酷兔英语

     常言道:"爱美之心,人皆有之",人人都喜欢美好的人和事物,因为他们总是能带来更多的愉悦。中国有许多关于美人的故事,其中"四大美人"的故事更是家喻户晓。你知道著名的四大美人分别是谁吗?你想知道关于她们的故事吗?下面就由我给大家讲一下吧。    在中国形容一个女性非常美丽时,常常用"闭月羞花之容,沉鱼落雁之貌"这句古话。这句话中的"闭月""羞花""沉鱼""落雁"四个词语分别与中国著名的四大美人有关。"闭月"讲的是貂蝉拜月的故事。貂蝉是中国古代春秋战国时人,传说有一天她在后花园对月亮祈祷,忽然一阵风吹来,天上的云彩将月亮遮住了。这一幕恰好被主人王允看到,于是他到处宣传貂蝉的美貌,认为貂蝉的美可以和月亮相比,月亮都会羞愧地躲到云彩后面。"羞花"说的是唐朝的杨玉环。她在皇宫当宫女时,有一次在花园摸了一下花儿,结果花儿的花瓣收缩,绿叶卷起。这时,一个宫女正好看到,于是宫女和别人说杨玉环与花儿比美,花儿都害羞地低头了。后来消息传到了皇帝耳中,杨玉环最终也因为美貌成为了受宠的贵妃。其实,杨玉环摸的植物是含羞草。"沉鱼"与西施有关,据说西施在河边洗衣服时,鱼儿看到西施的美貌后都忘记了游动,沉到了水底。"落雁"说的是汉朝的王昭君,据说她弹琴所发出的琴声十分悦耳,使大雁都忘记了摆动翅膀,从空中跌落到地上。    也正是这些有趣的故事使四大美人在中国人心目中的地位越来越高,而"闭月""羞花""沉鱼""落雁"在汉语中也慢慢成为了美的代名词。当然中国还有其他与美人有关的故事,比如倾国倾城,大家有机会可以去继续了解。    

Lesson Summary:
Lesson Content: A common saying goes, "Everyone loves beauty." Everyone loves beautiful people and beautiful objects, just for the extra gratification engendered by their beauty. Stories abound about gorgeous Chinese women, and among them, "the four legendary beauties" are the most well-known. Do you know who the four legendary beauties are? Would you like to know more about them? Allow me to tell you more about this.

In China, when we describe the beauty of the fairer sex, we frequently use the the age-old phrase "beauty that eclipses the moon and puts the flowers to shame; good looks that makes the fish forget how to swim and the geese forget how to fly." The symbolism in "eclipses the moon," "puts the flowers to shame," "the fish forget how to swim," and "the geese forget how to fly," can be directly identified to China's famous beauties, i.e. the four legendary beauties. "Eclipses the moon," refers to the story of Diao Chan praying to the moon. Diao Chan lived in ancient China during the era of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. According to legend, one night, while she was out in the gardens praying to the moon, there was a sudden gust of wind and the moon moved into hiding behind the clouds in the sky. This scene was coincidentally witnessed by her master, Wang Yun, who then publicly spoke of her beauty, deeming that Diao Chan's beauty can rival the moon's, and that the moon being so ashamed, went into hiding behind the clouds. "Puts the flowers to shame," refers to Yang Yuhuan of the Tang dynasty. When she was a palace maid in the imperial palace, there was an incident where she gently touched a flower only to have its petals immediately draw in, and its leaves curl up. This was observed by [another] palace maid, who then told the others that Yang Yuhuan is more beautiful than the flowers, for [her beauty caused] the flowers to hang down their buds in shame. Later, news of this reached the ears of the Emperor and eventually Yang Yuhuan became his belovedimperialconsort on account of her beauty. Actually, the plant that Yang Yuhuan touched was the mimosa. "The fish forget how to swim," is related to Xi Shi. Legend has it that Xi Shi was washing clothes by the river and when the fish saw her beauty, they forgot how to swim, and so sank to the bottom of the river. "The geese forget how to fly," refers to Wang Zhaojun of the Han dynasty. It is said that in playing the zither, she could produce music that completely delighted the ears, causing the wild geese to forget to flap their wings, and so fall from the skies.

It is precisely because of these interesting stories that these four legendary beauties were accorded with an increasinglyprominentstatus in the hearts of the people. And so the phrases "eclipses the moon," "puts the flowers to shame," "the fish forget how to swim," and "the geese forget how to fly," gradually came to be used in the Chinese language as adjectives representing the word beauty. No doubt there are stories about other beauties in China [which may be of interest to you.] For instance, there is "beauty which destroyed the country." If you have the opportunity, look it up.