刻舟求劍(詳讀本)
Level 3 · 寓言故事 · 132 vocabulary words
Source: 《吕氏春秋·察今》 · Lüshi Chunqiu
楚国有一个人坐船过江。江上风平浪静,他站在船头,欣赏两岸的风景。
A man of Chu was crossing a river by boat. The water was calm, and he stood at the bow enjoying the scenery.
忽然,他随身带的宝剑从腰间滑了下去,扑通一声掉进了江里。
Suddenly his precious sword slipped from his belt and splashed into the river.
船上的人都替他着急,说:快跳下去捞吧,再晚就找不到了!
Everyone on board worried for him: jump in and fetch it, or it will be lost!
可是那个人一点儿也不着急。他不慌不忙地拿出一把小刀,在船边上刻了一个记号。
But the man was not worried at all. Calmly he took out a small knife and cut a mark on the side of the boat.
他指着记号说:我的剑是从这里掉下去的,我都记下来了。
Pointing at the mark he said: my sword fell in right here, I have noted it.
船靠岸以后,他从刻着记号的地方跳进水里,摸了半天,什么也没有摸到。
After the boat reached the far bank, he jumped in at the marked spot and groped about for ages, finding nothing.
船上的人都笑了:船在走,水在流,剑掉进江里是不会跟着船走的,你怎么能这样找呢?
Everyone laughed: the boat moves and the water flows; a sword dropped in the river does not travel with the boat. How could you search this way?
那个人在水里找了很久,浑身湿透了,最后什么也没找到,只能空着手上岸。
The man searched the water for a long time, soaked through, and finally climbed out empty-handed.
其实他刻记号的时候想得并不错,错在他忘记了一件事:船是动的,剑是不动的。
His marking was not the mistake; the mistake was forgetting that the boat moves while the sword does not.
刻舟求剑这个成语告诉我们:情况变了,办法也要跟着变。死守老办法,只会闹笑话。
Marking the boat to find the sword teaches: when things change, methods must change too. Clinging to the old way only makes you a joke.