洋猩說故事 Talovich Tells Stories

Around 600 bce, King Chuang/Zhuang of Chu was the most powerful king in the land. He was ably advised by Sunsu Ao, who greatly improved irrigation and battle strategy. At court there was also the Performer Meng, who was a master of persuasion. 20 minutes Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Powered by Firstory Hosting

孫叔敖(630 – 593 bce）為令尹（宰相）水利、兵法貢獻很大，所以楚莊王成霸主。樂師優孟，知道怎麼含蓄開導霸王。 十九分鐘 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Powered by Firstory Hosting

In Episode 42, we told the story of how Ts’ao Kui of Lu defeated Ch’i (684 bce). In Episode 43, we told about events leading up to the ascension of Huan to the throne of Ch’i (686 bce). Today we are telling why Huan had a chance to ascend to the throne: the previous ruler Hsiang / Xiang had a really messy relationship with his sister, which caused problems and had consequences. 25 and a half minut...

齊襄公與妹妹姜氏通。姜氏遠嫁魯桓公，問題並沒有解決。公子彭生在車上殺桓公，留下陰影，八年後遇到連稱、管至父作亂，弒襄公立公孫無知。 左傳文筆精簡極致。莊公八年（西元前前六八六年）的記錄： 齊侯使連稱，管至父，戍葵丘，瓜時而往，曰：「及瓜而代。」期戍，公問不至。請代，弗許。故謀作亂。 僖公之母弟曰，夷仲年，生公孫無知，有寵於僖公，衣服禮秩如適，襄公絀之。二人因之以作亂。 連稱有從妹在公宮，無寵。使間公，...

Today’s story tells about events leading to the battle we talked about in the last episode, 42, Wits over Might . Kuan Chung / Guan Zhong was born in 725 bce, in an impoverished family. His friend Pao / Bao Shuya understood his plight and recognized his great talent for administration. Together, they made Ch’i / Qi the dominant power in China after 685 ce. sixteen minutes Leave a comment and share...

春秋的齊是強國，所以年輕的鮑叔牙、管仲前往獻才。鮑叔牙輔齊公子小白，管仲為他哥哥公子糾謀事。看準了齊國將亂，鮑叔牙帶著小白到莒避風頭，管仲帶公子糾到魯。 君君臣臣，是相輔相成的關係：君，要識才、要能用人，而臣要盡力為國、為社稷努力。 十八分鐘 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Powered by Firstory Hosting

At the beginning of Horse Year, I’d like to point out that the Chinese calendar is not lunar or lunar-solar. It is much more complex than that. Today’s story takes us to 685 bce, and war between Lu and Ch’i / Qi. Ts’ao Kui / Cao Gui led Lu to victory in their rematch in 684 bce because they used their wits, not just brute strength. 17 and a half minutes Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Pow...

西元前六八五年，齊桓公剛即位，在乾時打敗了魯莊公。第二年（西元前六八四年）齊派鮑叔牙率領軍隊打魯，魯大夫施伯推薦曹劌，依曹劌的謀略，魯打勝仗。 15 minutes Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Powered by Firstory Hosting

Leave a comment and share your thoughts: A great difference between China and Europe is that bloodline has never been very important in China. What matters is what sort of person you are, what kind of ability you have, and how well you can do. This goes back to the very beginnings of Chinese memory, and is exemplified by the illegitimate son of a minor noble, Confucius. In his day, Confucius worke...

中華重視個人的品德、能力，而血統不重要。自王侯古將相起于平民，如舜、禹、傅說（ㄩㄝˋ）、甯戚等等，正如陳勝大澤鄉起義時登高一呼，「王侯將相，寧有種乎？」 北魏建立的法律、制度，為盛唐墊基礎；皇上求賢若渴，而忠臣如古弼竭力獻策。 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Powered by Firstory Hosting

Today’s story comes from History of the Later Han, and took place some time around the year 190ce. The dynasty was falling apart, so fighting and insurrections were common. As if that weren’t enough, there were plagues. Two sorcerers were using their powers to heal people along the banks of a stream, and they started playing around. Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Powered by Firstory Host...

後漢書方術列傳敘述兩位有法力的高人相遇的故事：閩中的徐登與東陽的趙炳 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Powered by Firstory Hosting

Language is more than just vocabulary and grammar. In Episodes 17 and 18, we talked about the brilliant statesman Yen/Yan Ying (578 – 500 bce). His ruler, Lord Ching/Jing of Ch’i/Qi, went out hunting birds, but a servant let the birds escape. The ruler was so furious that he ordered the servant be put to death. Yen used his wits to communicate with the ruler. Leave a comment and share your thought...

齊景公喜歡隿，意思就是用細繩綁矰（專用的短箭/矢）射飛鳥。結果下人顏燭鄒讓鳥飛走了，齊景公生氣，要殺他。千鈞一法，晏嬰用巧妙的講話藝術從不同角度看自己的抉擇。 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Powered by Firstory Hosting

2200 years ago, in the early years of the Han dynasty, a soldier wearing a smelly coat wanted to talk to the emperor. His suggestions influenced history for well over a thousand years. Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cm98dlbl2057101tm59mdezmd/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting

西漢初年，一位叫做婁敬的山東小兵穿著臭臭的羊皮大衣（羊裘）要求見漢高祖。小兵的遠見影像後世。 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cm98dlbl2057101tm59mdezmd/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting

English is really a strange, difficult language. Ch’ing / Qing dynasty emperors were so powerful and exalted that the dynasty was doomed to collapse. Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cm98dlbl2057101tm59mdezmd/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting

快要過年，歡樂迎接馬年！可是，各位聽過驢年嗎？放鬆心情聽這段緣由。 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cm98dlbl2057101tm59mdezmd/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting

With its scope of millennia, Chinese history enables us to see broad trends that develop over centuries. I would say that in general, humanity is getting more humane, although it goes without saying that we still have a long way to go.   Today’s story takes us back to around 408 bce, about 24 centuries ago, when the ruler Wen of Wei sent Yue Yang to conquer a rival power, Chungshan / Zhongsha...

中華歷史自遠古一脈相傳，讀歷史可以看出宏偉趨勢。本猩認為，我們大體上走向溫和、理智、仁慈。 唐朝周智光與皇甫溫不合，因而殺張志斌；樂羊為魏文侯攻中山，不惜其子。 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cm98dlbl2057101tm59mdezmd/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting

Chinese is probably the best language for puns. Today’s Chinese podcast involves wordplay that is untranslatable. E B White said, “Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process.” Rather than befuddle you with explanations of the wordplay, today we are talking about the Siege of Weinsberg on December 21, 1140. FYR: Representative Dai wore Rep...

語言用來溝通，往往越講越烏龍。今天說抗戰在重慶的美國軍官韓德瑞，臺北地方法院的山東老兵，武則天的貢品與御史，本猩在臺中東勢的烏龍。 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cm98dlbl2057101tm59mdezmd/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting

Today’s episode takes us back to the Tang dynasty in 760ce. During the catastrophic An Shi Rebellion, bad decisions by officials and the Emperor Su exacerbated a situation so that a capable commander, Liu Chan / Zhan rebelled. He was finally defeated in 761ce by T’ien Shenkung / Tian Shengong, a vicious commander. Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cm98dlbl20571...

正值安史之亂，李銑貪暴不法，朝廷將繩之以法，卻擔心他拜把兄弟劉展會不受命，所以朝廷逼劉展反。 Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cm98dlbl2057101tm59mdezmd/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting

The Chinese language is quite different from English, and Classical Chinese is extremely compact. Reading Classical demands more from the reader, so it should be read slowly. But sometimes ambiguity arises.   Today’s story takes place in the Tang dynasty, around the year 760 ce, when there were rebellions alongside the catastrophic An Shi rebellion. We discuss how to deal with military discip...