30、Idiom-Quick Success
马到成功
秦始皇听闻花彩斑石是女娲补天时遗落的神石，能保佑江山稳固，所以修好驰道，率领万千军马恭敬祭拜。事后果真天下太平，百官作诗庆贺。成语“马到成功“便出自此处，但这个故事和马到成功又有什么关系呢？让我们看看接下来的故事吧！
In 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang created the first Chinese Empire. He became the First Emperor of China.
A storyteller told Qin Shi Huang an interesting tale about Nuwa, the Great Mother Goddess. This is what the storyteller said:
In the beginning of the world, Earth and Heaven were connected. Heaven was held up by four pillars. Mount Buzhou was one of these posts.
Gong Gong was the Chinese water god. He got into a battle with Zhu Rong, the god of fire.
“I am the most important god!” Gong Gong roared.
“Silly fool, I am much more important than you!” Zhu Rong raged.
“You are the fool!”
“I will burn you to a mist!”
“I will drown you and put you out forever!”
The two gods yelled louder and louder. Their angry words turned into a real fight. Both gods were strong and powerful. The Earth felt every punch and every kick. Earthquakes shook the ground. Tidal waves flooded the beaches. Lava burst from volcanoes.
Zhu Rong proved to be the stronger god. Gong Gong was crushed when he lost the battle. He smashed his head against Mount Buzhou in anger. He hit the mountain over and over again. The Heavens began to fall to the Earth. The land was flooded. People everywhere were suffering because of Gong Gong and Zhu Rong’s fight.
Nuwa felt sorry for the people of Earth. She had created all of them!
“How can this happen to my people? They did nothing wrong!” Nuwa cried. “I must find a way to fix this mess.”
Nuwa had an idea. She searched the Earth for five colored stones. The stones had special powers.
“Blue for water.” Nuwa grabbed the blue stone.
“White for metal. Red for fire.” Nuwa picked up two more stones.
“Black for wood,” Nuwa continued. “And finally, yellow for the earth.”
She melted the stones together to form a paste. Then she spent nine days patching up the skies. And that is why the sky has always been full of color.
Qin Shi Huang listened closely to the story of Nuwa’s stones.
“It is believed one of those stones fell down to Earth,” the storyteller said. “Some say it is on Rong Cheng Mountain.”
“If that is true, then I will be the one to find it!” Qin Shi Huang promised.
Qin Shi Huang was determined to find the stone. He believed it would help him build a strong empire. And so, his search began.
Qin Shi Huang demanded that a road to the mountain be built. (The emperor was famous for his building projects. One of them was the Great Wall of China.)
Qin Shi Huang took an army of thousands to Rong Cheng Mountain.
After a long search, Qin Shi Huang found the stone on the mountain! He held a sacred ceremony to worship it.
Soon after, the empire did become stronger and more peaceful! Qin Shi Huang believed that the sacred stone had worked!
He ordered poems and songs to be written about his journey. One poet wrote, “Thousands of horses on the royal road; victory was attained when Shi Huang worshipped the stone.”
Everyone wanted the poem to be remembered. It was passed down from parents to children. Everyone liked it very much.
Over a thousand years later, a writer of popular Chinese operas heard the poem. He loved the story about the emperor’s trip to find the sacred stone. It inspired him. He wrote the phrase “instant victory upon arrival on a horse.” He used it in one of his earliest operas.
Later, people continued to use the phrase to refer to an instant victory or quick success.
The End
Question: Why do you think Qin Shi Huang built new roads during his time as leader of China?
核心词汇
empire n. 帝国
goddess n. 女神
pillar n. 柱子
post n. 桩，柱
battle n. 战役，战斗
mist n. 薄雾，雾状物
drown v. 淹死，溺死
put out v. 把（火）扑灭
yell v. 叫嚷，号叫
punch n. 猛击，攻击
tidal adj. 潮的
lava n. 岩浆
volcano n. 火山
smash v. 打碎，摧毁，打破
melt v. （使）融化
paste n. 糊状物
patch up 修补，草草修理
determined adj. 已下决心的，决意的
demand v. 要求
sacred adj. 神圣的
ceremony n. 典礼
royal adj. 皇室的
attain v. 达到，获得
worship v. 崇拜，祭拜
inspire v. 鼓舞，激励
refer to 提到，指称
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