英语版中国成语故事

江郎才尽

Southern Dynasties of Jiang Yan, word Wen-tung, when he was young, became a Dingdingyouming writer, his poems and articles at the time received high acclaims. However, when he is getting older, he has not previously written an article good, but a lot of setbacks. His poems written in prosaic; and pick up a pen-yin grip for a long time, still can not write a word, the occasional inspiration came; poem written, but the textual Kuse, content, plain were completely useless. So some people to legend, once a boat parked in Chan Jiang Yan-Ling Monastery river and dream of a self-named Zhang Jingyang person; to his followers repay a silk, he would arrest a few feet from her, he is also silk. Thus, his article there will be no wonderful. It was also legend; once the rule of Jiang Yan in the booth sleeping too; dreamed that a person claiming to Guo Pu, walked over to his side, his claim to the pen, said to him: "Man Michie, I have a pen in your place has been a long time, and now should be able to give it to me the bar! "Jiang Yan heard, they dig out from his arms, he is also a five-color pen. Reportedly Since then, Jiang Yan on Evans exhausted and could not write the article in any good.
Jiang Yan's talent has not really run out, but he was an officer after the one hand, as the Chief busy, on the other hand also because of career proud of, without their own write, to sweat, they did not write the. Over time, the article will bring out less, lacking in talent. (Excerpt from "Practical Writing" 1995 No. 8 "I hope," Jiang "was not exactly")
南朝的江淹，字文通，他年轻的时候，就成为一个鼎鼎有名的文学家，他的诗和文章在当时获得极高的评价。 可是，当他年纪渐渐大了以后，他的文章不但没有以前写得好了，而且退步不少。他的诗写出来平淡无奇；而且提笔吟握好久，依旧写不出一个字来，偶尔灵感来了；诗写出来了，但文句枯涩，内容 平淡得一无可取。于是就有人传说，有一次江淹乘船停在禅灵寺的河边，梦见一 个自称叫张景阳的人；向他讨还一匹绸缎，他就从怀中拘出几尺绸缎还他。因此,他的文章以后便不精彩了。又有人传说；有一次江淹在冶亭中睡午觉；梦见一个自称郭璞 的人，走到他的身边，向他索笔，对他说：“文通兄，我有一支笔在你那儿已经很久了，现在应该可以还给我了吧!” 江淹听了，就顺手从怀里取出一支五色笔来还他。据说从此以后，江淹就文思枯竭，再也写不出什么好的文章了。
其实并不是江淹的才华已经用完了，而是他当官以后，一方面由于政务繁忙，另一方面也由于仕途得意，无需自己动笔，劳心费力，就不再动笔了。久而久之，文章自然会逐渐逊色，缺乏才气。（节选自《应用写作》1995年第8期《但愿“江郎”才不尽》）

中文 抱薪救火

English

战国末期，秦国向魏国接连发动大规模的进攻，魏国无力抵抗，大片土地都被秦军占领了。到公元前273年，秦国又一次向魏国出兵，势头空前猛烈。

魏王把大臣们召来，愁眉苦脸地问大家有没有使秦国退兵的办法。大臣们由于经过多年的战乱，提起打仗就吓得哆嗦，谁也不敢谈“抵抗”二字。在这大兵压境的危急时刻，多数大臣都劝魏王，用黄河以北和太行山以南的大片土地为代价，向秦王求和。

谋士苏代听了这些话，很不以为然，忙上前对魏王说：“大王，他们是因为自己胆小怕死，才让您去卖国求和，根本不为国家着想。您想，把大片土地割让给秦国虽然暂时满足了秦王的野心，但秦国的欲望是无止境的，只要魏国的土地没割完，秦军就不会停止进攻我们。”

说到这里，苏代讲了一个故事：从前有一个人，他的房子起火了，别人劝他快用水去浇灭大火，但他不听，偏抱起一捆柴草去救火，是因为他不懂得柴草不但不能灭火反而能助长火势的道理。大王若同意拿着魏国土地去求和，不就等于抱着柴草救火吗？”

尽管苏代讲得头头是道，但是胆小的魏王只顾眼前的太平，还是依大臣们的意见把魏国大片土地割让给秦国。到公元225年，果然秦军又向魏国大举进攻，包围了国都大梁，掘开黄河大堤让洪水淹没了大梁城，魏国终于被秦国灭掉了。

故事出自《史记·魏世家》。成语“抱薪救火”比喻用错误的方法去消灭祸害，结果反而使祸害扩大。

英文

Carrying Faggots to Put Out a Fire

In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.B., the qin army launched another attack upon the State of Wei with a momentum more vigorous than ever. The king of the State of Wei summoned his officials,and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars,the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak ofresistance. At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the offinials persuaded the king to sue for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain. However Su Dai, a counsellor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said:"Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all.It is just because they are cowardly and afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temperarily satisfy the ambition of the king of the State of Qin is insatiably greedy. It will never stop assaulting us until our land is totally given away."Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. That was because he didn't know that,instead of putting out the fire, faggots could only make it burning more vigorously. Isn't it equivalent to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?"Though Su Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei. For the king of the State of Wei was cowardly and only cared for peace at the moment.As might be expected,the Qin army assaulted the State of Wei on a large scale in 225 B.C.,surrounding the capital city Daliang and flooding it by digging open the dykes of the Huanghe River.The State of Wei was finally destroyed by the State of Qin.This story appears in the Historical Records Written by Sima Qian.The set phrase"carrying faggots to put out a fire"is used to mean adopting a wrong method to save a situation and ending up by making it worse.
哈哈

1.【“守株待兔”】

In the Spring and Autumn Period, a farmer in the State of Song was one day working in the fields, when he saw a rabbit bump into a tree stump accidentally and break its neck.

The farmer took the rabbit home, and cooked himself a delicious meal. That night he thought, "I needn't work so hard. All I have to do is wait for a rabbit each day by the stump."

So from then on he gave up farming, and simply sat by the stump waiting for rabbits to come and run into it.

This idiom satirizes those who just wait for a stroke of luck, rather than making efforts to obtain what they need.
【“守株待兔”这个成语，讥笑那些不想经过努力，存在侥幸心理，希望得到意外收获的人。】

2.【“南辕北辙”】

Once a man wanted to go to the south, but his carriage was heading north. A passer-by asked him: "If you are going to the south, why is your chariot heading north? " The man answered, "My horse is good at running, my driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage, and I have enough money. " The man didn't consider that the direction might be wrong; the better his conditions were, the further he was away from his destination.

The idiom derived from this story indicates that one's action was the opposite effect to one's intention.
【后来人们就把这个故事概括为“南辕北辙”，比喻一个人的行为和他的目的正好相反。】

.【“南辕北辙”】

In the Spring and Autumn Period, a farmer in the State of Song was one day working in the fields, when he saw a rabbit bump into a tree stump accidentally and break its neck.

The farmer took the rabbit home, and cooked himself a delicious meal. That night he thought, "I needn't work so hard. All I have to do is wait for a rabbit each day by the stump."
answered, "My horse is good at running, my driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage, and I have enough money. " The man didn't consider that the direction might be wrong; the better his conditions were, the further he was away from his destination.
Yan's talent has not really run out, but he was an officer after the one hand, as the Chief busy, on the other hand also because of career proud of, without their own write, to sweat, they did not write the. Over time, the article will bring out less, lacking in talent. (Excerpt from "Practical Writing" 1995 No. 8 "I hope," Jiang "was not exactly")