程門(mén)立雪

In Fujian Province during the Northern Song Dynasty（960—1127）there lived a man called Yang Shi（楊時(shí)）. He devoted his whole life to study， and to spreading his ideas and theories.

At that time， the brothers Cheng Hao（程顥）and Cheng Yi（程頤）， famous scholars in the capital， Luoyang， were teachers of the Way of Confucius and Mencius. Many leading men of letters sought them out to be their teachers. When Yang Shi heard of them， instead of going to where an official post had been assigned to him， he made his way to Luoyang， and presented his compliments to Cheng Hao and asked to be accepted as his pupil. When Yang Shi finished his studies and left for home， Cheng Hao said with satisfaction，“My ideas are finally being spread in the south.”Four years later， Cheng Hao died. At his masters death， Yang Shi wept in seclusion（隱居）at his home.

Later， Yang Shi， shrugging off hardships， made his way once more to Luoyang， where he asked Cheng Yi， Cheng Haos younger brother， to be his teacher. He wanted to make further progress in his studies. At that time Yang Shi was over forty years old， and a pretty well-known scholar， but he was very modest and respectful of teachers. He had a deep affection for Cheng Yi， and was regarded by the latter as an ideal pupil.

One day， Yang Shi and a fellow student， You Zuo got into a dispute（爭(zhēng)論） over a certain matter. Finding that they could not reconcile（使和解） their differences， they decided to consult（請(qǐng)教） their teacher.

It happened to be the deep winter， and everything was frozen. Lead-colored clouds covered the dark sky. As the pair made their way， a piercingly（銳利的） cold wind sprang up， and flakes of snow as large as swans feathers began to fall. The wind cut their faces like a knife， and the snowflakes kept getting inside their collars. But they concentrated on their problem， wrapped their cloaks tightly around themselves， and hurried onward. When they reached Cheng Yis house they found him sitting by a stove meditating（冥想）. Yang Shi and his classmate did not dare to disturb their teacher， but stood respectfully outside the door waiting for him to wake up.

The snow fell relentlessly， thicker and thicker. The feet of Yang Shi and his companion were frozen solid. Though they shivered with cold， the pair still stood respect fully there. All they could hear was the gentle swish of the falling snowflakes. Several times You Zuo， unable to endure the cold， wanted to wake their teacher， but each time he was stopped by Yang Shi.

After a long time， Cheng Yi came out of his reverie（幻想）. He looked out of the window to see the two men standing in a blizzard（暴風(fēng)雨）， covered in snow. Looking closely， he discovered that they were Yang Shi and You Zuo. Seeing the pair covered in snow and standing in snow over one foot deep， the teacher hastily arose（出現(xiàn)）， and ushered them inside.

Later，when Yang Shi had completed his study with Master Cheng Yi， he returned to the south and spread his teachers ideas. The people called him the “Gentleman of Turtle Mountain.” The story “Standing in the Snow at Chengs Door” became a fine tale transmitted（傳播）from generation to generation extolling respect for teachers and for study.

北宋時(shí)期，福建有一個(gè)叫楊時(shí)的人。他立志一生研究學(xué)問(wèn)，想提出自己的主張和學(xué)說(shuō)。

當(dāng)時(shí)，著名學(xué)者程顥和程頤兄弟在洛陽(yáng)講授孔孟之道，很多學(xué)者前去求學(xué)。楊時(shí)聽(tīng)說(shuō)這個(gè)消息后，放棄做官的機(jī)會(huì)，趕去洛陽(yáng)，拜程顥為師。等到楊時(shí)學(xué)成回家的時(shí)候，程顥欣慰地說(shuō)：“我的學(xué)說(shuō)終于可以往南方傳播了。”四年后，程顥去世，楊時(shí)得知這個(gè)消息，在家大哭了一場(chǎng)。

后來(lái)，楊時(shí)不辭勞苦，繞道洛陽(yáng)，拜程顥的弟弟程頤為師，希望在學(xué)問(wèn)上再進(jìn)一步。當(dāng)時(shí)，楊時(shí)已四十多歲，學(xué)問(wèn)也相當(dāng)高，卻仍然很謙虛，十分尊敬老師，深得程頤的喜愛(ài)，被程頤視為得意門(mén)生。

有一天，楊時(shí)與他的學(xué)友游酢對(duì)某個(gè)問(wèn)題有不同看法，為了求得一個(gè)正確答案，他倆決定一起去老師家請(qǐng)教。

那正是冬天里最冷的時(shí)候，天寒地凍，鉛色的烏云籠罩著大地。他們走到半路，天空飄起鵝毛大雪。刺骨的寒風(fēng)像刀子一樣刮著他們的臉，雪花肆無(wú)忌憚地鉆進(jìn)他們的衣領(lǐng)。他們只想著心中的問(wèn)題，裹緊衣服匆匆趕路。來(lái)到程頤家時(shí)，正趕上先生在火爐旁打坐養(yǎng)神。楊時(shí)與同伴不敢驚動(dòng)老師，便恭恭敬敬地站在門(mén)外，等候先生醒來(lái)。

雪不停地下著，越下越大。楊時(shí)與同伴冷得發(fā)抖，雙腳也凍僵了，但他們依然恭敬侍立，耳邊只聽(tīng)到雪花簌簌飄落的聲音。游酢幾次忍不住想去叫醒程老師，都被楊時(shí)攔住了。

過(guò)了很久，程頤一覺(jué)醒來(lái)，望向窗外，發(fā)現(xiàn)門(mén)口有兩個(gè)雪人立在風(fēng)雪中，仔細(xì)一看，才發(fā)現(xiàn)是楊時(shí)他們。只見(jiàn)他們渾身落滿了雪，地上的積雪也已經(jīng)一尺多厚了，老師趕忙起身迎他倆進(jìn)屋。

后來(lái)，楊時(shí)完成學(xué)業(yè)，回到南方傳播老師的學(xué)問(wèn)。人們稱他為“龜山先生”。“程門(mén)立雪”這個(gè)故事成了尊師重教的傳世美談。

注：中英文部分皆選自《用英文說(shuō)中國(guó)故事》。原文有刪改。