Jeff
蒙學漢文初階 第八十一課 Beginning Chinese - Entry Level Lesson #81 牛耕於野不勤 ox plough at field not diligent 牧童鞭之 to_herd boy whip it 牛曰 ox said 吾甚苦 I much hardship 牧童曰 to_herd boy replied 智不若人 wisdom not like man 宜為人役 should thus_be man to_enserf The ox was not ploughing the field hard enough. The shepherd boy whipped it. The ox replied, "My life is hard". To which the shepherd boy replied, "Your wisdom is not great as man's. Thus, enslaved to man". Notes: 1. It can also be translated to "cow". However, Chinese do not use them for ploughing or tilling of rice fields; only the male ones are used. Thus eating of ox is a taboo food. Cows can be eaten though not often as pork, no such taboo exist. 2. Other meanings of 役 are forced labor, corvée ,obligatory task, military service / to use as servant, servant (old), war, campaign, battle…
Sep 2, 2014 4:29 PM