孔院微课堂 | 什么是“同舟共济”？

CI CLASSROOM

孔/院/微/课/堂

CI CLASSROOM

（本文转载自《孔子学院》中英文对照版 2021年第1期/总第61期）

“同舟共济”从字面上讲，意思是大家同坐在一条船上，只有齐心协力，团结互助，才能安全渡河。

这个成语最早由中国古代伟大的军事家、哲学家孙子（约公元前545—公元前470年）提出，记录于颇具世界影响力的军事战略著作《孙子兵法》之中。

同舟共济

据说，某天，有人问孙子：“抵御军事进攻的最佳策略是什么？”

孙子回答道：“一个熟练的战术家应该像蛇一样组织他的军队。当有人攻击其头部，蛇会用它的尾巴反击；当有人攻击其尾巴，蛇的头会抵抗；而当有人攻击其中部，蛇的头和尾则都会反击。”

此人继续发问，可否让军队模仿蛇的致命行为？

孙子坚定地回答：“当然。”他指出，军队中的士兵都知道，在一场致命的战斗中，无论胜负，他们都有着共同的命运。即使存在内部竞争，他们也明白，共同努力赢得这场战斗就是在拯救自己的生命，这才符合他们的最大利益。

他还举了一个例子，当时正处春秋时期，吴国和越国经常互相打仗，两国人民也相互敌视。有一次，吴国人和越国人乘坐同一艘船渡河。突然，天空中划过闪电，狂风大作，暴雨倾盆而下，船在波涛和风雨之中飘摇颠簸。吴国人和越国人再也顾不上彼此的仇恨，大家互相救助，吴国人和越国人的手都拉在了一起。大风大雨中，大家相互鼓励，彼此照应，如同左手帮助右手。渐渐地，风停雨住，天空放晴了，大家安全到达了河的对岸。

这个成语在中国文化中用来比喻在艰难的处境中唯有摒弃前嫌，团结互助，同心协力，才能共同战胜困难。例如，自2019年新冠肆虐全球，人类面临共同的敌人——病毒，此时，号召所有人团结起来，用“同舟共济”这个成语就再合适不过了。

To Cross a River 

in the Same Boat

In English, there are quite a few idioms and phrases related to the word “boat," such as “burn one's boat," “rock the boat," “fresh off the boat," “miss the boat," and “in the same boat."

The same is true with the Chinese language. Especially, the English saying "in the same boat" also appears in a very popular Chinese idiom 同舟共济, tongzhou gongji, which means literally "to cross a river in the same boat."

However, while the English phrase "in the same boat" indicates "in the same situation or having the same problem," its Chinese answer emphasizes more on "pulling together in times of trouble."

The Chinese idiom was first quoted by Sun Zi (circa 545-470 BC), a great military strategist, writer and philosopher in China’s history. Known in English as Sun Tzu, he has long been accredited as the author of “The Art of War,” one of the most influential strategy texts in the world.

According to a legend, one day, a man asks Sun Zi: “What’s the best strategy to fend off a military offense?”

Sun says that a skillful tactician may organize his army like a snake. When one strikes at its head, the snake will strike back with its tail; when one strikes at its tail, its head will come to help defend; and when it is attacked at its middle, both its head and tail will strike back.

The man asks again, saying if an army can be made to imitate the behavior of a lethal snake.

The strategist answers firmly, “Yes.”He points out that soldiers in an army know that they share a common fate as they win or fail together in a deadly battle. Even if there are internal rivalries, they understand that it’s in their best interest to put them aside and work together to win the battle and save their own lives.

“For instance, the people of the State of Wu and the people of the State of Yue have been enemies for a long time,” says Sun. “But if they are crossing a river in the same boat and then caught by a heavy storm, they will immediately come to each other’s assistance just like the left hand helps the right in order to prevent the boat from capsizing and reach the shore as soon as possible.”

Since then, Sun’s phrase “to cross a river in the same boat” has found its way into the Chinese language as a popular idiom.

Today, this idiom is still frequently quoted by Chinese speakers to urge people to work in close collaboration to overcome the difficulties they are facing and to achieve a common goal.

For example, during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the idiom tongzhou gongji is one of the most repeated catchwords among Chinese people.

更多精彩内容，欢迎访问《孔子学院》官网获取。

地址：https://www.ci.cn/#/detailBanner/Publication/

推荐阅读

作者：陈秋 Chen Qiu

翻译：张慈贇 Zhang Ciyun

图文排版：何纯洁（实习）

点击分享+在看，让更多人看到