Chinese Idiom Stories 2 · chapter 1 of 6
The Mark on the Boat
刻舟求剑
A proud man from Chu drops his fine sword into a river. No need to panic: he has a plan, and it involves carving a mark on the boat.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 这个故事叫“刻舟求剑”。很久以前，楚国有一个人，要坐船过河。
Zhège gùshi jiào “kèzhōu qiújiàn”. Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Chǔguó yǒu yí gè rén, yào zuò chuán guò hé.
This story is called “Carve the Boat to Find the Sword.” Long, long ago, a man in the state of Chu set out to cross a river by boat.
- The man from Chu 船家，你看，这是我的剑！好看吗？
Chuánjiā, nǐ kàn, zhè shì wǒ de jiàn! Hǎokàn ma?
Boatman, look, this is my sword! Isn't it handsome?
- The boatman 好剑，好剑！先生，您的剑很贵吧？
Hǎo jiàn, hǎo jiàn! Xiānsheng, nín de jiàn hěn guì ba?
Fine sword, fine sword! That must have cost you a lot, sir.
- The man from Chu 对，很贵！我去哪儿，都带着它。
Duì, hěn guì! Wǒ qù nǎr, dōu dàizhe tā.
It certainly did! Wherever I go, it goes with me.
- The boatman 先生，坐好了！船要开了！
Xiānsheng, zuò hǎo le! Chuán yào kāi le!
Sit tight, sir! We're pushing off!
- Narrator 船到了河中间。风大了，船动了一下。
Chuán dào le hé zhōngjiān. Fēng dà le, chuán dòng le yíxià.
The boat reached the middle of the river. The wind picked up, and the boat gave a jolt.
- The man from Chu 不好了！我的剑！我的剑掉到水里了！
Bù hǎo le! Wǒ de jiàn! Wǒ de jiàn diào dào shuǐ lǐ le!
Oh no! My sword! My sword just fell into the water!
- The boatman 快！快下水去找！
Kuài! Kuài xià shuǐ qù zhǎo!
Quick! Get in there and find it!
- The man from Chu 没事，没事。我有一个好办法。
Méi shì, méi shì. Wǒ yǒu yí gè hǎo bànfǎ.
It's fine, it's fine. I have a much better idea.
- The man from Chu 剑是从这儿掉下去的。我在这儿刻一个记号。
Jiàn shì cóng zhèr diào xiàqù de. Wǒ zài zhèr kè yí gè jìhao.
The sword fell in right here. So I'll carve a mark right here.
- The boatman 在船上刻记号？做什么？
Zài chuán shang kè jìhao? Zuò shénme?
Carve a mark on my boat? What for?
- The man from Chu 船停了，我从这个记号下水，就能找到剑！
Chuán tíng le, wǒ cóng zhège jìhao xià shuǐ, jiù néng zhǎodào jiàn!
When the boat stops, I'll go into the water right by this mark, and I'll find my sword!
- The boatman 从记号下水？这个办法……不对吧？
Cóng jìhao xià shuǐ? Zhège bànfǎ… bú duì ba?
Go in by the mark? That plan… doesn't sound right to me.
- The man from Chu 你看着吧，我的办法最好！走吧，不急！
Nǐ kànzhe ba, wǒ de bànfǎ zuì hǎo! Zǒu ba, bù jí!
Just you watch. My plan is the best there is! Off we go. There's no hurry!
- Narrator 过了一会儿，船到了河那边，停了。
Guò le yíhuìr, chuán dào le hé nàbiān, tíng le.
After a while, the boat reached the other side of the river and stopped.
- The man from Chu 到了！记号在这儿！我去水里找剑了！
Dào le! Jìhao zài zhèr! Wǒ qù shuǐ lǐ zhǎo jiàn le!
We're here! And here's my mark! Into the water I go to find my sword!
- The boatman 先生，等一下……
Xiānsheng, děng yíxià…
Sir, wait a second…
- The man from Chu 什么？没有……我的剑呢？
Shénme? Méiyǒu… wǒ de jiàn ne?
What? It isn't here… where's my sword?
- The man from Chu 怎么没有？剑就是从记号这儿掉下去的！
Zěnme méiyǒu? Jiàn jiù shì cóng jìhao zhèr diào xiàqù de!
Why isn't it here? The sword fell in right here by the mark!
- The boatman 记号没有错。可是船走了，剑没有走！
Jìhao méiyǒu cuò. Kěshì chuán zǒu le, jiàn méiyǒu zǒu!
Your mark isn't wrong. But the boat moved, and the sword didn't!
- The man from Chu 船走了……剑……没有走……
Chuán zǒu le… jiàn… méiyǒu zǒu…
The boat moved… the sword… didn't…
- The man from Chu 那我的剑，还在河中间？
Nà wǒ de jiàn, hái zài hé zhōngjiān?
So my sword is still back in the middle of the river?
- The boatman 对！还有，我的船上，多了一个记号！
Duì! Hái yǒu, wǒ de chuán shang, duō le yí gè jìhao!
It sure is! And now my boat has a brand-new mark on it, too!
- The boatman 在船上刻记号，在这里找剑……你这是“刻舟求剑”！
Zài chuán shang kè jìhao, zài zhèlǐ zhǎo jiàn… nǐ zhè shì “kèzhōu qiújiàn”!
You carve a mark on a moving boat, then look for your sword over here… You've carved the boat to find the sword!
- The man from Chu 刻舟求剑？别笑我！还有人比我更好笑呢！
Kèzhōu qiújiàn? Bié xiào wǒ! Hái yǒu rén bǐ wǒ gèng hǎoxiào ne!
Carved the boat to find the sword? Don't laugh at me! There's someone even funnier than me!
- The boatman 还有人？是谁？
Hái yǒu rén? Shì shéi?
Even funnier? Who?
- The man from Chu 宋国有一个农夫。他的禾苗，长得太慢了……
Sòngguó yǒu yí gè nóngfū. Tā de hémiáo, zhǎng de tài màn le…
There's a farmer in the state of Song. His sprouts were growing far too slowly…
- The man from Chu 他想了一个好办法。只用了一天，禾苗都长高了！
Tā xiǎng le yí gè hǎo bànfǎ. Zhǐ yòng le yì tiān, hémiáo dōu zhǎng gāo le!
So he came up with a clever plan. In just one day, every one of his sprouts grew taller!
- The boatman 一天？他是怎么帮禾苗长高的？
Yì tiān? Tā shì zěnme bāng hémiáo zhǎng gāo de?
In one day? How on earth did he help them grow?
What changed in the story?
- What happens when the boat reaches the middle of the river?
“风大了，船动了一下。……我的剑掉到水里了！”
- What does the man do instead of diving in?
“剑是从这儿掉下去的。我在这儿刻一个记号。”
- What is his plan for the mark?
“船停了，我从这个记号下水，就能找到剑！”
- Why can't he find his sword?
“船走了，剑没有走！”
- What does the man say when the boatman laughs at him?
“别笑我！还有人比我更好笑呢！”