Originalwork
SendDongyangMaShengPreface1
WhenIwasyoung,Ibecameaddictedtolearning2.Thefamilyispoor,andthereisnowaytogiveabooktoview3.EverytimeIborrowfromthebookcollectionhouse4,Iwillrecorditbymyselfandpayitbackwithinaday.Theskyiscold,theinkstoneisfirm,andthefingerscannotbeflexedandstretched.5.Aftertherecording,Isentitawayfor6,anddidnotdaretoslightlyexceedtheappointment7.Therefore,manypeoplespendmoretimeoffthebook,andYuYinhastoreadthebooksallovertheplace.Notonlycrowned8,admiredthewayofsagesandsages9,butalsosufferedfromnomasters,celebritiesandtraveled10,tastedhundredsofmilesaway>11,Xiandafromthetownshipasked12.FirstDadeLongWangzun,thediscipleofthedisciplefilledhisroom,anddidnotlosehiswords.13.YuLiwaitedontheleftandright,assistedthequestioningreason14,leanedovertoask;Xinyue16,thenpleaseYanagain.Therefore,althoughYuisstupid,hehasheardof17.
DangYuzhiwasalsoateacher,carryingascorpion18,walkingdeepinthemountainsandhugevalleys,poorwintergale19,heavysnowafewfeetdeep,fullskinChappedwithoutknowing20.Intheultimatehome,thefourstiffenergiescannotmove21,thewomanholdstheTangwoinfusion22,andthequiltsupports23,anditwillbepeacefulforalongtime..Therebelliousjourneyis24,andtheowner’ssolareclipseis25,withoutthetasteoffreshfat.Allstudentsinthesamehouseareembroidered26,wearingahatdecoratedwithZhuYing,27,aringofwhitejadeonthewaist28,aknifeontheleft,astinkyfaceontheright29,YeRanRuoShenren30;YuZexianrobeandclothesare31inthemeantime,thereislittleadmirationforbeauty.Thosewhohavealotoffuninthemiddledon’tknowwhethertheverbalserviceisnotasgoodasthehumanbeing.It’shardworkandhardwork.AlthoughI’mold32today,Ihaven’tachievedanything.Fortunately,I’mfortunatetobeamongthegentlemen33.34,daywaiter'sseatconsultant,thewholeworldalsocalledhisname35,butthesituationistoomuch?
Today'sstudentsarestudyinginTaixue36,thecountymagistrate’sdayhasasmalloffering37,andtheirparentshavethelegacyofQiuge38,thereisnodangerofcoldness;sittingunderthebuildingandrecite"Poems"and"Books",noneedtorunaround;therearedivisionsanddoctorsasteachers39,noquestionsItisnotnecessarytotell,buttoaskbutnotto;allthebooksthataresuitabletohavearegatheredhere,thereisnoneedtowritethembyhand,pretendtobepeopleandseelater.Thosewhoarenotrefinedintheirkarma,andthosewhofailinvirtue,whoarenottheinferiorityofnature40,thentheheartisnotonlyears,itisthefaultofothers!
DongyangMaShengjun,whohasbeeninTaixuefortwoyears,iswell-knownashisvirtuous41.YuChaojingshi42,wasbornasthesonofthevillagerYeyu43,wrotealongbookthinkingthatZhi44,spokeverysmoothly,andarguedagainstit.sup>45,thelanguageisharmoniousandthecoloris46.ItissaidthatwhenIwasyoung,Idevotedmyselftostudyandworkedhard,soIcanbedescribedasagoodscholar!Hewillreturntohisrelatives47,anditishardtotellthatIhavelearned.ItissaidthatthepeopleofYumianTownshiparescholars,andYuZhizhiisalso48;thosewhoslandermepraisetheprosperityoftheoccasionandproudofthepeople49,don'tyouknowtherest!
Annotationtranslation
Phrasesannotation
Dongyang:DongyangCity,ZhejiangProvincetoday,andQianxibelongedtoJinhuaMansionatthattime.MaSheng:TheTaistudentsurnamedMa,thatis,MaJunzeinthetext.Preface:Thenameofthestyle,therearetwotypes:bookprefaceandgiftpreface.Thisarticleisgiftpreface.
Yu:Me.Hobby(shì)learning:liketoread.
To:Igotit.
Fakeloan:borrow.
TheslackingoftheBuddha:the"theslackingoftheslacking",donotslackenoff,donotrelaxcopybooks.Eph,no.Itreferstocopybooks.
Go:Run.
Overdue:Exceedingtheagreedtimelimit.
Neither:Already,here.Crowning:Whentheancientmanreachedtheageof20,heheldacrowningceremony(withhairandahat)tosignifythathewasanadult.
TheWayofSages:ReferstotheConfucianismofConfucianismandMencius.SongLianisaNeo-Confucianwhoadvocatesbenevolence,justiceandmorality,sohehighlyrespectsit.
Shuò(shuò)teacher:alearnedteacher.Tour:Makefriends.
Taste:Zeng.Trend:Goforit.
XiandaoftheTownship:Apredecessorwhoiswell-knowninlocalmorality.ThisreferstoancientwriterssuchasLiuguanfromPujiangandHuangpufromYiwu.Practicethescripturesandask:Bringthescripturestoaskforadvice.
Slightlyloweryourrhetoric:Putyourwordstobetactful,andyourfacetobegentler.Words,wordsandexpressions.
Aidfordoubts:raisequestionsandaskquestions.
叱(chì)(duō):reprimand,humiliation.
Song(sì):Wait.
Pawn:Finally.
Qiè:Box.汣(yèxǐ):draggingshoes.
Poorwinter:midwinter.
Chapped(jūn):Theskiniscrackedduetocoldanddryness.
Stiffness:Stiffness.
Maid:adowrywoman.Thisreferstothemaid.HoldingTangwoirrigation:referstodrinkingorsoakinginhotwater.Soup:Hotwater.Woirrigation:waterandwash.
Quin(qīn):Quilt.
ReverseTravel:Inn.
Suneclipse:twomealsaday.
Be(pī)beautifullyembroidered:wearinggorgeoussilkclothes.Be,thesameas"cover".Qi,silkfabricswithpatterns.
ZhuYingbaoornaments:Redspikesarewornwithbeadsandotherornaments.
Waistwhitejadering:Awhitejaderinghangsaroundthewaist.
Rongxiang:Fragrantbags.Stink(xiù):smell,herereferstoaroma.
Ye(yè)ran:Theradianceisshining.
缊(yùn)robe:robemadeofcoarselinen.Myclothes:tornclothes.
Old(mào):old.Peoplewhoareeightyorninetyyearsoldarecalledelders.SongLianwassixty-nineyearsoldatthistime.
Fortunately:Fortunatelytoparticipate.Agentlemanreferstoascholarwithmoralknowledge,andanothertranslationreferstoapersonwithofficialpositions.
Suffix:heremeans"follow".
Absurdclaim:Approveinappropriately.Thisistheauthor'smodestword.
Students:ReferstoTaistudents.Taixue:AschoolsetupbythecentralgovernmentintheMingDynastytoeducatescholars,calledTaixueorGuozijian.
Countyofficial:Thisreferstotheimperialcourt.Lin(lǐn)Shao:Thesalaryprovidedbythegovernmentforfreeatthattimewascalled"Lin"or"Shao."
Qiu(qiú):leatherclothes.Ge:Xiabuclothes.Left(wèi):donate,herereferstoaid,give.
SiYeandPh.D.:thevice-chiefandprofessorofTaixuerespectively.
Non-naturalinferiority:Ifitisnotduetolowtalent.
Limitedgeneration:peers.
Dynasty:Intheolddays,ministerswenttocourttoseethemonarch.WhenSongLianwrotethisarticle,hewastravelingfromhishometowntothecapitalYingtianMansion(Nanjing)tomeetZhuYuanzhang.
Asthesonofthevillager:asthesonofthesamevillage.Ye(yè):Seeyou.
Zhuan(zhuàn):Sameas"Zhuan",write.Longbook:Longletter.贽(zhì):Agiftgivenatthefirstvisitinancienttimes.
Debate:Samedebate.
Yi:Pingyi.
Seeyou:gohomeandvisit.
Thesecondsentenceof"WeiYu":IthinkIamencouragingmyfellowvillagerstostudyhard.ThisiswhatImeant.
Slander(dǐ):slander.TheProsperityofFortune:Thetriumphofencounterreferstotheappreciationandreuseoftheemperor.Jiaoxiangren:Beproudofyourfellowvillagers.
VernacularTranslation
IlovedlearningwhenIwasyoung.Becausethefamilywaspoorandcouldn'tgetthebookstoread,Ioftenaskedthebookcollectorsforborrowing,copiedthembyhand,andreturnedthemonanagreeddate.Whentheweatherwasverycold,thewaterintheinkstonepoolbecamefrozenandmyfingerscouldn'tbendandstretch,soIstilldidn'trelaxcopyingthebook.Afterthecopyisfinished,returnittosomeoneassoonaspossible,anddarenotslightlyexceedtheagreedtimelimit.Sopeoplearemostlywillingtolendmebooks,soIcanreadallkindsofbooks.Afterbecominganadult,admiringthedoctrinesofsagesandsages,andsufferingfromnotbeingabletocommunicatewithknowledgeableteachersandcelebrities,Zengquicklywalkedahundredmilesaway,holdingascriptureinhishandtoaskhisfellowseniorsforadvice.Theseniorsarehighlyrespected,andthedoormenandstudentscrowdedhisroom.Hiswordsandattitudehaveneverbeenslightlyeuphemistic.Istoodtoaccompanyhim,askingquestions,askingquestions,andloweringmyearstoaskhimforadvice;sometimesIwasreprimandedbyhim,withamorerespectfulexpressionandamorethoughtfulmanner,andIdarednotansweraword;whenhewashappy,SoIaskedhimagain.SoalthoughIwasdull,Igotalotoflessonsintheend.
WhenIwaslookingforateacher,carryingabookcase,steppingontheheelsofmyshoesundermyheels,Iwalkedinthemountainsandvalleys.Idon'tknowifitcracks.WhenIarrivedattheschool,mylimbswerestiffandunabletomove.Theservantfilledmewithhotwaterandcoveredmybodywithaquilt.Ittookalongtimetowarmup.Stayinginahotel,Ieattwomealsaday,nofreshandtenderdeliciousenjoyment.Thescholarsintheclassmatesallwearbeautifulclothes,redhats,hatsdecoratedwithtreasures,whitejaderingshungaroundtheirwaists,knivesontheleft,andsachetsontheright.Theyarebrightandbright,justlikeagod;Wearingoldcottonrobesandtornclothesbetweenthem,thereisnoenvy.Becausethereissomethinginmyheartthatmakesmehappy,Idon'tfeelthattheenjoymentoffoodandclothingisnotasgoodasothers.Myhardworkandhardshipareprobablylikethis.
AlthoughIamoldandhavenotachievedmuchnow,Iamfortunatelyabletobeintheranksofgentlemen,bearingthegraceandgloryoftheemperor,followingthepublicservant,andaccompanyingtheemperoreveryday,listeningtoinquiries,Theworlddoesn'tpraiseone'snameproperly,letalonepeoplewhocansurpassme?
Today’sstudentsarestudyinginTaixue,thecourtprovidesmealseveryday,andtheirparentsdonateleatherclothinginwinterandGeclothinginsummereveryyear,sotheydon’thavetoworryaboutbeinghungry;theyaresittinginatallroomandreadingThescriptures,thereisnorunningandtoil;therearedivisionsanddoctorsastheirteachers,thereisnoinquirywithouttelling,andthereisnothingtogainfromaskingforadvice;allthebooksthatshouldbeavailableareconcentratedhere,noneedtousehandslikemeTranscript,borrowedfromsomeoneelsebeforeyoucanseeit.Amongthem,iftheyarenotproficientinacademicsandhaveundevelopedmoralcharacter,ifitisnottalented,lowaptitude,ornotasdedicatedasme,canitbesaidthatitisthefaultofothers!
MaJunze,ayoungmanfromDongyang,hasbeenstudyinginTaixuefortwoyears,andhispeerspraisehimforhisvirtue.WhenIwenttoseetheemperorinthecapital,MaShengvisitedmeasajuniorfromhishometownandwrotealongletterasagift.Hespokesmoothlyandeloquently,arguingwithhiminagentleandcourteousmanner.Hehimselfsaidthatwhenhewasateenager,hewasveryattentiveandhardworkinginlearning.Thiscanbecalledagoodlearner!Heisabouttogohometovisithisparents,andIspecificallytoldhimaboutmydifficultiesinstudying.IfIencouragemyfellowvillagerstostudyhard,itismyambition;ifIslanderme,boastingofwhatIhavedonewellandbeingproudinfrontofmyfellowvillagers,doesitmeantounderstandme?
Creativebackground
IntheeleventhyearofHongwuinMingDynasty(1378),thesecondyearofSongLian’sreturntohishometown,YingzhaomovedfromhishometownofPujiang(PujiangCounty,ZhejiangProvince)toYingtianMansion(now(Nanjing,Jiangsu)wenttothecourt,andfellowjuniorMaJuncametovisit.SongLianwrotethispreface,introducinghisownlearningexperienceandlearningattitudetoencourageotherstobediligent.
Appreciationofworks
OverallAppreciation
ThisgiftprefacewaswrittenbySongLiantohisfellowlate-bornMaJunze.Theauthorgavehimthisarticletoencouragehimtostudydiligently,butthemeaningisnotdirectlystated,butderivedfromhisownpersonalexperienceandexperience,tactfullyandimplicitly,easyandfriendly,andthelinesarefullofavirtuouselder.Theardentexpectationforthelate-borndescendantsistouching.
Thefulltextisdividedintothreeparagraphs.Thefirstparagraphwritesabouthisschoolingsituationinhisyouth,deliberatelyhighlightinghis"diligenceandhardship"spiritoflearning.Theinnermiddleisdividedintofourlevels.Thefirstlayerisfromthedifficultyofborrowingbookstowriteaboutthehardshipoftheirownlearningconditions.Becausemyfamilywaspoorandhadnobooks,Ihadtoborrowandcopybooks.Althoughtheskywascold,theinkstonewasfrozen,andmyfingerswerefrozen,Ididn'tdaretoslackenalittle.Thesecondlayerisbasedonthedifficultyofseekingateacherandthenecessityofbeingmodestandstudious.SeekateacherfromBaili,becarefulandrespectful.AlthoughImetwithaslap,Ifinallygotsomething.Thethirdlayerisbasedonthedifficultiesoflivingconditions,writingthatoneselfisinpoverty,notadmiringwealthandhonor.Becauseofthegainsinlearning,itonlyfeelspleasurebutnotsuffering.Itemphasizesthataslongasthespiritisfull,thehardshipoflivingconditionsisinsignificant.Thefourthlevelisthesummaryofthisparagraph.BecauseIamnotafraidofallkindsofhardshipsandstudyhard,Ifinallylearnedsomething.Althoughtheauthorhumblysaidthathe"hasnotachievedanything,"thefactsofagenerationofgreatConfucianscholarsdonotneedtobeself-explanatorybuteveryoneunderstands.Intheend,thecross-examinationof"thetalentsaremorethantheothers"isveryrichincontent.Firstofall,theauthorusedacross-examinationtonetoemphasizethatifapersonwithahighertalentcanbeasdiligentashimself,hewillbeabletoachievemoreoutstandingachievements.Atthesametime,theimplicationisthatIamnotagenius,somycurrentresultsaretheresultofhardwork.Inotherwords,ifapersonisnottoolow-endandunabletolearn,hecanonlyblamehimselffornotworkinghardenough.FromthefollowingweknowthatMaShengisadiligentandstudiousyoungman,aslongasheperseveres,hisfutureislimitless.Therefore,althoughthissentenceisonlyafewfigures,ithasaprofoundmeaningandagreateffect.Itnotonlyrespondstotheabove,butalsorelatestothefollowing,itfastensthethemeofthegiftorder,andputshisownexhortation,encouragementandexpectationtoMaSheng,sincerebutnotHespeaksimplicitlyandcalmly,showingthedemeanorofthe"graceful".
Thesecondparagraphcloselyfollowsthefirstparagraph.ItwritesaboutthesuperiorlearningconditionsofcontemporaryTaiyuanstudents.Itcontrastssharplywiththedifficultiesoftheauthor'syouthinstudying,andemphasizesthenecessityofdiligentstudyfromthenegativeside."Everydaythereisalittlesupply"isacomparisonwiththesufferingoflivingconditionsabove,and"thereisacareerandadoctorasateacher"isacomparisonwiththedifficultyofseekingateacherabove,"AnybookthatissuitableiscollectedinThis"issoinconsistentwiththedifficultyofborrowingbooksabove.Throughcomparison,itisclearthattoday’sTaistudentsaremuchbetterthantheauthor’sstudyconditionsinseveralaspects,suchasstudying,seekingateacher,andliving.Finally,analternativesentencepatternandacross-examinationsentencepatternareusedtoemphasizethatthekeyliesinthefactthatthesestudentsareneitherhardworkingnorhardworking.Thisisagainareferencetothefourthlayerofthepreviousparagraph.
Theabovetwoparagraphsemphasizetheimportanceofdiligentstudyfromboththeprosandcons.AlthoughitisnotexplicitlystatedasanencouragementtoMaSheng,themeaningofencouragementisself-evident.However,thearticlewaswrittenforhorsestudentsafterall,sointhethirdparagraph,heclearlywroteabouthorsestudentsandpointedoutthepurposeofthepreface.Thisis"thedifficultyoflearningthroughTaoism"and"Mianxiangpeopleregardscholarsasscholars."Becausethecontentoftheencouragementhasbeenwrittenintheprevioustwoparagraphs,Iwillonlytalkaboutpraiseandpraise,butMaShengisnotdifficulttounderstandthesincerityofthemoney.
SongLianisgenerous,sincere,andcourteous.Thisarticleisjustlikeitsown,writteninatactfulandeasy-goingmanner.Infact,basedonhisprestigeandstatus,hecancompletelyputontheairofanelder,andtalkpositivelyabouttheUniversityofPolytechnicUniversitytoteachthisyoungmanalesson.However,hedoesnot.Heneversaidwhatyouryoungpeopleshouldbe,butonlysaidwhat"I"usedtobe.Heputshimselfonanequalpositionwitheachother,anduseshisownpersonalexperienceandpersonalexperiencetotalktoothers.Notonlyfromreason,butalsofromimageandemotiontoinspireandinfluencereaders,itmakespeoplefeelthatthereisasublimepersonalityinthedepthofthearticle.Intheprocessofreading,readerswillunknowinglyshortentheideologicalrelationshipwiththeauthor.Distance,agreewithhisopinion,andbewillingtodoaccordingtohisopinion.Writinganarticletoachievethisstepisbynomeansjustaquestionofwritingskills,itrequiresaprofoundideologicaltrainingasafoundation.
Secondly,whenitcomestoreasoning,theauthorisnottalkingaboutthetruthoutofthinair,butisgoodatlettingthoughtsandtruthnaturallyemergefromthenarrativeoffacts.Inthenarrationoffacts,heisgoodatorganicallycombininggeneralstatementswithtypicaldetaileddescriptions,whichmakesthearticleconcreteandreal,onlyconciseandvividinwriting,butalsohasstrongpersuasivenessandappeal.Forexample,whentalkingaboutthedifficultyofreading,theauthornarratedthesituationinwhichhehadtoborrowandcopybooksduetohisfamily'spovertyandnobooks.It’snottobelazy.”Throughsuchatypicaldetaileddescription,peoplehaveavividandconcretefeelingoftheauthor’sdiligenceinreadingatthebeginningandthehardshipofthelearningconditions.Thereasonisinthematter,andthematterisquitetouching.Thisisanotherinternalreasonwhythisarticlemakespeoplewillingtoagreewithandaccepttheauthor'sopinions.
Moreover,thearticleiscompletelynatural,buttheinternalstructureisverytightandcompact.Theobjectoftheoriginalarticleisthesubjectofthearticle.However,thearticleputsthesubjectaside,firsttalksaboutoneself,calmlyspeaking,fromoneselftoothers,andfinallytalksaboutthegiftobject.Itseemscasual,butinfactitisingenious.Inthedeepstructureofthearticle,thereisacloseinternalconnectionbetweenthesubjectandtheguest,whichalwaysfocusesonthesubjectandrespondstothesubjecteverywhere,butavoidstheshortcomingsofthegeneralgift-orderarticlesthatarestraightforwardandblunt,makingthearticleeuphemistic,implicit,andmeaningful.Inthewriting,thetechniqueofcontrastandcontrastwassuccessfullyusedtomaketheleftandrightcontrasts,andthefrontandbackcorresponded.Thearticleshowedstrictnessintheleisure,"Fishandelegant,fromthemiddle."Thisisalsoveryimpressive.
Commentsfromfamousartists
WangChonglu,ChairmanoftheWritersAssociationofLiaoningProvinceandProfessoroftheChineseDepartmentofLiaoningUniversity,"GoodArticlesinChina·ClassicalChineseWritingsYouCan’tMiss":"ThisarticledescribestheurgencyofstudyingwhenIwasyoung,Thedifficultcircumstances,toencouragestudentssuchasMaShengtostudyhardandachievesuccess.Thefeelingsaresincere,thewordsarestrongandtheheartislong,thereasoningisthorough,anditisquitetouching."
Abouttheauthor
SongLian(1310-1381),thewordJingLian,thenameisQianxi,andtheothernameisXuanzhenzi,XuanzhenTaoist,XuanzhenEunuch.Posthumoustitledocumentconstitution.PeoplefromPujiang(nowPujiang,Zhejiang),Hannationality.AwriterintheearlyMingDynasty,hewasoncehailedas"thefoundingofficialofthecountry"byZhuYuanzhang,thegreatancestoroftheMingDynasty.BecausehiseldestgrandsonSongShenimplicatedtheHuWeiyongpartycase,hisfamilywasexiledtoMaozhou.Hisproseissimpleandconcise,orgracefulandelegant,eachwithitsowncharacteristics.HeadmiredTaigeliterature,thestyleofwritingishonestandelegant,andprovidedamodelfortheliterarycreationoflater"Taigestyle"writers.Mostofhisworkswereco-engravedintotheseventy-fivevolumesofTheCompleteWorksofSongXueshi.