There was a man named Cao Shang in the State of Song.
宋國(guó)有個(gè)人,名叫曹商。
Once, he was sent on a mission by the King of Song to the State of Qin. Before departure, the King of Song bestowed upon him several horse-drawn chariots. Upon arriving in the State of Qin, Cao Shang won the favour of the King of Qin. Consequently, the King bestowed upon him 100 chariots.
一次,他受宋王的派遣,出使秦國(guó)。臨行時(shí),宋王賜給他幾乘車馬。到了秦國(guó),曹商很得秦王歡心,于是秦王又賜給他百乘車馬。
Soon afterwards, Cao Shang returned to the State of Song. One day he met Zhuang Zi and said proudly:
不久,曹商返回宋國(guó)。一天,他見(jiàn)到莊子,得意洋洋地說(shuō):
"In the past, I lived in poor streets and humble alleys. I was very poor, and made my living by making shoes. I was sallow and thin. This was my weak point. Now, relying on my clever tongue, I have touched the heart of the King of Qin, who is the sovereign lord with 1,000 chariots. He bestowed upon me 100 chariots. This is my strong point."
“過(guò)去我身居窮街陋巷,非常貧困,靠編鞋過(guò)日子,面黃肌瘦,這是我的短處,F(xiàn)在,我憑著三寸不爛之舌,打動(dòng)萬(wàn)乘之主的秦王,賜給我車馬百乘,這是我的長(zhǎng)處。”
When Zhuang Zi heard this, he gave a snort of contempt and said sarcastically:
莊子聽(tīng)了,嗤之以鼻,諷刺他說(shuō):
"I heard that the King of Qin was ill. He let the physicians treat him, and rewarded them according to their contributions: those who sucked pus and ate sores would get 1 horse-drawn chariot; those who licked the piles would get 5 chariots. The more filthy the illness you treat, the more chariots you would get. You have probably licked his piles; otherwise, how could you acquire that many chariots? You had better go away!"
“我聽(tīng)說(shuō)秦王有病,讓醫(yī)生治病,實(shí)行論功行賞:吸膿吃瘡的,可得車馬一乘;舌甜痔瘡的,可得車馬五乘。治的病越骯臟,得的車馬越多。您大概為秦王甜過(guò)痔瘡吧,不然怎么會(huì)得到那么多車馬呢?您還是給我走開(kāi)吧!”