【Sea and River Chat】Interesting Character Analysis
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This post was last edited by Desert Fish on 2017-8-25 23:13. At the end of the Ming dynasty, there was a brave young man from Nanjing named Zhang Gong, who was an excellent archer. However, he had a flaw: he liked to boast about himself. Once, while practicing archery, the many onlookers cheered loudly. Very pleased, he picked up his brush and wrote an upper couplet: The bow is drawn; the archer draws the bow, and with each shot, the arrow hits its target. No one could figure it out. Just then, a bow seller came over. After seeing the first line of the poem, he took out his own bow and asked Zhang to try drawing it. Zhang Gong tried several bows, but he couldn’t draw any of them. The bow seller asked, “Do you know what kind of wood this is made from?” ”Zhang Gong shook his head and said, “I don’t know.” ” The bow seller said, “This bow is made of plum wood.” ”Zhang Gong was very puzzled: “Li wood is not good material – how can it be used to make such a hard bow?” ” The bow seller laughed and said, “This is the skill of a carpenter.” ”With that, he picked up a pen and wrote the second line: Wood son Li, Li wood Li carpenter; Li wood carves a bow, but the bow is hard to open. The others were confused and asked what it meant. The bow seller explained, “His surname is ‘Zhang, the Bow Master,’ and my surname is ‘Li, the Woodson’”’ ； His name is Zhang Gong, and mine is Li Mu ； They call him ‘the Archer’, but call me ‘Carpenter Li’’ ； He is good at drawing a bow and shooting arrows, while I can use a ‘Li wood carving bow’’ ； His archery is such that every arrow hits the target, but sadly when it comes to my Li wood bow, it’s difficult to draw it at all. ” Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. Zhang Gong was too ashamed to know where to hide; he quickly put away his bow and arrows and left in shame.
Yang Shusheng went to the capital to take the imperial examinations and stayed at an inn along the way. Seeing a guest arrive, the shopkeeper came forward to greet them: “Sir, do you wish to stay at the inn?” ” Yang Shusheng replied, “That’s right.” ” The shopkeeper said, “So that I can greet you properly when we meet, may I ask what’s your last name, sir?” ” Yang Shusheng replied, “My name is Mu Yi, sir.” ”And casually asked, \"What’s your surname, madam?” ” Upon hearing that the owner was playing a word-game with her, she felt a bit annoyed and replied, “So it’s Young Master Yang.” There are twenty-nine servants. ” Yang Shusheng heard this and said, “So it’s...” He couldn’t go on speaking. The man tried hard to figure out what surname this ’29’ could be, but from the moment he entered the room until dawn the next day, he still couldn’t figure it out; sadly, he had recited all the common surnames several times over. When day broke, Mr. Yang checked out and left. After settling the bill, I couldn’t help but ask the shop owner, “What’s your last name?” ” When the shopkeeper heard this, she said, “Haven’t figured it out yet?” Let me give you a hint. ”He picked up a wooden block and threw it on the ground: “That’s my surname.” ” The scholar still didn’t understand: “I still don’t get it.” ” The shopkeeper heard this and said, “Wood is wood, and earth is soil. What is wood and soil together?” ” Yang Shusheng understood: “If your surname is Du, then it’s Du – why mention some number like 29?” ” The shopkeeper replied, “Isn’t Young Master Yang fond of playing with character breakdowns?” Let me break it down for you more thoroughly: if you break apart the character for wood, you get eighteen; if you break apart the character for earth, you get eleven. Eighteen plus eleven equals twenty-nine, doesn’t it? ”
It’s easy to agree with Mu Yi and Yang; but breaking it down into twenty-nine seems unlikely to be accepted by those whose surname is Du
I’ll have one too! A scholar’s wife and the scholar: One day, someone came to visit the scholar. The scholar asked, “What is your surname, sir?” ” Guest: “May I ask your surname?” Scholar: “Zhang, the long bow maker?” Still Risozou chapter? ” The guest replied, “The bow is fully drawn.” The scholar’s wife kept this in mind silently. One day, the scholar was not at home, and another guest arrived. The scholar’s wife asked, “What is your surname, sir?” ” Guest: “May I ask your surname?” Scholar’s wife: “Li the Archer?” Or Li early on? ” The guest replied, “How could such a thing happen!” ”