《黄粱一梦》成语英译与典故

二十六、黄粱一梦

唐朝时有位作家沈既济，

写了篇小说《枕中记》，

书中说古时邯郸的旅店里，

有个卢姓书生在叹息。

姓吕的道士听到后，

请卢生把叹息的缘故说仔细。

卢生说穷困潦倒无前途，

并非是男儿丈夫短志气。

道士说我有个枕头很神奇，

枕上它眨眼便入美梦里。

人世间荣华富贵皆可见，

若不信不妨来试试。

这时候店主人正煮黄米饭，

那卢生枕上奇枕鼾声起。

果然梦见自己做了大官享富贵，

得到的荣华富贵王侯将相也难比。

等到他荣华富贵都享够，

醒来时黄米饭未熟正在冒热气。

人们把虚幻的梦想难实现，

常以“黄粱一梦”成语比。

A Daydream Over a Pot of Millet

During the reign of the Tang Dynasty（618—907A.D.），there was a writer named Shen Jiji，who wrote a story entitled“A story of the Pillow”.It was said that in ancient times in one hotel in the city of Handan，a scholar by the name of Lu was sighing，and a Daoist by the name of Lüheard him and asked him what the problem was.Scholar Lu said that he was downcast poor and had no future，though he had cherished high aspirations.The Daoist said that he had a very magical pillow，that could prompt any one into a wonderland—all fortunes and wealth on earth could be found.He could just have a try if he didn't believe it.

Meanwhile，the host of the hotel was cooking millet in a pot and Scholar Lu immediately fell asleep.True enough，he dreamed that he was appointed se⁃nior official and lived a happy life，which was no less superior than a Marquis.After he had all this to his heart's content，he woke and saw millet still steam⁃ing，not yet cooked.

When people think something is only a fancy nev⁃er to be realized，they say that it is only“a Daydream Over a Pot of Millet”.