Lion, and the tail back to Fox. AFter that, he hurried back to Miss Pig\'s house, and again pressed the doorbell. \r\n\r\n\"Would you do me the honor of having a picnic with me?\" he asked again. \r\n\r\n\"Goodness, Mr. Pig!\" Miss Pig cried out. \"I\'m so happy to see you, I\'d love to go on a picnic with you. An ugly wretch just came by here, standing in my garden, and scared me so.\" \r\n\r\nOn the way, Miss Pig told Mr. Pig the story of the \'ugly wretch\' in great detail. Her handsome friend Mr. Pig, though, listened with great sympathy. It really was a great day for a picnic.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Children\'s Story: 《猪先生去野餐》 Mr. Pig\'s Picnic', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1450-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:09:02', '2020-05-07 21:09:02', '', 1450, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1450-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2252, 1, '2020-05-07 17:09:18', '2020-05-07 21:09:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nHey hey, lookie here, an excellent guest post submitted by native Chinese speaker Yang from <a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn Mandarin Now</a>. This story tells us a bit about the Chinese <em>chengyu</em> (idiom),塞翁失马, which can mean \"a blessing in disguise\", or can conversely mean \"bad luck disguised as good\". It\'s used to point out the hidden positives or negatives in a situation, so you might say it means \"there are two sides to every circumstance\". <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI\'m loving this post for the fable-y language: \"servant\", \"steed\", etc. Plus, I learned a new favorite word in this one: 塞外 [pinyin]sai4 wai4[/pinyin], meaning \"Beyond the Great Wall\". In other words, a remote place near the outskirts or borders of China. Also, don\'t forget, 匹 [pinyin]pi3[/pinyin] is the measure word for Horses, so you\'re gonna see that a few times. \r\n\r\nThere\'s one phrase we should probably get into in greater detail, because I don\'t think it\'s immediately clear what it means: 全国上下的年轻男子都被抓去打仗. Let\'s take a look at this, word by word:\r\n\r\n全国 - The whole country\r\n上下的 - Everywhere\r\n年轻男子 - young men\r\n都 - all\r\n被 - grammar word usually indicating that the subject of the sentence has had something unfortunate happen to them\r\n抓 - grabbed\r\n去 - go out\r\n打仗 - fight \r\n\r\nThe key word here is 抓 [pinyin]zhua1[/pinyin], which usually means to \"catch\" or \"grab\". In this case, the word means \"drafted\", so it still means to \"grab\", but in this case, it\'s the ruling power (probably the king) doing the grabbing up (of potential soldiers). The 被 in this case functions as \"were\", with a negative overtone. So this can be translated as \"All the young men everywhere in the country <strong>were drafted</strong> to go fight a war.\"\r\n\r\nLearn Mandarin Now\'s \"<a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com/how-to-read-chinese/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Read Chinese</a>\" page for a basic overview on getting started with Simplified characters, and look at <a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com/blog/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their new blog</a> for some learning tips. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>塞翁失马</h4>\r\n从前，一位<strong>老翁</strong>和他的儿子住在<strong>塞外</strong>的边境上。他们都非常喜欢骑马。有一天，他们家的<strong>仆人</strong>给老先生报告：\"我们家的一匹骏马走丢了，好像跑去<strong>邻国</strong>了。\"\r\n\r\n老翁的朋友<strong>闻讯</strong>都过来安慰他。但老先生说：“呵呵，这也许不是坏事，谁知道呢！＂\r\n\r\n几个月之后，奇妙的事情发生了，那匹走失了的骏马意外地跑回来了，并且从邻国带来了一匹新的<strong>骏马</strong>。老翁的好友纷纷过来祝贺他。老翁说：“唉，这也许不是什么好事情呢！”\r\n\r\n一天，老翁的儿子正在骑那匹新的骏马，突然不小心从马上掉了下来并摔断了腿。他从今以后都不能正常走路了。老翁的朋友都为老翁感到伤心，但老翁却说：“这个意外以后能为咱们带来好运也不一定。”\r\n\r\n一年后，全国上下的年轻男子都被抓去打仗，大部分去参军的年轻人都死在了<strong>战场</strong>。老翁的儿子因为腿受伤了所以避过了这一次劫难。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nOnce upon a time, there was an old man who lived with his son on the borders of the country. They both very much enjoyed riding horses. One day, a servant reported to the old man, “One of our good horses has gone missing. It seems the horse ran across to the neighboring country.\"\r\n\r\nOld man\'s friends came and comforted him. However, the old man said: \"Well, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Who knows!\"\r\n\r\nCouple of months later, a strange thing happened. The missing horse came back, accompanied by a great steed from the neighboring country. When his friends congratulated him on this great news, the old man said: \"Well, this might bring us bad luck.\"\r\n\r\nOne day, his son was having fun riding on the fine [new] steed. Suddenly, he fell from the hose and broke his leg. His son was never able to walk again. Again, his friends came to comfort the old man. But the old man was not bothered and said: \"This accident might bring us good luck in the future.\"\r\n\r\nA year later, all young men in the country were drafted to join a war. Most young men who fought died on the battlefield. Luckily, his son avoided entering the war because of his broken leg.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Guest Post: Story Behind the Idiom: 塞翁失马 - A blessing in disguise', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1551-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:09:18', '2020-05-07 21:09:18', '', 1551, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1551-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2253, 1, '2020-05-07 17:14:04', '2020-05-07 21:14:04', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nYang over at <a href=\"http://learnmandarinnow.com\">Learn Mandarin Now</a> is spoiling me with all these guest posts. I\'ve been struggling to find something that suitable for beginners lately - everything I stumble across ends up being intermediate. But this is a very good place for beginners to start reading <em>[pinyin]cheng2yu3[/pinyin]</em> (成语 idiom) stories, because you\'ll get an introduction to a few words that you often see in this kind of \"long long ago, far far away\" fable. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn the very first sentence, we run across three words of interest. One, 从前 [pinyin]cong2qian2[/pinyin], means \"a long time ago\", your classic storybook beginning. \r\n\r\nThe second, 楚国人 [pinyin]chu3guo2ren2[/pinyin], means \"a man from the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">State of Chu</a>\". The State of Chu was a Chinese jurisdictional division during the Zhou Dynasty (1046 – 256 BC). In stories that reference pre-1900 China, you\'ll often see references to places that existed in ancient times.  <a href=\"http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/116528/Chu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Encyclopedia Britannica</a> tells us: \"China itself was at the time divided into a series of small duke states, all of which theoretically owed allegiance to the Zhou dynasty, although the Zhou rulers had long since been unable to exercise control over more than their own fiefs.\"  Anyhoo, the third word is 宝剑 [pinyin]bao3jian4[/pinyin], which means \"a double-edged sword\". How fable-y is that, huh?\r\n \r\nI\'d also like to draw your attention to the word 移动 [pinyin]yi4dong4[/pinyin], meaning \"to be moving\" or \"mobile\". This word is quite common - it\'s used to refer to people who move often, and also to \"mobile\" phones (the cell provider \"China Mobile\" has this in their Chinese name: 中国移动).\r\n\r\nOkay, let\'s do this. And thanks again to <a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com/how-to-learn-chinese-the-easiest-way/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yang</a>! Lots of work for some paltry backlinks. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>刻舟求剑</h4>\r\n<strong>从前</strong>有一位楚国人, 他非常<strong>爱惜</strong>他的宝剑。有一天，他正坐在船上准备过河，<strong>一不小心</strong>他就把宝剑掉进了河里。他马上在宝剑掉落的地方作了<strong>记号</strong>。当他到达对岸的时候，他沿着记号跳进河里去找他的宝剑。当然，他已经找不到了。\r\n \r\n宝剑已经不在原来掉落的地方因为船和水都在<strong>移动</strong>。这个故事形容只会刻板地遵守规则，不懂变通的人。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there was a man from the State of Chu who loved his sword very much. One day, he was sitting in his boat preparing to cross a river, when he accidentally dropped his sword into the water. He immediately made a notch on the side of the boat at the place where his dear sword fell. When he returned close to shore, he re-entered the water just beneath the notch he made, looking for his sword. Naturally, he wasn\'t able to find it.  \r\n \r\nThe sword was already gone because the boat and the river were in motion. This idiom is used to describe a person who sticks to rigid rules without considering a changing environment [or describes an action made pointless by changing circumstances]. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 刻舟求剑 - Being too rigid in the face of change', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1557-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:14:04', '2020-05-07 21:14:04', '', 1557, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1557-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2255, 1, '2020-05-07 17:17:47', '2020-05-07 21:17:47', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis short tale addresses the background story behind the Chinese idiom 一暴十寒, which literally translates to \"One day of sun, ten days of frost\", and which means \"to bust butt for a little while and then get lazy\", or \"to only work for a short time and then fail\". The story below really applies to the latter meaning. Though this is categorized as advanced, upper-intermediate readers could surely tackle this. <!--more-->\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>一暴十寒</h4>\r\n<strong>战国</strong>时，有个叫<strong>孟轲</strong>的人，大家称他为<strong>孟子</strong>。孟子<strong>善于</strong>通过打比方来发表议论。\r\n\r\n当时，有人<strong>指责</strong>孟子不尽力帮助齐王。孟子便解释说:“比如说，天下有些易活的植物，假如把它放在太阳下晒一天，然后再把它放在<strong>阴冷</strong>的地方冻十天，即使是<strong>生命力</strong>再强的植物也会死。我见到齐王的机会<strong>少之甚少</strong>，即使给了他些良好的影响与帮助，我一离开，一些和我主张不同的人，又带给他许多不好影响。我怎么能使齐王的思想、品质好起来呢？”\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDuring the Warring States Period, there was a man named Meng Ke [Mencius], who everyone called MengZi. Menzi was very good at creating analogies to foster discussion.　\r\n\r\nAt that time, there was a person who criticized Mencius for not trying harder to help the King of Qi. Mencius explained plainly, saying, \"Take this as an example: there are some plants that live well on this earth [lit: under heaven], but if you take them and put them in the sun for a day, then you take them and put them in the gloom and cold to freeze for ten days, even if their vitality is strong they\'re still going to die.  My opportunities to see the King of Qi have been less and less, so even if I give him some good influence and help, as soon as I leave, some people that don\'t advocate the same things I do will influence him negatively. [That being the case,] how can I improve the quality of the King of Qi\'s thinking?\"\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 一暴十寒 - Temporary diligence followed by laziness', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '901-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:17:47', '2020-05-07 21:17:47', '', 901, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/901-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2256, 1, '2020-05-07 17:19:44', '2020-05-07 21:19:44', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nAs you\'re probably aware, most Chinese idioms are 4-character constructs that make little sense unless you know the story behind them. this one,  南辕北辙, means \"to do something that acts against your own best interests\". <!--more--> The story behind this idiom talks about the follies of a man traveling the wrong direction on his way to the Kingdom of Chu, who refuses against all wisdom and advice to go the right way.\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>南辕北辙</h4>\r\n从前有一个人，从魏国到楚国去。他带上很多的<strong>盘缠</strong>，雇了上好的车，驾上<strong>骏马</strong>，请了驾车技术精湛的车夫，就上路了。楚国在魏国的南面，可这个人<strong>不问青红皂白</strong>让驾车人赶着马车一直向北走去。\r\n\r\n路上有人问他的车是要往哪儿去，他大声回答说: “去楚国！”路人告诉他说: “到楚国去应往南方走，你这是在往北走，方向不对。那人<strong>满不在乎</strong>地说:\"没关系，我的马快着呢!\" 路人替他着急，拉住他的马，<strong>阻止</strong>他说, “方向错了，你的马再快，也到不了楚国呀!\" 那人依然毫不<strong>醒悟</strong>地说: “不要紧，我带的路费多着呢!\" 路人极力<strong>劝阻</strong>他说:“虽说你路费多，可是你走的不是那个方向，你路费多也只能白花呀!\" 那个一心只想着要到楚国去的人有些不耐烦地说: “这有什么难的，我的车夫赶车的本领高着呢!\" 路人<strong>无奈</strong>，只好松开了拉住车把子的手，眼睁睁看着那个盲目上路的魏人走了。\r\n\r\n那个魏国人，不听别人的指点<strong>劝告</strong>，仗着自己的马快、钱多、车夫好等优越条件，朝着相反方向<strong>一意孤行</strong>。那么，他条件越好，他就只会离要去的地方越远，因为他的大方向错了。\r\n\r\n这个故事告诉我们，无论做什么事，都要首先看准方向，才能发充分挥自己的有利条件；如果方向错了，那么有利条件只会起到相反的作用。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there was a man traveling from the Kingdom of Wei to the Kingdom of Chu. He took a lot of traveling money with him, hired a good carriage, harnessed it to a strong steed, hired an exquisitely skilled driver, and then began his journey. The Kingdom of Chu was to the south of the Kingdom of Wei, but this man couldn\'t tell the difference when the driver rode away towards the north.\r\n\r\nOn the road, a passing traveler asked where they were going. The man loudly answered, \"We\'re going to the Kindom of Chu!\". The traveler told him, \"If you\'re going to Chu, you should go south. You\'re going north, it\'s the wrong direction.\" The man unconcernedly replied, \"No problem! My horse is very fast.\" Worried for him, the traveler pulled at the horse, and warned, \"You\'re going the wrong way. Even if your horse was even faster than it is, you still won\'t reach the Kingdom of Chu!\" Still not seeing the truth, the man said, \"Don\'t worry, I\'ve brought a lot of money with me.\" Making a concerted effort to dissuade him, the traveler said, \"Though you may have a lot of money, you\'re still going the wrong direction, and your money will be spent in vain.\" Thinking of nothing other than getting to the Kingdom of Chu, the man impatiently said, \"It\'s not a problem, my driver is extremely skilled!\" Out of options, the traveler let go of the carriage and watched helplessly as the aimless man from Wu rode away.\r\n\r\nThe man from Wu didn\'t listen to anyone\'s exhortations, relying on his fast horse, his money, his driver\'s skill and many other favorable conditions, and obstinately continued to go in the opposite direction. Doing this, he could only continue to get further and further away from his goal, because his overall direction was wrong.\r\n\r\nThis story tells us, no matter what the situation is, we\'d better first be sure we\'re going the right way, and only then can we fully employ our other advantages, otherwise those advantages will just cause us pain [lit: have the opposite effect].\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'The Story Behind the Idiom: 南辕北辙 - to act against one\'s own best interest', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '123-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:19:44', '2020-05-07 21:19:44', '', 123, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/123-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2257, 1, '2020-05-07 17:22:58', '2020-05-07 21:22:58', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nAs you\'re probably aware, most Chinese idioms are 4-character constructs that make little sense unless you know the story behind them. this one,  南辕北辙, means \"to do something that acts against your own best interests\". <!--more--> The story behind this idiom talks about the follies of a man traveling the wrong direction on his way to the Kingdom of Chu, who refuses against all wisdom and advice to go the right way.\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>南辕北辙</h4>\r\n从前有一个人，从魏国到楚国去。他带上很多的<strong>盘缠</strong>，雇了上好的车，驾上<strong>骏马</strong>，请了驾车技术精湛的车夫，就上路了。楚国在魏国的南面，可这个人<strong>不问青红皂白</strong>让驾车人赶着马车一直向北走去。\r\n\r\n路上有人问他的车是要往哪儿去，他大声回答说: “去楚国！”路人告诉他说: “到楚国去应往南方走，你这是在往北走，方向不对。那人<strong>满不在乎</strong>地说:\"没关系，我的马快着呢!\" 路人替他着急，拉住他的马，<strong>阻止</strong>他说, “方向错了，你的马再快，也到不了楚国呀!\" 那人依然毫不<strong>醒悟</strong>地说: “不要紧，我带的路费多着呢!\" 路人极力<strong>劝阻</strong>他说:“虽说你路费多，可是你走的不是那个方向，你路费多也只能白花呀!\" 那个一心只想着要到楚国去的人有些不耐烦地说: “这有什么难的，我的车夫赶车的本领高着呢!\" 路人<strong>无奈</strong>，只好松开了拉住车把子的手，眼睁睁看着那个盲目上路的魏人走了。\r\n\r\n那个魏国人，不听别人的指点<strong>劝告</strong>，仗着自己的马快、钱多、车夫好等优越条件，朝着相反方向<strong>一意孤行</strong>。那么，他条件越好，他就只会离要去的地方越远，因为他的大方向错了。\r\n\r\n这个故事告诉我们，无论做什么事，都要首先看准方向，才能发充分挥自己的有利条件；如果方向错了，那么有利条件只会起到相反的作用。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there was a man traveling from the Kingdom of Wei to the Kingdom of Chu. He took a lot of traveling money with him, hired a good carriage, harnessed it to a strong steed, hired an exquisitely skilled driver, and then began his journey. The Kingdom of Chu was to the south of the Kingdom of Wei, but this man couldn\'t tell the difference when the driver rode away towards the north.\r\n\r\nOn the road, a passing traveler asked where they were going. The man loudly answered, \"We\'re going to the Kindom of Chu!\". The traveler told him, \"If you\'re going to Chu, you should go south. You\'re going north, it\'s the wrong direction.\" The man unconcernedly replied, \"No problem! My horse is very fast.\" Worried for him, the traveler pulled at the horse, and warned, \"You\'re going the wrong way. Even if your horse was even faster than it is, you still won\'t reach the Kingdom of Chu!\" Still not seeing the truth, the man said, \"Don\'t worry, I\'ve brought a lot of money with me.\" Making a concerted effort to dissuade him, the traveler said, \"Though you may have a lot of money, you\'re still going the wrong direction, and your money will be spent in vain.\" Thinking of nothing other than getting to the Kingdom of Chu, the man impatiently said, \"It\'s not a problem, my driver is extremely skilled!\" Out of options, the traveler let go of the carriage and watched helplessly as the aimless man from Wu rode away.\r\n\r\nThe man from Wu didn\'t listen to anyone\'s exhortations, relying on his fast horse, his money, his driver\'s skill and many other favorable conditions, and obstinately continued to go in the opposite direction. Doing this, he could only continue to get further and further away from his goal, because his overall direction was wrong.\r\n\r\nThis story tells us, no matter what the situation is, we\'d better first be sure we\'re going the right way, and only then can we fully employ our other advantages, otherwise those advantages will just cause us pain [lit: have the opposite effect].\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'The Story Behind the Idiom: 南辕北辙 - To act against one\'s own best interest', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '123-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:22:58', '2020-05-07 21:22:58', '', 123, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/123-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2260, 1, '2020-05-07 17:40:51', '2020-05-07 21:40:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nHere we\'ll cover the back story behind the idiom \"夜郎自大\", or \"Yelang thinks highly of itself\". This idiom one refers to someone who has a high, but misguided, opinion of their own worth. Stick this one in the language bank for when you need to take someone down a peg (preferably while stroking your fu manchu and calmly catching flies with your chopsticks). <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI learned a new word on this one: 统治 [pinyin]tong3 zhi4[/pinyin]. Which brings the total number of \"tongzhi\" words (tonal differences aside) I know up to three. \r\n\r\nWe\'ve got:\r\n同志 - [pinyin]tong2 zhi4[/pinyin] or \"Comrade\" (and in Chinese slang this also means \"a homosexual\", though if you keep an eye on the Chinese news you\'ll see that that one of the more reputable local dictionaries refused to include that definition though it\'s in common use) \r\n\r\n通知 [pinyin]tong1 zhi1[/pinyin] - To notify, give notice\r\n\r\nAnd now, 统治 [pinyin]tong3 zhi4[/pinyin] - To rule over (a kingdom / country)\r\n\r\nLet us hope there aren\'t any more configurations of that sound. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>夜郎自大</h4>\r\n<strong>汉朝</strong>的时候，在西南方有个名叫夜郎的小国家，它虽然是一个独立的国家，可是<strong>国土</strong>很小，百姓也少，物产更是少得可怜。但是由于邻近地区以夜郎这个国家最大，从没离开过国家的夜郎国国王就以为自己<strong>统治</strong>的国家是全天下最大的国家。\r\n\r\n有一天，夜郎国国王与<strong>部下</strong><strong>巡视</strong><strong>国境</strong>的时候，他指着前方问说：“这里哪个国家最大呀？”部下们为了<strong>迎合</strong>国王的心意，于是就说：“当然是夜郎国最大啰！”走着走着，国王又抬起头来、望着前方的高山问说：“天底下还有比这座山更高的山吗？”部下们回答说：“天底下没有比这座山更高的山了。”后来，他们来到河边，国王又问：“我认为这可是世界上最长的河川了。”部下们仍然<strong>异口同声</strong>回答说：“大王说得一点都没错。”从此以后，无知的国王就更相信夜郎是天底下最大的国家。\r\n\r\n有一次，汉朝<strong>派</strong><strong>使者</strong>来到夜郎，<strong>途中</strong>先经过夜郎的邻国滇国，滇王问使者：“汉朝和我的国家比起来哪个大？”使者一听吓了一跳，他没想到这个小国家，竟然无知的自以为能与汉朝相比。却没想到后来使者到了夜郎国，骄傲又无知的国王因为不知道自己统治的国家只和汉朝的一个县差不多大，竟然不知天高地厚也问使者：“汉朝和我的国家哪个大？”\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDuring the Han Dynasty, in the southwest there was a small country called Yelang, and although it was an independent nation, its territory was small, there weren\'t many citizens, and its products were pitifully few. Because it was the largest kingdom in the near area, the Yelang king who\'d never left his own country thought the country he ruled was the biggest on earth. \r\n\r\nOne day, the king of Yelang was on a national border inspection tour with his troops, when he pointed in front of him [to neighboring country] and said, \"Which country is bigger?\" In order to serve their own interests and make the king happy, the troops said, \"Of course Yelang is bigger!\" They walked along, and the king once again lifted up his head, gazed at the big mountain in the distance and asked: \"Is there a taller mountain than this anywhere on earth?\" And his men answered: \"No, there\'s no mountain taller than this one on earth.\" After a while, they reached the river side, and the king asked again: \"I think this is the world\'s longest river.\" And all his men said in unison \"The king speaks truly.\" After this, the ignorant king believed even more firmly that Yelang was the world\'s biggest country.\r\n\r\nThen one day, the Han Dynasty dispatched an envoy to Yelang, and en route they encountered the neighboring kingdom DianGuo, and the King of Dian asked the emissary: \"If you compared the Han Dynasty and my Kingdom, which one would be bigger?\" The emissary listened in astonishment, as he\'d never have thought this small a country thought it could compare itself to the Han Dynasty. But he really never could have suspected that when he got to Yelang, the prideful and ignorant king who didn\'t know that the kingdom he ruled was about the size of one Han county, would ask with an exaggerated opinion of his own worth, \"Which is bigger: the Han Dynasty or my country?\"  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 夜郎自大 - Thinking too highly of oneself', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1300-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:40:51', '2020-05-07 21:40:51', '', 1300, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1300-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2261, 1, '2020-05-07 17:41:31', '2020-05-07 21:41:31', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nThis fable describes backstory / origination of the idiom 掩耳盗铃 [pinyin]yan3 er3 dao4 ling2[/pinyin], which literally translates as \"to plug one\'s ears while stealing a bell\", and meaning \"to bury one\'s head in the sand\", or \"to deceive oneself\".<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI understand that this story was taken from the collection 吕氏春秋 (\"Mr. Lu\'s Annals [of the Spring / Autumn Period]\"), which is described as \"a historical miscellany from the point of view of Qin period merchant and politician 吕不韦 Lu BuWei [pinyin]lv3 bu4 wei2[/pinyin]\"\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>掩耳盗铃</h4>\r\n\r\n春秋时侯，晋国<strong>贵族</strong><strong>智伯</strong>灭掉了<strong>范氏</strong>。有人趁机跑到范氏家里想偷点东西，看见院子里吊着一口大钟。钟是用上等青铜<strong>铸成</strong>的，造型和图案都很精美。小偷心里高兴极了，想把这口精美的大钟背回自已家去。可是钟又大又重，怎么也挪不动。他想来想去，只有一个办法，那就是把钟敲碎，然后再分别搬回家。\r\n　　\r\n小偷找来一把大<strong>大锤</strong>，拼命朝钟砸去，咣的一声巨响，把他吓了一大跳。小偷着慌，心想这下糟了，这种声不就等于是告诉人们我正在这里偷钟吗？他心里一急，身子一下子扑到了钟上，张开双臂想<strong>捂住</strong>钟声，可钟声又怎么捂得住呢！钟声依然悠悠地传向远方。\r\n\r\n他越听越害怕，不同自由地抽回双手，使劲捂住自已的耳朵。“咦，钟声变小了，听不见了！”小偷高兴起来，“妙极了！把耳朵捂住不住就听不进钟声了吗！”他立刻找来两个布团，把耳朵塞住，心想，这下谁也听不见钟声了。于是就放手砸起钟来，一下一下，钟声响亮地传到很远的地方。人们听到钟声蜂拥而至把小偷捉住了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDuring the Spring and Autumn period, Nobleman ZhiBo of the Jin state eliminated the Fan clan [in battle]. There was a person who sought to take advantage of the defeated [and thus absent] Fan clan to steal some things from their house, and he saw that in their yard dangled a large bell. The bell was molded from the finest bronze, its shape and design were very fine indeed. The thief was extremely happy, thinking to take this refined bell and carry it back to his own house. But the bell was both big and heavy, and howsoever he tried, he couldn\'t move it. He thought and thought, and came up with just one solution, which was to break the bell to bits, then take the pieces separately back to his house. \r\n　　\r\nThe thief found a sledgehammer, and swung at the bell with all his might. A loud \"gong\" sound rang out, startling the thief. The thief panicked, thinking this [enterprise] was spoiled, thinking \"that kind of noise is tantamount to telling people that I\'m here stealing the bell, isn\'t it?\" He was worried, and he flung is body at the bell, stretching his arms around it to try to still the sound, but really how could he stop it? The sound went on and on, ringing far and wide.  \r\n\r\nThe longer he heard it, the more afraid he became, and withdrew his hands to press them against his ears with all his strength. \"Yi, the sound has lessened, I can\'t hear it anymore!\" The thief became happy again, \"How wonderful! If I cover my ears well, the sound can\'t be heard!\" covered his ears well, he couldn\'t hear the sound at all! He immediately found two pieces of cloth and stopped up his ears, thinking that this way, no one else could hear the bell\'s sound either. So he began smashing the bell, hitting it again and again, the ringing of the bell being heard even in far away places. People heard the bells sounds and came in great numbers, catching the thief.  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>\r\n', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 掩耳盗铃 - To bury one\'s head in the sand', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '476-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:41:31', '2020-05-07 21:41:31', '', 476, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/476-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2262, 1, '2020-05-07 17:43:09', '2020-05-07 21:43:09', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;>In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“#\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Liu Cixin</a> (刘慈欣) is China\'s most famous contemporary science fiction writer, and is most well-known as the author of <em>The Three Body Problem</em>, which won significant critical acclaim worldwide, and spawned a series of movies. \r\n\r\nBut Liu Cixin has written several other novels and short stories, of which《赡养人类》 is one. It\'s good fiction, if you like spaceships, but more than that, it\'s super short - only around 70 pages or so - so if you\'d like to try your hand at finishing a whole novel, this is a pretty solid choice. You can pick up the book on Amazon. \r\n\r\nIn this post, we\'ll read the first part of Chapter One, which introduces one of the main characters: the assassin Smoothbore (滑膛). When we first him, he\'s in the process of taking on a new hit. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《赡养人类》第一章</h4>\r\n\r\n业务就是业务，无关其他。这是滑膛所遵循的原则，但这一次，客户却让他感到了困惑。\r\n\r\n首先客户的委托方式不对，他要与自己面谈，在这个行业中，这可是件很稀奇的事。三年前，滑膛听教官不止一次地说过，他们与客户的关系，应该是前额与后脑勺的关系，永世不得见面，这当然是为了双方的利益考虑。见面的地点更令滑膛吃惊，是在这座大城市中最豪华的五星级酒店中最豪华的总统大厅，那可是世界上最不适合委托这种业务的地方。据对方透露，这次委托加工的工件有三个，这倒无所谓，再多些他也不在乎。\r\n\r\n服务生拉开了总统大厅镶金的大门，滑膛在走进去前，不为人察觉地把手向夹克里探了一下，轻轻拉开了左腋下枪套的按扣。其实这没有必要，没人会在这种地方对他干太意外的事。\r\n\r\n大厅金碧辉煌，仿佛是与外面现实毫无关系的另一个世界，巨型水晶吊灯就是这个世界的太阳，猩红色的地毯就是这个世界的草原。这里初看很空旷，但滑膛还是很快发现了人，他们围在大厅一角的两个落地窗前，撩开厚重的窗帘向外面的天空看，滑膛扫了一眼，立刻数出竟有十三个人。客户是他们而不是他，也出乎滑膛的预料，教官说过，客户与他们还像情人关系一一尽管可能有多个，但每次只能与他们中的一人接触。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\r\n\r\n滑膛知道他们在看什么：哥哥飞船又移到南半球上空了，现在可以清晰地看到。上帝文明离开地球已经三年了，那次来自宇宙的大规模造访，使人类对外星文明的心理承受能力增强了许多，况且，上帝文明有铺天盖地的两万多艘飞船，而这次到来的哥哥飞船只有一艘。它的形状也没有上帝文明的飞船那么奇特，只是一个两头圆的柱体，像是宇宙中的一粒感冒胶囊。\r\n\r\n看到滑膛进来，那十三个人都离开窗子，回到了大厅中央的大圆桌旁。滑膛认出了他们中的大部分，立刻感觉这间华丽的大厅变得寒碜了。这些人中最引入注目的是朱汉杨，他的华软集团的“东方3000”操作系统正在全球范围内取代老朽的WINDOWS。其他的人，也都在福布斯财富500排行的前50内，这些人每年的收益，可能相当于一个中等国家的GDP，滑膛处于一个小型版的全球财富论坛中。\r\n\r\n这些人与齿哥是绝对不一样的，滑堂暗想，齿哥是一夜的富豪，他们则是三代修成的贵族，虽然真正的时间远没有那么长，但他们确实是贵族，财富在他们这里已转化成内敛的高贵，就像朱汉杨手上的那枚钻戒，纤细精致，在他修长的手指上若隐若现，只是偶尔闪一下温润的柔光，但它的价值，也许能买几十个齿哥手指上那颗核桃大小金光四射的玩艺儿。\r\n\r\n但现在，这十三名高贵的财界精英聚在这里，却是要雇职业杀手杀人，而且要杀三个人，据首次联系的人说，这还只是第一批。\r\n\r\n其实滑膛并没有去注意那枚钻戒，他看的是朱汉杨手上的那三张照片，那显然就是委托加工的工件了。朱汉杨起身越过圆桌，将三张照片推到他面前。\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Y239oT\" target=\"blank\" class=\"inline-link-button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buy it on Amazon</a>\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nENGLISH\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese sci-fi novella 《赡养人类》by Liu Cixin', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:43:09', '2020-05-07 21:43:09', '', 1953, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
