文
man-4
Essay
張三是一個打魚的人。他沒有太太，沒有兒女。他一個人住在一個小屋裏。他天天到河裏去打魚，有的時候也到海裏去，因為海裏的魚比河裏的多。
每天打完魚以 後，他喜歡到一個酒
家去喝茶，跟朋友說話，有的時候也會喝一次酒。
酒家離他的家本來不很遠，要是
他走一條短的山路，十五分鐘就
到了。可是那條
山路晚上很
黑，又要經過放死人的地方，所以張三每次都走一條很長的路回
家，因為他很怕走那條山路。
一天晚上，他在酒家喝了一點酒。他的朋友跟他說：「要是你今天晚上從那山
路回家，我們就給你一百塊
錢。」他知道他的朋友是說他怕黑，可是他不想
朋友說，所以他說：「要是你們真給我百塊錢，我就走。我有了一百塊錢以後，就可以十天不打魚，還可以每天請你們喝酒！」
他的朋友就給他三枝竹，要他立在那山路最高的
地方，用來說明他真的走
過那條路。
張三拿了三枝竹就走。路很黑他怕得很。到了最高的地方，他甚麼都看不見。那時候很冷。他花了兩個鐘頭才
立好三技竹，就想離去，可是他走不開。他很怕，真的很怕。
第二天早上，他的朋友還不見張三回來，就
到那山路去看看。他們看見張三已經在
那裡冷死了！他的衣服，不
知道為甚麼穿在一枝竹上，因為這樣，他走不開。
characters: 490
翻譯
fan-1 yik-9
Translation
Zhang Sam was a fisherman, who had neither
wife nor children. He lived by himself in a small house. Everyday he
would go to the river to fish. Sometimes he would go to the sea,
because there were more fish there than in the river. Everyday after he
had finished fishing,
he would go to a restaurant, where he would enjoy drinking tea and
talking with friends. On occasion he would also drink alcohol. His
house was not very far from the restaurant, and he could make it
home in fifteen minutes, if he took a narrow mountain path.
Nevertheless, the path was very dark at night and passed along a
cemetery. As he was afraid to take the mountain path, he
would always take the long way home.
One night at the restaurant after drinking
alcohol, his friends told him "If you take the mountain path home
tonight, we will give you a hundred dollars". He knew his friends
were telling him that he was afraid of the dark, but he did not want to
hear it. So he told them: "If you really give me one hundred dollars, I
will go. With one hundred dollars I will not have to fish for ten
days, and everyday I can still invite you to drink!"
Whereupon his friends gave him three bamboo sticks, and demanded that
he place them at the highest place along the path by way of proof that
he
had been there.
Zhang Sam took the three bamboo sticks and
left. The path was very dark, and he was very afraid. Upon reaching the
highest point he could see nothing. It was also very cold at this time
of year. It took him two hours before he finally got the sticks
to stand, but when he wanted to leave, he could not. He was afraid,
very afraid.
In the morning on the following day,
still he had not returned. So, his friends went up the path in search
of him. They found him frozen to death. Why his clothes were hanging on
one of the sticks no one knew, but it was this that had prevented his
departure.
words: 360
Notes
Note 1: 張三是一個打魚的人。Why one did not simply write
張三是打魚的人 is not entirely clear, unless of course one was seeking to
emphasize that he was alone. As Chinese family names are usually
composed of single characters, the name Zhang Sam must have been either
the given names of someone whose family name we are not told, or his
full name. It is not uncommon to find Chinese with only two names
-- family name and a given name.
Note 2: The term 兒女 refers to children.
Note 3: 他一個人。This construction resembles that
of an appositive in English without the commas. There appears to be an
understood 是 that is missing.
Note 4: The construction 住在...裡 appears quite
common and means to "live in...".
Note 5: If one compares the use of 裡 here with
that of the previous note, we observe something quite different. In the
phrase 到河裏去 the word 裡 appears to mean "at" or "beside" in the sense of
going to the river, but not actually getting into it. The same pattern
appears in the next sentence as 到海裏去, where it apparently means the
same.
Note 6: Literally the phrase 有的時候 appears to
mean "times that are", or stylistically speaking "sometimes".
Note 7: The base pattern of the phrase
海裏的魚比河裏的多 is Ａ比Ｂ多, which means there are more Ａ than Ｂ.
Note 8: The base pattern of the phrase 打完魚以後 is
worthy of noting -- namely, Ａ完Ｂ以後, where Ｂ is the direct object
of the verb Ａ. The character 完 is introduced as a means of expressing
completed action.
Note 9: Once again it is not clear why the
phrase 一個 is employed here. Does the author want to emphasize a special
restaurant to which the fisherman always went, or does he want to
emphasize that the fisherman may have gone to different restaurants,
but did not engage in bar hopping.
Note 10: The expression 跟朋友 means "with
friends". This is a common use of the character 跟.
Note 11: Literally speaking the phrase
一次 means once, but what could once possibly mean in this context?
One glass, one bottle, one round? Maybe it is a misprint and should
have read 一些.
Note 12: The construction Ａ離Ｂ不很遠 is apparently
very common and means that Ａ is not very far from Ｂ. The
placement of the adverb 本來 before the phrase 不很遠 is noteworthy. 本來 is
rendered here as normally or customarily.
Note 13: The
character 條 in the phrase 一條短的山路 is apparently the counter for
the noun 山路. Notice that both the number and the counter occur before
the adjectival phrase modifying 山路.
Note 14: The word 要 in
the phrase 要經過放死人的地方 appears to mean "have
to" or in the future past "would have to". 經過 in this context has the
meaning of pass or pass by. The phrase 放死人的地方 is somewhat tricky. It
means a place where dead people are placed, namely, a cemetery.
Note 15: The base
pattern of the phrase 走一條很長的路回家 is apparently 走Ａ回家, where Ａ is the path that he
takes to return home. This same construction repeats itself in the
following phrase: 他很怕走那條山路, where 那條山路 is
the mountain pat that he is afraid to take.
Note 16: The phrase 一
點 apparently tells how much alcohol Zhang Sam drank. It appears to mean
the same as 一次 or 一些 -- namely some, but not necessrily a great deal.
Note 17: The base
pattern of the expression 他的朋友跟他說 is Ａ跟Ｂ說. The phrase apparently
means that Ａ talks with Ｂ. The use of 跟 as a conjunction
meaning "and" is apparently very common when applied in the context of
people.
Note 18: The expression 從那
山路 in the phrase 你今天晚上從那山路回家 behaves here as a prepositional modifier
of place telling the path by which Zhang Sam could return home.
Note 19: Grammatically speaking the phrase
他知道他的朋友是說他怕黑 is extremely awkward, as it does not fit the pattern
Ａ是Ｂ in a very meaningful way. Although it was his friend, who were
saying that he was afraid of the dark, what was being said and who said
it are not the same. Rewriting the phrase as 他知道他的朋友說的是他怕黑, where 他怕黑
and what Zhang Sam's friends were saying are one in the same.
Note 20: A similar awkwardness arises with the
phrase 他不想朋友說. Just what does it mean? That he disagrees with his
friends? That he did not hear what they said? That he did not
want his friends to think in the way they had spoken? That he did not
believe what they said? That he did not want to hear what they had said
again?
Note 21: Does 真 in thie context not constitute
an adverb meaning really or truly?
Note 22: As is so often the case 就 in this
context is used for emphasis. It corresponds well to the adverb 真 in
the previous phrase.
Note 23: The construction 有了．．．以後 may or may
not be idiomatic, but it is certainly a pattern worth
noting. In this context it appears to mean "after I have
(obtained/gotten/received)".
Note 24: In this context 就 appears to have the
meaning of "then" indicating a sequence of action -- namely, an event
that follows another.
Note 25: Unless the phrase 十天 is
idiomatic, the absence of a counter is worth noting.
Note 26: One might wonder how idiomatic the
phrasing 就可以．．．，還可以．．．In any case it captures the nicely the
notion that after not fishing for ten days, Zhang Sam can still invite
his friends to a drink. Apparently Zhang Sam is more of a drinker than
一點 would suggest.
Note 27: Here, the word 請 means to
invite, as opposed to a polite form of expression meaning "if it
pleases you".
Note 28: The frequent use of the word 就 in this
text, might just be a play on words, because the sounds of 就 and 酒 are
very close. On the other hand, it may just reflect the condition of the
author when writing the story. In any case, the word 就 in this context
appears to mean "immediately" or "right away".
Note 29: The phrase 在那山路最高的地方 is of the base
pattern 在Ｂ的Ｃ, where Ｂ的 describes a special Ｃ.
Note 30: The phrase 用來．．． appears to
mean "in this way..." It introduces the explanation as to why Zhang Sam
was asked to stand the three bamboo sticks at a high place -- namely,
說明他真的走過那條路 or "show that he really did return home along the path"
Note 31: It is difficult to understand why in
one place 真 is used by itself, but in another nearly identical setting
-- namely, just before a verb -- 真的 is used. Perhaps the expressions
are both identical in meaning and interchangeable.
Note 32: The expressions 拿了，到了, and 花了
represent actions in the past that occur before other actions in the
past that are expressed in the present. This appears to be a very
common pattern in story telling.
Note 33: The phrase 怕得很 is of the pattern Ａ得Ｂ
where 得Ｂ is an adverbial phrase describing the verb 怕.
Note 34: The phrase 他甚麼都看
不見 places the accusative object 甚麼 before the verb phrase 看不見. The
reason for this is unclear. Perhaps it is to avoid confusion with the
question 他看不見甚麼 that would result had the object been placed after the
verb. Than this inversion of word order appears in the presence of the
adverb 都 placed before the verb, but after the object should be noted.
Note 35: Notice the
absence of a counter between the words 那 and 時候 in the phrase 那時
候 .
Note 36: 鐘頭 appears to be the written form of
the spoken word 小時.
Note 37: The phrase 立好 appears to express the
idea of securing well the sticks into an upright position.
Note 38: The word 想 appears to indicate a
desire and expresses the notion that he wanted to go. Unlike its
counterpart 要 which also expresses want or need, 想 appears to be more
wishful or yearning.
Note 39: The phrase 還不見張三回來, although awkward
in English, is probably very common in Chinese. Literally it means
"still [they] did not see him return". The base pattern appears to be
還不見ＡＢ, where Ｂ is something the speaker would expect Ａ to do, but Ａ has
not yet done, or at least, the speaker has no visible evidence that Ａ
has done it.
Note 40: The expression 看看 is apparently the
written form of the spoken expression 睇睇. It means to "have a look" or
"look around" or "investigate".
Note 41: The phrase 已經 ．．．冷死了 means "already
frozen to death". Although it was previously mentioned that it
was very cold, there was no mention with regard to anyone dying because
of the cold. Thus, the expression 已經 appears to be out of place.
Note 42: 他的衣服，不
知道為甚麼穿在一枝竹上. Once again, an object has been placed before a verb and
set off by a comma. This time, however, the sense appears to be that of
passive voice. The word 穿, although normally used in the context of
wearing or putting on clothes, apparently means "hang" in this context.
Note 43: The expression 因為這樣 can be translated
in a variety of ways. It means that the reason for what ever happened
is given by what was said before.
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