Chinese Practice
事半功倍
(shi4 ban4 gong1 bei4)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
照片:維基共享資源
half the work, twice the effect
《孟子》記載了戰國時期哲學家孟子的思想,是儒家重要經典。七月二十三日「活用成語」單元所介紹的成語「飢不擇食」,便是出於《孟子.公孫丑上》。我們今天所要介紹的成語,也是出自同一章節。
公孫丑問孟子說,齊國是否有可能稱霸群雄。和孟子同時代許多思想家的觀點相同,孟子回答時也認為,他渴望回歸過去輝煌的朝代,回到夏、商、周朝,以及上古聖賢聖王所統治的時代。
孟子將齊國領土大小及受苦老百姓對仁政的渴望,和古代治世作比較,說道:「王者之不作,未有疏於此時者也。民之憔悴於虐政,未有甚於此時者也」(以王道來治理天下的聖明君主很久沒有出現,以致人民長久處在暴政之中)。孟子認為,這兩個因素都讓齊國較古代統治者更具優勢,因此他說齊國有稱霸的能力,條件是必須要對人民行仁政,並警告說別再實施暴政。他說,「萬乘之國行仁政,民之悅之,猶解倒懸也」(大國行仁政,人們會對此感到高興,好像他們從兩腳倒掛中解脫出來一樣)。
孟子總結說,即使齊國當政者不如古代聖人賢明,但若能夠把握這個時機,也可以實現偉大的功業,他並說道:「事半古之人,功必倍之,惟此時為然」(這和古時候的人相比,只要花費一半的心力,就能達到加倍的功效,且只有在現在才是這樣)。
成語「事半功倍」便是出自這段話。
「事半功倍」有個意義相當的英文諺語「a stitch in time saves nine」(及時縫一針,可省九針),此語以完全相同的字詞第一次出現,是出自英格蘭天文學家弗朗西斯‧貝利所言,發表於一八五六年,但實際上是寫於較早的一七九七年,貝利稱此語為「俗諺」。
但其意並非首創──當時的英文顯然已在使用了。例如,托馬斯‧富勒一七三二年的《Gnomologia, Adagies and Proverbs, Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British》(古今英外諺語集),便收錄有「A Stitch in Time May save nine」,這是此諺語第一次出現在印刷品中。
這句話指的是迅速及時地解決問題,以防止情況惡化,免得之後還得花費更多時間和精力來處理它。因此,如果你的夾克有個小破綻,若馬上縫補,讓裂口不致擴大,就可以省下將來修補更大裂口的工夫。
因此,「a stitch in time saves nine」是警告人不要拖延、懶惰和疏忽。
(台北時報林俐凱譯)
傳統中醫理論認為,晚上十一點到凌晨一點最容易入睡,且睡眠品質最好,可以達到事半功倍的效果。
(According to traditional Chinese medicine, the best time to get to sleep, and when you get the best quality of sleep, is between 11pm and 1am.)
老師說,下課後趁著記憶猶新馬上複習,會事半功倍,讓讀書更有效率。
(Our teacher said that revising the lesson immediately after class is the most effective way to study.)
英文練習
a stitch in time saves nine
The gong sun chou I chapter of the mengzi (Mencius), an important Confucian text recording the thought of the Warring States period philosopher Mencius, gave us the idiom 飢不擇食 (when hungry, you can’t pick what you eat) written about in Using Idioms on July 23. It also gives us today’s idiom.
Like many of his contemporary thinkers, Mencius aspired to a return of the glory days of previous dynasties, to the ancient sage rulers and kings of the prehistoric past and the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. In this chapter, Mencius was responding to a question by Gong Sun Chou about Qi’s chances of gaining supremacy over the other states.
Mencius compares Qi’s territory to that governed by the ancient sage rulers; he then speaks of the thirst of the — much put-upon — common people for benevolent government: “Never,” he said, “was there a time farther removed than the present from the rise of a true sovereign: never was there a time when the sufferings of the people from tyrannical government were more intense than the present.” Both of these points, according to Mencius, gave Qi a significant advantage over the ancient rulers, and so he counseled that Qi had the ability to become hegemon, with the proviso that the ruler undertook benevolent rule of the people. He warned against the continuation of tyrannical measures: “Let benevolent government [in a powerful state] be put in practice,” he said, “and the people will be delighted with it, as if they were relieved from hanging by the heels.”
He concluded that great things could be achieved if this current window of opportunity were to be taken, even if the Qi ruler fell some way short of the standards of the ancient sage rulers, saying 事半古之人,功必倍之,惟此時為然 (“With half the merit of the ancients, double their achievements is sure to be realized. It is only at this time that such could be the case”).
This last phrase gives us the idiom 事半功倍 (half the work, twice the effect).
The first known use of an English equivalent, “a stitch in time saves nine” — in that precise format — also referred to it as a “vulgar proverb.” These were the words of the English astronomer Francis Baily, published in 1856 but actually written some time before, in 1797.
It was not the first time the idea had been used, and it was apparently already current in English. Thomas Fuller’s Gnomologia, Adagies and Proverbs, Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British of 1732, for example, has “A Stitch in Time May save nine.” This was the first appearance of the phrase in print.
The phrase refers to the idea of addressing an issue in a prompt and timely manner to prevent expending much more time and energy on it later, should the situation be allowed to deteriorate. So, if there is a small tear in your jacket, stitching it up immediately will save you a lot of work later should the tear be allowed to become bigger.
As such, it is a warning against procrastination, laziness and negligence.(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
My car is making a weird noise. I’m not sure what the problem is, but I’m going to have a mechanic look at it. A stitch in time...
(我的車有怪聲,不知道是什麼問題,今晚我會請車廠師傅檢查一下。及時處理,免得後來問題更大。)
Take action now. Don’t wait and hope the problem will go away. A stitch in time saves nine.
(現在就採取行動吧,不要耽擱,然後冀望問題會自己消失。及時行動會事半功倍。)
A: Yet another shopping mall has just opened in Taipei. B: Do you mean the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang? A: Yeah, the shopping mall run by Japanese Mitsui & Co. opened last week. B: I hear the mall features about 300 stores, Vieshow Cinemas and Japanese Lopia supermarket. A: With the opening, a war is breaking out between Taipei’s department stores. A: 台北又有新的購物商場可逛啦。 B: 你是說Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport 南港? A: 對啊這家日本三井集團旗下的商場上週開幕。 B: 聽說商場有威秀影城、樂比亞日系超市,還有多達300家專櫃。 A: 新商場一開幕,看來又要掀起一場百貨大戰啦! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
A: Hey, didn’t you go to the opening of the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang last week? B: Yeah, there are about 300 shops, including the first overseas branch of Japan’s Mahou Dokoro — a famous Harry Potter-themed store. A: Wow, I’ve always wanted to get a magic wand. B: There are also a bunch of great restaurants, such as Smart Fish hotpot restaurant. A: I wish I had Harry Potter’s “apparition” and “disapparition” magic, so I could teleport to the mall right now. A: 你上週不是有去LaLaport南港的盛大開幕嗎?有什麼特別的? B: 那裡有多達300家專櫃,包括魔法之地的海外首店——它可是日本知名的《哈利波特》專賣店。 A: 哇我一直想買根魔杖。 B: 另外還有各式各樣的美食,像是林聰明沙鍋魚頭。 A: 真希望我也有哈利波特的「現影術/消影術」魔法,能瞬間移動到商場去! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
When it comes to movies, some people delight in watching spine-chilling horror films. Surprisingly, apart from containing a few scares, horror movies may also offer an unexpected __1__. According to a study, watching 90 minutes of a scary movie can burn an average of 113 calories, which is roughly __2__ to taking a 30-minute walk. Researchers from the University of Westminster carried out an experiment in which they __3__ participants’ oxygen intake, carbon dioxide output, and heart rates while they were watching horror movies without any distractions. The results revealed that physiological responses to fear play a crucial role
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看,這句話英語該怎麼說? 1. 你覺得這部電影怎樣? ˇ What do you think of the movie? χ How do you like the movie? χ How do you think of the movie? 註︰What do you think of = What is your opinion of。 think 的受詞是 what,不能用 how。 2. 你認為哪一個歌星唱得最好? ˇ Which singer do you think is the best? χ Do you think which singer is the best? 註︰英語中 which singer 似乎是 do you think 的受詞,實則 do you think 是插入語,其他例子如下: 你以為他喜歡誰? Who do you think he likes? 你以為我住在哪裏? Where do you think I live? 你想我昨天在公園裏碰到了誰? Whom/Who do you think I met in the park yesterday? 3. 他不論到什麼地方,總是帶著一把雨傘。 ˇ No matter where he goes, he