渔父见而问之曰：“子非三闾大夫与！何故至于斯？”
屈原曰：“举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒，是以见放。”
渔父曰：“圣人不凝滞于物，而能与世推移。世人皆浊，何不淈其泥而扬其波？众人皆醉，何不哺其糟而歠其酾？何故深思高举，自令放为？”
屈原曰：“吾闻之，新沐者必弹冠，新浴者必振衣；安能以身之察察，受物之汶汶者乎？宁赴湘流，葬于江鱼之腹中；安能以皓皓之白，而蒙世俗之尘埃乎！”
渔父莞尔而笑，鼓枻而去，乃歌曰：“沧浪之水清兮，可以濯吾缨；沧浪之水浊兮，可以濯吾足。”遂去，不复与言。
The Fisherman’s Reply
Ch‘ü-P‘ing
When Ch‘ü-P‘ing was dismissed, he wandered away to the banks of a river, and there poured forth his soul in verse. His colour changed. His body wasted to a skeleton.
One day a fisherman accosted him, saying, ―Are you not his Excellency the Prime Minister? What has brought you to this pass?‖
―The world,‖ replied Ch‘ü-P‘ing, ―is foul; and I alone am clean. There they are all drunk, while I alone am sober. So I am dismissed.‖
―Ah!‖ said the fisherman, ―the true sage does not quarrel with his environment, but adapts himself to it. If, as you say, the world is foul, why not leap into the tide and make it clean? If all men are drunk, why not drink with them, and teach them to avoid excess? Of what avail are these subtle thoughts, these lofty schemes, which end only in disgrace?‖
―I have heard,‖ rejoined Ch‘ü-P‘ing, ―that the bather fresh from the bath will shake the dust from his hat and clothes. How should he allow his pure body to be soiled with the corruption of earth? I am willing to find a grave in the bellies of the fishes that swim in this stream: I will not let my purity be defiled by the filth and corruption of the world.‖
The fisherman laughed, and keeping time with his oar, sculled off, singing:-- ―My tassel I‘ll wash if the water is sweet; If the water is muddy ?twill do for my feet.‖
8. 司马迁·《史记·项羽本纪·鸿门宴》（节选）
沛公旦日从百余骑来见项王，至鸿门，谢曰：“臣与将军戮力而攻秦，将军战河北，臣战河南，然不自意能先入关破秦，得复见将军于此。今者，有小人之言，令将军与臣有郤。” 项王曰：“此沛公左司马曹无伤言之，不然，籍何以至此？”
项王即日因留沛公与饮。项王、项伯东向坐；亚父南向坐——亚父者，范增也；沛公北向坐；张良西向侍。
范增数目项王，举所佩玉玦以示之者三。项王默然不应。范增起出，召项庄，谓曰：“君王为人不忍。若入，前为寿，寿毕，请以剑舞，因击沛公于坐，杀之。不者，若属皆且为所虏！”庄则入为寿。寿毕，曰：“君王与沛公饮，军中无以
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为乐，请以剑舞。”项王曰：“诺。”项庄拔剑起舞。项伯亦拔剑起舞，常以身翼蔽沛公，庄不得击。
于是张良至军门见樊哙。樊哙曰：“今日之事何如？”良曰：“甚急！今者项庄拔剑舞，其意常在沛公也。”哙曰：“此迫矣！臣请入，与之同命！”哙即带剑拥盾入军门，交戟之卫士欲止不内，樊哙侧其盾以撞，卫士仆地，哙遂入。披帷西向立，瞋目视项王，头发上指，目眦尽裂。项王按剑而跽曰：“客何为者？”张良曰：“沛公之参乘樊哙者也。”项王曰：“壮士！赐之卮酒！”则与斗卮酒。哙拜谢，起，立而饮之。项王曰：“赐之彘肩！”则与一生彘肩。樊哙覆其盾于地，加彘肩上，拔剑切而啖之。项王曰：“壮士！能复饮乎？”樊哙曰：“臣死且不避，卮酒安足辞！夫秦王有虎狼之心，杀人如不能举，刑人如恐不胜，天下皆叛之。怀王与诸将约曰：‘先破秦入咸阳者王之。’今沛公先破秦入咸阳，毫毛不敢有所近，封闭宫室，还军霸上，以待大王来。故遣将守关者，备他盗出入与非常也。劳苦而功高如此，未有封侯之赏，而听细说，欲诛有功之人，此亡秦之续耳，窃为大王不取也！”项王未有以应，曰：“坐！”樊哙从良坐。
坐须臾，沛公起如厕，因招樊哙出。沛公已出，项王使都尉陈平召沛公。 沛公曰：“今者出，未辞也，为之奈何？”樊哙曰：“大行不顾细谨，大礼不辞小让；如今人方为刀俎，我为鱼肉，何辞为！”于是遂去。乃令张良留谢。良问曰：“大王来何操？”曰：“我持白璧一双，欲献项王；玉斗一双，欲与亚父。会其怒，不敢献。公为我献之。”张良曰：“谨诺。”
当是时，项王军在鸿门下，沛公军在霸上，相去四十里。沛公则置车骑，脱身独骑，与樊哙、夏侯婴、靳彊、纪信等四人持剑盾步走，从郦山下，道芷阳间行。沛公谓张良曰：“从此道至吾军，不过二十里耳，度我至军中，公乃入。”
沛公已去，间至军中；张良入谢，曰：“沛公不胜桮杓，不能辞。谨使臣良奉白璧一双，再拜献大王足下；玉斗一双，再拜奉大将军足下。”项王曰：“沛公安在？”良曰：“闻大王有意督过之，脱身独去，已至军矣。”项王则受壁，置之坐上。亚父受玉斗，置之地，拔剑撞而破之，曰：“唉！竖子不足与谋！夺项王天下者，必沛公也！吾属今为之虏矣！” 沛公至军，立诛杀曹无伤。
The Feast at Hongmen
Sima Qian
The next day Liu Bang, Lord of Pei, escorted by some one hundred horsemen, went to interview King Xiang. Upon their arrival at Hongmen, he apologized, ―Your Highness joined hand with me to attack Qin. You fought north of the Yellow River, I battled south of it. But I did not expect that I should be the first to break through Han‘gu Pass and annihilate the Qin Empire, and now have the fortune to visit Your Highness at this place. Because of the mischief done by some maligners, there exists some misunderstanding between me and Your Highness.‖ Xiang said, ―It was your general Cao Wushang who said so. Otherwise, why should I have been like that?‖
That day Xiang had Liu stay at his quarters and drank with him. Xiang and his uncle sat on the east side of the table, Fan Zeng, Xiang‘s ―Second Father‖, on the south side and Liu on the north side, while Zhang Liang, as a companion of Liu, was seated on the west side.
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Fan winked at Xiang several times, prompting him to take action by raising thrice a jade ring. Nevertheless, Xiang kept silent, ignoring his hint. Then Fan rose and went out to call Xiang Zhuang into the tent, saying to him, ―As a sovereign, your cousin is too relenting. You just go in and give them a toast. Then you try to perform a sword dance, and striking Liu in his sitting posture, kill him. Failing this, you later will all be taken captive by him.‖ Acting upon this instruction, Xiang Zhuang entered the tent. Having toasted them both, he said, ―As Your Highness drinks with General Liu and there is no other pleasure in the camp, please allow me to treat you a sword dance.‖ Xiang said, ―Good.‖ So Xiang Zhuang drew his sword and started to dance. Xiang‘s uncle followed suit, deliberately shielding Liu with his body, making it impossible for the young man to give him a thrust.
Zhang Liang hurried to the gate of the camp to see Fan Kuai, who asked, ―How are things now?‖
―Dangerous indeed!‖ he said. ―Just now Xiang Zhuang unsheathed his sword and danced, aiming evidently at our lord.‖
―As things are so emergent, I beg to go in and fight it out with them.‖ Fan Kuai rejoined. And he, bringing his sword and shield, attempted to enter the camp, but was denied admittance by the guards with crossed spears. So he turned his shield against them, knocking them down on the ground, and forced an entry. Then he drew aside the curtain of the tent and came to stand on the west, glaring at King Xiang with bristling hair and goggling eyes.
―What did he come for?‖ pressing his sword and drawing himself up, Xiang demanded.
―He is Fan Kuai, Lord of Pei‘s bodyguard.‖ Zhang Liang replied. ―Bravo! Grant him a cup of wine!‖ Xiang said.
A waiter gave Fan a tankard of wine. Then the latter kowtowed to Xiang in token of gratitude and rose to his feet, emptying it at one gulp.
―Grant him a pig‘s trotter!‖ Xiang ordered again.
As he was given a raw one, he put it on the shield which was placed upside down on the ground. Then he cut it with his sword into pieces and ate it up.
―Bravo!‖ Xiang applauded, ―Can you have more wine?‖
―I do not shun death, let alone a cup of wine!‖ Fan Kuai rejoined. Then he added, ―The Emperor of Qin, having the heart of a wolfish tiger, could never sufficiently slaughter and torture people. So the whole country rebelled against him. King Huai of Chu made this pledge with the generals: ?He who first overthrows the Qin dynasty and captures Xianyang is to be acclaimed King.‘ Now Lord of Pei was the first to annihilate Qin and occupy Xianyang. Yet he dared not appropriate a single trifle, but sealed up the palaces and led his army back to Bashang to await the arrival of Your Highness. Although troops were dispatched to guard the Pass, it was to block the
passage of bandits and provide against eventualities. Despite all his troubles and great merits, he was not awarded with a principality or a fief. On the contrary, you listened to some malicious gossips and wanted to slay a man of great merit. This is but a sequel of the history of the collapsed Qin. I presume to think it inadvisable for Your
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Highness to do like this!‖ King Xiang was rendered speechless and only said, ―Be seated.‖ And Fan Kuai took a seat beside Zhang Liang.
Having sat for some time, Liu rose and went to a latrine, while beckoning Fan Kuai out. Xiang immediately sent his captain Chen Ping to call him back.
Liu said, ―I did not take my leave when I went out, what is to be done?‖ Fan answered, ―No need for mean prudence when doing a great deed, nor for petty
courtesies when performing great rites. Since they behave towards us like knife and chopping board and we are looked upon as fish and meat, what need is there to take our leave?‖ So they decided to depart at once, leaving Zhang Liang to make due apologies. Zhang asked, ―What did you bring along as gifts?‖ Liu replied, ―I brought with me a pair of white jades, which I meant to present to King Xiang and a pair of jade rings, which I intended to give to Xiang‘s Second Father. But I dared not do as planned, seeing that they were angry. Please present the gifts to them in my stead.‖ Zhang said, ―Yes, I shall.‖
At that time, the troops of King Xiang were stationed at Hongmen, while those of Lord of Pei at Bashang, separated from the former by a distance of forty li. The Lord, having left behind his equipage, rode off, followed by Fan Kuai, Xiahou Ying, Jin Qiang and Ji Xin, a retinue of four, who walked on foot, carrying their swords and shields. They escaped by skirting the foot of Lishan Mountain and by taking the bypaths through Zhiyang County. Before leaving, Lord of Pei had told Zhang Liang, ―It is but twenty li‘s walk to our camp by that route. When you reckon that I have arrived at home, do return to Xiang‘s tent.‖
After Lord of Pei had gone for some time, Zhang Liang thought that they must have reached their camp by taking the bypaths. So he entered the tent and apologized, ―Lord of Pei, overwhelmed by the wine, was unable to take leave of Your Highness. However, he charged me to present a pair of white jades to Your Highness and a pair of jade rings to the Generalissimo.‖ King Xiang asked, ―Where is Lord of Pei?‖ The answer was: ―Having learned that Your Highness meant to find fault with him, he left all by himself and must be at home by now.‖ King Xiang accepted the gift and put it on the seat, while the Second Father took the jade rings, and casting them on the
ground, broke them up with his sword, exclaiming, ―Alas, the stupid fellow is no good for State affairs! The one who will seize the country from King Xiang is sure to be Lord of Pei! We shall all become his captives!‖
After Lord of Pei had arrived at his camp, he had Cao Wushang executed without a moment‘s delay.
9. 《孟子·告子上·鱼我所欲也》
孟子曰：“鱼，我所欲也；熊掌，亦我所欲也。二者不可得兼，舍鱼而取熊掌者也。生，亦我所欲也；义，亦我所欲也。二者不可得兼，舍生而取义者也。生亦我所欲，所欲有甚于生者，故不为苟得也。死亦我所恶，所恶有甚于死者，故患有所不辟也。如使人之所欲莫甚于生，则凡可以得生者何不用也？使人之所恶莫甚于死者，则凡可以辟患者何不为也？由是则生，而有不用也。由是则可以
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辟患，而有不为也。是故所欲有甚于生者，所恶有甚于死者。非独贤者有是心也，人皆有之，贤者能勿丧耳。一箪食，一豆羹，得之则生，弗得则死。嘑尔而与之，行道之人勿受。蹴尔而与之，乞人不屑也。”
“万钟则不辩礼义而受之，万钟于我何加焉？为宫室之美，妻妾之奉，所识穷乏者得我与？乡为身死而不受，今为宫室之美为之。乡为身死而不受，今为妻妾之奉为之。乡为身死而不受，今为所识穷乏者得我而为之。是亦不可以已乎？此之谓失其本心。”
Fish Is What I Desire
Mengzi
Mencius says, ―Fish is what I desire, and so are bear‘s paws. If I cannot have them both, I would choose the latter and forsake the former. Life is what I desire, and so is righteousness. If I cannot have them both, I would choose the latter and forsake the former. To be sure, life is desirable, but I will not stick to it discreditably if something more precious is to be desired. I hate death, but I will not shun it when there is something more abhorrent than it. To make life one‘s greatest desire, what one would not resort to if only he could preserve it? To make death one‘s greatest abhorrence, what one would not do if only he could avert it? Hence there is something not to be resorted to even for the preservation of life and something not to be done even for the evasion of death. Therefore, that one would prefer righteousness to life and abhor iniquity more than death is not only the case with sages, but is also true of everybody. What makes the difference is that the former would on no account lose this inclination. A morsel of food and a bowl of soup, however indispensable to his survival, would be rejected by a wanderer if given with indignities, and would be distained by a beggar if given with kicks. ‖
―Thousands of piculs of grain acquired as reward without paying regard to honor and justice—what good would they do to me? Just useful for building splendid houses, supporting wife and concubines, or for winning the gratitude of poor acquaintances? Previously I refused them, even setting death at defiance. Yet now I accept them for the sake of building splendid houses,
supporting wife and concubines and winning the gratitude of poor acquaintances—could it be said to be reasonable? It is called being destitute of one‘s inborn nature. ‖ 10. 《战国策·齐策·邹忌讽齐王纳谏》
邹忌修八尺有余，而形貌昳丽。朝服衣冠，窥镜，谓其妻曰：“我孰与城北徐公美？”其妻曰：“君美甚，徐公何能及君也！”城北徐公，齐国之美丽者也，忌不自信，而复问其妾曰：“吾孰与徐公美？”妾曰：“徐公何能及君也！”旦日，客从外来，与坐谈，问之：“吾与徐公孰美？”客曰：“徐公不若君之美也。”明日，徐公来，孰视之，自以为不如；窥镜而自视，又弗如远甚，暮寝而思之，曰：“吾妻之美我者，私我也；妾之美我者，畏我也；客之美我者，欲有求于我也。”
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