Translation||Feng Youlan's translation of "Ku Ding Jie Niu"

This article is transferred from: Foreign Language Micronotes

My life has an end, and there is no end to knowledge. With an end, there is no end, and it is gone! Those who have already known are gone! There is no near name for good, and there is no near punishment for evil. The governor thinks that he can protect his life, he can live his whole life, he can support his relatives, and he can live his whole life.

There is a limit to our life, but to knowledge there is no limit. With what is limited to pursue what is unlimited is a perilous thing. When knowing this, we still seek to increase our knowledge, the peril cannot be averted. In doing what convention considers as good, eschew fame. In doing what convention considers as bad, escape disgrace or penalty. Always pursue the middle course. These are the ways to preserve our body, to maintain our life, to support our parents, to complete our terms of years.

Ku Ding is Wen Huijun's cow, the hand touches, the shoulder leans, the foot walks, the knee foot, the stunning, the knife is played, all the alto. The dance of "Mulberry Forest" is the meeting of the "Sutra Head".

Prince Wen Hui’s cook was cutting up a bullock. Every blow of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every tread of his foot, every thrust of his knee, every sound of the rending of flesh and every note of the movement of the chopper were in perfect harmony—rhythmical like the dance of “The Mulberry Grove” and simultaneous like the chords of the “Ching Shou.”

Wen Huijun said: "Hey, good! That's it? ”

“Ah,admirable,” said the prince, “that your art should become so perfect!”

Ku Ding released the knife and said: "Those who are favored by the ministers are also skilled in their skills." When the first minister unravels the ox, all he sees is the ox. Three years later, I haven't seen all the cows. At this time, the minister meets God instead of sight, and the official knows and God wants to act. According to the principles of heaven, criticize Da He, and guide Da Yao, because of its course, the technology has not been tasted, and the situation is great! Liang Yu is more knife, cut also; The clan is more knife, and it is folded. The knife of this minister has been nineteen years, and thousands of cattle have been solved, and the blade is new to the sword. There is a gap in the other section, but there is no thickness in the blade; With no thick into the room, there must be room for its recovery, and it is nineteen years and the blade is new in the sword. Although, every time I see that it is difficult, I am stunned to take it as a warning, and depending on it, it is too late. The knife is very small, and it has been solved, such as the land commission. Stand with a knife, look around for it, be full of ambition for it, and hide it with a good knife. ”

The cook laid down his chopper and replied: “What your servant loves is Tao, which is more advanced than art. When I first began to cut up bullocks, what I saw was simply whole bullocks. After 3 years’ practice, I saw no more bullocks as wholes. At present, I work with my mind, but not with my eyes. The functions of my senses stop; my spirit dominates. Following the natural veins, my chopper slips through the great cavities, slides through the great openings, taking advantage of what is already there. I did not attempt the central veins and their branches, and the connectives between flesh and bone, not to mention the great bones. A good cook changes his chopper once a year, because he cuts. An ordinary cook changes his chopper once a month, because he hacks. Now my chopper has been in use for 19 years; it has cut up several thousand bullocks; yet its edge is as sharp as if it just came from the whetstone. At the joints there are always interstices,and the edge of the chopper is without thickness. If we insert that which is without thickness into an interstice, there is certainly plenty of room for it to move along. Nevertheless, when I come to a complicated joint, and see that there will be some difficulty, I proceed anxiously and with caution. I fix my eyes on it. I move slowly. Then by a very gentle movement of my chopper, the part is quickly separated, and yields like earth crumbling to the ground. Then standing with the chopper in my hand, I look all round, with an air of triumph and satisfaction. Then I wipe my chopper and put it in its sheath.”

Wen Huijun said: "Good! I heard the words of Ku Ding, and I had to maintain my health. ”

“Excellent,” said the prince, “from the words of this cook, I learned the ways of cultivating life.”