Still Waters Run Deep

By Huang Xiaoping

Translation by Li Li

Still Waters Run Deep

By Huang Xiaoping

Translation by Li Li

I remembered my family cooked our meals with firewood in my childhood. If the firewood was wet, the fire would be weak and smoky,and made crackling sounds. One day, I asked my grandma why wet firewood made such a noisy sound. She said readily, “Weak fire makes big sounds.”

I walked along the river with my friend the other day. At first, the river was wide and the rushing water roared. The further we walked, the narrower the river became. It seemed to become slow and calm, not as noisy as before.

When I asked why, my friend answered,“Because the water is deep here.” It is obvious that only shallow waters produce noisy sound. It’s the case for human beings. Shallow-minded people like to make sounds and brag about themselves. They cannot maintain the peace of the heart.

Once I heard a child asking his father, “Dad,why do we always see lightning before we hear thunder?” The father’s explanation was far beyond my expectation. He replied, “When the thunder beats a drum and makes sounds, the lightning has already taken action. That’s why lightning always comes first. My boy, action speaks louder than words.”

One of my friends always liked to talk big and show off. He believed that he was talented, but had never been his boss’s favorite. One day, he complained again and I asked him, “What would be a consumer’s favorite when choosing home appliances? The noisy one or the quiet one?”

He said, “The quiet one, of course. It has better quality and taste.” I said, “That’s right. It’s the same for the boss to choose talents. A person’s words tell people about his/her quality and taste.”

My father once asked me to pick up one piece of quality wood among a big pile to make a table.I checked every piece of wood carefully and chose one piece of thick and straight wood. I thought it was the best one.

My father came to me and knocked on the wood with axe. He said, “How could it be a quality material? It’s just a piece of hollow wood.”

“How do you know it’s hollow?” I was puzzled.

“You can tell it from the sound. If it’s solid, the sound would be low and deep, while hollow wood sounds loud.” My father replied.

Since then, whenever I meet someone who brags about themselves or someone who talks without taking any action, my father’s words come to my mind, “Just another piece of hollow wood.”♦

(From Xinyu Evening News, June 7, 2017)

小时候，家里烧火做饭，用的是柴。如果柴是湿的，烧起来，不仅火小烟大，还会发出噼里啪啦的响声。一次，我问奶奶，为什么湿柴烧起来会有这么大的响声呢？奶奶很随意地答了一句：“火小的，声都大。”

一天，与朋友沿江而行。起初，江面宽阔，只见滚滚江水，波涛汹涌。越往下行，江面越窄，可江水反而变得平缓沉静起来，没有了那份喧哗。

“因为这里的水深。”朋友说，只有浅水才喧哗。想想，人也是如此。肤浅的人更爱喧哗，更爱张扬，总保持不住内心的沉稳和平静。

一天散步，听见一个孩子问父亲：“爸爸，为什么我们先看到闪电，而后才听到雷声呢？”这位父亲的解释完全出乎我的意料，他说：“因为雷公在擂鼓助威、大造声势时，闪电就迅速行动了，所以捷足先登的当然是闪电。孩子，一个无言的行动，胜过无数的口号和高喊。”

我有位朋友，工作中爱夸夸其谈，表现自己。他认为自己很有才华，可一直得不到上司的重用。一日，他向我诉苦，我问他：“人们在选购家电时，是选那些发声大的还是发声小的呢？”

他说：“当然是发声小的，质量更好、品位更高嘛。”我说：“是啊。工作中选拔人才也一样，从一个人的发声里，能识别出一个人素质的优劣和品位的高下。”

一次，父亲要我在一堆木头中选一段上好的木料做桌面。我在那堆木头中认真地挑选，最后，挑出了一段又大又直的木头，自认为这是最好的木料。

父亲走过来，用斧头在我选出的那段木头上敲了敲，然后说：“这哪是什么上好的木料，这分明是一段空心木头。”

“你怎么知道这是空心木头？”我奇怪地问。“从声音就能分辨出来，如果木头是实心的，敲上去，它发出的声音很低沉，而越是空心木头，它发出的声音就越高亢。”父亲答道。

后来，每当我看到夸夸其谈、口若悬河的人时，每当我看到只说不做的人时，我的耳边就会响起父亲的声音：“这又是一段空心木头。”♦

（摘自《新余晚报》2017年6月7日）

浅水才喧哗

文/黄小平 译/李莉