Happy Chinese New Year
Tomorrow, January 26, 2009, will be the Chinese New Year. The year of Rat ends and the year of Ox begins.
The world entered 2009 with much uncertainty. Bad newses seem to dominate the airwaves and the internet. At a time like this, I would like to continue the tradition that I started last year and offer the following story from the ancient Chinese book 淮南子 (Huai-nan Tzu), by 刘安 （Liu An, 179 BC–122 BC). Liu An was a grandson of 刘邦 (Liu Bang), the opening emperor of Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) from which the Han Chinese derived the name of their ethnic group. Liu An was not an emperor himself, and Prince Huai-nan was his title. He was credited as the inventor of Tofu.
Huai-nan Tzu (18:9)
Misfortune and fortune turns and engenders each other, the changes are hard to foresee.
Near Saishang was a man good at fortune telling. His horse for no reason was lost and went into the domain of the Huns. Everyone condoled it. The father said: "Why is this not a good fortune?"
Months passed, the horse came back leading another beautiful horse of the Huns. Everyone congratulated it. The father said: "Why is this not a calamity?"
Now the house had good horses, and the son liked to ride them. He fell and broke his thigh. Everyone condoled it. The father said: "Why is this not a good fortune?"
A year passed, the Huns invaded, entering Sai in big numbers. Able-bodied men drew their bows and fought. Of the Sai men, the dead numbered nine in ten. Only because the son was lame, the father and the son were spared.
Therefore good fortune turns into calamity, and calamity turns into good fortune. These changes cannot be enumerated. Their depth cannot be fathomed.
Notes
- This story has been told and retold many times over the last 2148 years since it appeared in Huai-nan Tzu. In the west, it is popularly known as the story of the farmer and his lost horse.
- As most other ancient Chinese stories, this one gave rise to an idiom: 塞翁失马，焉知非福 (Sai Weng Shi Ma, Yan Zhi Fei Fu—Sai man lost horse, why sure not fortune). It is still used today as a phrase of encouragement at moments of loss or misfortune.
- In this translation, as in the one I did last year, I tried to preserve the original Chinese phrase order and style. This is harder than you think.
- For hilarities' sake, here is the original and the translation by Google:
夫禍富之轉而相生，其變難見也。近塞上之人有善術者，馬無故亡而入胡。人皆吊之。其父曰：“此何遽不為福乎？”居數月，其馬將胡駿馬而歸。人皆賀之。其父曰：“此何遽不能為禍乎？”家富良馬，其子好騎，墮而折其髀。人皆吊之。其父曰：“此何遽不為福乎？”居一年，胡人大入塞，丁壯者引弦而戰，近塞之人，死者十九，此獨以跛之故，父子相保。故福之為禍，禍之為福，化不可極，深不可測也。
Fu-fu bad turn of Aioi, the change is also rarely seen. Near the Frontier of people have good technique, and get killed for no reason Hu Ma. Everybody's hanging. His father said: "This is not a lucky even何遽?" Home a few months, the horse will be Hu Horse and naturalization. He everyone. His father said: "This can not harm even何遽?" Andrew Ma Liang, the son of a good ride, falling and folding his thigh. Everybody's hanging. His father said: "This is not a lucky even何遽?" Home for one year, the National People's Congress into the Cypriot Hu, DING Zhuang, who cited war chord, Near Cypriot people, 19 of the deceased, this independence to a lame reason, the son of Paul . Fukunosuke harm it, bad as the happiness of not very much, is also unpredictable.