用英语讲中国故事留学生组推荐篇目（6篇）

留学生组—推荐文章6篇

（选自《用英语讲中国故事-基础级》）

推荐篇目选段6段（6篇全文附在选段后）：

篇目1：故宫 建在中轴线上的皇宫

明成祖朱棣对北京有感情，想把都城从南京迁到北京。

既然皇帝来了，那就得有一座像样的皇宫供皇帝接见大臣、起居办公。工部大臣们接手了建造北京宫殿和城垣的任务。只是大臣们自知自己的建筑才华不足以承担此重任，于是贴出皇榜招募天下英才进京设计。

在苏州，一位仅二十出头的年轻人揭了皇榜，以艺应募。他有底气这么做，因为他的父亲蒯（kuǎi）富是传奇的木工行业的领头人，深得家族手艺真传的他有自信可以设计出让皇帝满意的宫殿城垣。他的设计理念很简单：大巧不工，居中为尊。毕竟是皇上住的地方。普天之下，莫非王土；率土之滨，莫非王臣。这座宫殿里的每一角、每一楼都要衬托出皇权至上。

Emperor Cheng of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) who had affection for Beijing decided to move his capital there from Nanjing.

Since it was the new home of the emperor, Beijing had to have a suitable palace for him to receive his ministers in audience and to carry out his administrative work. So the senior ministers in charge of public works got together to build an imperial walled palace in Beijing. But the expertise of the ministers alone was not sufficient to carry out this magnificent task, and so imperial decrees were issued recruiting talented people from all over China to come to Beijing to help with the work.

In Suzhou a young man in his early twenties responded to the call and decided to offer his talent. His father, Kuai Fu, had been a master carpenter and had passed on his skills to his son. The young man was therefore confident that he could build a palace and a wall fit for the emperor. His design concept was a simple one: unpretentious, yet at the same time conveying a sense of grandeur and stateliness. After all, it would be the residence of emperors. All the territory of the empire belonged to the ruler, and his ministers governed it for him. So every corner and every building in the palace had to exude a feeling of supreme imperial authority.

篇目2：中秋节 嫦娥奔月

传说远古的时候，天上有10个太阳同时出现。强烈的日晒让庄稼都干涸而死。农民没有了粮食，没有办法生活。这时出现了一个名叫后羿的英雄，力大无穷，擅长射箭。为了拯救苦难中的百姓，他拉开神弓，一气射下九个太阳。这一下，人间的生活又恢复了正常。此后，后羿声名远扬，不少志士慕名前来投师学艺。

嫦娥是后羿的妻子。一天，后羿到昆仑山访友求道，向王母求得一包不死药。据说服下此药，能即刻升天成仙。后羿暂时把不死药交给嫦娥保管。嫦娥将药藏进梳妆台中。后羿的学生中有一个叫逄（páng）蒙的人，贪心想长生不老。于是一天趁后羿带着学生们外出打猎，逄蒙拿着剑闯进老师的房间，逼嫦娥交出不死药。嫦娥知道自己不是逄蒙的对手，危急之时她拿出不死药一口吞了下去。

嫦娥吞下药，身子马上变得轻飘飘的，向天上飞去。由于嫦娥牵挂着丈夫，便飞落到离人间最近的月亮上，成了月亮上的一位仙女。

According to legend, in ancient times there were ten suns in the sky. The intense heat from these suns made the crops shrivel and die. So the farming people had no food to sustain life. At this time there appeared a hero called Houyi. He was immensely strong, and a skilled archer. To save the people from hardship, he drew his magic bow, and shot down nine of the suns. The life of the people then returned to normal. After this, the fame of Houyi spread far and wide. Many ambitious men admired Houyi, and went to him to learn his skill.

Chang’e was Houyi’s wife. One day, Houyi went to the Kunlun Mountains to visit a friend and seek the Dao. He obtained from the Queen Mother (of the West) a bag containing a herb of immortality. It was said that after taking one of these herbs a person would immediately fly up to Heaven, and become an immortal. Houyi gave the herb of immortality to his wife for temporary safekeeping. She put it in her dressing table. Now, one of Houyi’s students, called Pang Meng, was possessed by the desire for immortality. One day, Pang Meng took advantage of Houyi’s absence on a hunting trip with his other students to burst into his master’s quarters, sword in hand. He forced Chang’e to hand over to him the herb of immortality. Knowing that she was no match for Pang Meng, Chang’e, in this desperate situation, took out the herb, and swallowed it herself!

Immediately, her body became light, and she flew up to Heaven. Because she was worried about her husband, Chang’e landed on the moon, which was the nearest place to the mortal world. She then became an immortal on the moon.

篇目3：信 曾子杀猪

曾子叫曾参，16岁拜孔子为师，是孔子的得意门生，是儒家学说的主要继承者和传播者。曾子的学生是孟子的老师，所以曾子还是孟子的师爷呢。

有天早上，曾子的妻子要到集市上去买点东西，她的儿子看见妈妈出门没带他，就从家里追了出去，跟在后面哭闹不停，非要一起去不可。儿子太小，路也不近，但妈妈怎么说都不听，就哄他说：“妈妈一会儿就回来，你回家等着，你听话我回来杀猪给你吃。”儿子一听，破涕为笑，乖乖回去了。

妻子从集市上回来了，半天也没见她杀猪。曾子于是把猪抓过来要杀掉。妻子不干了，连忙制止：“你还真杀呀，我不过是哄孩子才那么说的！”

Zengzi, also called Zeng Shen, became a disciple of Confucius at the age of sixteen. He is regarded as an important inheritor and transmitter of the Confucian doctrines. One of Zengzi’s own students was the teacher of Mencius, making him, indirectly, also a teacher of Mencius.

Early one morning, Zengzi’s wife started out for the market. Her small son, not wishing to be left behind, ran after her, crying. She tried to explain to him that he was too young and the distance too long for him to accompany her to the market. She said, “I will soon be back. You go back in the house, and wait for me. If you do as I say, I will slaughter a pig and make a nice dish of pork for you.” The child, hearing this, changed his tears to a smile, and obediently went back to the house.

When Zengzi’s wife got back from the market she showed no sign that she had any intention of slaughtering a pig. And so Zengzi himself prepared to do it himself, when his wife rushed over to stop him, saying, “You’re not really going to kill a pig, are you? I only said that to keep the child quiet.”

篇目4：汉字 仓颉造字

这时，臣子的队伍中走出来一位样貌特殊的人。他叫仓颉，是黄帝的史官。他和平常人不同，居然长着四只眼睛，就是在两只眼睛上又分别长出两只眼睛。因为长相丑陋，一直不受重用。谁都没想到他在这时候站了出来。

“仓颉，你有什么好主意吗？”黄帝看了一眼仓颉，漫不经心地问。

“禀告大王，我确实想出了一个不一样的办法。我想先问问大家，咱们平时打猎，靠什么分辨出这条路上到底有羚羊、老虎还是麋鹿呢？”

“当然是野兽的足迹！羚羊、老虎、麋鹿的脚印不一样。”大臣们说。

仓颉接着说：“野兽可以靠足迹来判断，也就是说这些足迹能代表野兽。世界上有万事万物，我们只要创造出可以代表这些事物的符号就能解决大王刚才提出的问题。比如有 30只野猪，我们用野猪的蹄印代表野猪，用 30代表数量，就可以记录下来这件事啦！以此类推，我们可以用符号记录日月星辰、山川鸟兽。”

At this moment, out of the ranks of the ministers stepped a man of a remarkable appearance. His name was Cang Jie (仓颉), the Yellow Emperor’s historiographer. He stood out from others because he had four eyes – another set of two above the normal pair. Due to this strange abnormality, he was shunned by the other ministers, and never entrusted with important tasks. The other ministers were therefore surprised to see him come forward at this moment.

“Cang Jie, what is your suggestion?” asked the Yellow Emperor, glancing casually at him.

“After much careful thought, Your Majesty,” replied Cang Jie, “I have come up with a different method. First, I want to ask everybody here how, when we go hunting, we normally know whether we are on the track of wild goats, tigers or deer.”

“By their footprints, of course!” the ministers answered in chorus, “The tracks of wild goats, tigers and deer are all different.”

Cang Jie continued, “If wild animals can be identified by their tracks, these imprints can be used to represent the different animals. So all we have to do is to invent symbols to represent all the various things in the universe, and thereby solve Your Majesty’s problem. If we capture thirty wild pigs, we can use one sign to represent a wild pig and another to represent the number thirty. In the same way, we can represent the sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountains, birds and beasts – all with separate signs.”

题目5：青蒿素 挽救百万生命的青蒿素

屠呦呦首先走访老中医,收集治疟验方,整理研究中医药典籍,从中寻找治疟药物。她和同事对包括青蒿在内的几百种中药的提取物进行了各种实验,但结果都令人沮丧,就连普遍看好的青蒿,效果也不理想。后来在东晋葛洪的《肘后备急方》中见到相应的记载。该书说“一把青蒿,用两升水浸泡,拧出汁来,喝下去,可治疟疾。”一般中草药的服用方法都是用水煎服,但葛洪却写明青蒿不用水煮,而是浸泡拧出汁来服用。这说明青蒿怕高温,在高温下有效成分就被破坏了,必须低温提取才行。

The first thing Tu did was interview veteran doctors of Chinese medicine and collect from them their experience and methods of treating malaria. She then arranged all the old records of the herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, focusing on those used for the treatment of malaria. She and her colleagues performed various kinds of experiments on hundreds of kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs, including Artemisinin. However, the results were disappointing; even those involving Artemisinin, which had been universally well regarded, were less than ideal. But later, Tu found a relevant passage in a medical treatise by Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420): "Steep a handful of Artemisinin in two liters of water. Extract the juice, and have the patient drink it. This will cure malaria." Most Chinese medicinal concoctions are to be taken after being boiled in water, but Ge Hong clearly states that the water used to steep Artemisinin does not need to be boiled, and the juice is to be taken by the patient. This seemed to indicate that Artemisinin’s effectiveness might be diminished by high temperatures; it may need a low temperature to work properly.

篇目6： 孔子 三人行必有我师

一天正走得好好的，马车突然停下不走了。孔子让弟子去看看怎么回事。

过了一会儿，弟子回来说：“几个小孩在路上堆砌了一些土石，把路挡住了，说什么都不肯让路。”

另一个弟子跳起来说：“让我去，看他让不让！”

孔子知道他脾气大，赶紧拦住说 : “还是我去吧。”

孔子问：“小朋友们，你们在干什么呀？”

一个小孩说：“在修建一座城池。”

孔子说：“能不能让我们过去啊？”

小孩说：“世上只有车让城，哪有城让车的？”

这回答让孔子哭笑不得，可又找不出词儿来反驳，干脆表现得高姿态一点儿，作揖道：“太有才了！老师在上，受学生一拜。”

孔子回到车上，吩咐绕道过去。

弟子们不解。孔子说：“这孩子不简单，能想出车让城的理由，这辩才值得我们学习呀！看来自己的学问再大，也不能小看别人，连小孩儿都不能小看，更别说大人了。随便三个人，可能就有比你强的，只有虚心学习别人的长处，才能不断提高自己啊。这也算给我们上了一课，今天的收获也是不小呢。”

One day, the wagon, which had been going very smoothly, suddenly stopped, as the way was blocked. Confucius sent one of his disciples to find out what the problem was.

After a while, the disciple returned, and said, "Some children have blocked the road with a pile of bricks. No matter what I say, they refuse to clear the road."

Another disciple jumped up, and said, "I'll make them clear it!"

But Confucius knew he was impatient, and hastily stopped him, saying, "Better let me go."

He asked the children what they were doing.

One said, "We're building a castle."

Confucius asked, "Can't you let us pass?"

The boy replied, "All over the world, wagons give way to castles; how can a castle give way to a wagon?"

At this reply, Confucius, in spite of himself, couldn’t help chuckling and he couldn't find anything to say in response.

So, adopting a dignified posture, he bowed, and said, "Very clever! Teacher, your pupil salutes you."

Returning to the wagon, Confucius ordered that they drive round the obstruction.

The disciples were puzzled. Confucius explained, "Those children are remarkable. They were able to come up with an argument for why a castle should not make way for a wagon. We can learn from their quick-wittedness. We may have a high opinion of our own learning, but we should not despise others, not even children, let alone other adults. Wherever there are three men together, one of them may be superior to me. If we modestly learn from others’ strong points we will continuously improve ourselves. Let us regard this as learning lessons, and we learned an important one today”

全文6篇：

中国风物

故宫

建在中轴线上的皇宫

明成祖朱棣对北京有感情，想把都城从南京迁到北京。

既然皇帝来了，那就得有一座像样的皇宫供皇帝接见大臣、起居办公。工部大臣们接手了建造北京宫殿和城垣的任务。只是大臣们自知自己的建筑才华不足以承担此重任，于是贴出皇榜招募天下英才进京设计。

在苏州，一位仅二十出头的年轻人揭了皇榜，以艺应募。他有底气这么做，因为他的父亲蒯（kuǎi）富是传奇的木工行业的领头人，深得家族手艺真传的他有自信可以设计出让皇帝满意的宫殿城垣。他的设计理念很简单：大巧不工，居中为尊。毕竟是皇上住的地方。普天之下，莫非王土；率土之滨，莫非王臣。这座宫殿里的每一角、每一楼都要衬托出皇权至上。

他的助手有点不解：“‘居中为尊’这个想法非常好，但您怎么落实它呢？”

这位有才华的年轻人放下手中的规矩，想了一会说道：“我要用一条从南到北一字贯穿的中轴线来体现这个‘居中为尊’。”

他的助手更加疑惑了：“一条线？怎么就能把师傅的理念体现出来呢？”

“你看，这条中轴线连接着南面的午门和最北侧的玄武门。中轴线由南至北横穿宫城，串联起最主要的建筑群：三大殿、后三宫和御花园。在中轴线的左右两侧，对称排列文华殿和武英殿，东六宫和西六宫。我这是用中轴线表现出宫城的对称性；再利用左右两侧的对称性把臣民的朝拜焦点集中在整个宫城的核心宫殿太和殿。这就是万岁爷无上尊崇核心之地。这也是我想表达的‘居中为尊’。”

说到得意处，年轻人便收不住话头了：“不同于中国园林较为婉转的建造方法，皇帝的宫殿一定要凸显盛世极权。在我们老祖宗留下的建造创意中，对称美往往被工匠利用来彰显一个事物的至高无上性。而这个中轴线，不过是帮助观摩者按图索骥罢了。他会顺着这条中轴线，从午门一直看过来，最终把目光停留在那个中心宫殿上。”说罢，他用手指用力地点了点图纸上的中心点，自豪地笑了。

蒯师傅的想法果然受到了明成祖的高度认可。蒯师傅也就成为这座宏伟宫殿设计思想的提出者。蒯师傅独具匠心地利用中轴线的对称性把这个皇家宫殿设计得气势恢宏，规整精巧，使故宫成为中国古代建筑史上最浓墨重彩的一笔。

故事要旨

故宫宏伟精巧，包含了中国古代独具特色的美学意味。在中国人审美意境中，存在着“对称美”的概念。这个概念虽然用来表达在皇家宫殿上，用来突出皇权的威严与神圣，但故宫的“中轴线”设计正是中国人“对称美学”的生动再现。

The Forbidden City

Imperial Palace with a Central Axis

Emperor Cheng of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) who had affection for Beijing decided to move his capital there from Nanjing.

Since it was the new home of the emperor, Beijing had to have a suitable palace for him to receive his ministers in audience and to carry out his administrative work. So the senior ministers in charge of public works got together to build an imperial walled palace in Beijing. But the expertise of the ministers alone was not sufficient to carry out this magnificent task, and so imperial decrees were issued recruiting talented people from all over China to come to Beijing to help with the work.

In Suzhou a young man in his early twenties responded to the call, and decided to contribute his talent. He was confident that, since his father Kuai Fu had been a master carpenter and had handed his skill down to his son, he could build a palace and a wall fit for the emperor. His design concept was a simple one: Unpretentious, yet clearly signifying the honor due to the building. After all, it would be the residence of emperors. All the territory of the empire belonged to the ruler, and his ministers governed it for him. So every corner and every building in the palace had to exude the supreme imperial authority.

His assistant was doubtful, “‘Clearly signifying the honor due to the building’ is all very well, but how can you bring it to reality?”

The talented youth laid down the compasses he had been holding, thought for a while, and then said, “I’m going to do it by creating a central axis running in a straight line from south to north.”

His assistant was even more puzzled, “A straight line? How can that express your con­cept of exuding authority?”

The young man explained, “This central axis will connect the Meridian Gate in the south of the imperial palace with the Xuanwu Gate in the northernmost area, dividing the palace into two parts and connecting the most important groups of buildings – the Three Great Halls, the Three Rear Palaces and the Imperial Garden. On one side will be the Hall of Literary Glory, and on the other side the Hall of Martial Valor, as well as six palaces on either side. That is how I will bring balance to the imperial palace. The balance between the left and right sides will focus the imperial audiences granted to ministers and com­moners on the core building of the complex, the Taihe Hall. This is the center of worship of the emperor, and how I will express the concept of ‘occupying the seat of the highest honor’.”

Having blurted this out, the young man couldn’t help continuing, “Unlike the compara­tively modest design of Chinese leisure grounds, the imperial palace must directly express its nature of being replete with supreme power. In the creative concepts of construction handed down to us by our forefathers aesthetic balance is one which workmen constantly use to highlight the ultimate nature of any object. This axis will help observers to in­tuitively grasp the sublime essence of the design, and their eyes will, by seeing the whole length of the axis from the Meridian Gate, rest on the central hall.” With this, he stabbed his finger at the representation of the central hall on the blueprint, smiling proudly.

Master Kuai’s idea showed a good grasp of the concept of his illustrious ancestor. Master Kuai himself became the originator of the design for this magnificent palace com­pound. It was his unique sense of craftsmanship that enabled him, through his balanced central axis, to endow the imperial palace with its imposing aspect and exquisite regular­ity. It also makes the Forbidden City outstanding in the history of ancient Chinese archi­tecture.

The Moral of This Story

The imposing exquisiteness of the Forbidden City contains within it the unique aes­thetic taste of ancient China. In the Chinese appraisal of beauty, it expresses the “beauty of balance.” This concept often reveals the authority and divinity of the imperial power in the shape of the imperial palaces. The “central axis” design of the Forbidden City is a liv­ing reincarnation of the Chinese people’s “aesthetic of balance.”

中国习俗

中秋

嫦娥奔月

苏轼《水调歌头》中一句“人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟”，早已成为我们耳熟能详的佳句。这首词中所描述的场景就是我国重要的传统节日——中秋。

一说到中秋，我们马上就会想到月亮。不仅是因为有月饼这样美味的传统节日食物，民间还流传很多有关于月亮的传说。其中最有名的就要数嫦娥奔月了。而要讲嫦娥奔月，我们先要从另一个熟悉的故事“后羿射日”开始说起。

传说远古的时候，天上有10个太阳同时出现。强烈的日晒让庄稼都干涸而死。农民没有了粮食，没有办法生活。这时出现了一个名叫后羿的英雄，力大无穷，擅长射箭。为了拯救苦难中的百姓，他拉开神弓，一气射下九个太阳。这一下，人间的生活又恢复了正常。此后，后羿声名远扬，不少志士慕名前来投师学艺。

嫦娥是后羿的妻子。一天，后羿到昆仑山访友求道，向王母求得一包不死药。据说服下此药，能即刻升天成仙。后羿暂时把不死药交给嫦娥保管。嫦娥将药藏进梳妆台中。后羿的学生中有一个叫逄（páng）蒙的人，贪心想长生不老。于是一天趁后羿带着学生们外出打猎，逄蒙拿着剑闯进老师的房间，逼嫦娥交出不死药。嫦娥知道自己不是逄蒙的对手，危急之时她拿出不死药一口吞了下去。

嫦娥吞下药，身子马上变得轻飘飘的，向天上飞去。由于嫦娥牵挂着丈夫，便飞落到离人间最近的月亮上，成了月亮上的一位仙女。

傍晚，后羿回到家听到白天发生的事，悲痛欲绝。他派人到嫦娥喜爱的后花园里，摆上香案，放上嫦娥平时爱吃的糕点，遥祭在月宫里的嫦娥。百姓们闻知嫦娥奔月成仙的消息后，纷纷在月下摆设香案，向嫦娥祈求吉祥平安。从此，中国人就有了中秋节拜月的习俗。

对于我们来说，中秋节也是一个团聚的时刻。一家人围坐在一起，吃着香甜的月饼，边聊天边欣赏着皎洁明亮的月亮，一定是一个美好的夜晚。对那些在远方不能回来的亲人们，我们总是把对他们的思念寄托在月亮上。虽然我们相距遥远，但如果此时此刻能够欣赏到同样一轮月亮，那么相信彼此一定也可以感受到那份浓浓的思念之情。

故事要旨

中秋节是中华民族传统节日之一。在中秋时节，人们对着天上又亮又圆的一轮皓月，观赏祭拜，寄托思念故乡、思念亲人之情。中秋节的历史已延续千年，蕴含着丰富多彩的习俗，构成了中华民族宝贵的文化遗产。

The Mid-Autumn Festival

Chang’e Flies to the Moon

In the poem “Prelude to Water Melody” by Su Shi, there are the lines:

“Men have their sorrows and joys/

Their partings and meetings/

The moon has its darkness and light/

Its waxings and wanings/

Has this not been always so?/

But men wish for long lives/

They wish to be with the Moon Goddess so far away.”

These lines have long been familiar to our ears, as they contain a description of one of our country’s important festivals – the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Mention of the Mid-Autumn Festival makes us think immediately of the moon. This is not only because of the delicious flavor of mooncakes, a traditional festival food, it is also because of the many legends connected with the moon passed down among the people. Among the most famous of these must be counted the one about Chang’e (嫦娥 ), who flew to the moon. Now, before we talk about Chang’e’s flight to the moon, we must first recount the well-known story titled “Houyi (后羿 ) Shoots Down the Suns.”

According to legend, in ancient times there were ten suns in the sky at the same time. The intense heat from these suns made the crops shrivel and die. So the farming people had no food to sustain life. At this time there appeared a hero called Houyi. He was immensely strong, and a skilled archer. To save the people from hardship, he drew his magic bow, and shot down nine of the suns. The life of the people then returned to normal. After this, the fame of Houyi spread far and wide. Many ambitious men admired Houyi, and went to him to learn his skill.

Chang’e was Houyi’s wife. One day, Houyi went to the Kunlun Mountains to visit a friend and seek the Dao. He obtained from the Queen Mother (of the West) a bag contain­ing a herb of immortality. It was said that after taking one of these herbs a person would immediately fly up to Heaven, and become an immortal. Houyi gave the herb of immor­tality to his wife for temporary safekeeping. She put it in her dressing table. Now, one of Houyi’s students, called Pang Meng, was possessed by the desire for immortality. One day, Pang Meng took advantage of Houyi’s absence on a hunting trip with his other stu­dents to burst into his master’s quarters, sword in hand. He forced Chang’e to hand over to him the herb of immortality. Knowing that she was no match for Pang Meng, Chang’e, in this desperate situation, took out the herb, and swallowed it herself!

Immediately, her body became light, and she flew up to Heaven. Because she was wor­ried about her husband, Chang’e landed on the moon, which was the nearest place to the mortal world. She then became an immortal on the moon.

The same evening, Houyi returned home, and heard what had happened during the day. Heartbroken, Houyi sent his companions into the flower garden which Chang’e had loved, and there they set up an incense table upon which they placed cakes of the sort which Chang’e had liked to eat. Then they began to worship Chang’e far away in the Moon Palace. When people heard about this, they all scrambled to set up incense tables under the moon, and prayed to her for good fortune and tranquility. Since that time, the Chinese people have had the custom of paying their respects to the moon at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

For us, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also an occasion for reunions. The whole family sits together, eating fragrant and sweet mooncakes, chatting and enjoying the bright and clear moonlight. What a fine evening! And as for relatives who are located too far away to join us, we send our thoughts to them via the moon. Although we have drifted far apart, if we can all enjoy the moon on this one occasion we can trust that each of us feels the af­fection of these thoughts.

The Moral of This Story

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival of the Chinese people. At the Mid-Autumn Festival people enjoy and pay their respects to the bright full moon. Their thoughts go back to their hometowns, and are full of affection for their kinfolk. The Mid-Autumn Festival has a continuous history of one thousand years. It is a custom with rich and varied contents, and a part of the precious cultural legacy of the Chinese people.

中国人物

孔子

三人行必有我师

孔子是中国古代的思想家、教育家，儒家思想的创始人。孔子生活在距今两千多年的春秋时期。他姓孔名丘，字仲尼。

孔子三十多岁时已经非常有名，五十多岁担任鲁国的大司寇，是主管司法的领导。由于孔子管理有方，鲁国的社会秩序明显改善，路不拾遗，夜不闭户。因政绩卓著，孔子还代理过一段宰相。后因受到排挤，不再被国君重用，孔子只好离开鲁国，带着弟子周游列国。

孔子风餐露宿，浪迹天涯，还好有弟子陪着，为他赶车。

一天正走得好好的，马车突然停下不走了。孔子让弟子去看看怎么回事。

过了一会儿，弟子回来说：“几个小孩在路上堆砌了一些土石，把路挡住了，说什么都不肯让路。”

另一个弟子跳起来说：“让我去，看他让不让！”

孔子知道他脾气大，赶紧拦住说 : “还是我去吧。”

孔子问：“小朋友们，你们在干什么呀？”

一个小孩说：“在修建一座城池。”

孔子说：“能不能让我们过去啊？”

小孩说：“世上只有车让城，哪有城让车的？”

这回答让孔子哭笑不得，可又找不出词儿来反驳，干脆表现得高姿态一点儿，作揖道：“太有才了！老师在上，受学生一拜。”

孔子回到车上，吩咐绕道过去。

弟子们不解。孔子说：“这孩子不简单，能想出车让城的理由，这辩才值得我们学习呀！看来自己的学问再大，也不能小看别人，连小孩儿都不能小看，更别说大人了。随便三个人，可能就有比你强的，只有虚心学习别人的长处，才能不断提高自己啊。这也算给我们上了一课，今天的收获也是不小呢。”

那小孩儿史书上也有记载，叫项橐（tuó），是古代的神童之一。三字经里就有 “昔仲尼，师项橐，古圣贤，尚勤学 ”的句子。因为有孔子拜师的说法，后人尊项橐为 “圣公 ”，山东日照有座圣公山，就是因为项橐出生在山下而得名。

孔子在中国家喻户晓，在世界上也备受推崇。他被奉为万世师表，不仅仅因为他学问大、知识多，他谦虚的学习态度，也是为世人尊崇的重要原因之一。

学习吸收别人的长处首先要能发现别人的长处。你要是觉得自己比谁都强，那还能学什么？所以，发现别人的长处是进步的步。

那么，让我们都去找找别人的长处，看看有没有比我们强的地方吧。

故事要旨

孔子是中国古代伟大的思想家、教育家、哲学家，学识渊博、弟子众多，但依旧虚心学习，向所有人学习。这折射出中华民族的胸怀与智慧，也是孔子受人尊敬的原因之一。

Confucius

Where Three Men Walk Together I Can Learn from One

Confucius’(孔夫子) surname was Kong, his given name was Qiu, and his style was Zhong Ni. He was a thinker and educator in ancient China and the creator of Confucianism. He lived in the Spring and Autumn Period over two thousand years ago.

Confucius was already famous in his thirties. In his fifties he was appointed Minister of Justice in his home state of Lu, the highest judicial position among the ministers of that state. Under his administration, Lu’s social discipline improved markedly; nobody would pick up things lost on the roads by others, and doors would not have to be locked at night. Because of his official achievements, Confucius for a time deputized for the Prime Minis­ter, but he lost his government position when he fell out of favor with the ruler of Lu. He was forced to leave the state, and, taking his disciples with him, travelled around various states in China.

He suffered all kinds of hardships on his wide wanderings. Fortunately, he had his dis­ciples to pull his wagon.

One day, the wagon, which had been going very smoothly, suddenly stopped, as the way was blocked. Confucius sent one of his disciples to find out what the problem was.

After a while, the disciple returned, and said, “Some children have blocked the road with a pile of bricks. No matter what I said, they refused to clear the road.”

Another disciple jumped up, and said, “I’ll make them clear it!”

But Confucius knew he was impatient, and hastily stopped him, saying, “Better let me go.”

He asked the children what they were doing.

One said, “We’re building a castle.”

Confucius asked, “Can’t you let us go past?”

The boy replied, “All over the world, wagons give way to castles; how can a castle give way to a wagon?”

This reply caused Confucius to laugh bitterly, but he couldn’t find the words to refute it. So, adopting a dignified posture, he bowed, and said, “Very clever! Teacher, your pupil salutes you.”

Returning to the wagon, Confucius ordered that they drive round the obstruction.

The disciples were puzzled. Confucius explained, “Those children are remarkable. They can figure out the reasoning behind a wagon yielding to a castle. That is something worth learning for us. We may have a high opinion of our own learning, but we should not despise others, not even children, not to mention adults. Wherever there are three men together, one of them may be superior to me. If we modestly learn from others’ strong points we will continuously improve ourselves. Let us regard this as learning lessons, and what we learned today was not an unimportant one.”

That boy has been recorded in history books as Xiang Tuo, one of the boy geniuses of ancient times. In the reading primer The Three Character Classic there are the words “Once Confucius learned from Xiang Tuo. The sage of old was wise, but he continued to study diligently.” Because Confucius paid his respects to him as to a teacher, later genera­tions regarded the young Xiang Tuo too as a “sage.” There is a mountain near Rizhao in Shandong Province, where Xiang Tuo was born, called “Sage Mountain” in his honor.

Confucius is very well known in China. He is also revered worldwide. He has been honored as “Teacher of All Ages,” not just because of his vast learning and knowledge, but also for his modest attitude to study, which is an important reason for his worldwide respect.

To learn from others’ strong points, we must first learn how to discover them. If you are aware only of your own comparatively strong points, how can you learn anything? Therefore, recognizing others’ strong points is the first step on the road of progress.

So let us all look for others’ strong points, and discern the areas where they are – or are not –superior to us.

The Moral of This Story

Confucius was a great thinker, teacher and philosopher of ancient China. He was a man of immense learning, and had many disciples; nevertheless, he was humble in his studies, and prepared to learn from anybody. His reflection of the heart and wisdom of the Chi­nese people is one of the reasons for the veneration he receives.

中国成就

青蒿素

挽救百万生命的青蒿素

疟疾是与人类历史一样漫长的疾病，直到人们发明了奎宁类药物，疟疾才得到控制。

20世纪 60年代，引发疟疾的疟原虫产生了抗药性，原来的药 “氯喹 ”失效，疟疾再次肆虐东南亚。世界各国都投入大量人力物力研发新药，却一无所获，成为世界难题。我国从 1964年开始试图从中草药中寻求突破，也没有重大发现。

1981年在世界卫生组织主办的国际会议上，中国科学家屠呦呦的《青蒿素的化学研究》的发言，使与会者无不兴奋，因为疟疾病人这下有救了。

你一定会好奇，这位屠呦呦是何方圣神？

屠呦呦毕业于北京大学医学部，是一名药学家。

1969年，在中外对治疗疟疾的研究都陷入困境时，39岁的屠呦呦临危受命，担任该项目的科研组长。

屠呦呦首先走访老中医，收集治疟验方，整理研究中医药典籍，从中寻找治疟药物。她和同事对包括青蒿在内的几百种中药的提取物进行了各种实验，但结果都令人沮丧，就连普遍看好的青蒿，效果也不理想。后来在东晋葛洪的《肘后备急方》中见到相应的记载。该书说 “一把青蒿，用两升水浸泡，拧出汁来，喝下去，可治疟疾。”一般中草药的服用方法都是用水煎服，但葛洪却写明青蒿不用水煮，而是浸泡拧出汁来服用。这说明青蒿怕高温，在高温下有效成分就被破坏了，必须低温提取才行。

一句话如醍醐灌顶，指明了屠呦呦团队的研究思路，终于在 1972年从青蒿中提取出抗疟的有效成分青蒿素，对疟原虫抑制率达到 100%！

古人真是了不起呀，我国科学家真是了不起呀！

在青蒿素问世和推广前，全世界每年约有 4亿人次感染疟疾，至少有 100万人死于此病。2000年，世界卫生组织把青蒿素类药物作为抗疟药物，在全球推广。2000年至 2015年期间，全球疟疾死亡率下降了 60%，青蒿素类药物作为治疗疟疾的主导药物，发挥了相当大的作用。

从 39岁开始，屠呦呦一生都在研究青蒿素。2015年，85岁的屠呦呦获诺贝尔生理学或医学奖，实现了中国科学家诺贝尔奖零的突破。

屠呦呦为什么获得这么大成就？相信你已经有了答案，一分耕耘一分收获，在艰难的时候不要轻易放弃，也许你再往前走，就能看见点点星光，柳暗花明。

故事要旨

青蒿素的研究成果是医学界的春雷，屠呦呦的科研精神是中国科学家的缩影。她的故事告诉我们：研究之路不容易，智慧靠爱心与坚持获得，而坚持就能胜利。

Artemisinin

Chinese Discovery Saves Millions of Lives

The disease malaria has dogged mankind throughout history, and it could not be con­trolled until the invention of the quinine type of drugs.

In the 1960s, as the drug called chloroquine, which had been effective against malaria parasites, began to lose its effectiveness, malaria began to appear again in Southeast Asia. Every country in the world then poured a huge amount of human resources into discover­ing another anti-malarial drug. But these efforts were in vain, and the problem became a world-wide one. In 1964, China began to plan to seek a breakthrough from among tradi­tional Chinese medicinal drugs.

There was no great discovery until 1981, when Chinese scientist Tu Youyou gave a speech titled, “Chemical Research into Artemisinin,” at an international conference of the World Health Organization (WHO). The speech caused a sensation among all the del­egates, as they recognized that this was a lifeline for malaria sufferers.

You must be wondering if this Tu Youyou was some kind of saint.

Tu Youyou (屠呦呦) graduated from the Medical College of Peking University as a phar­macologist.

In 1969, just as the research, both in China and abroad, into treating malaria had reached a dead end, the 39-year-old Tu, in order to solve this dire problem, took on the job as head of a research team.

The first thing Tu did was interview veteran doctors of Chinese medicine and collect from them their experience and methods of treating malaria. She then arranged all the old records of the herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, focusing on those used for the treatment of malaria. She and her colleagues performed various kinds of experiments on hundreds of kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs, including Artemisinin. However, the results were disappointing; even those involving Artemisinin, which had been universally well regarded, were less than ideal. But later, Tu found a relevant passage in a medical treatise by Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420): “Steep a handful of Artemisinin in two liters of water. Extract the juice, and have the patient drink it. This will cure malaria.” Most Chinese medicinal concoctions are to be taken after being boiled in water, but Ge Hong clearly states that the water used to steep Artemisinin does not need to be boiled, and the juice is to be taken by the patient. This shows that Artemisinin shuns high tempera­tures, which destroy its effectiveness; it needs a low temperature to work properly.

There was much wisdom in that one sentence, pointing to a brand-new direction for Tu and her research team. Finally, in 1972 an extract of Artemisinin was found to be one hun­dred percent effective against malaria parasites!

How wonderful the ancients were, and how wonderful our country’s scientists!

Before the introduction of Artemisinin to the market, there were, on average, 400 million people affected by malaria each year, resulting in no fewer than one million deaths. In 2000 the WHO recognized Artemisinin as a leading anti-malarial drug, and promoted it worldwide. From 2000 to 2015, the global ratio of deaths from malaria dropped by six­ty percent. As the leading anti-malarial drug, Artemisinin demonstrated that it had a great role to play.

Beginning at the age of 39, Tu devoted her life to Artemisinin research. In 2015, at the age of 85, she received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which was the first time for a Chinese scientist to win a Nobel Prize.

How did Tu manage to attain such a great achievement? You probably have the answer to that already: You reap what you sow. If you don’t give up easily in the face of difficul­ties, you may make progress and start to see a glimmer of starlight. As the saying goes, “It’s always darkest just before the dawn.”

The Moral of This Story

Artemisinin research caused a great sensation in the medical world. Tu Youyou’s spirit of scientific research is a microcosm of that of Chinese scientists as a whole. Her story tells us that the road of research is not an easy one. Knowledge is the outcome of dedica­tion and enthusiasm – only such qualities ensure success.

中国艺术

汉字

仓颉造字

上古时期，华夏部落的首领黄帝遇到了一件难事，于是他召集大臣们在一起讨论。

“今年是个丰收年！勤劳勇敢的人们啊，你们把捕捉到的猎物养在牲口棚里，把收割的粮食放到粮仓里。牲口棚里的猎物越来越多，粮仓里的粮食也越来越多。我想把各种猎物、粮食的数目记录下来，请问有什么好办法吗？”

黄帝的问题一抛出，大臣们纷纷进言。有人说：“还有什么好方法，不如就用老办法吧！用不同的绳子代表不同的猎物、粮食，有多少就在上面打多少个结。”

这个人刚一说完，马上有人反对说：“这种办法早就行不通了！猎物、粮食的数目每年都在增加。哪条绳子代表哪种猎物早就记不清了！” “就是啊！不但记不住，而且也不方便。今年我们捉到了 30头野猪，就要在绳子上系 30个结。我这个人实在太懒了，咱们还是找个勤快的人去系吧！”

被反对的人也不服气：“你们说这个办法行不通，那你们再想一个好办法啊！”

“这……”大臣们都沉默了。

这时，臣子的队伍中走出来一位样貌特殊的人。他叫仓颉，是黄帝的史官。他和平常人不同，居然长着四只眼睛，就是在两只眼睛上又分别长出两只眼睛。因为长相丑陋，一直不受重用。谁都没想到他在这时候站了出来。

“仓颉，你有什么好主意吗？”黄帝看了一眼仓颉，漫不经心地问。

“禀告大王，我确实想出了一个不一样的办法。我想先问问大家，咱们平时打猎，靠什么分辨出这条路上到底有羚羊、老虎还是麋鹿呢？”

“当然是野兽的足迹！羚羊、老虎、麋鹿的脚印不一样。”大臣们说。

仓颉接着说：“野兽可以靠足迹来判断，也就是说这些足迹能代表野兽。世界上有万事万物，我们只要创造出可以代表这些事物的符号就能解决大王刚才提出的问题。比如有 30只野猪，我们用野猪的蹄印代表野猪，用 30代表数量，就可以记录下来这件事啦！以此类推，我们可以用符号记录日月星辰、山川鸟兽。”

众人听了仓颉的话赞不绝口，用仓颉说的办法造了许多表示事物的符号，也就是文字。

就这样，世界上最早的文字之一 ——汉字诞生了！

故事要旨

仓颉造字是个神话传说。汉字不是仓颉一个人造的，仓颉很可能只是负责汉字的整理、记录。汉字的出现成为中华民族开始走进文明的标志，中华民族的智慧得以传承。

Chinese Characters

Cang Jie Creates Writing

Back in the mists of time, the Yellow Emperor, chief of the Huaxia tribe, encountered a problem and summoned his ministers into a council to discuss it.

He said, “This year we have a bumper harvest. You gentlemen, through your diligence and courage, have filled the sacrificial animal pens with captured beasts, and the store­houses with grain. Both these resources are continuously increasing, and I want to find some way of recording both the number of captured animals and the amount of grain.”

As soon as the Yellow Emperor put this question to them, the ministers came up with suggestions: One said, “Why do we need a new method? We can continue to use the old one, with numbers of knots to represent the amounts of captured animals and grain on dif­ferent ropes for each resource.”

He was immediately contradicted by another minister, who said, “That method long ago proved to be useless. The numbers of captured animals and the amounts of grain are increasing every year; how can ropes cope with this? Moreover, how can ropes distin­guish among the different kinds of animals?” Another chimed in with, “That’s right! The rope method is not only crude, it is also inconvenient. This year, we have captured thirty wild pigs, and that requires thirty knots on a rope. As far as I’m concerned, that’s too much trouble; we’ll have to find somebody to tie them.”

The first minister retorted, “You say that this method is no good. Well, think up a good one!”

The other ministers fell silent.

At this moment, out of the ranks of the ministers stepped a man of a remarkable ap­pearance. His name was Cang Jie (仓颉 ), the Yellow Emperor’s historiographer. He was unusual inasmuchas he had four eyes – another set of two above the normal pair. Be­cause of this feature he was shunned by the other ministers, and never entrusted with im­portant tasks. None of the others thought he would come to the fore at this moment.

“Cang Jie, what is your suggestion?” asked the Yellow Emperor, glancing casually at Cang Jie.

“After much careful thought, Your Majesty,” replied Cang Jie, “I have come up with a different method. First, I want to ask everybody here how, when we go hunting, we nor­mally know whether we are on the track of wild goats, tigers or deer.”

“By their footprints, of course!” the ministers answered in chorus, “The tracks of wild goats, tigers and deer are all different.”

Cang Jie continued, “If wild animals can be identified by their tracks, these imprints can be used to represent the different animals. So all we have to do is to invent symbols to represent all the various things in the universe, and thereby solve Your Majesty’s problem. If we capture thirty wild pigs, we can use one sign to represent a wild pig and another to represent the number thirty. In the same way, we can represent the sun, moon, stars, riv­ers, mountains, birds and beasts – all with separate signs.”

The others highly praised Cang Jie’s idea, and thereupon applied it to make symbols for many things, resulting in writing.

In this way, one of the world’s earliest writing systems – Chinese characters – was born!

The Moral of This Story

The legend of Cang Jie inventing writing is mythological. Chinese characters were not created by Cang Jie alone; he probably only undertook the tasks of regulating and record­ing them. The invention of Chinese characters marked the beginning of Chinese civiliza­tion. Thanks to the writing system, the wisdom of the Chinese race has been passed down from generation to generation.

中国精神

信

曾子杀猪

“仁义礼智信”被称为儒家“五常”，先由孔子提出“仁、义、礼”，孟子补充了“智”，董仲舒再补充了“信”，合称为“五常”，是中国长久以来的传统美德。

“信”就是诚实、不骗人、守信用、说话算数。中国古代有许多关于诚信的故事流传下来，有一则出自《韩非子》的故事，叫“曾子杀猪”，就很能说明我国自古以来多么重视诚信。

曾子叫曾参，16岁拜孔子为师，是孔子的得意门生，是儒家学说的主要继承者和传播者。曾子的学生是孟子的老师，所以曾子还是孟子的师爷呢。

有天早上，曾子的妻子要到集市上去买点东西，她的儿子看见妈妈出门没带他，就从家里追了出去，跟在后面哭闹不停，非要一起去不可。儿子太小，路也不近，但妈妈怎么说都不听，就哄他说：“妈妈一会儿就回来，你回家等着，你听话我回来杀猪给你吃。”儿子一听，破涕为笑，乖乖回去了。

妻子从集市上回来了，半天也没见她杀猪。曾子于是把猪抓过来要杀掉。妻子不干了，连忙制止：“你还真杀呀，我不过是哄孩子才那么说的！”

曾子说：“不让去就哭闹本来不对，你这么哄孩子也不对，但是诚信更重要，既然已经说了就应该兑现，即使刚出生的小孩儿也不能骗他们。他们如同一张白纸，什么都不懂，都是看父母怎么做来学习模仿。你现在骗了他，他以后就会去骗别人。再者说了，如果做母亲的说话不算数，欺骗孩子，孩子以后就不会再相信他母亲了，今后就没有办法再教育孩子了。”

妻子听了曾子的一席话，后悔自己不该哄骗儿子。那就说到做到，取信于儿子，于是和曾子一起杀猪，为儿子烧了一大锅香喷喷的猪肉，一连吃了好几天。儿子一边吃肉，一边向父母投去了信任和感激的目光，也明白了很多道理。

一天晚上，儿子刚躺下，又突然披上衣服往外跑。曾子问: “这么晚了干吗去？儿子说：“借小朋友的玩具说好今天还，给忘了，我给送去。”曾子和妻子满意地相视一笑，等着儿子回来。

小朋友们，读了曾子的故事，你是不是也想做一位言而有信的人呢？

故事要旨

曾子在每一件小事上都力求诚信，使他成为圣贤人物。他对诚信的坚守，为世人传扬。“诚信”是中华传统美德，社会的和谐与稳定离不开诚信，个人的安定与成功也离不开诚信，而无数中华儿女正在践行着言而有信的价值观念。

Trustworthiness

Zengzi Slaughters a Pig

Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness (信) are called the “five tenets” of Confucianism. Confucius himself instituted the first three; Mencius added wisdom and Dong Zhongshu added trustworthiness. These principles have long consti­tuted the traditional morality of China.

Trustworthiness means honesty, not deceiving others, keeping conviction and meaning what one says. Many stories about honesty have been passed down from ancient China; one from the book The Han Feizi called “Zengzi Slaughters a Pig,” is very suitable for explaining how important we have regarded honesty since ancient times.

Zengzi, also called Zeng Shen, became a disciple of Confucius at the age of sixteen. He is regarded as an important inheritor and transmitter of the Confucian doctrines. One of Zengzi’s own students was the teacher of Mencius, making him also a teacher of Men­cius.

Early one morning, Zengzi’s wife started out for the market. Her small son, not wishing to be left behind, ran after her, crying. She tried to explain to him that he was too young and the distance too long for him to accompany her to the market. She said, “I will soon be back. You go back in the house, and wait for me. If you do as I say, I will slaughter a pig and make a nice dish of pork for you.” The child, hearing this, changed his tears to a smile, and obediently went back to the house.

When Zengzi’s wife got back from the market she showed no sign for a long time of slaughtering a pig. And so, Zengzi himself prepared to do so, when his wife rushed over to stop him, saying, “You’re not really going to kill a pig, are you? I only said that to qui­eten the child.”

Zengzi said, “It was wrong of him to cry and make a fuss just because you would not take him with you, and it was equally wrong for you to deceive him. Honesty is the most important thing. You must keep your word; even a new-born baby must not be deceived. Children are like blank sheets of paper. They understand nothing; they learn their mod­els of behavior from their parents’ actions. Because you have deceived the boy, in the future he will deceive others. Moreover, if a mother’s word cannot be relied on, and she deceives her child, the latter will cease to trust his mother, and she will be unable to teach him after that.

Hearing her husband’s explanation, Zengzi’s wife regretted having deceived the child, and realized that she should have kept her word and thereby kept the child’s trust. There­upon, she joined Zengzi in slaughtering the pig, and then cooked a steaming dish of fragrant pork for the child – enough to last for several days. While eating, the boy cast glances of trust and gratitude at his parents, which showed he had learned much.

One evening, the child had just gone to bed, when he suddenly got up, got dressed again, and dashed outside. When Zengzi asked him where he was going, the boy replied, “I said I was going to return today a toy I had borrowed from a friend. But I forgot, and so I am going to return it now.” Zengzi and his wife exchanged satisfied smiles, and waited until the boy returned.

Children, after reading this story about Zengzi, do you too want to become persons true to their word?

The Moral of This Story

In everything, no matter how small, Zengzi strove to be trustworthy, and this made him a man of sagely virtue. Everybody praised his strict integrity. Trustworthiness is a tradi­tional Chinese virtue, and social harmony and stability are inseparable from trustworthi­ness, as are individual well-being and achievement. Countless numbers of China’s sons and daughters have adopted the value system of being true to one’s word.