孔院微课堂 | 成语故事中的河南名胜

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（本文转载自《孔子学院》中英文对照版2022年第3期/总第73期）

中原文化是华夏文明之根、中华文化之源、 黄河文明之中心，历史底蕴丰富厚重。许多成语典故源自中原大地，有关联的名胜遍布河南，比如“问鼎轻重”“阳春白雪”“愚公移山”“安乐窝”等。

Zhongyuan culture, or the culture of Central Plains of China, is the cradle  of the  Chinese  culture  and  the core of the  Yellow  River civilization. It has exerted profound cultural influence across the nation throughout the ages. Many Chinese idiomatic expressions originated in the Central Plains and Henan Province in particular. In this paper, the author is going to introduce four of them briefly: wending qingzhong, yangchun baixue,Yugong yishan, and anle wo.

问鼎轻重

Wending Qingzhong

鼎曾是古人用来烹煮或盛贮肉类的器具，有三足圆鼎和四足方鼎两类，分有盖和无盖两种，有用黏土烧制的陶鼎，也有用青铜铸造的铜鼎。现在大家在博物馆中看到的多为青铜鼎。

Ding is a cauldron-like vessel used for cooking and storage in ancient China. They come in two shapes: the round ones with three legs and the rectangular ones with four legs. Some are with a lid; some others are not. Some are made of clay, some others bronze. Today, most of the ding we see in museums are cast in bronze.

相传禹铸成九鼎，被夏、商、周三代作为传国之宝，成为统治权力的象征。国灭则鼎迁，历商至周，定都或建立王朝称为“定鼎”。

Legend has it that emperor Yu of the Xia dynasty of  ancient China cast the Nine Tripod Ding. Throughout Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, this set of vessels was viewed as a national treasure and the symbol of power and authority. The Nine Tripod Ding would be moved to the new capital whenever a new dynasty was established. This is why during this period, establishing a new dynasty or relocating to the new capital is called ding ding (setting up the ding).

春秋时期周定王元年，楚庄王对周王室怀有野心，别有用心地向王孙满打听鼎的大小轻重。王孙满告知楚庄王，鼎的大小、轻重无关紧要，最重要的是以德治国，有德于人民，警告楚庄王不要有非分之想。此时的“问鼎轻重”被用来比喻篡夺政权或图谋王位的行为。

In the Spring and Autumn Period, during the first year of the ruling of King Ding of Zhou, King Zhuang of Chu asked Wangsun Man, a senior official of Zhou, about the size and weight of the national ding of Zhou with his covetous eyes cast to the throne. Wangsun Man warned him to know his place by telling him that the legitimacy of the rulers comes not from a large, heavy ding but from the rulers’ virtues. During that historical period, wending qingzhong (asking about the weight of the ding) is used derogatorily to refer to the intention or act to usurp the throne.

随着历史的发展，“问鼎轻重”一词由贬义变为褒义。《说唐》中有一段话：“李渊德高望重，手下兵多将勇，见炀帝远游未归，天下大乱，就益发修理甲兵，渐有问鼎中原之志。”由此，“问鼎中原”华丽转身，不再具有“问鼎轻重”的贬义色彩了。现在，“问鼎”一词可借指在比赛或竞争中夺取第一名。

However,this expression became commendatory as time went by. For instance, Tales of Tang recorded that “Li Yuan (who later became Emperor Gaozong of Tang) is a noble, prestigious Great Chancellor of the Sui dynasty commanding a large, brave army. Seeing that the country was in great chaos as Emperor Yang of Sui had traveled afar and left his people unattended, Li became even more particular about training the soldiers and refining the weaponry. He had the ambition to ‘ask about the details of the ding of the Central Plains’ (meaning to reign the Central Plains)”. Starting from then, this expression is no longer used derogatorily. Today, wending means to win first place in a game or competition.

如今，矗立于洛阳市九鼎路上的九鼎雕像，位于南召县与鲁山县交界处的楚长城鲁阳关和方城县的楚长城大关口，承载着千年历史，正默默向世人述说着岁月的沧桑，让我们深切领悟“问鼎轻重”的深刻含义。

There is a statue of the Nine Tripod Ding in Jiuding Road, Luoyang, Henan Province. It locates at the crosspoint of Luyang Pass at the border of Nanzhao County and Lushan County and Daguankou Pass of Fangcheng County. The statue solemnly tells the history of China over thousands of years and stands as a witness to the passage of time. Today, people still ponder about and marvel at the significant implications of the ding.

洛阳市九鼎路的大鼎

Nine Tripod Ding

(Jiuding Road, Luoyang, Henan Province)

阳春白雪

Yangchun Baixue

“阳春白雪”这个成语，来源于战国时期楚国的两首高雅乐曲《阳春》和《白雪》。

This idiomatic expression consists of the names of two exquisite songs in the state of Chu during the Warring States Period: “Yangchun” and “Baixue”.

战国时期，楚国人宋玉写有《对楚王问》一文，其中写道：“有个人在都城里唱歌，起初他唱《下里》《巴人》时，都城里跟着他唱的有几千人；后来唱《阳阿》《薤露》(xiè lù) 时，都城里跟着他唱的有几百人；等到唱《阳春》《白雪》的时候，都城里跟着他唱的不过几十人；最后，当歌曲再增加一些高难度的技巧时，都城里跟着他应和的不过几个人罢了。这样看来，歌曲越是高雅，唱和的人也就越少。”文中提到的《下里》《巴人》《阳阿》《薤露》与《阳春》《白雪》 一样，都是歌曲名。因此，后人多用“阳春白雪”来泛指高深、高雅的文学艺术，用“下里巴人”来泛指通俗、普及的文艺作品。

In “Response to the Questions from Emperor Chu”, the Chu poet Song Yu told a tale: Someone was singing in the capital city. When he was singing “Xiali” and “Baren”, thousands in the citysang with him; when he was singing “Yang’e” and “Xielu”, hundred sechoed; when he was singing “Yangchun” and “Baixue”, only dozens were familiar with the tune; when he was singing even more highbrow songs, no more than ten were able to sing along. It’s safe to say that the more sophisticated the music is, the less popular it is. Therefore, yangchun baixue, names of the more elegant songs, is used to refer to the highbrow, refined works of literature and art, while xiali baren, names of the more vulgar songs, stands for the lowbrow, more famous works.

《阳春》和《白雪》是春秋时期晋国大音乐家师旷在一个土台上完成的。这个土台现在开封禹王台公园内，相传师旷曾在此吹奏乐典，故后人称此为“吹台”。师旷并不是天资聪颖的人，他学琴三年，但弹奏水平仍一般，被师傅臭骂一通。师旷无地自容，用绣花针刺瞎双眼。俗话说“有志者，事竟成”，眼盲之后的师旷后来创作出《阳春》《白雪》，与《下里》《巴人》相对，使后世对于艺术产生了高雅和通俗之分。

The classy songs “Yangchun” and “Baixue” were composed on a mudbrick platform by Shi Kuang, an influential musician of Jin, during the Spring and Autumn Period. Located in Yuwangtai Park, Kaifeng, Henan Province, this platform is known today as Chuitai (the platform for playing wind instrument). It is said that Shi Kuang wasn’t endowed with any musical talent. He made little progress three years into his training and was scolded by his master. Feeling ashamed of himself, Shi Kuang blinded his eyes with a needle. He later pulled himself together and stood as solid proof that “where there is a will, there is a way”. The blind musician wrote the masterpieces “Yangchun” and “Baixue”. The names of these two songs, together with “Xiali” and “Baren”, enrich the Chinese language by offering more vocabulary to refer to highbrow and lowbrow art forms.

开封禹王台公园的师旷塑像

Statue of ShiKuang 

(Yuwangtai Park, Kaifeng, Henan Province) 

愚公移山

Yugong Yishan

“愚公移山”这一成语源自一个家喻户晓的古代寓言故事。传说，北山有个名叫“愚公”的人，快90岁了。他居住的门前有太行、王屋两座大山，阻塞了通行的道路，出来进去都要绕道，于是愚公下决心要移去它们。河曲的智叟听后，讥笑愚公自不量力：“你简直太愚蠢了！就凭你残余的岁月、剩下的力气，连山上的一棵草都动不了，又能把泥土、石头怎么样呢？”愚公说：“我死之后有我儿子，儿子死了还有孙子，子子孙孙是没有穷尽的，而山不会再增高了，为什么不能挖平它呢？”于是，他率领全家人每天不停地挖山。最终，天帝被愚公的诚心感动，命令大力神背走了这两座山。因此，后人常用“愚公移山”来比喻做事不畏艰难、迎难而上、坚忍不拔。 

This idiomatic expression tells a famous fable from ancient China. The story concerns an old man nearly 90 years old named Yugong (literally meaning “the foolish old man”) living in Beishan. In front of his house were two mountains, Taihang and Wangwu, which blocked his way and forced him to detour every time he went out. One day, Yugong made up his mind to remove the mountains. But Zhisou (literally meaning “the wise old man”) mocked Yugong, “How foolish! You can not even remove a grass on the mountain with the little time and energy that remain in you, let alone the mud and stones!” But Yugong replied, “I may not finish the task within my lifetime, but my son, my son’s son, and all my offspring will keep working on this. They will pass on the mission generation after generation, while the mountain will not grow an inch. How come you said this is an impossible task?” Impressed by Yugong’s devotion, the Emperor of Heaven dispatched the God of Power to remove the mountains for the old man. Today, the Chinese people use Yugong yishan (the foolish old man removing the mountains) to refer to people who rise to challenges with courage and perseverance.

“愚公移山”的地点现在河南省济源市境内。太行、王屋两山雄踞市区西北，是河南、山西两省的天然分界。当我们伫立在“愚公移山”纪念碑前，看着愚公挥舞铁镐的雄劲雕像，便会立刻感受到愚公那让太行、王屋让道的雄心壮志和无坚不摧的意志力量。

The place where the two mountains used to stand is situated in northwest Jiyuan, Henan Province, separating Henan from its neighboring Shanxi Province. Till today, people are still awed by Yugong's respectable ambition and indomitable will when they stand in front of the monument of mighty Yugong waving the iron pickaxe.

济源市的愚公移山纪念碑

Monument of Yugong 

Removing the Mountains 

(Jiyuan, Henan Province) 

安乐窝

An1e Wo

邵雍是北宋哲学家，祖籍范阳(今河北涿州市)，后随父迁居共城(今河南辉县市) 邵雍初洛阳时，所居房屋都是棚草做的，难以抵挡风雨，他却依然怡然自得。富弼、司马光、吕公著等退居洛阳，敬重邵雍，为邵雍置办了接近都市的带园地的住宅。邵雍给住宅起名“安乐窝”，并写下《安乐窝中吟》。后人遂用“安乐窝”比喻舒服安逸的住所和生活环境。

Shao Yong is a philosopher in t he Nor t hern Song  dy nasty.  He was born  in  Fa nyang  (today’s Zhuozhou, Hebei Province), relocated to Gongcheng (today’s Huixian, Henan Province) with his father, and settled in Luoyang. When he had just arrived in Luoyang, he lived in a shabby thatch hut that could hardly shelter him from the storm and rain. However, he never lost his inner peace and joy. Later, some retired politicians, including Fu Bi, Sima Guang, and Lv Gongzhu, moved to Luoyang and purchased a mansion with a garden close to downtown for Shao Yong out of respect for him. Shao named the mansion “Anle Wo” (a nest of ease) and wrote “A Poem in My Anle Wo”. Today, the Chinese people use the phrase “anle wo” to refer to a comfortable, satisfying shelter or living environment.

时光流转、岁月更迭，邵雍在洛阳的“安乐窝”早已化为历史的尘烟，荡然无存。但是，辉县市的百泉风景区内，依旧保存着邵雍隐居时期的“安乐窝”遗址。它像自己的主人一样，淡泊入世、道化于心，在岁月的轮回中静静地守候着昔日的清静与安详。

Gone is Shao Yong’s Anle Wo as years drifted by. But the historic site of it is preserved in today’s Baiquan  Classical  Garden  in  Huixian,  Henan Province. What remains of the architecture tells the story of its owner, a man of wisdom who was both indifferent to wealth and fame and devoted to worldly life. Time flies, but Shao Yong and his Anle Wo managed to safeguard their inner peace and contentment.

成语观照历史，名胜佐证文化。当游览这些名胜、联想并咀嚼这些成语典故时，人们会感受到中原历史之久远、文化之厚重，别有一番滋味。

Such idiomatic expressions reflect the changes in China’s history, and the historic sites showcase the profound Chinese culture. Each time we visit these statues, monuments, and architecture, and each time we ponder about these expressions and the stories behind them, we will be amazed by the time-honored history and the rich culture of the Central Plains of China. 

辉县市百泉风景区内邵雍隐居时的安乐窝遗址

Historic Site of Anle Wo 

(Baiquan Classical Garden,

 Huixian, Henan Province)

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作者：张剑英 Zhang Jianying

翻译：汤敏 Tang Min

摄影：戚建庄 Qi Jianzhuang

美术编辑：海伊帆（实习）

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