孔院微课堂 | 成语故事：两袖清风
CI CLASSROOM
孔/院/微/课/堂
CI CLASSROOM
两袖清风
Clean Hands
（本文转载自《孔子学院》中英文对照版2022年第5期/总第75期）
说起“两袖清风”，就不得不提明朝的于谦——一位正直诚实的官员。
To explain the Chinese idiom Liangxiu Qingfeng (Clean Hands), which literally means “two sleeves of cool breeze”, one has to mention Yu Qian, the name of an upright and honest official of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).
于谦出生在钱塘（今浙江省省会杭州）。他24岁中进士，从此踏入官场。
Yu was born in Qiantang, today’s Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province in east China. He entered officialdom at what was considered the tender age of 24, after he passed the highest imperial examinations to win the title of Jinshi or Presented Scholar.
为官期间，于谦心怀百姓，廉洁奉公，在民间颇具名声和威望。在被任命为朝廷官员之前，于谦是河南省和山西省的巡抚。当时，两省天灾频发，山西多饥荒，河南多水灾。于谦两头兼顾，半年住山西，关注百姓的温饱问题；半年住河南，治理黄河水患。因于谦政绩斐然，皇帝命其进京任职。
In the following years, Yu quickly gained a reputation of being an official who had great compassion for the ordinary people. In addition, he won the distinction as a stalwart advocate of clean government. Before he was designated to a post in the imperial court, Yu was the governor of Henan and Shanxi provinces. During his tenure there, Shanxi was plagued by a severe famine while Henan was facing frequent floods. Every year, Yu spent six months in Shanxi to tackle the problems of food and clothing for local people and lived in Henan for another six months to tame the flood caused by the Yellow River, the second longest waterway in China. Thanks to his diligence and dedication, Yu had made remarkable achievements as the governor of the two provinces, which won the appreciation of the emperor. So, Yu was then called to serve in the imperial court.
在于谦进京上任前夕，他的一名助手前来道别，建议他带上一些当地的特产。当时朝廷腐败，行贿之风盛行。助手说：“您需要带点特产。作为朝廷的新人，若是想在同僚和上官面前引荐自己，您必须得贿赂一些高官显贵。”
On the eve of his departure for the court, one of his aides came to bid him good-bye and advised him to take with him some local specialties. Knowing that the imperial court was then corrupted throughout and bribery was prevalent there, the aide said: “You will need them. You are new in the court, and you will have to grease the palms of some influential bureaucrats if you want to introduce yourself to your colleagues and superiors in the court.”
听完助手的建议，于谦叹了一口气说:“ 我什么也没有。所以进京上任时，能带的唯有两袖中的清风。”
Hearing the aide’s advice, Yu let out a long sigh, and said, “I don’t have anything. So, when I take office in the court, I can only bring the cool breeze in my sleeves with me.”
于谦从不趋炎附势、随波逐流，所以他受到不少贪官污吏的排挤和陷害。即使于谦身居高位多年，在他死后，人们也很难在他的房子里找到任何有价值的物品。
During the ensuing years, Yu experienced many ups and downs in his career as he refused to fawn upon those venal officials or follow the unethical trend. He was eventually persecuted and put to death by corrupt eunuchs in the imperial court. After his death, people could hardly find any valuables in his house even though he had been a high-ranking official for decades.
如今，“两袖清风”这个词，经常被用来形容一位廉洁清白的官员或是一个身无分文的人。
Nowadays, the idiom Liangxiu Qingfeng is frequently used to describe a penniless person or an official who has kept clean hands.
更多精彩内容，欢迎访问《孔子学院》官网获取。
地址：https://www.ci.cn/#/detailBanner/Publication/
推荐阅读
1 | |
2 | |
3 | |
4 | |
5 |
英文原作：张慈贇 Zhang Ciyun
中文翻译：徐榆飒 Xu Yusa
供图：魏彬 Wei Bin
美术编辑：王菲菲（实习）
点击分享+在看，让更多人看到