Chinese Practice
破釜沉舟
po4 fu3 chen2 zhou1
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報記者古德謙攝
to smash the cooking pots and sink the boats
破釜沉舟,意即「將吃飯的鍋子打破,將船隻都鑿沉」,出自《史記》之「項羽本紀」。《史記》是兩千年前中國西漢司馬遷所著。
項羽是秦朝(西元前221-206年)末年的一位將軍。破釜沉舟這個成語講的是項羽憑著他的軍事毅力與才幹,率軍以一敵十與秦軍交戰。
為了激勵士卒,開戰前,他命士兵將煮飯的鍋子打破、將船鑿沉,讓所有人知道這一戰義無反顧,沒有退路。除了贏,他們沒有其他選擇;撤兵已經是不可能的事了。
英文裡,我們可以用「burn bridges」來形容,意思就是將退路給截斷。這句英文可以用來比喻一個別無選擇的情況,非何做某件事不可。
然而,中文的「破釜沉舟」表現的是為了完成某個目標義無反顧的決心,英文的「burn bridges」指的則是處在一個別無選擇的情況,未必是下定決心要做什麼事。
1. 為了通過律師考試,她破釜沉舟,跟男朋友分手了。
(In order to concentrate on passing the bar exam, she split up with her boyfriend.)
2. 傑森並非優柔寡斷,一旦下定決心,就會破釜沉舟去做。
(Jason is very decisive. When he makes up his mind to do something, he does it.)
英文練習
Burn bridges
The idiom 破釜沉舟 — "to smash the cooking pots and sink the boats” — actually comes from the Annals of Xiang Yu (項羽本紀) in the Records of the Grand Historian (史記), written by the Western Han historian Sima Qian 2,000 years ago.
Xiang Yu was a general in the last years of the Qin dynasty (221 to 206 BC). This entry relates the story of how he first proved his military mettle, leading his army against a Qin force outnumbering his own men 10 to one.
He galvanized his forces by ordering them to destroy their cooking pots and boats before going into battle, to press home the point that there was literally no turning back: that they had no choice but to win, and withdrawal was not an option.
In English, we can say that somebody has “burned their bridges.” In the literal sense, this means cutting off your means of retreat. In a metaphorical sense, it means leaving yourself with no alternative, and so forcing your hand, often — but not necessarily — intentionally.
The English and Chinese phrases differ slightly, in that the Chinese is used to bolster resolve, whereas the English refers to the possibility of leaving options open.
1. I’ve been offered the job, but I’m still going to the other interview. No sense in burning my bridges.
(我已經錄取這份工作,但我還是要去另一個工作面試。沒必要讓自己別無選擇。)
2. I was willing to forgive him, but that last email was so offensive. He’s really burned his bridges with me now.
(我本來願意原諒他,但他最後一封信太傷人了,讓我別無選擇。)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
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