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@ 51264 小太監進宮六
A: 董老先生，您好！非常感謝您接受我們的採訪。您已經八十高齡了。別來無恙吧？
Dǒng lǎoxiānsheng, nínhǎo! fēicháng gǎnxiè nín jiēshòu wǒmen de cǎifǎng. nín yǐjīng bāshí gāolíng le. biéláiwúyàng ba?
Mr. Dong, hello! We're so grateful you've accepted our interview. You're already 80 years old now. I trust you've been in good health since we last met?
B: 歲數大了，都是些老毛病。
suìshù dà le, dōushì xiē lǎo máobìng.
I'm old. Just the normal old-age stuff.
A: 眾所周知，您是一位大慈善家，您將自己所有的財產都捐給了慈善事業。但是最近您出版的一本新書在社會上引起了很大的反響，書名是《小順子的懺悔錄》。小順子就是董老先生您自己對吧？
zhòngsuǒzhōuzhī, nín shì yī wèi dà císhànjiā, nín jiāng zìjǐ suǒyǒu de cáichǎn dōu juān gěi le císhàn shìyè. dànshì zuìjìn nín chūbǎn de yī běn xīnshū zài shèhuì shàng yǐnqǐ le hěn dà de fǎnxiǎng, shūmíng shì《 Xiǎoshùnzi de chànhuǐ lù》. Xiǎoshùnzi jiùshì Dǒng lǎoxiānsheng nín zìjǐ duì ba?
As everyone knows, you're quite the philanthropist. You gave away all of your possessions to charity. Yet, you recently published a new book that has made some really big waves throughout society. The name of the book is, 'The Confessions of Little Shun'. Little Shun is actually you, Mr. Dong, is that right?
B: 是。那是我過去在宮裡當太監的時候的名字。
shì. nà shì wǒ guòqù zài gōng lǐ dāng tàijiàn de shíhou de míngzi.
That's right. That was my name when I was a eunuch in the imperial palace.
A: 我想，您當初進宮也是迫不得已吧？
wǒ xiǎng, nín dāngchū jìn gōng yě shì pòbùdéyǐ ba?
I imagine the original decision to enter you into the palace wasn't your's to make, am I right?
B: 那時家裡窮，為了活下去，父母才把我送進宮。犧牲我一個，也許能造福全家。
nàshí jiālǐ qióng, wèile huó xiàqù, fùmǔ cái bǎ wǒ sòng jìn gōng. xīshēng wǒ yī ge, yěxǔ néng zàofú quánjiā.
At the time, my family was poor. In order to survive, my parents sent me to the palace. They sacrificed me for the benefit of the whole family.
A: 的的確確您也做到了。您從一個什麼都不懂、處處受人欺負的小孩，逐漸走到了權利的中心，成為了掌握大權的太監總管。那時候您一定很風光吧？
dídíquèquè nín yě zuòdào le. nín cóng yī ge shénme dōu bù dǒng、 chùchù shòu rén qīfu de xiǎoháir, zhújiàn zǒudào le quánlì de zhōngxīn, chéngwéi le zhǎngwò dàquán de tàijiàn zǒngguǎn. nà shíhou nín yīdìng hěn fēngguang ba?
But ultimately, you were successful. You came from absolutely nothing and and as a child were picked on in every way. Yet, you gradually moved your way into a position of privilege and became a person of real authority; the chief eunuch. At that time you must have been truly respected.
B: 人人都來巴結我和我的家人，朝我點頭哈腰。我說一，沒人敢說二。但沒過多久就開始打仗了。朝廷沒了，皇上也沒了，一夜之間我就變得一無所有了。
rénrén dōu lái bājie wǒ hé wǒ de jiārén, cháo wǒ diǎntóu hāyāo. wǒ shuō yī, méi rén gǎn shuō èr. dàn méi guò duō jiǔ jiù kāishǐ dǎzhàng le. cháotíng méi le, huángshàng yě méi le, yīyèzhījiān wǒ jiù biàn de yīwúsuǒyǒu le.
Everybody came and fawned on my family and I, bowing and scraping. I would say 'one' and no one dared say 'two'. However, not long after, the war began. The imperial court was no more, the emperor was gone and in one night's time I didn't have a thing in the world.
A: 人生的大起大落往往就在一瞬間。
rénshēng de dàqǐdàluò wǎngwǎng jiù zài yīshùnjiān.
Life's big changes often happen in an instant.
B: 是。可是一下子從天堂掉進了地獄，那個滋味很不好受。那段日子過得很悲慘，因為我是太監，大家都看不起我。當苦力都沒人要，還要處處遭受白眼。
shì. kěshì yīxiàzi cóng tiāntáng diàojìn le dìyù, nàge zīwèi hěn bù hǎoshòu. nà duàn rìzi guò de hěn bēicǎn, yīnwèi wǒ shì tàijiàn, dàjiā dōu kànbuqǐ wǒ. dāng kǔlì dōu méi rén yào, hái yào chùchù zāoshòu báiyǎn.
That's right. In a moment, heaven had fallen into hell and it wasn't easy to stomach. Those days were really miserable. Because I was a eunuch, everyone looked down on me. Nobody even wanted me as a coolie and once again, I was looked down upon by others in every way.
A: 那後來呢？
nà hòulái ne?
And after that?
B: 越是處在逆境當中，越懂得奮發。後來我就去撿垃圾賣錢，再後來做起了小買賣，靠自己的努力光明正大地闖出了一片天地。
yuè shì chǔ zài nìjìng dāngzhōng, yuè dǒngde fènfā. hòulái wǒ jiù qù jiǎn lājī màiqián, zài hòulái zuòqǐ le xiǎo mǎimài, kào zìjǐ de nǔlì guāngmíngzhèngdà de chuǎngchū le yī piàn tiāndì.
The more adversity I faced, the more I understood I needed to push myself. I collected trash to sell and then became a petty salesman. I relied on my own hard work and honesty and made a life for myself.
A: 您後來的這一段經歷很值得大家學習。其實，很多人在有了成就之後往往會隱藏自己的過去。而您卻公開地為自己的過去懺悔，為什麼呢？
nín hòulái de zhè yī duàn jīnglì hěn zhídé dàjiā xuéxí. qíshí, hěn duō rén zài yǒu le chéngjiù zhīhòu wǎngwǎng huì yǐncáng zìjǐ de guòqù. ér nín què gōngkāi de wèi zìjǐ de guòqù chànhuǐ, wèishénme ne?
Everyone could learn a lot from your experience then. Actually, after many people become successful, they hide their pasts. But you, however, have publicly confessed yours. Why is that?
B: 我最大的心願就是那些曾經被我傷害過的人能原諒我。這樣今生我就沒有遺憾了。
wǒ zuìdà de xīnyuàn jiùshì nàxiē céngjīng bèi wǒ shānghài guo de rén néng yuánliàng wǒ. zhèyàng jīnshēng wǒ jiù méiyǒu yíhàn le.
My biggest wish is that anyone I've hurt at some point in my life can forgive me.
A: 希望您能達成所願！同時我們也要為您的勇氣鼓掌！
xīwàng nín néng dáchéngsuǒyuàn! tóngshí wǒmen yě yào wèi nín de yǒngqì gǔzhǎng!
We hope your wishes can come true! At the same time, we would also like to applaud you for your courage!
Key Vocabulary
別來無恙 biéláiwúyàng how have you been since we last met
眾所周知 zhòngsuǒzhōuzhī as everyone knows
慈善家 císhànjiā philanthropist
反響 fǎnxiǎng reverberations
懺悔 chànhuǐ confession
迫不得已 pòbùdéyǐ have no choice
犧牲 xīshēng sacrifice
造福 zàofú to benefit
風光 fēngguang to have a large amount of face
巴結 bājie fawn on
點頭哈腰 diǎntóu hāyāo bowing and scraping
朝廷 cháotíng imperial court
皇上 huángshàng emperor
一夜之間 yīyèzhījiān in one night
一無所有 yīwúsuǒyǒu not to own a thing
大起大落 dàqǐdàluò radical change
一瞬間 yīshùnjiān in an instant
滋味 zīwèi taste
不好受 bù hǎoshòu hard to accept
白眼 báiyǎn to look on others with disdain
逆境 nìjìng adversity
奮發 fènfā to exert oneself
光明正大 guāngmíngzhèngdà just, honorable
隱藏 yǐncáng to conceal
達成所願 dáchéngsuǒyuàn to achieve one's wishes
Supplementary Vocabulary
奮發圖強 fènfātúqiáng to work hard for success
順境 shùnjìng favorable circumstances
乾清宮 Qiánqīnggōng Palace of Eternal Spring
順治皇帝 Shùnzhì huángdì Emperor Shunzhi
太子 tàizǐ crown prince
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