Wealth.docx

Wealth.docx

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Wealth

Wealth

　　Wealth

　　翻译：

北京外国语大学北戴河外语培训基地副校长张宝丹

　　Thewordwealthalwaysremindspeopleofmoneyandthesayingsorconceptsrelatedtomoney.Forexample,“moneytalks”;“moneymakestheghoststurnthemill”;“asbirdsdieforfood,somendieforwealth”;“thepoorhavenofriendseventhoughtheyliveinthenoisydowntown,whiletherichhaveremotekinsfolkeveniftheyliveinthedeepmountains”;“povertychillsambition”“onecentshortmayputaheroinanawkwardsituation”etc,etc..

　　Inthe1980's,allshopswerestate-ownedwithmarkedprices.Youcouldn'tbuywhatyouwantedwithevenonecentshort,soonecentcouldindeedembarrassahero.Apopularsongatthattimestarted“Ipickeduponecentattheroadside,andIhandeditovertothepoliceman…”Butnownoonecarestopickitupevenifitweretencents.

　　People'sreverenceformoneyisexpressedinvariedways.Thenamesofcompaniesorstoresareoften“BeerofWealthandHonor”,“RestaurantofWealthandRank”“StoreoftheAristocrats”“HotelofFameandPrestige”etc.（evensomepeople'snameshavethemeaningsof“fullofgold”or“greatfortune”）.AtNewYear'stime,thegodofwealthisworshipedandthepictureofthegodiscoveredwithsignsofmoney.Whenamillionaireiswalkinginthestreet,peoplewillshowtheirprofoundrespecteventhoughtheyknowverywellthattheycannotgetacentfromhim.TheEnglishfilm“theMillion-PoundNote”makesamostvividrevelationofthissituation.Withthemillionpoundnoteinhand,theherohastheprivilegetobuyoncredit,oronloanandisevenpresentedmoneyfromothers.It'sanidealizedendofthestorythattheheroisstilllovedbyhisgirlfriendevenafterhelosthismillion-poundnote.However,withoutthemillion-poundnote,theycouldn'thaveknowneachother.It'sverydifficultforpeopletomakefriendsdirectlywithbeggars.

　　Thesongof“AllGoodThingsMustEnd”inADreamoftheRedMansionsattacksthemoneyworshipersbysaying:

　　“Allmenlongtobeimmortals

　　yetsilverandgoldtheyprize

　　Andgrubformoneyalltheirlives

　　Tilldeathsealsuptheireyes”

　　ButwhenChenShih-yintriestoexpoundthissongbyanalyzingtheinconstancyofhumanrelationshipsandtheincomprehensiblehumanheart,hehastosay:

　　“Whilemenwithgoldandsilverbythechest

　　Turnbeggars,scornedbyallanddispossessed”

　　Theconclusionisthatitdoesn'tworkwithoutmoney.

　　Inspiteofthehumancivilizationsoverthousandsofyears,peoplecannotdenythefunctionofmoney.Thisshowshowimportantmoneyis.Moneyplaysadecisiveroletoindividuals,tofamiliesandeventocountriesornationalities.Otherwise,whyiseveryone,fromdoorkeeperstopresidents,tryingtoearnasmuchaspossible?

WhydoeseverycountryneedChancellorsoftheExchequer,whokeepformulatingandrevisingfinanciallawsandregulations?

Howdifferentitistobeacreditornationandadebtornation!

TheUnitedStatesisplayingthetyrantjustbecauseitiswealthyenough.Apoormanmaycherishloftyaspirations,butwillprobablybebeatenbecauseofhispoverty.TheAfghanistanmayhavewonalotofsympathy,buthowdifficultitwouldbetolivesolelyoncharity.

　　Ofallagesandineverycountry,allkindsofcorruptionstemfrommoney.Nomatterhowroughthemanis,andinwhatdespicablewayheearnedthemoney,hecangreasethepalmsoforbuyoversomeverydecentofficialsorevenintellectuals.Canyouseehowcrucialarolemoneyisplaying?

（Acaseinpointisthebankruptofthecompany）

　　Somepeopleororganizationslikesomereligiousgroupsclaimthattheyhaveseenthroughthehumanvanityandcantakemoneylightly,buttopeople'spuzzlement,theyarealsoaccumulatingmoney,eithertorenovatethetemples,ortoregildBuddha'sstatues,inwhateverpretexts.Theyarenotengagedinproduction,sotheycanonlydependonthedonationsfromthedevoutbelievers.Sometimesyoursincerityreliesonwhetheryoudonateandhowmuchyoudonate.Dothemonkscareaboutmoney?

Theanswerisaffirmative.What'smore,manymonksarealreadyprovidedwithasalary.

　　Wearelivinginamaterialworld,andit'sreallydifficulttodenythefunctionofmoneyorwealth.Weneedmoneyforfood,clothes,education,hospital,housingandtransportation,etc.There'srarelyanythingthatdoesn'tneedmoney.Whatwecandiscussnowisnottheimportanceofmoney,butwhethermoneyisalmightyandwhethermorewealthcanbringusmorehappiness.

　　Wemustsaythatmoneyisnotalmighty,andtherearemanythingswhichmoneycan'tdo.Forexample,manyemperorslikeQinShihuanglongedforelixirs.Aswealthyastheywere,andasmightyastheyweretotakeeverymeasuretosearchforlonglifemedicine,theystillcouldnotavoidthesaddenouementthat“theirgravesareacoveredwithweeds”.

　　Manygreatmensufferedfromfatalillness.Eventhoughtheyweretreatedwiththebestmedicalmeans,theyhadtosufferasmuchastheordinarypeople,andmetwiththesameinescapablefate.Richorpoor,greatorordinary,wecomeandgowithnothingbelongingtous.

　　HuangShiren,thecruelheartedlandlord,wasrichbutXi'erwouldratherhidinthedeepmountainsandturnintoawhite-hiredgirlthanmarryinghim;

　　WangBaochuanwouldn'tgiveuphermarriagewithXuePingguieventhoughshehadtoliveinthecoldcaveforovertenyears;

　　EmperorShunzhioftheQingDynastyownedthewholecountry,butjustbecauseofthedeathhisbelovedconcubine,heeventuallybecamedisillusionedwiththisworldandspenttherestoflifeinthetempleasamonk（it'sallrightevenifitisalegend）.

　　Manylovestoriescanneverbeboughtwithmoney.Theever-lastingfolktaleofLiangShanboandZhuYingtaishowspeople'sidentificationwiththispointofview.

　　Wealthymenalsohavealotofworries:

afraidofbeingstolenorkidnapped,theymayhavetohireabodyguard;they'reconcernedabouttheirspoilingthechildren,orworryaboutthefamilydiscordbecauseofthelegacydisputesaftertheirdeath;Fearingdevaluationiftheydon'tinvest,whilefearingofbankruptiftheyinvest;Whereistheirhappiness?

　　Howmuchisenough?

Nolimitation.Aspoorasbeggarswithoutapenny,theycanmakealivingbybegging.It'ssaidthatsomehavebecomemillionairesthroughbegging.Aswealthyasabillionaire,theycanonlyenjoyacoupleofdisheseachmeal.Ifsomeoneisallergictoseafood,ortiredofrichdishes,hemayenjoythepickledvegetablesjustasmuch.

　　Asformoney,peoplecantakeiteasysometimes,butmostofthetime,theycan't.Intheory,theymaytakeiteasywhileinpractice,theyusuallytakeitveryseriously;Talkingaboutothers,theycantakeiteasy,buttothemselves,theytakeitseriouslyagain.Somepeopletakeitseriouslyforonemoment,butmaytakeiteasyafterwards,justaswesaidwhatishiddenfromtheconcernedisplaintothebystanders.Mostpeopletakemoneytooseriouslywhenbeinginvolved.Infact,aslongasyouhaveenoughtoeat,whatisthedifferencebetweenalittleandalot?

　　Everythinghasalimit,sodoesmoney.Weshouldconformtothecourseofthenatureinsteadofgoingoutofourwaytograspit.Weshouldspendaccordingtoourincome.Therichmayenjoymuchmoreluxuriesbutnolessworriesthanthepoor.Theonlydifferenceisthecontentandformofworries.Thehighertheincomeis,thebiggertheexpenditureis.Theworldfamousboxersmayearnmillionsofdollarsforonegame,butoftenfindthemselvesdeepindebt.Withanannualsalaryashighastensofthousandsofdollars,theformerPresidentoftheUnitedStatesBillClintonranintodebtsbecauseoflawsuit,andhadtothrowoffhisairstoearnmoneyineverymean.However,themonthlyincomeofsomeoftheChinesefamiliesisnomorethanafewhundredYuanwhileleadingalifewithenjoyment.Happinessdoesn'tnecessarilyrelyonmoney.

　　AccordingtothewesternfabletheGoldTouch,akingwasveryfondofgoldandprayedtoGodformoregoldeveryday.Toteachhimalesson,GodimpartedtheGoldTouchtohim.Fromthenon,whateverhetouchedturnedintogold,includingbread,milk,flowers,andevenhisbeloveddaughter.Hecouldn'teatgold,ofcourse,norcouldhelosehisdaughter.Intheend,herepentedhissin,pleadedGodtotaketheGoldTouchbackandwentbacktohisformerhappylifeagain.Thisstoryisalittleexaggerated,butatthesametimeittoldusvividlythatwealthandhappinessarenotsynonym.What'smore,nomatterhowmuchmoneyyouhave,youcan'tspenditall.

　　Wealthitselfisneutral,butitacquiresadouble-attributebecauseofthedifferenceofitsowner.Kindpeopleuseitforcharities,whilewickedpeoplemayuseittomakegunsandcannonsforkilling.Thereforewealthcanbetheoriginofbothgoodandevil.

　　God（ifhereallyexists）,canyoumakethekindricherandtheevilliveinpoverty?

　　Wealthalwaysremindspeopleofmoney,land,houses,andcars,etc.whichareallmaterial.Infact,wealthhastwoaspects:

materialandspiritual.Peoplepaymoreattentiontomaterialwealth,whichistangibleandalsolimited.Forexample,acakecanbequicklyeatenup,andabigsumofmoneycanbespent.However,spiritualwealthisdifferent,sinceitisintangibleandunlimited.Forexample,akindofphilosophy,concept,spirit,aplan,astrategy,orainnovationishardtoestimateitsvalue.Chairman'sMao'sthoughthadarousedmillionsofpeople,andwithanoverwhelmingandirresistiblemomentum,hisstrategyof“encirclethecityfromthecountry”defeatedfirsttheJapaneseinvadersandthenJiangKai-shek'sarmyofeightmillion.DengXiaoping'sprincipleof“reformandopeningup”ledChinaoutofthetrapofpoverty