门庭若市 A Courtyard as Crowded as a Marketplace

zhànɡuǒ shí qíɡuó de xiānɡɡuó zōu jì shēncái ɡāodá rónɡmào duānzhuānɡ

战国时，齐国的相国邹忌，身材高大容貌端庄。

tā wèi quànshuō qíwēiwánɡ fànɡkāi yánlù ɡǔlì qúnchén jìnjiàn

他为劝说齐威王放开言路，鼓励群臣进谏，

jiù ɡěi qíwēiwánɡ jiǎnɡle zhèyɑnɡ yíɡe ɡùshi

就给齐威王讲了这样一个故事：

 

In the Warring States Period, Zou Ji who was the prime minister of the Qi State was possesed of a great heightand a pleasant appearance. In order to persuade the King Qiwei to provide wide opportunities for the airing of views and to encourage the officials to criticize faults frankly, he told this story:

 

yìtiān zǎochén tā chuānhǎo cháofú dàihǎo màozi duìzhe jìnɡzi duānxiánɡ yìfān

一天早晨，他穿好朝服。戴好帽子，对着镜子端详一番，

ránhòu wèn tāde qīzǐ shuō-wǒ hé chénɡběi xúɡōnɡ bǐjiào qǐlái shéi zhǎnɡdé yīnɡjùn

然后问他的妻子说：“我和城北徐公比较起来，谁长得英俊。

nǐ yīnɡjùn jíle xúɡōnɡ zěnme bǐdéshànɡ nǐ ne-qīzǐ shuō

“你英俊极了，徐公怎么比得上你呢？”妻子说。

 

One morning, after he wore his court dress and hat, he looked himself in the mirror over for a while then asked his wife: "compared to Mr. Xu in the northern city, who is better-looking, him or I?" "Of course you are, how can Mr. Xu compare with you?" his wife asked.

 

xúɡōnɡ shì qíɡuó chūmínɡ de měinánzǐ zōu jì tīnɡle qīzǐ de huà

徐公是齐国出名的美男子，邹忌听了妻子的话，

bìnɡ bútàiɡǎn xiānɡxìn zìjǐ zhēnde bǐ xúɡōnɡ yīnɡjùn yúshì tā yòuqù wèn tāde àiqiè

并不太敢相信自己真的比徐公英俊，于是他又去问他的爱妾，

àiqiè huídá shuō-xúɡōnɡ zěnnénɡ bǐdéshànɡ nǐ ne

爱妾回答说：“徐公怎能比得上你呢？”

 

Mr. Xu was a famous handsome man in the Qi State. Having heard what his wife said, Zou Ji didn't dare to believe that he was really more handsome than Mr. Xu, so he went to ask his beloved concubine, who answered: "how can Mr. Xu compare with you?"

 

dìèrtiān zōu jì jiāzhōnɡ láile yíwèi kèrén zōu jì yòu wènle kèrén

第二天，邹忌家中来了一位客人，邹忌又问了客人，

kèrén shuō-xúɡōnɡ nǎyǒu nǐ zhèyɑnɡ jùnměi ne ɡuòle jǐtiān

客人说：“徐公哪有你这样俊美呢？”过了几天，

zhènɡqiǎo xúɡōnɡ láidào zōu jì jiā lái báifānɡ zōu jì biàn chénɡjī zǐxìdì dàliànɡ xúɡōnɡ

正巧徐公到邹忌家来拜访，邹忌便乘机仔细地打量徐公，

nátā hé zìjǐ bǐjiào jiéɡuǒ tā fāxiàn zìjǐ shìzài méiyǒu xúɡōnɡ piàoliɑnɡ

拿他和自己比较。结果，他发现自己实在没有徐公漂亮。

 

On the second day, a guest came to Zou Ji's house, so he asked the guest for the same question and the guest answered: "how could Mr. Xu be better-looking than you?" A few days later, Mr. Xu came to visit Zou Ji; Zou Ji seized the opportunity to look Mr. Xu up and down and compared with himself, reaching the conclusion that honestly he was not the better-looking of the two.

 

yúshì tā duì qíwēiwánɡ shuō-wǒ běnlái bùrú xúɡōnɡ piàoliɑnɡ

于是，他对齐威王说：“我本来不如徐公漂亮，

dàn qī qiè kèrén dōushuō wǒ bǐ tā piàoliɑnɡ zhèshì yīnwéi qī piāntǎn wǒ

但妻、妾、客人都说我比他漂亮，这是因为妻偏护我，

qiè wèijù wǒ kèrén yǒushì qiúwǒ suǒyǐ tāmen dōu ɡōnɡwéi wǒ bùshuō zhēnhuà

妾畏惧我，客人有事求我，所以他们都恭维我，不说真话。

ér wǒmén qíɡuó dìfānɡ zhème dà ɡōnɡzhōnɡ shànɡxià shéi bù piāntǎn nǐ

而我们齐国地方这么大，宫中上下，谁不偏护你，

mǎncháowénwǔ shéi bù wèijù nǐ quánɡuó bǎixìnɡ shéi bù xīwànɡ dédào nǐde ɡuānhuái

满朝文武，谁不畏惧你，全国百姓谁不希望得到你的关怀，

kànlái ɡōnɡwéi nǐ de rén yídìnɡ ɡènɡduō nǐ yídìnɡ bèi ménɡbì dé fēichánɡ yánzhònɡ le

看来恭维你的人一定更多，你一定被蒙蔽得非常严重了！”

zōu jì yòu quànjiàn shuō-xiànzài qíɡuó dìfānɡ qiānlǐ chénɡchí zhònɡduō

邹忌又劝谏说：“现在齐国地方千里，城池众多，

dàwánɡ jiēchù de rén yě bǐwǒ duōdéduō suǒshòude ménɡbì yě yídìnɡ ɡènɡduō

大王接触的人也比我多得多，所受的蒙蔽也一定更多。

dàwánɡ rúnénɡ kāichénɡbùɡōnɡ dì zhēnɡqiú yìjiàn yídìnɡ duì ɡuójiā yǒuyì

大王如能开诚布公地征求意见，一定对国家有益。”

qíwēiwánɡ tīnɡle juéde hěnyǒu dàolǐ lìkè xiàlìnɡ shuō

齐威王听了，觉得很有道理，立刻下令说

wúlùn shìshéi nénɡ dānɡmiàn zhǐchū wǒ ɡuòshī de ɡěi shànɡ shǎnɡ

“无论是谁，能当面指出我过失的，给上赏；

shànɡ zòuzhānɡ ɡuīquàn wǒ de ɡěi zhōnɡ shǎnɡ

上奏章规劝我的，给中赏；

zài cháotínɡ huò jiēshìzhōnɡ yìlùn wǒde ɡuòshī bìnɡ chuándào wǒ ěrzhōnɡ de ɡěi xià shǎnɡ

在朝廷或街市中议论我的过失，并传到我耳中的，给下赏！”

mìnɡlìnɡ yí xià qúnchén qiánqù jìnjiàn de yìshí chuānliúbùxī

命令一下，群臣前去进谏的，一时川流不息，

cháotínɡ ménkǒu měitiān xiànɡ shìchǎnɡ yíyànɡ rènào

朝廷门口每天像市场一样热闹。

 

So, he said to the King Qiwei: "I am originally not better-looking than Mr. Xu, but my wife, my concubine, and my guest all told me that I was better-looking than him. The reason why they told lies is because my wife protects me, my concubine fears me, and my guest needs my help so they all flattered me by saying no truths. In Qi States, everybody in the court protects you, all the officials fear you, people all over the state want to get your help, so your flatterers must have be more numerous than mine and you must have been more seriously fooled!" Zou Ji also gave the advice; "nowadays the Qi State has a vast territory and numerous cities, the people you met with are more than me, so you must have been more fooled. If you can be perfectly honest and ask for advice, it must be good for our state." The King agreed to this advice, and immediately issued a pronouncement stating that anyone who points out his faults to his face will get the first prize; anyone who criticizes him in memorial will get the second prize; anyone who criticizes him in public will get the third prize. As expected, people flocked to the king's palace to present their opinions. The area in front of the palace gate was as busy as a market.

 

méntínɡruòshì yònɡlái xínɡrónɡ ménkǒu hé tínɡyuàn lǐ rènào dé jíshì yíyànɡ

“门庭若市”用来形容门口和庭院里热闹得集市一样。

xínɡrónɡ lái de rén duō

形容来的人多。

 

"A courtyard as crowded as a marketplace" is used to indicate at a gate or a courtyard that is as crowded as a marketplace. It indicates that there are a lot of people.