E36 川蜀：民风质朴，好学善辩

E36 川蜀：民风质朴，好学善辩
2023.03.29
夏鹏
难度：CSE7
课程导读

上节课我们讲到，苏洵虽然禀赋颖异，才气纵横，但年少时个性强烈，不服管教。对此，祖父却“并不发愁”，相信他终有一天会痛改前非。果然在苏轼出生以后，二十七岁的苏洵发奋读书，从此文名大噪。我们常说一方水土养一方人，那么，究竟是什么样的地方，能够孕育出如此之多的人才？当地的居民又有什么样的特质呢？一起进入今天的讲解。

英文原文

The people of Szechuen were, even in those days, a hardy, argumentative, self-reliant, and largely self-governing race, retaining, as people of remote districts or colonies often do, certain ancient customs and habits and culture.

Thanks particularly to the invention of printing in this province a century earlier, a sudden impetus had been given to learning, and in Su Tungpo's day a fairly high percentage of officials, or successful scholars, came from this province.

Its general level of scholarship was higher then than that of the provinces now named Hopei and Shantung, for at the imperial examinations candidates from the latter provinces often failed in poetry.

Chengtu was the center of culture, famous for its fine letter paper, Szechuen brocade, and beautiful monasteries.

There were gifted courtesans and talented beauties, and in the centuries immediately preceding Su Tungpo it had produced at least two famous women poets.

In their writings the scholars still held to the early Han tradition of simple austerity of style as against the decadent, ostentatious style prevalent elsewhere at the time.

Then, as now, the people of that province were given to arguments and eloquent disquisitions.

Even in middle-class society, conversations were often studded with learned instances and clever allusions, and had an air of archaic refinement to those from the outside provinces.

Of this inborn eloquence and this determination not to be worsted in an argument, Su Tungpo had a fair share.

Not to mention his arguing several times with the devil, his state papers were distinguished for clarity and forcefulness of presentation.

Both Su and his father were attacked by their enemies as resembling the sophists of the Warring Kingdoms, and were praised by their friends as having the style of Mencius, with Mencian eloquence and aptness of analogy. Szechuen people should make good lawyers.

生词好句

1.hardy
英 [ˈhɑːdi]美 [ˈhɑːrdi]
adj. 坚忍的

2.argumentative
英 [ˌɑːɡjəˈmentətɪv]美 [ˌɑːrɡjəˈmentətɪv]
adj. 好争论的

3.self-reliant
英 [ˌselfrɪˈlaɪənt]美 [ˌselfrɪˈlaɪənt]
adj. 自律的，自力更生的

4.self-governing
英 [ˌselfˈɡʌvənɪŋ]美 [ˌselfˈɡʌvərnɪŋ]
adj. 自治的

5.retain
英 [rɪˈteɪn]美 [rɪˈteɪn]
v. 保持

6.remote
英 [rɪˈməʊt]美 [rɪˈmoʊt]
adj. 远的

7.impetus
英 [ˈɪmpɪtəs]美 [ˈɪmpətəs]
n. 推动力

8.scholar
英 [ˈskɒlə]美 [ˈskɑːlər]
n. 学者

9.imperial examination
殿试

10.brocade
英 [brəˈkeɪd]美 [brəˈkeɪd]
n. 织锦

11.monastery
英 [ˈmɒnəstri]美 [ˈmɑːnəsteri]
n. 寺院

12.courtesan
英 [ˌkɔːtɪˈzæn]美 [ˈkɔːrtəzæn]
n. 名妓

13.austerity
英 [ɔːˈsterəti]美 [ˈɑːsterəti]
n. 朴素

14.decadent
英 [ˈdekədnt]美 [ˈdekədnt]
adj. 腐朽的

15.ostentatious
英 [ˌɒstenˈteɪʃəs]美 [ˌɑːstənˈteɪʃəs]
adj. 浮华的

16.prevalent
英 [ˈprevlənt]美 [ˈprevlənt]
adj. 受欢迎的（popular）

17.be given to
热爱……

18.eloquent
英 [ˈeləkwnt]美 [ˈeləkwnt]
adj. 旁征博引的；雄辩的；滔滔不绝的

19.disquisition
英 [ˌdɪskwɪˈzɪʃn]美 [ˌdɪskwɪˈzɪʃn]
n. 论说文（essay）

20.studded
英 [ˈstʌdɪd]美 [ˈstʌdɪd]
adj. 点缀的

21.learned instances and clever allusions
引经据典

22.archaic refinement
古雅精美

23.inborn
英 [ˌɪnˈbɔːn]美 [ˈɪnbɔːrn]
adj. 天生的

24.worst
英 [ˈwʊst]美 [ˈwɜrː.st]
（本文）v. 击败

25.forcefulness of presentation
表现力

26.sophist
英 [ˈsɒfɪst]美 [ˈsɑːfɪst]
n. （古希腊）诡辩家；（战国时期）纵横家，名家