《百家姓》故事 Tales from the Hundreds Surnames

《百家姓bǎi jiā xìng 》是一本关于中文姓氏的书，成书于北宋初。采用4个宇一句的歌谣形式，共讲568字，介绍了504个中国人的姓氏，其中单姓444个，复姓60个。

《百家姓》的次序不是依各姓氏人口实际排列,而是因为读来顺口，易学好记。 “赵钱孙李”成为《百家姓》前四姓是因为百家姓形成于宋朝的吴越钱塘地区，故而宋朝皇帝的赵氏、吴越国国王钱氏、吴越国王钱俶正妃孙氏以及南唐国王李氏成为百家姓前四位。《百家姓》以“赵”姓打头，并非因为“赵”为天下第一大姓，而是因为它是宋代钱塘儒生所作。宋代的皇帝是赵氏，“赵”自然成为“天下第一姓”，不排在首位，就有“欺君之罪”，会引祸上身。又宋时吴越王的后裔居浙江，所以，“钱”姓便排列第二，钱的妃子姓孙，借钱氏之威势，“孙”又排在第三。“李”姓排在第四，大约是因为南唐皇族为李氏之故。

The Hundred Surnames" is a book on Chinese surnames, compiled in early Northern Song dynasty. Originally it embodied 411 surnames, and later added to 504, among it 444 simple surnames and 60 combined ones. The order of the surnames according not to the population with the surnames but to convenience for reading and memorizing. “Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li” are the top four surnames in it for when it was compiled, the kings of the period was surnames “Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li”, the compiler did it for honoring the kings.

趣味姓氏故事
Tales ab0ut Curious Surnames

东郭南门dōng guō nán mén 

东郭先生遇中山狼dōng guō xiān sheng yù zhōng shān láng 

春秋战国（前770-前221）时期，有一位姓东郭的读书人，要到中山国去，看看能不能找个官做。

这一天，他骑着毛驴出发了。毛驴身上驮着一个口袋，口袋里面全都是竹简做成的书。走到一个岔路口，他不知道该往哪里走了。正在他左顾右盼的时候，一只狼来到他的面前，哀求说：“先生，快救救我吧！一个猎人用箭射中我，差点儿要了我的命。现在他正在追我呢,很快就过来了。求求您把我藏在您的口袋里，将来我会报答您的。”

东郭先生知道狼是害人的动物，可是他又觉得这只被追杀的狼很可怜，怎么能见死不救呢？于是他就把口袋里面的竹简倒出来，让狼钻进去。狼努力往里钻，可是，不是尾巴露在外面，就是爪子踩到了胡须。狼急了，叫东郭先生把它的四肢捆住，再装进口袋里。东郭先生照做了。随后又把竹简重新装回口袋里。

一会儿，猎人追了上来，问东郭先生看见一只受伤的狼没有。东郭先生说没看见。猎人相信了东郭先生的话，就向别的方向追去了。

口袋里的狼听见猎人走远了，就请求东郭先生把它放出来。东郭先生刚把狼放出来，就听见狼说：“好心的先生，救人救到底吧，我要饿死了，就让我把你吃了吧。”说着就扑向了东郭先生。

东郭先生一边大骂狼忘恩负义，一边往驴的身后躲。这时候，一个农民扛着锄头走过来。东郭先生赶忙拉住他，叫他给评评理。东郭先生讲他是怎么救的狼，可是狼却说东郭先生要害它，把那么多的竹简压在它身上，它都喘不过气来了。农民想了想说：“你们俩说的话我都不信。这样吧，你们再把当时的情况给我演示一下。”

狼同意了农民的要求。它躺下去，缩成一团，东郭先生用绳子捆住它的四肢，把它装到口袋里。这时，农民马上把口袋扎紧，对东郭先生说：“狼是不会改变它吃人的本性的，你对狼讲仁慈，简直太糊涂了。”说完，抡起锄头，就把狼打死了。东郭先生这才明白，这位农民是在救他的命。

现在，“东郭先生”和“中山狼”已经成为汉语中的固定词语，“东郭先生”专指那些不辨是非而滥施同情心的人，“中山狼”则指忘恩负义、恩将仇报的人。
 

Mr. Dong Guo

Once upon a time, there was a kind-hearted man named Dong Guo. One day on his way home，he met a wounded wolf. The wolf asked him for help by crying pitifully, "Help！Help！Sir! The hunter is going to kill me."

Mr. Dong Guo felt sorry for the wolf，so he hid the wolf in his bag. When the hunter came and asked him if he had seen a wolf, he told a lie. The hunter left and the wolf was saved.

Getting out of the bag, however, the wolf jumped at him with sharp teeth and glaring eyes. Mr. Dong Guo begged to the wolf and suggested that they should ask someone old if he should be ate or not. An old tree and an old cow blamed human being for their selfishness, and encouraged the wolf to eat Mr. Dong Guo. Just at this moment came an old man, he criticized the wolf for his ungratefulness and finally killed the cruel wolf with his hoe.

Mr. Dong Guo was saved. He was thankful to the farmer. He kept saying, "I was wrong. I mustn't have shown any mercy on the enemy."

名人故事
Tales of Famous People

苗凤花方miáo fèng huā fāng

花木兰huā mù lán 

北朝可汗征兵抵御北方民族入侵，女子花木兰的父亲也被要求入伍，木兰不忍心看到年迈的父亲从军受苦，又没有年长的兄弟可以代替老父，于是她乔装成男人，购买装备，代父从军。

多年后战事结束，木兰因立下军功，得到可汗召见；可汗授予她极高的官爵以及丰厚的薪水，木兰却只请求可汗准予她回到家乡。木兰获准返乡后，回复女性装扮，昔日同仁才惊讶的发现，原来木兰是女子。

Hua Mulan 

Hua Mulan is a legendary figure from ancient China who was originally described in a Chinese poem known as the Ballad of Mulan (木兰辞). In the poem, Hua Mulan disguised herself like a man and took her aged father's place in the army. She fought for 12 years and gained high merit, but she refused any reward and retired to her hometown instead. Until then did Mulan’s friends in the army realized that they should actually call "him" her.

姓氏关系故事
Tales of Relations among Clans

项祝董梁 xiàng zhù dǒng liáng 

梁山伯与祝英台 liáng shān bó yǔ zhù yīng tái

梁山伯与祝英台的故事有着东方的《罗密欧与朱丽叶》之称，在中国民间流传已有一千四百六十多年，被誉为爱情的千古绝唱。从古到今，有无数人被梁山伯与祝英台的悲惨爱情所感染。

故事的情节是这样的，中国古代东晋时，浙江祝家有一女祝英台，女扮男装到杭州游学，途中遇到会稽来的穷书生，同班同学梁山伯，两人同窗三年，感情深厚，但梁山伯始终不知祝英台是女儿身。后来祝英台中断学业返回家乡。梁山伯拜访祝英台时，才知道三年同窗的好友竟然是女儿身，梁山伯向祝家提亲，此时祝英台已被父亲许配给富家子弟马文才。之后梁山伯因过度郁闷而过世。祝英台被迫出嫁时，经过梁山伯的坟墓，突然狂风大起，阻碍迎亲队伍的前进，祝英台下花轿到梁山伯的墓前祭拜，梁山伯的坟墓塌陷裂开，祝英台投入坟中，其后坟中冒出一对彩蝶，双双飞去。

The Butterfly Lovers

The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story of a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai , whose names form the title of the story. The title is often abbreviated to Liang Zhu and often regarded as the Chinese equivalent of Romeo and Juliet. 

Zhu Yingtai is a beautiful and intelligent young woman, the ninth child and only daughter of the wealthy Zhu family. Although traditions of that era discourage females from going to school, Zhu manages to convince her father to allow her to attend classes in disguise as a young man. During her journey to school, she meets Liang Shanbo, a poor student who is also going to study in the same school. They chat and feel a strong affinity for each other at their first meeting. Hence, they gather some soil as incense and take an oath of fraternity in the pavilion of a thatched bridge.

They study together for the next three years in school and Zhu gradually falls in love with Liang. Although Liang equals Zhu in their studies, he is still a bookworm and fails to notice the feminine characteristics exhibited by his classmate.

One day, Zhu receives a letter from her father, asking her to return home as soon as possible. Zhu has no choice but to pack her belongings immediately and bid Liang farewell. However, in her heart, she has already confessed her love for Liang and is determined to be with him for all eternity. Before her departure, she reveals her true identity to the headmaster's wife and requests her to hand over a jade pendant to Liang as a betrothal gift.

Months later, when Liang visits Zhu, he discovers that she is actually a woman. They are devoted to and passionate ab0ut each other and they make a vow of "till death do us part". The joy of their reunio is short-lived as Zhu's parents have already arranged for her to marry a man from a rich family called Ma Wencai. Liang is heartbroken when he hears the news and his health gradually deteriorates until he becomes critically ill. He dies in office later as a county magistrate.

On the day of Ma and Zhu's marriage, mysterious whirlwinds prevent the wedding procession from escorting the bride beyond Liang's grave, which lies along the journey. Zhu leaves the procession to pay her respects to Liang. She descends in bitter despair and begs for the grave to open up. Suddenly, the grave opens with a clap of thunder. Without further hesitation, Zhu throws herself into the grave to join Liang. Their spirits turn into a pair of beautiful butterflies and emerge from the grave. They fly away together as a pair of butterflies and are never to be separated again.