樂極生悲

laugh out of the other side of your mouth

樂極生悲

Chunyu Kun (淳于髡) lived in the state of Qi (齊國) during the Warring States Period (戰(zhàn)國,475-221 BC).He was wise, humorous and eloquent. He skillfully advised the king on many occasions and successfully went to many states as an envoy.

戰(zhàn)國時期，齊國有個叫淳于髡的人。他幽默機智，能說會道，給齊威王出過許多好主意，并且成功出使了許多其他的國家。

In the year 349 BC, the State of Chu (楚國) dispatched a large force to attack Qi.

公元349年，楚國派出大批軍隊攻打齊國。

The king of Qi sent Chunyu Kun to the state of Zhao (趙國) to ask for help, with a lot of valuable gifts.

齊王派淳于髡去趙國尋求幫助，于是他帶著許多貴重的禮品去了趙國。

The king of Zhao accpeted the gifts gladly and sent a hundred thousand troops to help Qi.

趙王見了禮物十分高興，派了十萬士兵去援助齊國。

The king of Chu withdrew his army that very night as soon as he got the news.

那天晚上，楚王得到這消息，馬上撤回了自己的軍隊。

The king of Qi was released and pleased with Chunyu Kun. He set a banquet for celebration.

齊威王松了一口氣，十分滿意淳于髡的表現(xiàn)，并決定設(shè)宴為他慶功。

During the meal, the king asked Chunyu Kun, "How much wine can you drink before you're drunk, Sir?"

在宴會上，齊威王問淳于髡：“先生你喝多少酒會醉?”

Knowing the king had a bad habit of drinking all night, Chunyu Kun decided to take this chance to admonish the king. So he replied, "I get drunk when I drink ten litres or hundred."

他幽默地回答說：“我有時喝一升酒就會醉，有時喝一百升酒才會醉。”

Puzzled, the king asked, "Since you are drunk after ten litres, how can you finish another ninty litres?"

齊威王聽了很奇怪。他問：“你喝一升已經(jīng)醉了，怎么還會有喝一百升的道理呢?”

Chunyu Kun then explained that he could drink different amounts of wine under differentconditions. He said, "This occurs to me that when you drink to your limit, you get so drunk that you lose your sense; once joy reaches its height, then it's sorrow's turn. This is the rule for everything. Whatever you do, you are bound to end up in the opposite direction when you exceed the limits."

淳于髡就告訴齊王，在不同的情況下他的酒量是不一樣的。他說：“喝酒讓我想到一句古話：人喝酒到了自己的極限，爛醉之后就沒了理智，一旦開心過了頭，就會發(fā)生悲慘的事。所有的事情都是這個道理。不論你做什么，超過了限度，往往就會適得其反。”

Realizing Chunyu Kun was advising him, the king answered, "You are right. I will take your advice."

齊威王知道淳于髡在勸誡他，回答說：“你說得對，我會接受你的建議的。”

From then on, the king of Qi gave up his bad habit of drinking and playing all night.

從那以后，齊威王改掉了整晚飲酒作樂的壞習(xí)慣。

【文化鏈接】

“樂極生悲”是有相對的美國俚語的，那就是“laugh out of the other side of your mouth”，有點“高興得太早了”的意味，“高興早了”并且過了頭，就“樂極生悲”了。

我們來看一下例句：

Bill thought he got a real bargain because the car was half the normal price. Now he's laughing out of the other side of his mouth. The police came to tell him the car was stolen. So he loses both the car and the money.

比爾以半價買了輛車，他以為自己撿了個大便宜。但是他高興得太早了，警察后來找上門告訴他那是輛黑車，所以他現(xiàn)在車、款兩空!