這句話的字面意思是:“那些說事情做不成的人,不應(yīng)該干擾做事的人”,句末寫了句“中國(guó)諺語(yǔ)”(Chinese Proverb)。
所以,這到底是哪句中國(guó)諺語(yǔ)?
答案似乎并不能一眼看出來……于是,中國(guó)網(wǎng)友開始文思泉涌,腦洞大開。
也有網(wǎng)友給出了試譯:
當(dāng)然,還有一些腦洞里的泥石流……
法新社表示,中國(guó)網(wǎng)友為了猜測(cè)伊萬(wàn)卡這句“中國(guó)諺語(yǔ)”可謂是“直撓頭”:
哈?中國(guó)網(wǎng)友被伊萬(wàn)卡的“中國(guó)諺語(yǔ)”難住
Chinese social media users are scratching their heads over a "Chinese proverb" US President Donald Trump's daughter and advisor Ivanka posted to Twitter as her father prepared for his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un.
在特朗普準(zhǔn)備與金正恩會(huì)晤之時(shí),特朗普的女兒和顧問伊萬(wàn)卡在推特上發(fā)了句“中國(guó)諺語(yǔ)”,這句話讓中國(guó)網(wǎng)友想得直撓頭。
法新社報(bào)道稱,中國(guó)網(wǎng)友猜測(cè)的熱情頗為高漲,網(wǎng)絡(luò)瞬間被點(diǎn)燃了(China's internet quickly lit up),網(wǎng)友們你一言,我一語(yǔ),卻無法達(dá)成一致(arriving at a consensus)。
"She saw it in a fortune cookie at Panda Express," one user wrote.
“伊萬(wàn)卡在熊貓快餐的幸運(yùn)餅干里看到了這句話,”一個(gè)用戶說。
注:幸運(yùn)餅干是美國(guó)中餐館的一種常見小點(diǎn)心,每個(gè)餅干里有一個(gè)寫著諺語(yǔ)的小紙條↓↓↓
Another said: "It makes sense, but I still don't know which proverb it is."
另一個(gè)人說:“聽著有道理,但我還是不知道這句諺語(yǔ)是什么。”
"One proverb from Ivanka has exhausted the brain cells of all Chinese internet users," a commenter admitted.
“伊萬(wàn)卡的一句話燒掉了無數(shù)中國(guó)網(wǎng)友腦細(xì)胞,”一個(gè)網(wǎng)友評(píng)論稱。
石英網(wǎng)(Quartz)就盤點(diǎn)了一些中國(guó)網(wǎng)友的神猜測(cè),還做成了中英對(duì)照版,來體會(huì)一下外媒的翻譯……
好了,言歸正傳,這句話到底是不是句中國(guó)諺語(yǔ)呢?伊萬(wàn)卡發(fā)這句話又是啥意思呢?
美國(guó)新聞網(wǎng)站Bustle就表示,伊萬(wàn)卡這個(gè)時(shí)間發(fā)推,字里行間明顯是在給自己的父親打氣:
Ivanka Trump is tweeting during her dad's North Korea summit, and it's anything but subtle. Some of the president's critics have questioned whether anything can be accomplished, but it seems the president's daughter thinks it's worth trying — you'll just have to read between the lines.
伊萬(wàn)卡發(fā)推正是在父親特朗普與朝鮮領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人會(huì)晤之時(shí),這是很明顯的。一些批評(píng)的聲音質(zhì)疑這次會(huì)晤會(huì)不會(huì)有實(shí)質(zhì)性成果,但看來總統(tǒng)的女兒認(rèn)為這值得一試,你在字里行間可以看出。
一個(gè)名叫“引言調(diào)查者”(Quote Investigator: QI)的網(wǎng)站曾研究過這句話的出處,發(fā)現(xiàn)這句話其實(shí)是美國(guó)“親生”的。
1903年,這句話頻繁出現(xiàn)在美國(guó)的報(bào)章雜志上,用來形容世紀(jì)之交美國(guó)的時(shí)局變化之快:
QI hypothesizes that the modern expression evolved from a comment about the rapidity of change and innovation at the turn of the century that was printed in multiple newspapers and journals in 1903.
“引言調(diào)查者”假設(shè)這個(gè)現(xiàn)代的表達(dá)曾經(jīng)用來評(píng)論世紀(jì)之交的快速變化和創(chuàng)新。1903年很多報(bào)紙雜志都用過這句話。
一個(gè)名叫Puck的幽默雜志就曾這樣引用過:
Things move along so rapidly nowadays that people saying: “It can’t be done,” are always being interrupted by somebody doing it.
如今,時(shí)局變化實(shí)在是太快,人們都說“這事兒做不成,”但卻總是被做成的人打臉。
后來美國(guó)作家阿爾伯特·哈伯德(Elbert Hubbard)曾用“某人說過”引用過這句話,卻因此被后來的報(bào)紙文章誤當(dāng)成了是這句話的出處。
到了1960年代,美國(guó)人民終于把這句話和遙遠(yuǎn)的東方文明扯上了關(guān)系。1962年,美國(guó)一本成人教育類雜志直接把這句話的出處安在了中國(guó)的孔老夫子頭上,當(dāng)時(shí)是這么用的:
THOUGHTS WHILE SHAVING(剃須時(shí)的思考):
Confucius say: Man who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt man doing it. How’s that for a good adult education motto? Aren’t there several times that motto can be used?
子曰:說事情做不成的人,不應(yīng)該打擾正在做的人。這句話是不是一句很好的成人教育箴言?這句話是不是經(jīng)常能用上?
接下來,從60年代到今天,這句名人名言帶著“孔夫子說過”、“中國(guó)的古老諺語(yǔ)說過” 的帽子在美國(guó)各種報(bào)紙期刊雜志的文章中登場(chǎng),這也大概是伊萬(wàn)卡推特稱其為中國(guó)諺語(yǔ)的原因。