Lesson 8 朝三暮四 Three at Dawn and Four at Dusk
Chéngyǔ shì hànyǔ zhòng fēicháng yǒu tèdiǎn de yībùfèn cíhuì.
成语是汉语中非常有特点的一部分词汇。
Idioms are a very characteristic part of Chinese vocabulary.
Chéngyǔ yǒu gùdìng de jiégòu,
成语有固定的结构,
Idioms have a fixed structure
bùnéng suíbiàn gēnggǎi; yìyì shì zhěngtǐ xìng de,
不能隨便更改; 意义是整体性的,
and cannot be changed at will; the meaning is as a whole,
bùshì měi gè zì yìsi de jiǎndān xiàng jiā, ér shì zònghé qǐlái biǎodá yīgè wánzhěng de yìsi.
不是每个字意思的简单相加, 而是综合起来表达一个完整的意思。
not a simple addition of the meaning of each word, but a comprehensive expression of a complete meaning.
Yībān lái shuō,
一般来说,
Generally speaking,
chéngyǔ de yìyì yěshì wěndìng de, hěn shǎo fāshēng biànhuà,
成语的意义也是稳定的, 很少发生变化,
the meaning of idioms is also stable and rarely changes,
bǐrú wǒmen xuéguò de “mángrénmōxiàng” hé “jīngchéng suǒ zhì, jīnshí wéi kāi”.
比如我们学过的 “盲人摸象” 和 “精诚所至, 金石为开”。
For example, we have learned "the blind touch the elephant" and "Faith will move mountains to open."
Dàn yěyǒu gǔjīn bùtóng de,
但也有古今不同的,
But there are also ancient and modern differences,
xiàng wǒmen jīntiān yào xuéxí de “zhāo sān mù sì”
像我们今天要学习的“朝三幕四”
such as today we will learn the "three acts four"
zhōngguó gǔdài yǒu yī wèi zhéxué jiā, zài tā de shū zhōng jiǎngle zhèyàng yīgè yùyán gùshì:
中国古代有一位哲学家, 在他的书中讲了这样一个寓言故事:
ancient China has a philosopher, in his book told such a fable:
Cóngqián yǒu wèi lǎorén, wèiyǎngle yīqún hóuzi dāng chǒngwù.
从前有位老人, 喂养了一群猴子当宠物。
once there was an old man, feeding a group of monkeys as pets.
Xiāngchǔ jiǔle,
相处久了,
After getting along for a long time,
bǐcǐ jūrán kěyǐ cóng biǎoqíng, shēngyīn hé xíngwéi jǔzhǐ zhōng liǎojiě duìfāng de yìsi.
彼此居然可以从表情、声音和行为举止中了解对方的意思。
each other can actually understand each other's meaning from expressions, voices, and behaviors.
Hóuzi tài duō, měitiān yào chī dàliàng de guā guǒ, shūcài hé liángshí.
猴子太多, 每天要吃大量的瓜果、蔬菜和粮食。
There are too many monkeys, and they eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and food every day.
Rán'ér, yīgè pǔtōng de jiātíng, cáichǎn bù duō,
然而, 一个普通的家庭, 财产不多,
However, an ordinary family with little wealth,
nǎ yǒu nàme dà de cáilì mǎnzú yīqún hóuzi duì shíwù de cháng qī xūyào ne?
哪有那么大的财力满足一群猴子对食物的长期需要呢?
how can there be so much financial resources to meet the long-term food needs of a group of monkeys?
Lǎorén shènzhì bìxū jiǎnshǎo jiārén de xiāofèi, hǎo jiéshěng xiē shíwù ná qù wèiyǎng hóuzi.
老人甚至必须减少家人的消费, 好节省些食物拿去喂养猴子。
The oldman must even reduce the consumption of their family members in order to save some food to feed the monkeys.
Tā zhùyì dào gāi xiànzhì hóuzi de shíliàngle.
他注意到该限制猴子的食量了。
He noticed that it was time to limit the monkey's food intake.
Wèntí shì, hóuzi bù xiàng zhū, gǒu, chī bù bǎo shí jǐnjǐn zhǐshì jiào jiào,
问题是, 猴子不像猪、狗, 吃不饱时仅仅只是叫叫,
The problem is, monkeys, unlike pigs and dogs, just bark when they can't eat enough.
tāmen rúguǒ dé bù dào hǎo de dàiyù, jiù huì xiàng yīqún tiáopí de háizi, jīngcháng gēn rén táoqì.
它们如果得不到好的待遇,就会像一群调皮的孩子, 经常跟人淘气。
If they are not treated well, they will be like a group of naughty children, often naughty with others.
Lǎorén de péngyou sòng gěi tā hěnduō xiàngzi, zhè shì yī zhǒng hóuzi ài chī de guǒshí.
老人的朋友送给他很多橡子, 这是一种猴子爱吃的果实。
The old man’s friend gave him a lot of acorns, a fruit that monkeys love to eat.
Zài qítā liángshí bùzú de qíngkuàng kuàng xià, yòng xiàngzi wèi hóuzi dǎoshì gè bànfǎ.
在其他粮食不足的情况況下, 用橡子喂猴子倒是个办法。
In other situations where food is insufficient, feeding monkeys with acorns is a way.
Yúshì lǎorén duì hóuzimen shuō:
于是老人对猴子们说:
So the old man said to the monkeys,
“Jīnhòu nǐmen chúle chī mántóu, hái kěyǐ zài chī yīxiē xiàngzi.
“今后你们除了吃馒头, 还可以再吃一些橡子。
"In addition to eating steamed buns, you can also eat acorns.
Wǒ zǎoshang gěi nǐmen sān kē, wǎnshàng gěi sì kē.
我早上给你们三颗, 晚上给四颗。
I will give you three in the morning and four in the evening.
Hóuzimen sìhū zhǐ nòng dǒngle zhǔrén qiánmiàn shuō de yīgè “sān”, juédé zìjǐ chīle kuī,
猴子们似乎只弄懂了主人前面说的一个 “三”, 觉得自己吃了亏,
The monkeys only seemed to understand the "three" that the master said earlier, and felt that they had suffered a loss.
yīgè gè lì qǐ shēnzi tiào lái tiào qù, duìzhe lǎorén dà hǎn dà jiào de fā píqì.
一个个立起身子跳来跳去, 对着老人大喊大叫地发脾气。
One by one, he got up and jumped up and down, shouting at the old man and got angry.
Lǎorén jiàn hóuzimen bù jiēshòu, jiù huànle yī zhǒng fāngshì, ānwèi tāmen shuōdao:
老人见猴子们不接受, 就换了一种方式, 安慰它们说道:
Seeing that the monkeys did not accept it, the old man changed his way and comforted them and said:
“Yào bù zhèyàng ba, jìrán nǐmen juédé shǎo, nà jiù gǎi chéng měitiān zǎoshang sì kē, wǎnshàng sān kē,
“要不这样吧, 既然你们觉得少, 那就改成每天早上四颗, 晚上三颗,
"If not, since you feel less, change to four every morning, three in the evening,
zhèyàng zǒng gòule ba?”
这样总够了吧?”
Isn't that enough?"
Hóuzi bǎ zhǔrén qiánmiàn shuō de yīgè “sì” dàngchéng quán tiān duō dé le de xiàngzi,
猴子把主人前面说的一个 “四” 当成全天多得了的橡子,
The monkey regarded the "four" mentioned by the owner as an acorn that he had gained throughout the day,
suǒyǐ mǎshàng ānjìng xiàlái, xiǎndé géwài kāixīn.
所以马上安静下来, 显得格外开心。
so they calmed down immediately and looked extremely happy.
Lǎorén kànzhe zhè qíngjǐng, hāhā de xiàole.
老人看着这情景, 哈哈地笑了。
The old man looked at this scene and laughed haha.
Zhéxué jiāyòng zhège gùshì gàosù rénmen, bùyào tài guānxīn shēngsǐ, déshī,
哲学家用这个故事告诉人们, 不要太关心生死、得失,
Philosophers use this story to tell people not to care too much about life and death, gains and losses,
yīnwèi dào zuìhòu wǒmen huì fāxiàn méiyǒu shīqù shénme, yě méiyǒu dédào shénme.
因为到最后我们会发现没有失去什么, 也没有得到什么。
because in the end we will find that nothing has been lost and nothing has been gained.
Bùguò, fāzhǎn dào jīntiān, “zhāosānmùsì” zhège chéngyǔ de yìyì yǐjīng wánquán gǎibiànle.
不过, 发展到今天, “朝三暮四” 这个成语的意义已经完全改变了。
However, to this day, the meaning of the idiom "three days and four nights" has completely changed.
Nǐ zhīdao tā xiànzài shì shénme yìsi ma?
你知道它现在是什么意思吗?
Do you know what it means now?
Full Translation:
Three at Dawn and Four at Dusk
Idioms are a very characteristic part of Chinese vocabulary. Idioms have a fixed structure and cannot be changed at will; the meaning is as a whole, not a simple addition of the meaning of each word, but a comprehensive expression of a complete meaning. Generally speaking, the meaning of idioms is also stable and rarely changes, For example, we have learned "the blind touch the elephant" and "Faith will move mountains to open." But there are also ancient and modern differences, such as today we will learn the "three acts four"
Ancient China has a philosopher, in his book told such a fable: once there was an old man, feeding a group of monkeys as pets. After getting along for a long time, each other can actually understand each other's meaning from expressions, voices, and behaviors. There are too many monkeys, and they eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and food every day.
However, an ordinary family with little wealth,
how can there be so much financial resources to meet the long-term food needs of a group of monkeys? The oldman must even reduce the consumption of their family members in order to save some food to feed the monkeys. He noticed that it was time to limit the monkey's food intake.
The problem was, monkeys, unlike pigs and dogs, just bark when they can't eat enough. If they are not treated well, they will be like a group of naughty children, often naughty with others. The old man’s friend gave him a lot of acorns, a fruit that monkeys love to eat. In other situations where food is insufficient, feeding monkeys with acorns is a way. So the old man said to the monkeys, "In addition to eating steamed buns, you can also eat acorns. I will give you three in the morning and four in the evening.
The monkeys only seemed to understand the "three" that the master said earlier, and felt that they had suffered a loss. One by one, he got up and jumped up and down, shouting at the old man and got angry. Seeing that the monkeys did not accept it, the old man changed his way and comforted them and said: "If not, since you feel less, change to four every morning, three in the evening, Isn't that enough?"
The monkey regarded the "four" mentioned by the owner as an acorn that he had gained throughout the day, so they calmed down immediately and looked extremely happy. The old man looked at this scene and laughed haha.
Philosophers use this story to tell people not to care too much about life and death, gains and losses, because in the end we will find that nothing has been lost and nothing has been gained. However, to this day, the meaning of the idiom "three days and four nights" has completely changed. Do you know what it means now?
Vocabulary:
IDIOM 朝三暮四 zhāosān-mùsì
blow hot and cold; chop and change; changeable
一般来说 yībānláishuō
generally speaking
IDIOM 盲人摸象 mángrén-mōxiàng
a group of blind men trying to describe an elephant, each mistaking the part he touches for the whole animal—mistake a part for the whole; draw conclusions from incomplete data
IDIOM 精诚所至，金石为开
jīngchéng suǒ zhì, jīnshí wéi kāi
Complete sincerity can move even metal and stone.
哲学 zhéxué
philosophy
哲学家 zhéxuéjiā
philosopher
瓜果 guāguǒ
fruit
吃不饱 chībubǎo
go hungry
得不到 débùdào
cannot get; cannot obtain
今后 jīnhòu
from now on; in the days to come; henceforth; hereafter; in future
一个个 yīgègè
each and every one
IDIOM 大喊大叫 dàhǎn-dàjiào
1 shout at the top of one's voice
2 conduct vigorous propaganda
发脾气 fāpíqi
lose one's temper; get angry
不要 bùyào
don't
生死 shēng-sǐ
life and death
得失 déshī
1 gain and loss; success and failure
2 advantages and disadvantages; merits and demerits
HSK 5 lesson 8 audio with pinyin and English translation 👇
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