安步當車 (ān bù dàng chē)
Literally: to go on foot is just as good as riding in a chariot/cart
Figuratively: to do things at a leisurely pace
Originated from 《戰國策·齊策四》(ZhanGuo Ce – Qi Ce Si: Annals of the Warring States – 4th Book of Qi State)
(Note: nếu đọc được tiếng Việt, xin tham khảo Chiến Quốc Sách do Giản Chi và Nguyễn Hiến Lê soạn dịch, chương Tề IV, truyện số 5: Nhan Xúc Thuyết Tề Tuyên Vương)
[The text] said thus: “Chu (Yan Chu, 顏斶, a commoner visiting King Xuan of Qi in the story below) wanted to return [to where he was from], to eat late is no different than to eat meat, an unworried stroll is the same as riding in chariots, innocence is regarded as nobility, being at peace is true happiness.”
Explanation: to indicate a carefree stroll is regarded as the same as riding in a chariot.
During the Warring States period, there was a learned man in Qi by the name of Yan Chu (顏斶). King Xuan of Qi admired his reputation and asked him to come to the palace for a meeting. Yan Chu casually walked to the palace and was approaching the inner hall’s steps when he stopped in his track, as he saw King Xuan of Qi was waiting for him to come close to pay his respect [to the king]. King Xuan was perplexed, and he yelled:
“Yan Chu, come here!”
Yan Chu unexpectedly took not a single step and yelled back at the king:
“King Xuan, come here!”
The king was not pleased upon hearing this. Court officials witnessed Yan Chu speaking irreverently, and showing no respects, to their lord, and they all said:
“King Xuan is our lord, you are his subject, the king asked you to come, yet you asked the king to come in return, what is your intention?”
Yan Chu said: “If I was to come to face the king, it’d be interpreted as that I envy [desire] his influential power; but if the king had come to me, it’d be interpreted as that he treats learned men with respect. Rather than having me envying his power, is it not better to have the king treats learned men with respect?”
King Xuan of Qi was enraged by these remarks, and he said:
“In the end is it a king who is respectable, or is a scholar respectable?”
Yan Chu replied without hesitating:
“Of course a scholar is respectable, and a king is emphatically not.”‘
King Xuan said:
“Do you then have evidence to back up your claim?”
Yan Shu replied in a calm demeanor:
“Of course I do. Back then at the time when Qin attacked Qi, the King of Qin had decreed a military order: Whoever dares to gather firewoods within 50 steps of the honorable Liu Xia Ji‘s grave, beat him to death without asks! He then also decreed another military order: Whoever can chop off the King of Qi’s head, I will confer upon him the title of Marquis with ten-thousand households, bestow upon him golds and riches. From this we see the head of a live king is not comparable to the grave of dead scholar.”
King Xuan of Qi had no reply to this, and his face showed great irritation. Court officials hurriedly came to his rescue:
“Yan Chu, come here! Yan Chu, come here! Our lord is king of a state with a thousand chariots; from the north to the south, from the east to the west, who’d dare not yield to him? What our lord desires, he will obtain, and ordinary men cannot but bow their heads and obey his command. You scholars are despicable!”
Yan Chu refuted thus: “What you said does not make sense! Back in Great Yu‘s time, there were ten thousand vassal states under him. Why was this? Because they respected scholars [learned men, virtuous men]. Next in Shang Tang time, there were three thousand vassal states. But now, those calling themselves kings numbered at twenty four (Note: the Chinese text is “稱孤道寡“, which were how kings humbly referred to themselves, indicating that they lacked virtue. Here, I believe Yan Chu was making use of a word play to make his point that kings in his day are not virtuous as those of past ages; or that the number of kings diminished greatly, which indicates a dwindling of virtue). From here we see the crucial advantages of valuing scholars and the disadvantages of not. From ancient times until now, there was no one who gained fame in the world without being pragmatic. Therefore rulers not consulting with men on a frequently basis should be ashamed, as should also those not learning from men of low status.”
King Xuan of Qi heard this and realized that he was in the wrong. He said:
“I realized that I have no clear inclinations. Upon hearing your enlightening remarks, I have gotten to know my conduct. I hope you will take me as your student, and from now on please stay at my palace [to instruct me]. I guarantee that you will have meat for food, ride in chariots when traveling, your wife and children will get to wear beautiful clothes.”
Yan Chu respectfully declined, and said this:
“Jade was originally born in the mountains, but once a craftsman starts to process it, it will have been marred; although it is still precious, it has lost its original appearance. If scholars [virtuous men] from remote and desolate places were selected, they will get to enjoy wealth and high official posts; this is not to say they do not deserve such illustrious conferments, but their external appearance and inner being will have been marred. Therefore I humbly hope my lord will allow me to go back, so that each evening I will get to eat a late dinner, which is the same as eating meat; slowly and calmly take my stroll, so it is no different than riding in chariots; living in peace each day so it is no different from being nobility. To strive to be pure and honest with oneself, as happiness comes from within. My lord had asked me to speak, and this here is Yan Chu’s loyal, honest response.”
Having said thus, Yan Chu faced King Xuan and made two bows, then bade goodbye and left.
—– VOCABULARY —–
蜀 shǔ – short name for Sichuan province [[thục]]
貞 zhēn – chaste [[trinh]]
虞 yú – to expect; to anticipate; to worry; to cheat [[ngu]]
釋義 shì yì – the meaning of sth; an explanation of the meaning of words or phrases; definition; an interpretation (of doctrine); religious doctrine [[thích nghĩa]]
表示 biǎo shì – to express; to show; to say; to state; to indicate; to mean [[biểu thị]]
示 shì – to show; to reveal [[thị]]
慢慢 màn màn – slowly [[mạn mạn]]
當作 dàng zuò – to treat as; to regard as
慕 mù – to admire [[mộ]]
隨便 suí biàn – as one wishes; as one pleases; at random; negligent; casual; wanton [[tùy tiện]]
地 de – -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct
殿 diàn – palace hall [[điện]]
階梯 jiē tī – flight of steps; (fig.) a means of advancement; stepping stone
階 jiē – rank or step; stairs [[giai]]
梯 tī – ladder; stairs [[thê]]
正 zhèng – straight; upright; proper; main; principal; to correct; to rectify; exactly; just (at that time); right (in that place); (math.) positive [[chính]]
拜見 bài jiàn – to pay a formal visit; to call to pay respects; to meet one’s senior or superior [[bái kiến]]
停住 tíng zhù – to stop; to halt; to cease
腳步 jiǎo bù – footstep; step
呼喚 hū huàn – to call out (a name etc); to shout [[hô hoán]]
不料 bù liào – unexpectedly; to one’s surprise
還是 hái shi – or; still; nevertheless; had better
聽 tīng – to listen, to hear, to obey [[thính]]
口出狂言 kǒu chū kuáng yán – to speak conceited nonsense; to come out with arrogant claptrap
麵 miàn – flour; noodles; (of food) soft (not crunchy); spineless; could be mistake for ‘face’
羨慕 xiàn mù – to envy; to admire
羨 xiàn – to envy [[tiện – ham muốn, mong muốn]]
權勢 quán shì – power, influence
賢 xián – worthy or virtuous person [[hiền]]
與其 yǔ qí – rather than…
惱怒 nǎo nù – resentful, angry, to enrage sb
惱 nǎo – to get angry [[não]]
假 jiǎ – fake; false; artificial; to borrow; if; suppose
思索 sī suǒ – to think deeply; to ponder
索 suǒ – to search; to demand; to ask; to exact; large rope; isolated
並不 bìng bù – not at all; emphatically not
根據 gēn jù – according to; based on; basis; foundation [[căn cứ]]
自若 zì ruò – calm; composed; at ease
從前 cóng qián – previously; formerly; once upon a time
曾經 céng jīng – once; already; former; previously; ever
季 jì – season; the last month of a season; fourth or youngest amongst brothers; classifier for seasonal crop yields [[quý]]
墳墓 fén mù – grave, tomb
墳 fén – grave; tomb; embankment; mount; ancient book [[phần]]
砍 kǎn – to chop, to cut down, to throw sth at sb [[khảm]]
柴 chái – firewood; lean (of meat); thin (of a person) [[sài]]
格 gé – square, frame, rule, (legal) case, style, character, standard, pattern, (grammar) case, (classical) to obstruct, to hinder, (classical to arrive, to come, (classical) to investigate, to study exhaustively [[cách: đánh]]
勿 wù – do not [[vật]]
腦袋 nǎo dài – head, skull, brains, mental capability
袋 dài – pouch, bag, sack, pocket [[đại]]
賞 shǎng – to bestow (a reward); to give (to an inferior); to hand down; a reward (bestowed by a superior); to appreciate (beauty) [[thưởng]]
幹 gàn – tree trunk; main part of sth; to manage; to work; to do; capable; cadre; to kill (slang) [[cán]]
鎰 yì – ancient unit of weight equal to 20 or 24 liang [[dật]]
由此 yóu cǐ – hereby; from this
活著 huó zhe – alive
竟然 jìng rán – unexpectedly; to one’s surprise; in spite of everything; in that crazy way; actually; to go as far as to
不如 bù rú – not equal to; not as good as; inferior to; it would be better to
滿臉 mǎn liǎn – across one’s whole face
臉 liǎn – face [[kiểm]]
忙 máng – busy; hurriedly; to hurry; to rush [[mang]]
解圍 jiě wéi – to lift a siege; to help sb out of trouble or embarrassment
擁有 yōng yǒu – to have, to possess
擁 yōng – to hold; to embrace; to wrap around; to gather around (sb); to throng; to swarm; to support [[ủng]]
乘 shèng – four horse military chariot (archaic); four (archaic); generic term for history books [[thặng]]
輛 liàng – classifier for vehicles [[lượng]]
服 fú – clothes; dress; garment; to serve (in the military, a prison sentence etc); to obey; to be convinced (by an argument); to convince; to admire; to acclimatize; to take (medicine); mourning clothes; to wear mourning clothes [[phục]]
想要 xiǎng yào – to want to; to feel like; to fancy; to care for sb; desirous of
俯首 fǔ shǒu – to bend one’s head
俯 fǔ – to look down; to stoop [[phủ]]
卑鄙 bēi bǐ – base; mean; contemptible; despicable
卑 bēi – low; base; vulgar; inferior; humble [[ti]]
鄙 bǐ – rustic; low; base; mean; to despise; to scorn [[bỉ]]
駁斥 bó chì – to refute; to debunk; to deny; to denounce
駁 bó – variegated; heterogeneous; to refute; to contradict; to ship by barge; a barge; a lighter (ship) [[bác]]
斥 chì – to blame; to reprove; to reprimand; to expel; to oust; to reconnoiter; (of territory) to expand; saline marsh [[xích]]
從前 cóng qián – previously; formerly; once upon a time
商湯 Shāng Tāng – Shang Tang (1646-? BC), legendary founder of the Shang Dynasty
湯 tāng – soup; hot or boiling water; decoction of medicinal herbs; water in which sth has been boiled [[thang]]
孤寡 gū guǎ – orphans and widows; to be lonely; loneliness
孤 gū – lone; lonely [[cô]]
寡 guǎ – few; scant; widowed [[quả]]
才 cái – (followed by a numerical clause) only [[tài]]
重視 zhòng shì – to attach importance to sth; to value
關鍵 guān jiàn – crucial point; crux; key; crucial; pivotal
鍵 jiàn – key (on a piano or computer keyboard); button (on a mouse or other device); chemical bond; linchpin [[kiện]]
務實 wù shí – pragmatic; dealing with concrete issues
務 wù – affair; business; matter; to be engaged in; to attend to; by all means [[vụ]]
實 shí – real; true; honest; really; solid; fruit; seed; definitely [[thật]]
經常 jīng cháng – frequently; constantly; regularly; often; day-to-day; everyday; daily
羞恥 xiū chǐ – (a feeling of) shame
羞 xiū – shy; ashamed; shame; bashful; delicacies [[tu]]
恥 chǐ – shame; disgrace [[sỉ]]
慚愧 cán kuì – ashamed
慚 cán – ashamed [[tàm]]
愧 kuì – ashamed [[quý]]
理虧 lǐ kuī – in the wrong
虧 kuī – deficiency; deficit; luckily; it’s lucky that…; (often ironically) fancy that… [[khuy]]
討 tǎo – to invite; to provoke; to demand or ask for; to send armed forces to suppress; to denounce or condemn; to marry (a woman); to discuss or study [[thảo]]
趣 qù – interesting; to interest [[thú]]
番 fān – foreign (non-Chinese); barbarian; classifier for occurrences (of an event, actio or speech utterance); classifier for iterations: times, -fold (as in twofold etc); classifier for situations: kind, sort [[phiên]]
高論 gāo lùn – enlightening remarks (honorific); brilliant views
行徑 xíng jìng – path; conduct; behavior
徑 jìng – footpath; track; diameter; straight; directly [[kính]]
保證 bǎo zhèng – guarantee; to guarantee; to ensure; to safeguard; to pledge
飲食 yǐn shí – food and drink; diet [[ẩm thực]]
華麗 huá lì – gorgeous [[hoa lệ]]
卻 què – but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though [[khước]]
辭 cí – to resign; to dismiss; to decline; to take leave
匠 jiàng – craftsman [[tượng]]
破壞 pò huài – destruction; damage; to wreck; to break; to destroy [[phá hoại]]
雖然 suī rán – although; even though; even if [[tuy nhiên]]
仍然 réng rán – still; yet
仍 réng – still; yet; to remain [[như]]
寶貴 bǎo guì – valuable; precious; to value; to treasure; to set store by [[bảo quý]]
但 dàn – but; yet; however; only ; merely; still [[đãn]]
畢竟 bì jìng – after all; all in all; when all is said and done; in the final analysis
畢 bì – the whole of; to finish; to complete; complete; full; finished [[tất]]
竟 jìng – unexpectedly; actually; to go so far as to; indeed [[cánh: trọn, suốt; hoàn thành; cuối cùng, rốt cuộc; mà, lại; trực tiếp, thẳng]]
貌 mào – appearance [[mạo]]
窮鄉僻壤 qióng xiāng pì rǎng – a remote and desolate place
僻 pì – biased; low; rustic; secluded [[tích]]
壤 rǎng – soil; earth [[nhưỡng]]
選拔 xuǎn bá – to select the best
拔 bá – to pull up; to pull out; to draw out by suction; to select; to pick; to stand out (above level); to surpass; to seize [[bạt]]
享有 xiǎng yǒu – to enjoy (rights, priviledges, etc.)
享 xiǎng – to enjoy; to benefit; to have the use of [[hưởng]]
利祿 lì lù – wealth and official post
顯達 xiǎn dá – illustrious; influential; prestigious [[hiển đạt]]
像 xiàng – to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait [[tượng]]
香 xiāng – fragrant; sweet smelling; aromatic; savory or appetizing; (to eat) with relish; (of sleep) sound; perfume or spice; joss or incense stick [[hương]]
安穩 ān wěn – smooth and steady [[an ổn]]
足以 zú yǐ – sufficient to…; so much so that; so that
不比 bù bǐ – unlike
權貴 quán guì – influential officials; bigwigs
差 chā – difference, discrepancy; to differ; error; to err; to make a mistake [[sai]]
純正 chún zhèng – pure; unadulterated; (of motives etc) honest
純 chún – pure; simple; unmixed; genuine [[thuần]]
守 shǒu – to guard; to defend; to keep watch; to abide by the law; to observe (rules or ritual); nearby; adjoining [[thủ]]
講話 jiǎng huà – a speech; to speak; to talk; to address [[giảng thoại]]
而 ér – and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast)
罷 ba – (final particle, same as 吧)