Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 伯乐相马 (Bólè xiàng mǎ)

Chūnqiū shíhòu, chǔ wáng mìnglìng Bólè qù mǎi qiānlǐ mǎ. Kěshì Bólè pǎo le hǎo jǐ gè guójiā, dōu méiyǒu fāxiàn zhǒngyì de mǎ.
春秋时候，楚王命令伯乐去买千里马。可是伯乐跑了好几个国家，都没有发现中意的马。

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Emperor Chu ordered Bole to buy a swift horse. However, after visiting several states he still couldn’t find the horse he desired.

Yǒu yì tiān, Bólè kàndào yì pǐ mǎ lā zhe yánchē, hěn chīlì de zài dǒupō shàng zǒu. Bólè zǒu jìn yí kàn, zhè pǐ mǎ tūrán tái qǐ tóu lái dèng dà yǎnjīng, dà shēng sīmíng, hǎoxiàng yào duì Bólè shuō shénme. Bólè lì jí cóng shēngyīn zhōng pànduàn chū, zhè shì yì pǐ nándé de jùnmǎ.
有一天，伯乐看到一匹马拉着盐车，很吃力地在陡坡上走。伯乐走近一看，这匹马突然抬起头来瞪大眼睛，大声嘶鸣，好像要对伯乐说什么。伯乐立即从声音中判断出，这是一匹难得的骏马。

One day, Bole saw a horse drawing a wagon loaded with salt up a steep hill. The horse struggled to draw the wagon. When Bole approached, the horse suddenly raised its head and stared into his eyes, neighing loudly. It looked as though he wanted to speak to Bole. From the neigh, Bole immediately knew he’d found a rare and good horse.

Kěshì Chǔ wáng yí jiàn Bólè mǎi de mǎ shòu dé bú chéng yàngzǐ, jiù rènwéi Bólè zài yúnòng tā, yǒu diǎn bù gāoxìng. Bólè jiě shì shuō:” zhè quèshí shì pǐ qiānlǐ mǎ, zhī yào jīngxīn wèiyǎng, bù chū bàn gè yuè, yídìng huì huīfù tǐlì.”
可是楚王一见伯乐买的马瘦得不成样子，就认为伯乐在愚弄他，有点不高兴。 伯乐解释说：“这确实是匹千里马，只要精心喂养，不出半个月，一定会恢复体力。”

Yet, when Emperor Wu saw the horse he deemed it too skinny, and thought Bole had made a fool of him. He was unhappy. Bole explained, “It really is a swift horse. As long as it’s well fed, it will regain its strength no less than half a month.”

Yúshì Chǔ wáng biàn mìnglìng mǎfū hǎo hǎo wèi mǎ, guǒrán, mǎ hěn kuài biàn dé shífēn jīngzhuàng. Chǔ wáng qí shàng mǎ yí huì ér jiù pǎo dào le bǎi lǐ zhī wài, Chǔ wáng fēicháng gāoxìng, gěi tā qǐ le míngzì jiào qiānlǐ mǎ. Hòulái zhè pǐ mǎ yě wèi Chǔ wáng zài zhànchǎng shàng lì xià bù shǎo gōngláo.
于是楚王便命令马夫好好喂马，果然，马很快变得十分精壮。楚王骑上马一会儿就跑到了百里之外，楚王非常高兴，给它起了名字叫千里马。后来这匹马也为楚王在战场上立下不少功劳。

The Emperor thus ordered a groom to take care of the horse. As expected, the horse quickly became very strong. When the Emperor rode the animal, it ran for hundreds of miles. The Emperor was very delighted, and named it 千里马（a horse that can sustain long-distance rides）. Later, this horse greatly aided to Emperor Chu in the battle field.

Words：
中意zhòng yì: catch one’s fancy (v.)
吃力chīlì: be a strain (v.)
陡坡dǒupō: steep slope (n.)
嘶鸣sīmíng: neigh (v.)
骏马jùnmǎ: fine horse (n.)
愚弄yúnòng： make fool of (v.)
精心jīngxīn: elaborately (adv.)
精壮jīngzhuàng: strong (adj.)
千里马qiānlǐmǎ: pure breed horse that can sustain long-distance rides (n.)
功劳gōngláo: contribution ( n.)
 

Meanings：
“伯乐相马”原义指伯乐善于发现好马。后来比喻善于发现和选拔人才。
The original meaning of “伯乐相马” refers to Bole’s ability to find a good horse. Later it was used as metaphor for someone who is good at discovering talent.
 

Sentences：

1.Yí gè yōuxiù de lǐngdǎo zhě, yīnggāi xiàng Bólè xiàngmǎ yí yang, bǎ yōuxiù réncái xuǎnbá chūlái.
一个优秀的领导者，应该像伯乐相马一样，把优秀人才选拔出来。

A good leader should selec talents as Bole chose a horse.

2.Suīrán tā jùyǒu Bólè xiàngmǎ de yǎnguāng, kěshì xīnxiōng tài xiázhǎi, suǒyǐ hěnduō réncái dōu bèi máimò le.
虽然他具有伯乐相马的眼光，可是心胸太狭窄，所以很多人才都被埋没了。

Although he is good at discovering talents, he was very narrow-minded so many skilled people were neglected.