文言文英译-罗经国

古之学者必有师。师者，所以传道受业解惑也。人非生而知之者，孰能无惑？惑而不从师，其为惑也，终不解矣。生乎吾前，其闻道也固先乎吾，吾从而师之；生乎吾后，其闻道也亦先乎吾，吾从而师之。吾师道也，夫庸知其年之先后生于吾乎？是故无贵无贱，无长无少，道之所存，师之所存也。

嗟乎！师道之不传也久矣！欲人之无惑也难矣！古之圣人，其出人也远矣，犹且从师而问焉；今之众人，其下圣人也亦远矣，而耻学于师。是故圣益圣，愚益愚。圣人之所以为圣，愚人之所以为愚，其皆出于此乎？

爱其子，择师而教之；于其身也，则耻师焉，惑矣。彼童子之师，授之书而习其句读者也，非吾所谓传其道解其惑者也。句读之不知，惑之不解，或师焉，或不焉，小学而大遗，吾未见其明也。巫医乐师百工之人，不耻相师。士大夫之族，曰师曰弟子云者，则聚而笑之。问之，则曰：“彼与彼年相若也，道相似也，位卑则足羞，官盛则近谀。”呜呼！师道之不复，可知矣。巫医乐师百工之人，君子不齿，今其智乃反不能及，其可怪也欤！

圣人无常师。孔子师郯子、苌弘、师襄、老聃。郯子之徒，其贤不及孔子。孔子曰：三人行，则必有我师。是故弟子不必不如师，师不必贤于弟子，闻道有先后，术业有专攻，如是而已。

李氏子蟠,年十七，好古文，六艺经传皆通习之，不拘于时，学于余。余嘉其能行古道，作《师说》以贻之。

On the Teacher

罗经国 译

In ancient times those who wanted to learn would seek out a teacher, one who could propagate

the doctrine1, impart professional knowledge, and resolve doubts. Since no one is born omniscient,

who can claim to have no doubts? If one has doubts and is not willing to learn from a teacher, his

doubts will never be resolved. Anyone who was born before me and learned the doctrine before

me is my teacher. Anyone who was born after me and learned the doctrine before me is also my

teacher. Since what I desire to learn is the doctrine, why should I care whether he was born before

or after me? Therefore, it does not matter whether a person is high or low in position, young or old

in age. Where there is the doctrine, there is my teacher.

Alas! The tradition of learning from the teacher has long been neglected. Thus it is difficult to

find a person without any doubts at all. Ancient sages, who far surpassed us, even learned from

their teachers. People today, who are far inferior to them, regard learning from the teacher as a

disgrace. Thus, wise men become more wise and unlearned men become more foolish. This

explains what makes a wise man and what makes a foolish man.

It is absurd that a person would choose a teacher for his son out of his love for him, and yet

refuse to learn from the teacher himself, thinking it a disgrace to do so. The teacher of his son

teaches the child only reading and punctuation, which is not propagating the doctrine or resolving

doubts as the aforementioned. I don't think it wise to learn from the teacher when one doesn't

know how to punctuate, but not when one has doubts unresolved, for that I find to be the folly of

learning in small matters, but neglecting the big ones. Even medicine men, musicians and

handicraftsmen do not think it disgraceful to learn from each other. When one of the literati calls

another man his "teacher" and himself his "student" people will get together and invariably laugh

at him. If you ask them why they are laughing, they will say that since he is almost of the same

age and as erudite as another man, it would be degrading for him to call the other man "teacher" if

the other man's social rank is lower than his; and it would be flattering if the other man's social

rank is higher. Alas! It is clear that the tradition of learning from the teacher can no longer be

restored. Medicine men, musicians and handicraftsmen are despised by the gentlemen. How

strange it is that gentlemen are less wise than these people!

The ancient sages did not limit themselves to particular teachers. Confucius had learned from

people like Tanzi, Changhong, Shixiang, and Laodan, who were not as virtuous and talented as

Confucius. Confucius said "If three men are walking together, one of them is bound to be good

enough to be my teacher."A student is not necessarily inferior to his teacher, nor does a teacher

necessarily be more virtuous and talented than his student. The real fact is that one might have

learned the doctrine earlier than the other, or might be a master in his own special field.

Pan, the son of Li's family, who is only seventeen years old, loves to study Chinese classics of

the Qin and Han dynasties, and masters the six jing6 and their annotations. He does not follow

conventions and is willing to learn from me. I appreciate his ability to act in accordance with the

old tradition of learning. Therefore I dedicate this piece to him.

About the author:

Han Yu (768-824) was born in Henan Province. His parents died when he was young and he

was brought up by his sister-in-law. Through hard study he passed the highest imperial civil

service examination at the age of twenty- five and held the office of Shilang. He was twice

demoted from his office. Together with Liu Zongyuan, he was opposed to the flashy style of

writing then, and advocated that writing was meant to convey truth, a teaching that largely

influenced later Chinese writers.

(1)The “doctrine” refers chiefly to Confucius’ teachings.

(2)Tanzi was the king of the State of Tan during the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucius

learned from him about the titles of officials.

(3)Changhong was an official during the reign of Emperor Jing of the Zhou Dynasty. Confucius

learned from him about music.

(4)Shixiang was an official of music in the State of Lu. Confucius learned from him how to play

qin.

(5)Laodan was another name for Laotse. Confucius learned from him about the rites.

(6)The six classics are six classical works of Confucian teachings

古之欲明明德于天下者，先治其国。 In ancient times, one who intended to carry forward all the inherent virtues in the

world and to rid them of material desires had to first rule his state well 欲治其国者，先齐其家。欲齐其家者，先修其身。欲修其身者，先正其心。欲正其心者，先诚其意。欲诚其意者，先致其知。致知，在格物。 To rule his state well, he had

to first educate his family. To educate his family, he had first to cultivate himself. To cultivate himself, he had first to set

his heart right. To set his heart right, he had first to be sincere and honesty. To be sincere and honest, he had first to

perfect his knowledge and perfection of his knowledge depended on his investigation of things. 物格，而后知至，知至而后意城，意诚而后心正，心正而后身修，身修而后家齐，家齐而后国治，国治而后天下平。 It is only when one is able

to investigate things that knowledge can be perfected. It is only when one’s knowledge is perfect that one can be

sincere and honest. It is only when one is honest and sincere that he can set his heart right. It is only when the heart is

set right that a man can educate his family. It is only when his family is educated that he can rule the state. It is only

when the state is ruled that the world can be governed well.

欧阳子方夜读书，闻有声自西南来者，悚然而听之，曰：异哉！初淅沥以萧飒，忽奔腾而砰湃，如波涛夜惊，风雨骤至。其触于物也，铮铮，金铁皆鸣；又如赴敌之兵，衔枚疾走，不闻号令，但闻人马之行声。余谓童子：“此何声也？汝出视之。”童子曰：“星月皎洁，明河在天，四无人声，声在树间。”

余曰：“噫嘻悲哉！此秋声也，胡为而来哉？盖夫秋之为状也：其惨淡，烟霏云敛；其容清明，天高日晶；其气慄冽，砭人肌骨；其意萧条，山川寂寥。故其为声也，凄凄切切，呼号愤发。丰草绿缛而争茂，佳木葱茏而可悦；草拂之而变，木遭之而叶脱；其所以摧败零落者，乃其一气之余烈。夫秋，刑官也，于时为阴；又兵象也，于行用金；是谓天地之义气，常以肃杀而为心。天之于物，春生秋实。故其在乐也，商声主西方之音；夷则为七月之律。商，伤也，物既老而悲伤；夷，戮也，物过盛而当杀。嗟乎！草木无情，有时飘零。人为动物，惟物之灵，百忧感其心，万事劳其形，有动于中，必摇其精。而况思其力之所

不及，忧其智之所不能，宜其渥然丹者为槁木，黟然黑者为星星。奈何以非金石之质，欲与草木而争荣？念谁为之戕贼，亦何恨乎秋声！”

童子莫对，垂头而睡。但闻四壁虫声唧唧，如助余之叹息。

——选自《四部丛刊》本《欧阳文忠公文集》

我正在夜间读书，听到有声音从西南方而来，恐惧地侧耳倾听，心想：奇怪啊！初来时淅淅瀝瀝十分凄凉，忽然间奔腾澎湃非常汹涌，犹如波涛在黑夜里翻滚，狂风暴雨突如其来。它碰在物体上，铮铮，发出如同金属的撞击声。又如奔袭敌阵的战士，衔枚急走，听不见号令，只听见人马行走之声。我对书童说：“这是什么声音啊，你出去看看吧！”书童回来说：“月亮星星晶莹洁白，银河横挂天边，四周寂静人声悄然，奇怪的声音来自树间。”

我说：“啊，啊，好悲伤啊！这是秋声，为什么要来呢？要说那秋天所呈现的情状：其忧郁，烟雾蒙蒙云气聚；其貌清明，天空高洁日新；其气凛冽，刺透肌肉又入骨；其意萧索，高山冷落水寂寞。因此秋天发出的声音就是凄凄切切，犹如人们在发愤呼叫。茂盛的青草在绿地上媲美，美丽的树木郁郁葱葱惹人喜爱。但是草被秋风一拂，颜就变；树被秋风一碰，叶子就落。那个摧残树木零落花草的力量，只是秋气的一点余力罢了。秋天，是掌管刑法的，在季节上属阴；又是象征用兵的，在五行中属金。这就是所谓天地之间的义气，常常以肃杀作为核心。自然对于万物，是春天生长，秋天结果。因此秋天在音乐上，商声就是主管西方的音调；而所谓夷则，是七月的音律。商，就是伤，万物衰老就悲伤。夷，就是戮，万物过盛就杀戮。啊，草木无情，尚且按时凋零；人作为动物，乃是万物之灵，许多忧愁有感于心，许多事情劳其外形，心中有触动，定会动其神。何况还要想念忧虑那些力不能及、智不能到的事情。这就必然会使红彤彤的脸变得如同枯木，乌黑黑的头发变得如同繁星。为什么要用不是金石的身躯，去和草木争奇斗胜？应该想想究竟谁是害我们的贼人，又何必去怨恨那不相关的秋声？”

书童没有回答，垂下头已经熟睡，只听得四周墙壁上虫声唧唧，好像因同情我而叹息。

（胡中行）

Ode on the Sound of Auntumn

By Ouyang Xiu

While reading at night,I,Ouyang Zi,am terrified upon hearing a sound coming from the southwest."How strange it is!"I

first it is like the pattering of the raining and the whistling of the wind ,but it quickly becomes violent like the roaring of the

surging waves at night and the sudden onslaught of a storm .When it strikes as something ,it becomes a crunching sound like

the clashing of is also like the sound of the silent march of an army hurrying to the battlefield ,should the mouth of

each soldier be gagged and the officers shout mo orders.

"What sound is this?" I inquire of the boy servant ,"Go an find out."

He come back and says,"The moon and the stars are shining bright and the Milky Way is high is no sound but that

from the trees."

"How sad it is!"I sigh."It is the sound of has it come?

"The form of autumn is like color is miserable and pale,the smoke diffuses and the clouds countenance

is clear and bright,as the sky is high and the air fresh with the sun breath is piercingly cold,as it pricks people's

bones and mood is gloomy and desolate,as mountains and rivers are cheerless and the keynote of the

sound of autumn is sad and plaintive,and times wailing and auntumn comes,the verdant grass and the leafy

trees vie to surpass each other,and the luxuriant vegetation is delightful to the the autumn wind blows,the grass

changes its color and the leaves of the trees is the lingering mighty power of autumn that devastates the lush greenery

and brings about its desolation.

"Autumn is the is the yin(1).Tt is a symbol of war and corresponds with the element Ji(metal).Tt is the

belligerent power in the heaven and earth,aiming to destroy and law of nature is growth in spring and harvest in

can also be explained by tone it corresponds with Shang(the note 2),which means the tune it

corresponds with Yi,which means the month of means sadness,as all thins feel sad when they grow means

killing,as things should be killed when they are overly abundant.

"Alas!Grass and trees have no feelings and they will wither in is an animal and is the paragon of all creatures . But a

myriad of worries sadden his heart,and a myriad of chores exhaust his affects his heart will inevitably consume his

he is often troubled by the thought that he lacks the energy to achieve things he wants to accomplish, and the

wisdom to comprehend things he wants to his ruddu complexion will be witherd and his black hair will turn

man is not made of metal or stone,how can he compete wit the grass and trees?Since he is the victim of his own

worries,why should he blame the sound of autumn?

The boy has fallen into a dozen,and is silent .Only the insects are chirping at the foot of the wall,as if they were sighing with

me.