Wed, Aug 31, 2016 page15

• USING IDIOMS 活用成語

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  Chinese practice

  鶴立雞群 (he4 li4 ji1 qun2)

  竹林七賢是歷史上的名士，他們常一起出現在中國藝術中。七人中有多位都是研究老莊玄學的人。晉朝官方推崇儒家思想，竹林七賢因不願意認同而受到壓迫。七賢中有一位嵇康，他是作家、詩人、音樂家及道家哲學家。

  

  Scene from a wall painting at Taipei’s Baoan Gong Temple, taken Aug 21. 台北保安宮內的壁畫，攝於八月二十一日。

  Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
  照片：台北時報記者古德謙攝

  前宋朝的筆記小說《世說新語》「容止篇」中提到，某人對王戎描述他第一次見到嵇康之子嵇紹的感覺：「昨於稠人中始見嵇紹，昂昂然若野鶴之在雞群。」亦即：「我昨天第一次在人群中看見嵇紹。他昂然站立的樣子，就好像一頭野鶴佇立在雞群中一樣。」

  成語「鶴立雞群」直譯成白話文就是「一頭鶴站立在雞群中」的意思，引伸為一個人在群體中出類拔萃的意思。

  英文也有兩句類似的句子。第一個是「a cut above the rest」；第二個是「a big fish in a small pond」。之所以與「鶴立雞群」相似，是因為兩個英文句子都指某人在團體中比同儕更有成就或更有能力。然而，雖然第一句「a cut above the rest」的確講的就是鶴立雞群，第二句「a big fish in a small pond」則稍微帶有貶義，因為句子裡的小池塘其實就暗示著這個團體太小了，蜀中無大將，廖化才作得了先鋒。另外，第一句的「a cut above」可用來指稱一個東西、一個地方、或一個點子，並不限制只能講人。(台北時報詹豐造譯）

  喬登那一百九十八公分的身高，走在街上簡直就是鶴立雞群。

  (That Michael Jordan is 1.98 meters tall, when he’s walking down the street you can’t miss him.)

  他那幅畫實在太美了，在今年的畫展中鶴立雞群。

  (That painting of his really is very beautiful, it’s the stand-out work in this exhibition.)

  英文練習

  a cut above the rest; a big fish in a small pond

  The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove were historical scholars often depicted together in Chinese art. Several of them were Taoist. During their lifetimes, they were united in the potential persecution they faced when the pro-Confucian Jin dynasty came to power. Among their number was the writer, poet, musician and Taoist philosopher Chi Kang.

  There is a reference in a chapter entitled Appearance and Manner in the former Song Dynasty (420–589) book A New Account of the Tales of the World in which a person speaks of the first time he caught sight of Chi Kang’s son, Chi Shao. He said, 『昨於稠人中始見嵇紹，昂昂然若野鶴之在雞群』: “I saw Chi Shao for the first time yesterday, standing among a crowd of people. He stood out among them like a wild crane standing proud among a group of chickens.”

  The Chinese proverb 鶴立雞群, literally “crane standing in a group of chickens,” refers to somebody who is outstanding within their group.

  In English, two phrases spring to mind. The first is “a cut above the rest”; the second is “a big fish in a small pond.” These are similar in that they refer to someone who is more skilled, accomplished or able than others among their peers or immediate group. However, the former unequivocally says that the person in question is outstanding, while the latter carries a slightly derogatory tone: it infers that the group in question is rather limited in size, hence the “small pond.” Also, “a cut above” can refer to an object, place or idea, and not necessarily a person.(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)

  I think you’ll find that this camera is worth the money. The lens is a cut above the rest.

  （我相信你會同意這台相機是值得那個價錢的。它的鏡頭可是極品。）

  He’s famous here, but he’s just a big fish in a small pond. He wouldn’t make it in a more competitive environment.

  （他在這裡很出名啊，不過那也只是蜀中無大將而已。若把他丟到一個更競爭的環境，他就沒搞頭了。）
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