成語故事經(jīng)典譯文：望梅止渴

成語故事經(jīng)典譯文：望梅止渴

quench one's thirst by looking at plums(望梅止渴)

among the outstanding figures of chinese history, famous either for their intelligence or treachery, cao cao is one of the foremost.

one hot day, he marched out his troops under a burning sun in a mountainous area. bewilderingly he lost the way. the journey was long and the sun was scorching. after their fruitless and tiresome march, all voiced their great dissatisfaction with the leadership of cao cao. they bitterly complained of their great thirst. the antagonism of the soldiers was growing fast and they were on the verge of staging a mutiny. the subordinate officers were helpless to cope with the situation.cao cao, however, in the nick of time cleverly and treacherously gave orders to his troops to march to the nearby plum trees for a rest and announced that soldiers would be allowed to eat the juicy sour fruit as much as they desired.

at the thought of the sour fruit the soldiers' complaint of great thirst as well as the antagonistic feeling were quickly forgotten.

based on the story the later generation formed the proverb "to quench one's thirst by looking up at plums", to illustrate a case where one takes comfort in believing that they have already attained that which was expected or desired.

譯文：

曹操是中國歷史上以聰明奸詐而聞名的杰出人物。

一天，他在赤日下山區(qū)行軍，迷失了路徑，烈日當(dāng)頭而路途又遙遠(yuǎn)，士兵們在長時間的疲勞行軍后，口渴難耐。于是眾人都對曹操的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)表示不滿，士兵的反抗情緒異常緊張，即將形成背叛的狀態(tài)。下級官長不知如何應(yīng)付這危機(jī)。曹操在這緊要關(guān)頭機(jī)敏下令：士兵行至前面的梅林休息。并且準(zhǔn)許士兵盡量吃多汁的酸梅，不受約束。

士兵們想著酸梅的味道，口渴就立刻緩和下來，反抗情緒也安定了。

后人用上面的故事作成成語"望梅止渴"來比喻一個人幻想目的已經(jīng)到達(dá)了以安慰自己的情況。