Confucius in Foreigners'Eyes
外国人眼中的孔子
I first met Confucius in a friend's living room, nearly 10 years ago. OK, so it wasn't really the bearded Chinese philosopher.
大约 10 年前,我在一个朋友的起居室里第一次“见到”了孔子。当然了,我见到的并不是那位蓄着胡子的中国古代哲学家本人,
It was a collection of his most famous lines, printed and bound and resting on a coffee table. As I scanned the pages, a vision of the man began to form in my mind.
而是一本收录了他的名言警句的小册子,装订得整整齐齐,放在茶几上。随手翻阅了几页之后,孔子的形象便在我的脑海中形成了。
It wasn't until last Saturday, though, that I finally had a chance to put a name to the face-that of Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat, who plays the sage in the new biopic Confucius.
直到上周六,我终于有机会把“孔子”这个名字和一张人脸对应起来——香港明星周润发在新影片《孔子》中出演这一圣人角色。
I went to see the film knowing very little of Confucius' personal story.
虽然对孔子的生平并不太了解,我还是去看了这部电影。
In the movie, we see a man who is all at once humble and wise and humorous and intelligent and disciplined and firm and clever.
影片中,我看到的是一个集谦恭、博学、幽默、智慧、守纪、严格于一身的圣人形象。
Even when Zhou's character all but throws herself on Confucius, the philosopher walks away with barely a trace of desire on his face.
即便是周迅所扮演的南子主动投怀送抱的时候,他也平静地走开了,脸上几乎看不到一丝欲望。
If this is, indeed, the real man, meeting him would be, all at once, an incredibly exhilarating experience-and also a very depressing one.
如果孔子真是这样一个人的话,那么与他见面将是一件十分令人兴奋的事情—但同时也会让人沮丧。
In the movie, Confucius talks of changing oneself from within. This is certainly a noble goal. Based upon my own experience, though, it is much easier said than done.
影片中,孔子教导人们要从内心深处改变自己。这确实是个高尚的目标,但从我的个人经历来看,这事说起来容易,做起来却很难。
For example, I cannot imagine walking away from the temptress without the assistance of a supernatural power-no matter how many of the sage's proverbs I had internalize.
例如:我很难想象自己能够在不借助任何超自然力量的前提下从这么一个性感女性身边坦然地走过——就算记再多的圣人格言也无济于事。
In this sense, I am more in awe of Confucius than ever before. A person's words take on far more significance when he or she actually lives them out.
从这点上来讲,我对孔子的敬畏达到了从未有过的高度。一个人说道做到的人很值得尊敬。
If Confucius really was the man that Chow portrays, he was indeed one for the ages.
如果孔子真如周润发所演绎的那样,那他真是个名副其实的圣人。