中国故事 33 Mengzi's Good Advice 五十步笑百步 | 传播传统文化（音频版）

33、Mengzi's Good Advice

五十步笑百步

梁惠王对于自己国家多有善举，子民却不增多，邻国对民众不闻不问，子民却不减少的怪相深感疑惑，向孟子请教。孟子用作战进行比喻，将梁惠王说得哑口无言。孟子究竟是如何说服梁惠王的呢？

Liang Hui Wang was therulerof the Liang state during the Warring States Period in ancient China, from 371–335 BCE.

Liang Hui Wang sent his army into many wars with nearby states. It felt like there were endless battles. Many people died. The people of Liang became fearful. Many ran away because they did not want to go to war.

The great thinker Mengzi visited Liang Hui Wang. They sat together by a pond to watch the swimming geese andgrazingdeer. The ruler was worried about his people running away, so he asked Mengzi for advice.

“Mengzi, I think I am a good ruler. I care for my people. I look after them when there is a badharvest. If the crops fail to grow in the south, I move the people to the north. If there is a bad harvest in the north, I move the people south,” Liang Hui Wang said.

He continued, “The rulers of other states are not like me. They don’t care about their people like I care about mine. They don’t help them when they are hungry. Yet their people don’t run away. The number of people in their states is growing. The number of people in Liang has not grown at all. Why is this?”

“My lord,” Mengzi began, “You like battle, yes? Let me use thebattlefieldto show you.”

“Two states are at war. Foot soldiers withswordsandspearsrace toward each other,” Mengzi began. “There is fighting. There isbloodshed. One side is winning. The other side falls back. Soldiers on the losing side begin to run away. They don’t want to getcaptured. Some soldiers run fast. Others run slower.”

“Yes,” said Liang Hui Wang as he listenedintently.

“A fast soldier runs 100 steps. A slower soldier runs 50 steps,” Mengzi continued. “The soldier running 50 steps looks ahead. He sees the soldier running 100 steps. He laughs at the faster soldier and calls him acoward.”

“Do you think the slower soldier is right to judge the other?” asked Mengzi.

“No, not at all,” Liang Hui Wang replied. “The soldier that runs 50 steps is running away too.”

“So you see?” Mengzi asked.

“I do,” Liang Hui Wang replied. “The soldier running 50 steps is just slower. He has not reached 100 steps yet. He is not doing anything differently. They are both running away.

“Exactly,” said Mengzi. “The soldier that runs 50 steps has no right to judge the soldier that runs 100 steps. He is no better.”

“You are right, my lord,” said Mengzi. “And you are also right about the other rulers. They may not care for their people during hard times the way you do. But you send your people into battle all the time. When you do this, you are not caring for your people either,” Mengzi explained. “50 steps should not laugh at 100 steps.”

The idiom, “50 Steps Laughing at 100 Steps”ridiculespeople who areunawareof their ownflawsand feelsuperiorto others.

The End

Question:Why do you think Mengzi used a battle story to explain things to the ruler?

核心词汇

ruler n. 统治者

graze v. （牛、羊等）啃食牧草

harvest n. 丰收

battlefield n. 战场

sword n. 剑

spear n. 矛

bloodshed n. 流血，杀戮

capture v. 俘虏，捕获

intently adv. 急切地，专注地

coward n. 胆小鬼

ridicule v. 嘲笑

unaware adj. 未认识到的，未觉察到的

flaw n. 缺点

superior adj. 有优越感的

以下翻译来自百度翻译：

王良辉是中国古代战国时期梁国的统治者，时间为公元前371-335年。

王良辉派遣他的军队与附近各州进行了多次战争。感觉就像是没完没了的战斗。很多人死了。梁人开始害怕了。许多人逃跑了，因为他们不想打仗。

伟大的思想家孟子拜访了王良辉。他们一起坐在池塘边观看游泳的鹅和吃草的鹿。统治者担心他的人民逃跑，所以他向孟子征求意见。

王良辉说：“蒙自，我认为我是一个好统治者。我关心我的人民。当收成不好的时候，我会照顾他们。如果南方的庄稼不能生长，我会把人民转移到北方。如果北方收成不好，我会把人民转移到南方。”。

他接着说：“其他国家的统治者不像我。他们不像我关心我的人民那样关心他们的人民。他们在饥饿时不帮助他们。但是他们的人民没有逃跑。他们国家的人口在增长。梁的人口根本没有增长。这是为什么？”

“大人，”孟子开始说，“你喜欢战斗，是吗？让我用战场向你展示。”

“两国处于战争状态。手持刀枪的步兵互相冲向对方，”蒙自开始说道。“有战斗。有流血。一方获胜。另一方退却。失败一方的士兵开始逃跑。他们不想被俘。一些士兵跑得快，另一些跑得慢。”

“是的，”王良辉一边专心听着，一边说。

“快的士兵跑100步，慢的士兵跑50步，”孟子继续说。“跑50步的士兵向前看。他看到跑100步的士兵。他嘲笑跑得更快的士兵，并称他为懦夫。”

孟子问道：“你认为较慢的士兵判断另一个是对的吗？”。

“不，一点也不，”王良辉回答。“跑50步的士兵也在逃跑。”

“你明白了吗？”孟子问道。

“我知道，”王良辉回答。“这个士兵跑50步只是慢了一点。他还没有达到100步。他没有做任何改变。他们都跑开了。”

“没错，”孟子说，“跑50步的士兵没有权利评判跑100步的士兵。他也没有好到哪里去。”

“你说得对，我的主人，”孟子说。“你对其他统治者的看法也是对的。他们可能不会像你那样在困难时期关心他们的人民。但是你总是让你的人民参战。当你这样做的时候，你也不关心你的人民。”孟子解释道。“50步不应该嘲笑100步。”

“五十步笑一百步”这个成语嘲弄那些不知道自己的缺点却觉得比别人优越的人

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