Learning to Walk in Handan邯郸学步

刘凯

“ 邯郸学步” 出自《庄子· 秋水》： “ 且子独不闻夫寿陵余子之学行于邯郸与？ 未得国能， 又失其故行矣， 直匍匐而归耳。” 后用以比喻模仿别人不成， 反而丧失了原有的技能。

During the Warring States Period， a young man lived in Shouling， theState of Yan. He always felt that he was not so perfect. One day， he heardthat people in Handan walked in a 1）graceful way， so he decided to learn towalk there.

One morning， he set off for Handan without telling anyone. Uponarrival at Handan， he was surprised when he saw the situation. Everyonewalked in a different but graceful way， children walking actively， the oldwalking 2）steady and women walking 3）charmingly. So he made up hismind to learn how the people in Handan walked.

No matter how hard he tried， he was unable to learn the 4）gait of the people there. On the contrary， heeven forgot completely how he walkedin Shouling in short days. In the end， hehad no choice but to crawl back to hishometown.

1） graceful adj. 優雅的

2） steady adv. 沉稳地

3） charmingly adv. 迷人地

4） gait n. 步伐；步态

战国时期，燕国寿陵有一个年轻人。他常感觉自己不完美。有一天，他听说邯郸人走路的姿势非常优美，于是他决定到邯郸学走路。

一天早上，他不辞而别前往邯郸。一到邯郸，他感到处处新鲜。每个人走路的姿势虽不同但都优美。看到小孩走路，他觉得活泼；看见老人走路，他觉得稳重；看到妇女走路，他觉得摇摆多姿。于是，他决定跟着邯郸人学走路。

然而，不管他多么努力地学习，他都学不会。相反，短短几天，他甚至连原来的走路方式也全部忘记了。最后，他别无选择，只好爬着回家乡了。

True or False：

The young man in Shouling has learned to walk successfully in Handan.

Know More

Handan City is a national historical and cultural city with a history of over 3，100years. During the Warring States Period， Handan served as the capital of Zhao for158 years. There are 1，584 idioms and allusions from Handan or related to Handan，which is known as “the capital of Chinese idioms and allusions”.

邯郸市是国家历史文化名城，有3100 多年的建城史。战国时期，邯郸作为赵国都城达158 年。邯郸被誉为“中国成语典故之都”，出自邯郸或与邯郸有关的成语典故多达1584 条。