《龟虽寿》：你想要的青春不老，其实曹操在一千多年前就给了答案

Hello and welcome to Classic Reading. I’m your host, Jordon. Many people dream of staying young forever, like Peter Pan. Today I’d like to introduce the poem “龟虽寿”, or Indomitable Soul, by Cao Cao from the Three Kingdoms period in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It’s about an old soldier’s young heart and lifelong ambition.

欢迎收看《致经典》栏目，我是主持人Jordon。很多人都梦想能像彼得·潘一样不用长大。今天我想向大家介绍这首《龟虽寿》，作者是东汉三国时期的曹操。这首诗讲述了一位年老士兵的壮志雄心。

龟虽寿   

三国 · 曹操

神龟虽寿，犹有竟时。

腾蛇乘雾，终为土灰。

老骥伏枥，志在千里；

烈士暮年，壮心不已。

盈缩之期，不但在天；

养怡之福，可得永年。

幸甚至哉，歌以咏志。

The poet Cao Cao was a Chinese warlord. He was also a brilliant ruler and military genius. He was skilled in calligraphy, martial arts and poetry. “Gui Sui Shou” is considered one of his best poems. The most well-known phrase in this poem is “老骥伏枥，志在千里，烈士暮年，壮心不已。” It has been quoted by men of letters for centuries. Cao Cao compared himself to an old horse that still dreams of running for thousands of miles.

诗人曹操是中国历史上的一位著名的军阀。他还是一位出色的统治者和军事家。他还精通书法、武术和诗歌。《龟虽寿》被视为他最得意的佳作之一。其中最著名的几句当属“老骥伏枥，志在千里，烈士暮年，壮心不已。”千百年来被文人墨客争相引用。曹操把自己比作了一匹老马，梦想再次驰骋千里之外。

A senior soldier with a young heart, Cao Cao would not give in to his aging body. So he wrote this poem.

年老的人，不老的心，不服老的曹操写下了这首诗。

Indomitable Soul

By Cao Cao

Translation by Xu Yuanchong

Although long lives the tortoise wise,

In the end he cannot but die.

The serpent in the mist may rise,

But in the dust he too shall lie.

Although the stabled steed is old,

He dreams to run for mile and mile.

In life’s December heroes bold

Won’t change indomitable style.

It’s not up to Heaven alone

To lengthen or shorten our day.

To a great age we can live on,

If we keep fit, cheerful and gay.

How happy I feel at this thought!

I croon this poem as I ought.

Like Cao Cao, the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas also wrote about fighting old age. In his famous poem Do not go gentle into that good night, Dylan urges his father, who was a stern man in youth, to be strong and not die. The poem starts like this:

正如曹操那样，英国威尔士诗人狄兰·托马斯也会写一些“不服老”的诗歌。在他的名作《不要踏入静谧的良夜》中，狄兰敦促自己的父亲，要像年轻时那个雷厉风行的自己一样，年纪大了依然要保持强壮和长寿。这首诗的开头是这样的：

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

But Cao Cao’s poem isn’t just about getting old. It also shows how ancient people believed the tortoise and the serpent represented longevity. In ancient Chinese culture, “玄武” was a typical symbol of long life and good health. It’s usually pictured as a mix between a snake (or serpent) and a turtle (or tortoise). Besides “玄武”, the Chinese dragon and phoenix are also thought to be spiritual creatures of longevity. In fact, the pursuit of immortality is universal. The unicorn -- a magical horse with a white horn on its head -- is a symbol of healing power and longevity in Western culture. In the fantasy novel seriesHarry Potter, the blood of a unicorn can heal any sickness or injury.

然而，曹操的这首诗不光是讲衰老这个主题的。它还展示了中国古代人民的一种信仰，他们相信龟和蛇都象征长寿。在中国古代文化里，“玄武”就是健康长寿的典型象征。“玄武”通常被刻画成龟蛇合体的形象。除了“玄武”，龙和凤凰也被视为象征长生不老的神兽。实际上，全世界的人都向往长生不老。在西方文化中，独角兽就是这样一种魔兽，通体白色，头上有角，会施魔法，有治愈力和长生不老的能力。在科幻小说《哈利波特》的故事中，一匹独角兽的血能治愈任何疾病或者伤痛。

What about you? What other mystical creatures have you seen in literary works? Feel free to share your stories in the comment section below! That’s all for this episode of Classic Reading. See you next time!

你呢？你还在文学作品中认识过哪些神兽？欢迎大家在下方留言区与我们分享！本期《致经典》节目就到这里，我们下期再见！

致经典CLASSIC READING EP7龟虽寿_腾讯视频

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