中國(guó)二十四孝經(jīng)典民間故事23：朱壽昌棄官尋母(中英)

23 :Resigning Office to Search For His Mother: Zhu Shouchang 朱壽昌棄官尋母

A man of the Song Dynasty named Zhu Shouchang lost his mother at age seven in this way: His mother was a concubine, and his father's first wife, consumed by jealousy over the concubine's favor with her husband, drove the woman out of the house, thereby cutting off contact between Shouchang and his mother. The boy went to live with his father and step-mother from age seven on.

朱壽昌，宋代天長(zhǎng)人，七歲時(shí)，生母劉氏被嫡母(父親的正妻)嫉妒，不得不改嫁他人，五十年母子音信不通。

Zhu Shouchang grew up and served the Song Dynasty's "Celestial Ruler" (Shenzong) as an official.

神宗時(shí)，朱壽昌在朝做官.

Suddenly one day he felt an overwhelming impulse to find his real mother and take care of her in proper style.

突然有一天，他突然覺得心痛，就去找到他的親身母親。

This impulse continued to grow, until he had to quit his post in the civil service and set off in search of her.

越來(lái)越痛，他不得不棄官到陜西尋找生母

His filial quest lead him through torrential rains and gale winds, as he traveled on, asking everybody he met for news of his mother.

因?yàn)閷?duì)父母的孝敬，他冒著風(fēng)雨挨家挨戶的問人，有沒有見到他的母親。

Although he found no trace of her, meeting nothing but mis information or ignorance, the young man never gave up hope, but only deepened the sincerity of his single-minded quest.

盡管沒有任何線索，遇到很多困難，但是他從來(lái)沒有放棄的心，反而增加了他要尋找母親的欲望。

One day a man told him that his mother lived nearby, in Tongzhou, on the banks of the Unity River in modern-day Shanxi province.

一天，有人告訴他，他母親就在通州附近的銀行的團(tuán)結(jié)河，就是在現(xiàn)代山西省。

Delighted with the news, Shouchang hurried on to Unity River, and arrived after enduring great toil and suffering.

興奮的消息，壽昌立刻跑到了團(tuán)結(jié)河，最終終于到了。

Having traveled so fast, he fainted by the roadside near the outskirts of town.

由于長(zhǎng)途跋涉，他在路上暈倒了。

A crowd soon gathered, and someone handed the man a cup of ginger tea, to revive him. The townspeople asked, Where are you from?" "What is your business that you overexerted this way?"

很多人過來(lái)圍觀，好心人給了他一杯茶。鎮(zhèn)上的人問他是哪里人?為什么這么著急趕路?

He told the whole story to the crowd, and related all that he had experienced in search of his mother.

他告訴他們，他在尋找他的母親。

From the midst of the throng stepped an old woman. "You are my son! I haven't seen you for fifty years!" cried the lady, her voice choked with tears of joy.

從人群中走出一個(gè)老女人。“你是我兒子!我五十年沒見你了!”母親哭泣著。

The weary traveler, having realized his heart's desire, happily embraced his mother and shortly thereafter, took her home to care for her properly.

經(jīng)過長(zhǎng)途跋涉，實(shí)現(xiàn)了他的愿望。抱著母親，母子歡聚，一起返回。