Chinese Idiom Stories · chapter 6 of 6
The Spear and the Shield
自相矛盾
In a busy market in Chu, a seller swears his shield stops every spear and his spear pierces every shield. Then a young man in the crowd asks one small question.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 这个故事叫“自相矛盾”。很久以前，楚国有一个小贩，卖矛也卖盾。
Zhège gùshi jiào “zìxiāng máodùn”. Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Chǔguó yǒu yí gè xiǎofàn, mài máo yě mài dùn.
This story is called “The Spear and Shield That Fight Each Other.” Long, long ago, in the state of Chu, there was a peddler who sold spears and shields.
- The seller 快来看，快来买！最好的矛，最好的盾！
Kuài lái kàn, kuài lái mǎi! Zuì hǎo de máo, zuì hǎo de dùn!
Come and look, come and buy! The finest spears, the finest shields!
- The young man 你的盾，真的那么好吗？
Nǐ de dùn, zhēn de nàme hǎo ma?
Is your shield really that good?
Chapter 6 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Chinese Idiom Stories 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 and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- The seller 真的！我的盾，什么矛都打不穿！
Zhēn de! Wǒ de dùn, shénme máo dōu dǎ bù chuān!
Really! No spear in the world can get through my shield!
- The young man 什么矛都打不穿？那你的矛呢？
Shénme máo dōu dǎ bù chuān? Nà nǐ de máo ne?
No spear at all? Then what about your spear?
- The seller 我的矛也最好！什么盾都能打穿！
Wǒ de máo yě zuì hǎo! Shénme dùn dōu néng dǎ chuān!
My spear is the finest too! It can get through any shield!
- The young man 你的矛最好，你的盾也最好？
Nǐ de máo zuì hǎo, nǐ de dùn yě zuì hǎo?
Your spear is the best, and your shield is the best too?
- The seller 对！大家快来买吧！有了我的矛和盾，你什么都不怕！
Duì! Dàjiā kuài lái mǎi ba! Yǒu le wǒ de máo hé dùn, nǐ shénme dōu bú pà!
That's right! Come on, everyone, buy! With my spear and my shield, you'll never be afraid of anything!
- The young man 什么矛都打不穿……什么盾都能打穿……那……
Shénme máo dōu dǎ bù chuān… shénme dùn dōu néng dǎ chuān… nà…
No spear can get through it… it gets through any shield… but then…
- The young man 请问，我想问一下。
Qǐngwèn, wǒ xiǎng wèn yíxià.
Excuse me, I'd like to ask something.
- The seller 问吧，年轻人！你想买矛，还是买盾？
Wèn ba, niánqīngrén! Nǐ xiǎng mǎi máo, háishi mǎi dùn?
Ask away, young man! Do you want a spear, or a shield?
- The young man 用你的矛，打你的盾，会怎么样？
Yòng nǐ de máo, dǎ nǐ de dùn, huì zěnmeyàng?
What happens if you strike your shield with your spear?
- The seller 那还用说？我的矛……不对，我的盾……
Nà hái yòng shuō? Wǒ de máo… bú duì, wǒ de dùn…
Need you ask? My spear… no, wait, my shield…
- The seller 矛打穿了盾，盾就不好了。盾没有穿，矛就不好了……
Máo dǎ chuān le dùn, dùn jiù bù hǎo le. Dùn méiyǒu chuān, máo jiù bù hǎo le…
If the spear gets through, the shield's no good. If the shield holds, the spear's no good…
- The young man 怎么样？你说啊！
Zěnmeyàng? Nǐ shuō a!
Well? Go on, tell us!
- The seller 我……我……
Wǒ… wǒ…
I… I…
- Narrator 大家都笑了。小贩红着脸，一句话也说不出来。
Dàjiā dōu xiào le. Xiǎofàn hóngzhe liǎn, yí jù huà yě shuō bù chūlái.
Everyone laughed. The seller turned red and couldn't say a single word.
- The young man 你的矛和你的盾，自己打起来了！
Nǐ de máo hé nǐ de dùn, zìjǐ dǎ qǐlái le!
Your spear and your shield are fighting each other!
- Narrator 自己的矛，打自己的盾，这就是“自相矛盾”。
Zìjǐ de máo, dǎ zìjǐ de dùn, zhè jiù shì “zìxiāng máodùn”.
His own spear against his own shield: that is “the spear and shield that fight each other.”
- Narrator 现在人们说“自相矛盾”，意思是：自己的两句话，不能都对。
Xiànzài rénmen shuō “zìxiāng máodùn”, yìsi shì: zìjǐ de liǎng jù huà, bù néng dōu duì.
Today, when people say “the spear and shield that fight each other,” they mean that two things someone says can't both be true.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the man sell at the market?
“卖矛也卖盾”
- What does the seller say about his shield?
“我的盾，什么矛都打不穿！”
- What does he say about his spear?
“什么盾都能打穿！”
- What does the young man ask?
“用你的矛，打你的盾，会怎么样？”
- Why can't the seller answer?
“矛打穿了盾，盾就不好了。盾没有穿，矛就不好了……”