Creation of the Gods · chapter 2 of 10
The New Queen
新王后
A beautiful young woman comes to the palace, and the king can't stop smiling. Only his old minister sees something strange in her smile.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 一个月后，一位美丽的姑娘来到了商朝的王宫。她的名字叫妲己。
Yí gè yuè hòu, yí wèi měilì de gūniang lái dào le Shāng cháo de wánggōng. Tā de míngzi jiào Dájǐ.
A month later, a beautiful young woman came to the Shang palace. Her name was Daji.
- King Zhou 你……你是谁？世界上怎么会有这么美的人？
Nǐ… nǐ shì shéi? Shìjiè shàng zěnme huì yǒu zhème měi de rén?
You... who are you? How can there be anyone this beautiful in the world?
- Daji 大王，我叫妲己。我从很远的地方来，只是想看看您。
Dàwáng, wǒ jiào Dájǐ. Wǒ cóng hěn yuǎn de dìfang lái, zhǐshì xiǎng kànkan nín.
Your Majesty, my name is Daji. I came from a very far place, just to see you.
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Creation of the Gods is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood and Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing from start to finish.
- King Zhou 妲己！这个名字真好听。你留下来，做我的王后吧！
Dájǐ! Zhège míngzi zhēn hǎotīng. Nǐ liú xiàlái, zuò wǒ de wánghòu ba!
Daji! What a lovely name. Stay here and be my queen!
- Daji 大王这么快就决定了吗？您不怕别人说话吗？
Dàwáng zhème kuài jiù juédìng le ma? Nín bú pà biérén shuōhuà ma?
Your Majesty decides so fast? Aren't you afraid of what others will say?
- King Zhou 我是大王，我怕谁？商荣，你说说，她美不美？
Wǒ shì dàwáng, wǒ pà shéi? Shāng Róng, nǐ shuōshuo, tā měi bu měi?
I'm the king. Who do I fear? Shang Rong, tell me, isn't she beautiful?
- Shang Rong 她很美，大王。可是我们还不认识她，她的家人在哪儿？
Tā hěn měi, dàwáng. Kěshì wǒmen hái bú rènshi tā, tā de jiārén zài nǎr?
She is beautiful, Your Majesty. But we don't know her yet. Where is her family?
- Daji 商大人不喜欢我吗？我只是想让大王高兴一点儿。
Shāng dàrén bù xǐhuan wǒ ma? Wǒ zhǐshì xiǎng ràng dàwáng gāoxìng yìdiǎnr.
Lord Shang doesn't like me? I only want to make the king a little happier.
- King Zhou 商荣！你把她说哭了！你怎么这么没有礼貌？
Shāng Róng! Nǐ bǎ tā shuō kū le! Nǐ zěnme zhème méiyǒu lǐmào?
Shang Rong! You made her cry! How can you be so rude?
- Shang Rong 我是为了商朝，才这样说的。大王，请您好好想一想。
Wǒ shì wèile Shāng cháo, cái zhèyàng shuō de. Dàwáng, qǐng nín hǎohǎo xiǎng yi xiǎng.
I say this for the sake of the Shang. Your Majesty, please think it over.
- King Zhou 想什么？我今天很高兴，你先回家吧，明天再来。
Xiǎng shénme? Wǒ jīntiān hěn gāoxìng, nǐ xiān huíjiā ba, míngtiān zài lái.
Think about what? I'm happy today. Go home and come back tomorrow.
- Shang Rong 那个姑娘的笑，我不喜欢……那好像不是人的笑。
Nàge gūniang de xiào, wǒ bù xǐhuan… nà hǎoxiàng bú shì rén de xiào.
I don't like that young woman's smile... it doesn't look like a human smile.
- Narrator 从那天起，纣王不再见他的大臣了。他每天都和妲己在一起。
Cóng nà tiān qǐ, Zhòuwáng bú zài jiàn tā de dàchén le. Tā měi tiān dōu hé Dájǐ zài yìqǐ.
From that day on, King Zhou no longer saw his ministers. Every day he was with Daji.
- Shang Rong 大王！北方有人打过来了，请您快看一看这张地图！
Dàwáng! Běifāng yǒu rén dǎ guòlái le, qǐng nín kuài kàn yi kàn zhè zhāng dìtú!
Your Majesty! Enemies are attacking from the north. Please look at this map quickly!
- King Zhou 明天再说吧。妲己，我们去看月亮，好不好？
Míngtiān zài shuō ba. Dájǐ, wǒmen qù kàn yuèliang, hǎo bu hǎo?
Tomorrow. Daji, let's go look at the moon, shall we?
- Daji 大王，你看，今天的月亮真圆啊，像一面银色的镜子。
Dàwáng, nǐ kàn, jīntiān de yuèliang zhēn yuán a, xiàng yí miàn yínsè de jìngzi.
Your Majesty, look, the moon is so round tonight, like a silver mirror.
- King Zhou 它没有你的脸圆……不对，它没有你的脸美！
Tā méiyǒu nǐ de liǎn yuán… bú duì, tā méiyǒu nǐ de liǎn měi!
It isn't as round as your face... no, it isn't as beautiful as your face!
- Daji 大王真会说话。妲己有一个小问题，想问问您。
Dàwáng zhēn huì shuōhuà. Dájǐ yǒu yí gè xiǎo wèntí, xiǎng wènwen nín.
Your Majesty knows how to talk. Daji has a small question to ask you.
- King Zhou 问吧，我的妲己。你想要什么，我都给你。
Wèn ba, wǒ de Dájǐ. Nǐ xiǎng yào shénme, wǒ dōu gěi nǐ.
Ask, my Daji. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you.
- Daji 大王，你说，现在天下最有名的人是谁？
Dàwáng, nǐ shuō, xiànzài tiānxià zuì yǒumíng de rén shì shéi?
Your Majesty, tell me, who is the most famous person under heaven right now?
- King Zhou 当然是我！不过……西边的周侯，人们也常常说起他。
Dāngrán shì wǒ! Búguò… xībiān de Zhōuhóu, rénmen yě chángcháng shuōqǐ tā.
Me, of course! But... people also talk about the Lord of Zhou in the west a lot.
- Daji 周侯？人们都说他什么？
Zhōuhóu? Rénmen dōu shuō tā shénme?
The Lord of Zhou? What do they say about him?
- King Zhou 他们说他好，说他聪明，还说他很爱他的人民。
Tāmen shuō tā hǎo, shuō tā cōngmíng, hái shuō tā hěn ài tā de rénmín.
They say he is good, that he is wise, and that he loves his people very much.
- Daji 那大王的人民，也爱大王吗？
Nà dàwáng de rénmín, yě ài dàwáng ma?
And do the king's people love the king too?
- King Zhou 当……当然爱！他们当然爱我，每一个人都爱我！
Dāng… dāngrán ài! Tāmen dāngrán ài wǒ, měi yí gè rén dōu ài wǒ!
Of... of course they do! Of course they love me, every single one!
- Daji 大王，天上不能有两个太阳呀。
Dàwáng, tiān shàng bù néng yǒu liǎng gè tàiyáng ya.
Your Majesty, the sky cannot have two suns.
- King Zhou 你是说……那个周侯，是第二个太阳？
Nǐ shì shuō… nàge Zhōuhóu, shì dì-èr gè tàiyáng?
You mean... that Lord of Zhou is the second sun?
- Daji 我什么都没说。我只是想请他来宫里坐一坐，好不好？
Wǒ shénme dōu méi shuō. Wǒ zhǐshì xiǎng qǐng tā lái gōng lǐ zuò yi zuò, hǎo bu hǎo?
I didn't say anything. I only thought we could invite him to sit awhile in the palace. Shall we?
- King Zhou 好主意！来人！马上写一封信，给西边的周侯！
Hǎo zhǔyi! Lái rén! Mǎshàng xiě yì fēng xìn, gěi xībiān de Zhōuhóu!
Good idea! Guards! Write a letter at once to the Lord of Zhou in the west!
- Daji 周侯，你会来的。你一定会来的。
Zhōuhóu, nǐ huì lái de. Nǐ yídìng huì lái de.
Lord of Zhou, you will come. You will surely come.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- How does Shang Rong feel about Daji's smile?
“那好像不是人的笑”
- What does King Zhou stop doing after Daji arrives?
“纣王不再见他的大臣了”
- What news does Shang Rong bring the king?
“北方有人打过来了”
- What does Daji say about the sky?
“天上不能有两个太阳”
- What does Daji ask the king to do?
“请他来宫里坐一坐”