Lu Ban the Master Builder · chapter 4 of 4
The Zhaozhou Bridge
赵州桥
Lu Ban has one night to bridge a wild river. By morning the town is cheering, until a merry old man riding his donkey backward asks for a test.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 鲁班、阿云和小石头，跟着老奶奶来到了赵州。
Lǔ Bān, Ā Yún hé Xiǎo Shítou, gēnzhe lǎo nǎinai lái dào le Zhàozhōu.
Lu Ban, A-Yun and Little Stone followed the old woman all the way to Zhaozhou.
- Little Stone 好大的河！水好快！师父，一个晚上，能做好吗？
Hǎo dà de hé! Shuǐ hǎo kuài! Shīfu, yí gè wǎnshang, néng zuò hǎo ma?
What a huge river! And the water's so fast! Master, can you really finish in one night?
- Lu Ban 让我看看……能！你们都去睡觉吧。
Ràng wǒ kànkan… néng! Nǐmen dōu qù shuìjiào ba.
Let me take a look… Yes, I can! Now, all of you, off to bed.
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Lu Ban the Master Builder 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.
- A-Yun 那你呢？你不睡吗？
Nà nǐ ne? Nǐ bú shuì ma?
What about you? Aren't you going to sleep?
- Lu Ban 做好了桥，我再睡。跟我的师父一样，睡七天！
Zuò hǎo le qiáo, wǒ zài shuì. Gēn wǒ de shīfu yíyàng, shuì qī tiān!
Once the bridge is done, then I'll sleep. Seven whole days, just like my old master!
- Narrator 那天晚上，鲁班一个人在河边。没有人知道，他是怎么做的。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, Lǔ Bān yí gè rén zài hé biān. Méiyǒu rén zhīdào, tā shì zěnme zuò de.
That night, Lu Ban stayed by the river all alone. Nobody knows how he did it.
- Little Stone 早上好！我饿了……你们快看！河上！
Zǎoshang hǎo! Wǒ è le… nǐmen kuài kàn! Hé shang!
Good morning! I'm hungry… Hey, look, everyone! On the river!
- Old Grandma 桥！河上有一座大桥！是石头做的！
Qiáo! Hé shang yǒu yí zuò dà qiáo! Shì shítou zuò de!
A bridge! There's a great big bridge over the river! And it's made of stone!
- Old Grandma 大水来了也不怕了！鲁班师父，谢谢您！
Dà shuǐ lái le yě bú pà le! Lǔ Bān shīfu, xièxie nín!
Now we won't be afraid of the floods! Master Lu Ban, thank you!
- A-Yun 大木头，一个晚上，你真的做好了！
Dà mùtou, yí gè wǎnshang, nǐ zhēn de zuò hǎo le!
You big blockhead, you really did it in one night!
- Narrator 这时候，来了一个老人。他倒着坐在小毛驴上。
Zhè shíhou, lái le yí gè lǎorén. Tā dàozhe zuò zài xiǎo máolǘ shang.
Just then, an old man came along, sitting backward on a little donkey.
- Little Stone 你们看那个老爷爷！他看后边，不看前边！
Nǐmen kàn nàge lǎo yéye! Tā kàn hòubian, bú kàn qiánbian!
Look at that old grandpa! He's looking behind him, not where he's going!
- Zhang Guolao 哈哈！倒着坐，看得多！年轻人，这桥是你做的？
Hāhā! Dàozhe zuò, kàn de duō! Niánqīngrén, zhè qiáo shì nǐ zuò de?
Ha ha! Sit backward and you see more! Young man, did you build this bridge?
- Lu Ban 老人家，是我做的。
Lǎorénjia, shì wǒ zuò de.
Yes, sir, I built it.
- Zhang Guolao 你的桥，能过我的小毛驴吗？
Nǐ de qiáo, néng guò wǒ de xiǎo máolǘ ma?
Can your bridge hold my little donkey?
- Lu Ban 大马、大车，都能过。小毛驴？那还用说！
Dà mǎ, dà chē, dōu néng guò. Xiǎo máolǘ? Nà hái yòng shuō!
Big horses and heavy carts can cross it. A little donkey? Of course it can!
- Zhang Guolao 好，我们试试！
Hǎo, wǒmen shìshi!
Very well, let's give it a try!
- Narrator 小毛驴走到桥中间。忽然，桥动了起来。
Xiǎo máolǘ zǒu dào qiáo zhōngjiān. Hūrán, qiáo dòng le qǐlái.
The little donkey walked to the middle of the bridge. Suddenly, the whole bridge began to shake.
- Old Grandma 不好了！桥在动！桥要倒了！
Bù hǎo le! Qiáo zài dòng! Qiáo yào dǎo le!
Oh no! The bridge is shaking! It's going to fall!
- Lu Ban 我的桥，不能倒！
Wǒ de qiáo, bù néng dǎo!
My bridge will not fall!
- Narrator 鲁班跳进河里，用手举着桥。
Lǔ Bān tiào jìn hé lǐ, yòng shǒu jǔzhe qiáo.
Lu Ban leapt into the river and held the bridge up with his bare hands.
- A-Yun 鲁班！小心！
Lǔ Bān! Xiǎoxīn!
Lu Ban! Be careful!
- Lu Ban 桥，你要站好！别动！
Qiáo, nǐ yào zhàn hǎo! Bié dòng!
Bridge, stand firm! Don't you move!
- Narrator 桥不动了。小毛驴走过了桥。
Qiáo bú dòng le. Xiǎo máolǘ zǒu guò le qiáo.
The bridge stopped shaking, and the little donkey walked all the way across.
- Zhang Guolao 好桥！好鲁班！我的包里，有太阳，也有月亮！
Hǎo qiáo! Hǎo Lǔ Bān! Wǒ de bāo lǐ, yǒu tàiyáng, yě yǒu yuèliang!
What a bridge! What a builder! My bag holds the sun and the moon, you know!
- Little Stone 太阳和月亮？那么重！他是……神仙张果老！
Tàiyáng hé yuèliang? Nàme zhòng! Tā shì… shénxiān Zhāng Guǒlǎo!
The sun and the moon? No wonder it was so heavy! He's… he's the immortal Zhang Guolao!
- Zhang Guolao 鲁班，你的桥，能站一千年！
Lǔ Bān, nǐ de qiáo, néng zhàn yìqiān nián!
Lu Ban, your bridge will stand for a thousand years!
- Lu Ban 阿云，桥做好了。现在，我能睡觉了吗？
Ā Yún, qiáo zuò hǎo le. Xiànzài, wǒ néng shuìjiào le ma?
A-Yun, the bridge is finished. Can I go to sleep now?
- A-Yun 睡吧，大木头。睡七天也行！
Shuì ba, dà mùtou. Shuì qī tiān yě xíng!
Go to sleep, you big blockhead. Sleep for seven days if you like!
- Narrator 今天，赵州桥还在河上。有人说，桥上还有小毛驴的脚印。
Jīntiān, Zhàozhōu Qiáo hái zài hé shang. Yǒu rén shuō, qiáo shang hái yǒu xiǎo máolǘ de jiǎoyìn.
The Zhaozhou Bridge still stands over that river today, and some say you can still see the little donkey's hoofprints on it.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Lu Ban tell everyone to do on the night they arrive?
“你们都去睡觉吧。”
- What is strange about the old man who comes to the bridge?
“他倒着坐在小毛驴上。”
- What happens when the donkey reaches the middle of the bridge?
“小毛驴走到桥中间。忽然，桥动了起来。”
- How does Lu Ban save the bridge?
“鲁班跳进河里，用手举着桥。”
- What does the old man say is in his bag?
“我的包里，有太阳，也有月亮！”