《吴牛喘月》成语英译与典故

七十五、吴牛喘月

晋初的一天，满奋去见武帝司马炎，

武帝指着北窗口椅子让他坐，

北窗口立一个透明琉璃屏风扇。

看上去只有一个空框子，

窗外景历历在目随意观。

尚书令自幼体弱最怕风，

天气冷他就不敢坐窗前。

无奈是皇帝坚持要他坐，

满奋正处在进退两难间。

晋武帝忽想起满奋的怕风症，

估计是屏风的琉璃他没看见，

便手指着屏风笑起来。

满奋也知心思被看穿，

在皇帝面前尴尬闹笑话，

弄得他神情窘急心不安。

他说道：“臣子我好比吴地的牛，

怕热天，见到了明月也气喘。”

到后来，“吴牛喘月”作成语，

常形容心神不定情绪乱。

这样的人由于害怕某事物，

恰巧再遇这事物迹象显，

由于他心里常处戒备中，

遇到了自然心惊战。

The Water Buffalo of Wu Region Panting at the Moon

One day in the early Jin Dynasty（265—420A.D.），secretary⁃in⁃chief Man Fen went to see Emperor Wu，Sima Yan.The emperor pointed to the chair beside the northern window and asked him to sit down.The window had a transparent glass screen，so it looked just like an empty frame，and the scenery outside was clear to see.The secretary⁃in⁃chief was feeble early from his childhood and had wind⁃panic.It was cold then，and he didn't quite dare to sit near the window.But the emperor，His Majesty did ask him to sit down there，and this put him quite in a dilemma.

The emperor suddenly remembered Man Fen's wind⁃panic disease.Thinking that he didn't see the transparent screen，he pointed at the glass and burst into laugher.The secretary⁃in⁃chief knew too that he was seen through.Fearing he would make himself a fool before His Majesty，he just didn't know how to react.He then said，“I am just like the water buffalo of Wu Region，Your Majesty，fearing the sun's heat，panting at the sight of the moon！”

Later，“the Water Buffalo Panting at the Moon”became an idiom，which can depict that someone is feeling upset.When those who fear something see that thing appear，with their subconscious always on the trigger，they inevitably feel afraid.