One day, a guest was making drawings for the King of the State of Qi.
一天,有位客人为齐王作画。
The King of Qi asked him: "What do you think is the most difficult thing to draw?"
齐王问他:“你认为画什么东西最难?”
The guest answered: "Dogs and horses are the most difficult to draw."
客人回答说:“画狗、画马最难了。”
"Then what is the easiest thing to draw?" the King of Qi asked again.
“那么,画什么东西最容易呢?”齐王又问道。
"Ghosts are the easiest to draw," the guest answered. "
客人回答说: “画鬼最容易。
People are familiar with dogs and horses, which they see every day, so dogs and horses are the most difficult to draw.
因为狗、马人人都知道,天天都看见,所以最难画。
As to ghosts, no one has ever seen them, so one can draw them any way one likes.
至于鬼呢,谁也没有见过,想怎么画就怎么画。
Therefore, ghosts are the easiest to draw."
所以最容易画。”