《七步之才》成语英译与典故

五十一、七步之才

三国时，魏武帝曹操有二子，

名叫曹丕与曹植。

兄弟二人皆有才，

可曹丕生性好妒忌。

自从他即位做了魏文帝，

更容不下曹植小弟弟。

只因为，曹植文才比他好，

曹丕心里不服气。

有一天，他把曹植喊进宫，

命曹植，

七步要作成一首诗。

这首诗，

咏的应是手足情，

作不出，

马上处死不客气。

曹植马上意识到，

哥哥要借故害弟弟！

曹植才思真敏捷，

举步开口便吟诗：

“煮豆持作羹（ɡēnɡ），

漉菽（lùshū）以为汁。

萁（qī）在釜（fǔ）下燃，

豆在釜中泣。

本是同根生，

相煎何太急！”

意思是：

拿些豆子煮羹汤，

要把豆子熬出汁。

豆秸锅下熊熊燃，

豆在锅里直哭泣。

本来是同根所生亲骨肉，

相互煎熬太急又何必！

这诗比喻最通俗，

揭穿曹丕恶用意。

曹丕他听后脊背冒冷汗，

又羞又愧又着急。

“七步之才”成典故，

“煮豆燃萁”作成语，

一方面，说明曹植文思好，

也表明，曹丕在处理手足关系上，

的确太不合情理。

The Seven⁃Pace Talent

During the period of the Three Kingdoms（220—265A.D.），Emperor Wu of Wei，Cao Cao had two sons.One was named Cao Pi and the other Cao Zhi.The two brothers were both talented，only the elder brother Cao Pi had a jealous temperament.After he was crowned Emperor Wen of Wei，he included his younger brother Cao Zhi no longer，because Cao Zhi was more talented in literature than he.Cao Pi just would not let him go his own course.

One day，Cao Zhi was called to the court，and was made to compose a poem within seven paces.The topic was about the friendship between brothers.If he failed，Cao Zhi should be put to death without mercy.Cao Zhi instantly smelled the malice.His brother wanted it to be an excuse to kill him.Cao Zhi was a real talent，and he started to compose as he started to pace：“Boil the soy beans，You intended to cook congee，Under the pot the stalk is burning mer⁃rily，Inside the pot the beans are crying：We were o⁃riginally born of the same root，Why heat me so furi⁃ously？”

This poem has a plain metaphor，laying bare Cao Pi's malignant intention.On hearing it，Cao Pi was sweating all over his back，and felt ashamed，regret⁃ful and nervous.

Seven⁃pace talent was the idiomatic story，and boiling beans with its stalks is also an idiom.On the one hand，it shows Cao Zhi had an excellent literary talent，and on the other hand，it also condemns Cao Pi's mercilessness about his fraternal relationship.