一鳴驚人

◎Micky

Track 3

一鳴驚人最早出自 《韓非子·喻老》，本指鳥鳴叫一聲就使人震驚，后用以比喻平時表現平平，一做起來就取得突出的成績。

It had been three years since King Zhuang of Chu1)ascendedthe throne, but he had neither2)issueda decree nor dealt with any state affairs.Furthermore, there were no deeds worth mentioning. All the officials of the court couldn’t understand what was the matter.

One day, an official quietly asked King Zhuang of Chu in the carriage,“I heard that in the south, there was a big bird dwelling in the hills. Three years passed, it neither flew nor cried. Could you tell me the reason?”

King Zhuang of Chu smiled and answered, “It didn’t spread its wings to fly for three years in order to grow full-fledged. It didn’t cry for three years in order to carefully observe the conditions of the people in the world. This bird, once it flies, will3)soarhigh into the sky; once it cries, it will startle the world with a single cry.”

Another half a year passed before King Zhuang of Chu began to personally administer state affairs. He abolished ten outmoded rules and regulations, issued nine new policies,4)sentencedfive ministers to death for their evil deeds and promoted six people with real talents.

From then on, the State of Chu became stronger and stronger.

1) ascendv.登基；即位

2) issuev.發布

3) soarv.高飛

4) sentencev.判決

楚莊王即位已經三年了，可是他還沒有頒布過一項法令，沒有處理過一件政事，更談不上有什么作為。朝廷中的官員都弄不懂這是怎么回事。

一天，一位大臣在馬車里悄悄地問楚莊王:“我聽說南方有一只大鳥棲息在山上。三年過去了，它既不飛，也不鳴。這是什么原因呢？”

楚莊王笑了笑，回答說:“三年不展翅飛翔，是為了讓羽翼長得更加豐滿；三年不鳴，是在細心觀察天下的民情。這只鳥，不飛則已，一飛沖天；不鳴則已，一鳴驚人。”

又過了半年，楚莊王開始親自處理政事。他廢除了十項舊的規章制度，頒布了九項新的政策，處決了五個專干壞事的大臣，還提拔了六個真正有才能的人。

從此，楚國變得越來越強大。

Questions:

1. Did the King do deeds worth mentioning in the first three years?

2. After the King administered state affairs, what happened to the State of Chu?

Background Knowledge

King Zhuang of Chu (died 591 BC), was a leader in the State of Chu and one of the Five Hegemons in the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history.

King Zhuang of Chu took his throne in 613 BC. When he ascended the throne, the State of Chu was in disarray. For the first three years of his kingship, he wasted time on hunting excessively and partying lavishly. Several courtiers were anxious about the King but none dared speak up as the King had given orders that anyone who challenges his rules shall be killed. Later,he started reforms and made the State of Chu much stronger.

楚莊王（卒于公元前591 年），是中國歷史上春秋時期楚國的領袖，也是春秋五霸之一。

公元前613 年，楚莊王即位。他登基時，楚國一片混亂。即位后的前三年里，他浪費時間過度打獵和狂歡。幾個朝臣都為楚國著急，但沒有一個人敢說話，因為楚王下令殺死了所有挑戰他規則的人。后來，他開始改革，使楚國變得更加強大了。