畫蛇添足-英文版

畫蛇添足Paint the Lily
戰國時，昭陽為楚伐魏，在勝利後欲
出兵攻齊，陳軫（音“診”）為齊王出使，游
說昭陽既已得楚，那就別再攻齊。陳軫引
用了“畫蛇添足”的比喻。話說楚人祭祀後
賞給門客一壺酒，門客人數多而酒不足，
於是相約畫蛇，誰先畫成，誰便可以飲
酒。其中一人先畫完，卻因仍有時間，所
以提筆給已畫成的蛇添上蛇腳。這時，另
一人畫完，伸手搶去酒壺，說：“蛇固無
足，子安能為之足。”（“蛇本來是沒有腳
的，你怎能為牠加上腳呢？”）（《戰國
策‧齊二》）後以“畫蛇添足”比喻多
此一舉，不僅無益，反而壞事。
歷代詩文也多次引用“畫蛇
添足”這個典故，例如韓愈《感
春》詩云：“畫蛇著足無處用，
兩鬢雪白趨埃塵。”羅貫中《三
國演義》：“將軍功績已成，聲
威大震，可以止矣；今若前進，
倘不如意，正如畫蛇添足也。”
“畫蛇添足”一語也衍生出
多個同義詞語， 包括“ 畫蛇
足”、“添足畫蛇”、“蛇足”、“安
蛇足”等等，含意不變。
Lily, in particular white lily, has always been
regarded as a symbol of purity, beauty and delicacy.
The Christian Bible likens the magnificence of
Solomon, the Israelite king renowned for so much
his wealth as his wisdom, to a lily and finds it pale
in comparison. For it says in the scripture “... see
how the lilies of the field grow... I tell you that not
even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like
one of these.” (Matthew 6 :28-29)
In William Shakespeare's King John, the Earl
of Salisbury tried to persuade King John that there
was no need for him to be crowned again. He argued
that:
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Onto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.
(Act 4, scene 2)
Hence we have the phrase “to paint
the lily” or “to gild the lily” to describe any
effort to make perfection more perfect and
end up spoiling the effect. For example:
To dress an elegant and understated beauty
in loud colours is like gilding the lily, and
all it does is turn her into a common pretty
girl like many others.
The book, spanning the years 1895 to
1980, is a splendid study of some prominent
Chinese intellectuals during a turbulent
period in modern China. Ennobled by
literature and philosophy, it presents a century
of change through portraits of such historical
characters as Kang Youwei (康有為), Chen
Duxiu (陳獨秀), Lu Xun (魯迅), Shen
Congwen (沈從文), Ding Ling (丁玲) and
Lao She (老舍).
Professor Jonathan D. Spence makes
a highly literate guide to the Chinese
Revolution, approached via the lives and written
testimony of its intelligentsia, chiefly men and women
of letters.
As befits a narrative in which writers are the
principal characters, The Gate of Heavenly Peace takes
a shape that owes much to the novel. The central figures
include Lu Xun, arguably the most brilliant essayist in
modern China, and Ding Ling, one of China's bestknown
literary women. From their interaction with the
secondary characters, we come to know other poets,
novelists, scholars, political activists and even a few
foreign visitors to China. Professor Spence sets forth
their stories through quotations of their own
words as much as possible. Instead of telling
the stories of each character one by one, he
alternates segments of each biography in a
way more of fiction than of history, while at
the same time he demonstrates how they
crossed in their lives and how their diverse
personalities responded to the same challenges.
The Gate of Heavenly Peace employs a
method of delicate interweaving and transition.
A well-plotted, accurately annotated history,
with insightful details and extensive quotations,
gives readers the sights, sounds and emotions of the
time. Regarded as a “felt history”, the book has a sense
of urgency, due to the closeness of the subject to us,
morally and in time.
A world-renowned sinologist, Professor Spence is
Sterling Professor of History at Yale University. Born
in England in 1936, he was educated at Winchester
College and Cambridge University. In 1965, he was
awarded Ph.D. in history by Yale, which appointed him
to a professorship subsequently, and in that esteemed
position he has been guiding generations and generations
of students of Chinese history.
The Gate of Heavenly Peace:The Chinese and Their Revolution

A Snake with Legs
One day the king gave one bottle of wine to the people who worked for him. there was not enough wine in the bottle for all of them to be able to have a drink. So they tried to find an answer to their problem. One of the men said,`We know that there isn't enough wine for all of us. So we should give the bottle to just one of us. Let us each draw a snake on the floor. The person who finishes drawing gheir snake first will win the wine.`

The others all agreed, so when one of them said `Go` they all started drawing as quickly as they could.

One man finished his drawing first. He picked up the bottle in his left hand. But before drinking the wine, with his right hand he added something to his drawing, saying,`I am so much quicker than all of you. I have even got time to add legs to my snake before any of you finish.`

Just then a second man finished his snake. As soon as he had finished, he pulled the bottle of wine away from the first man, saying,`A snake does not have legs. You, therefore, have not drqwn a snake!` And with these words, he drank the bottle of wine.