Tue, Jan 17, 2017 page15

• USING IDIOMS 活用成語

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  Chinese Practice

  as stable as Mt. Tai

  安如泰山；穩如泰山

  

  A wall carving in the Sage King Kaizhang Temple on Mt. Bishan in Taipei’s Neihu District, taken on Nov. 2, 2016. 台北內湖碧山巖開漳聖王廟內的雕刻，攝於去年十一月二日。

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

  (an1 ru2 tai4 shan1; wen3 ru2 tai4 shan1)

  泰山是中國五嶽之一，位於山東省的西部，海拔一千五百四十五公尺高。泰山是帝王舉行封禪祭祀之處，整套祭儀包括祭天（「封」，於峰頂舉行）與祭地（「禪」，於山腳下舉行）。此傳統最遠可上溯至三千年前的商朝，直至最後一個朝代清朝。而在公元前二一九年，即秦帝國建立兩年後，秦始皇在泰山峰頂舉行了封禪大典，宣示他帝國的統一。這在他活著的時候的確起了作用，但秦始皇死後不久秦朝就滅亡了。

  儘管如此，泰山自古被視為穩定與堅固的象徵，而成語「安如泰山」（亦作「穩如泰山」）字面上的意義是指「像泰山一樣安穩（或牢靠）」。在英文中，我們常用「mountains」（山） 來表示障礙（she has a mountain to climb if she wants to pass that exam）或表示巨大的體積（he was a mountain of a man）。相反地，若要形容某物非常穩固，或某人非常值得信賴依靠則可用「rock」（岩石）一字。例如，我們可以形容戀情as steady as a rock，或是形容伴侶就像是你的rock。

  （台北時報編譯林俐凱譯）

  無論外界如何紛擾，他始終安如泰山，不為所動。

  (No matter what has happened, he has always been an absolute rock, and has never budged.)

  好不容易坐上了皇帝的寶座，他終於覺得自己的權力安如泰山了。

  (It was not easy attaining the imperial throne, but finally he felt his power was consolidated.)

  英文練習

  solid as a rock

  Mt. Tai, or Taishan in Chinese, is one of the Five Great Mountains of China. Located in western Shandong, it rises 1,545 meters above sea level. It is the location of a set of sacrifices made to Heaven (the feng 封 sacrifices, made on the summit) and the Earth (the shan 禪 sacrifices, made at the foot of the mountain). That tradition stretches back three millennia — all the way from the Shang dynasty of ancient China to the last imperial dynasty, the Qing — and, in 219 BC, the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, held a ceremony on the summit, proclaiming the unity of his empire. It worked for him while he was alive, but the Qin dynasty he had established two years prior to the sacrifice didn’t really survive long after his own death.

  Still, Mt. Tai has long been a symbol of stability and solidity, and the idiom 安如泰山 literally means “as stable (or secure) as Mt. Tai.” In English, we often use mountains as metaphors for obstacles (she has a mountain to climb if she wants to pass that exam) or for things of immense size (he was a mountain of a man). In contrast, we can use the word “rock” as a metaphor for something, or indeed somebody, that is either very stable or whom we can depend upon for support. For example, we might say that a relationship is as steady as a rock, or even refer to a partner on whom you depend for love and support as your rock.

  (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)

  Through all of my problems, you have been an absolute rock, and for that I am eternally grateful.

  (我歷盡了艱辛，你始終扶持著我，堅定如磐石，我永遠感激你。）
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