The Whole Room Rocks with Laughter

◎張依固

“哄堂大笑”相關記載最早見于唐代趙璘《因話錄》，典故衍生于宋代歐陽修《歸田錄》，后用以形容滿屋子的人同時大笑。

Track 3

In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there were two officials known as Feng Dao and He Ning.One day,Feng Dao walked into the office in a fresh pair of boots.Seeing this, He Ning1)hastily asked, “My friend, what was the cost of these new shoes?” Feng Dao, renowned for his2)leisurely pace, slowly raised his left foot and replied, “Nine hundredwen!”

“What?3)Merely nine hundredwen?” exclaimed the impatient He Ning,astonished.Quickly, he added, “How is it that my boots cost eighteen hundredwen? How can yours be so inexpensively priced?”

However, Feng Dao slowly raised his right foot and said, “This boot also cost nine hundredwen!”

People4)erupted into laughter upon hearing the conversation.

1) hastilyadv.匆忙地

2) leisurelyadj.慢悠悠的

3) merelyadv.僅僅

4) eruptv.突然發出

中國五代十國時期，朝廷中有兩位官員，分別是馮道與和凝。一天，馮道穿著一雙新鞋走進衙門。和凝看到后急忙問道：“老兄，你這雙新鞋花了多少錢？”馮道一向慢條斯理，他緩緩地抬起左腳，說：“九百文！”

“什么？只要九百文？”急性子的和凝很是吃驚。隨即，他追問道：“我這雙鞋怎么花了一千八百文呢？你的怎么這么便宜？”

然而，馮道緩緩地抬起右腳，說：“這只腳也是九百文！”

大家聽完哄堂大笑。

True or False:

These new shoes cost Feng Dao nine hundredwen.

Know More

Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), was a statesman, historian, essayist, and poet in Chinese history during the Song Dynasty.His diverse works encompassed poetry, essays, historical writings, and literary criticism.He was renowned for his elegance and classical style.He is considered one of the Eight Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties.

歐陽修（1007—1072），是宋代時期一位杰出的政治家、歷史學家、散文家和詩人。他的作品涵蓋了詩歌、散文、歷史著作和文學評論。他以優雅和古典的寫作風格而聞名，是唐宋八大家之一。