Jia Pingwa (贾平凹) is one of China’s modern literary greats, and in this short story, it shows. I don’t know how this guy crammed so many insights on the human condition into a few paragraphs about a rock, but he undeniably did.
我常常遗憾我家门前的那块丑石呢：它黑黝黝地卧在那里，牛似的模样；谁也不知道是什么时候留在这里的，谁也不去理会它。只是麦收时节，门前摊了麦子，奶奶总是要说：这块丑石，多碍地面哟，多时把它搬走吧。
于是，伯父家盖房，想以它垒山墙，但苦于它极不规则，没棱角儿，也没平面儿；用錾破开吧，又懒得花那么大气力，因为河滩并不甚远，随便去掮一块回来，哪一块也比它强。房盖起来，压铺台阶，伯父也没有看上它。有一年，来了一个石匠，为我家洗一台石磨，奶奶又说：用这块丑石吧，省得从远处搬动。石匠看了看，摇着头，嫌它石质太细，不太采用。
它不像汉白玉那样的细腻，可以凿下刻字雕花，也不像大青石那样的光滑，可以供来浣纱捶布；它静静地卧在那里，院边的槐荫没有庇覆它，花儿也不再在它身边生长。荒草便繁衍出来，枝蔓上下，慢慢地，竟锈上了绿苔、黑斑。我们这些做孩子的，也讨厌起它来，曾合伙要搬走它，但力气又不足；虽时时咒骂它，嫌弃它，也无可奈何，只好任它留在那里去了。
稍稍能安慰我们的，是在那石上有一个不大不小的坑凹儿，雨天就盛满了水。常常雨过三天了，地上已经干燥，那石凹里水儿还有，鸡儿便去那里渴饮。每每到了十五的夜晚，我们盼着满月出来，就爬到其上，翘望天边；奶奶总是要骂的，害怕我们摔下来。果然那一次就摔了下来，磕破了我的膝盖呢。
人都骂它是丑石，它真是丑得不能再丑的丑石了。
终有一日，村子里来了一个天文学家。他在我家门前路过，突然发现了这块石头，眼光立即就拉直了。他再没有走去，就住了下来；以后又来了好些人，说这是一块陨石，从天上落下来已经有二三百年了，是一件了不起的东西。不久便来了车，小心翼翼地将它运走了。
这使我们都很惊奇！这又怪又丑的石头，原来是天上的呢！它补过天，在天上发过热，闪过光，我们的先祖或许仰望过它，它给了他们光明，向往，憧憬；而它落下来了，在污土里，荒草里，一躺就是几百年了？！
奶奶说：“真看不出！它那么不一般，却怎么连墙也垒不成，台阶也垒不成呢？”
“它是太丑了。”天文学家说。
“真的，是太丑了。”
“可这正是它的美!”天文学家说，“它是以丑为美的。”
“以丑为美？”
“是的，丑到极处，便是美到极处。正因为它不是一般的顽石，当然不能去做墙，做台阶，不能去雕刻，捶布。它不是做这些玩意儿的，所以常常就遭到一般世俗的讥讽。”
奶奶脸红了，我也脸红了。
我感到自己的可耻，也感到了丑石的伟大；我甚至怨恨它这么多年竟会默默地忍受着这一切，而我又立即深深地感到它那种不屈于误解的寂寞的生存的伟大。 Buy on Amazon
Ruined City in Chinese or English.
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 常常 | cháng cháng | frequently; often |
| 遗 | yī | (bound form) to leave behind |
| 憾 | hǎn | regret (sense of loss or dissatisfaction) |
| 家门 | jiā mén | house door; family clan |
| 前 | qián | front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 块 | kuài | lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc; (coll.) classifier for money and currency units |
| 丑 | Chǒu | surname Chou; shameful; ugly; disgraceful |
| 石 | Shí | surname Shi; abbr. for Shijiazhuang 石家莊|石家庄[Shi2 jia1 zhuang1], the capital of Hebei |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation… |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 黑 | Hēi | short name for Heilongjiang 黑龍江|黑龙江[Hei1 long2 jiang1] |
| 黝 | ||
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 卧 | wò | to lie; to crouch |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 那里 | nà li | there; that place |
| 牛 | Níu | surname Niu |
| 似 | shǐ | used in 似的[shi4 de5] |
| 模 | mō | to imitate; norm |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 谁 | shéi | who; also pr. [shui2] |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 留 | líu | old variant of 留[liu2]; to leave (a message etc); to retain; to stay; to remain; to keep; to preserve |
| 这里 | zhè lǐ | variant of 這裡|这里[zhe4 li3] |
| 不去理 | bù qù lǐ | not to pay attention to; to leave sth as it is; to ignore |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 只是 | zhǐ shì | merely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however |
| 麦 | Mài | surname Mai |
| 收 | shōu | to receive; to accept; to collect; to put away; to restrain; to stop; in care of (used on address line after name) |
| 时节 | shí jié | season; time |
| 门前 | mén qián | in front of the door |
| 摊 | tan | to spread out |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 麦子 | mài zi | wheat; CL:株[zhu1] |
| 奶 | nǎi | breast; milk; to breastfeed; variant of 嬭|奶[nai3]; mother; variant of 奶[nai3] |
| 总 | zǒng | (bound form) general; overall; to sum up; in every case; always; invariably; anyway; after all; eventually; sooner or later; surely; (after a person's name) abbr. for 總經理|总经理[zong3… |
| 要说 | yào shuō | as for; when it comes to |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 碍 | ǎi | to hinder; to block |
| 地面 | dì miàn | floor; ground; surface |
| 哟 | ||
| 多时 | duō shí | long time |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 搬 | bān | to move (i.e. relocate oneself); to move (sth relatively heavy or bulky); to shift; to copy indiscriminately |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 吧 | bā | bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc); to puff (on a pipe etc); (onom.) bang; abbr. for 貼吧|贴吧[tie1 ba1] |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 伯 | bō | uncle; the eldest among brothers; (honorific) count |
| 父 | fù | (bound form) father; (bound form) male relative of father's generation (as in 伯父[bo2 fu4]); (computing) (bound form) parent- |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 盖 | gǎi | to cover; to build; a lid; since; approximately; surname Gai |
| 房 | Fáng | surname Fang |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 垒 | ||
| 山 | Shān | surname Shan |
| 墙 | qiáng | variant of 牆|墙[qiang2]; wall (CL:面[mian4],堵[du3]); (slang) to block (a website) (usu. in the passive: 被牆|被墙[bei4 qiang2]) |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 苦 | kǔ | bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 极 | jí | extremely; pole (geography, physics); utmost; top |
| 不规则 | bù guī zé | irregular |
| 没 | méi | (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not |
| 棱 | ||
| 角 | Jué | surname Jue |
| 儿 | ér | child; son |
| 平面 | píng miàn | (geometry) plane; flat surface; flat; two-dimensional |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 錾 | ||
| 破开 | pò kāi | to split; to cut open |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 懒 | lán | lazy; sluggish; to be reluctant to |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 花 | Huā | surname Hua; old variant of 花[hua1]; variant of 花[hua1]; flower; blossom; also pr. [wei3] |
| 那么 | nà me | like that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ...; then; in that case |
| 大气 | dà qì | atmosphere (surrounding the earth); imposing; impressive; stylish |
| 力 | Lì | surname Li |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 河 | hé | river (CL:條|条[tiao2],道[dao4]); (bound form) the Yellow River; (bound form) the Milky Way; (bound form) (on restaurant menus) rice noodles 河粉[he2 fen3] |
| 滩 | tan | beach; rapids; classifier for liquids: pool, puddle |
| 并 | bìng | and; furthermore; also; together with; (not) at all; simultaneously; to combine; to join; to merge; to combine; to amalgamate; short name for Taiyuan 太原[Tai4 yuan2]; variant of 並|并[bing4] |
| 不甚 | bù shèn | (literary) not very |
| 远 | yuǎn | far; distant; remote; (intensifier in a comparison) by far; much (lower etc) |
| 随 | Suí | surname Sui |
| 便 | biàn | plain; informal; suitable; convenient; opportune; to urinate or defecate; equivalent to 就[jiu4]: then; in that case; even if; soon afterwards |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 掮 | ||
| 一块 | yī kuài | a piece; a chunk; (fig.) (coll.) (typically preceded by a specifier such as 這|这[zhe4]) aspect; area; dimension (Example: 情感這一塊|情感这一块[qing2 gan3 zhe4 yi1 kuai4] "the emotional aspec… |
| 回 | Huí | Hui ethnic group (Chinese Muslims); to curve; to return; to revolve; variant of 迴|回[hui2] |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 比 | Bǐ | Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利時|比利时[Bi3 li4 shi2] |
| 强 | qiāng | strong; powerful; vigorous; better; to force (qiang3); stubborn (jiang4); surname Qiang |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 压 | yā | to press; to push down; to keep under (control); pressure |
| 铺 | pǔ | to spread; to pave (pu1); a shop; a bed (pu4) |
| 台阶 | tái jiē | steps; flight of steps; step (over obstacle); fig. way out of an embarrassing situation; bench (geology) |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 看上 | kàn shàng | to take a fancy to; to find suitable and choose; to settle on |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 石匠 | shí jiàng | stonemason |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 洗 | xǐ | to wash; to bathe; to develop (photographs); to shuffle (cards etc); to erase (a recording) |
| 台 | Tái | Taiwan (abbr.); surname Tai; desk; table; counter; typhoon |
| 石磨 | shí mò | grindstone |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 省 | shěng | to save; to economize; to be frugal; to omit; to delete; to leave out; province; provincial capital; a ministry (of the Japanese government) |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 远处 | yuǎn chù | distant place |
| 动 | dòng | (of sth) to move; to set in movement; to displace; to touch; to make use of; to stir (emotions); to alter; abbr. for 動詞|动词[dong4 ci2], verb |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 摇 | yāo | to shake; to wave; to rock; to sway |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 嫌 | xiān | to dislike; resentment; abbr. for 嫌犯[xian2 fan4], criminal suspect |
| 质 | zhǐ | character; quality; to pawn; hostage; Taiwan pr. [zhi2] |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 细 | xì | thin or slender; finely particulate; thin and soft; fine; delicate; trifling; (of a sound) quiet; frugal |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 采用 | cǎi yòng | to adopt; to employ; to use |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 汉白玉 | hàn bái yù | white marble; a type of white marble used for building and sculpting |
| 腻 | ||
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 凿 | ||
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 刻 | kè | quarter (hour); moment; to carve; to engrave; to cut; oppressive; classifier for short time intervals |
| 字 | zì | letter; symbol; character; word; CL:個|个[ge4]; courtesy or style name traditionally given to males aged 20 in dynastic China |
| 雕 | diao | to engrave |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 青石 | qīng shí | bluestone; limestone (colloquial) |
| 光滑 | guāng huá | glossy; sleek; smooth |
| 供 | gong | to provide; to supply |
| 浣 | ||
| 纱 | ||
| 捶 | ||
| 布 | bù | variant of 布[bu4]; to announce; to spread; cloth; to declare; to announce; to spread; to make known |
| 静 | jìng | still; calm; quiet; not moving |
| 院 | yuàn | courtyard; institution; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 边 | biān | side; edge; margin; border; boundary; CL:個|个[ge4]; simultaneously |
| 槐 | ||
| 荫 | yin | shade |
| 庇 | bì | to protect; cover; shelter; hide or harbor |
| 覆 | fǔ | to cover; to overturn |
| 花儿 | huā ér | style of folk song popular in Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia; CL:首[shou3] |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 身边 | shēn biān | at one's side; on hand |
| 生长 | shēng zhǎng | to grow; to grow up; to be brought up |
| 荒草 | huāng cǎo | weeds; brush (vegetation); wild grassland |
| 繁衍 | fán yǎn | to multiply; to reproduce; to increase gradually in number or quantity |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for…; variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 枝 | zhī | branch; classifier for sticks, rods, pencils etc |
| 蔓 | mǎn | used in 蔓菁[man2 jing5] |
| 上下 | shàng xià | the top and bottom of sth; the full vertical extent of sth; from top to bottom; to go up and down; before and after (as in 上下文[shang4 xia4 wen2] "context"); (used after a quantity)… |
| 慢 | màn | slow |
| 竟 | jǐng | unexpectedly; to go so far as to |
| 锈 | xiǔ | rust; to rust; rusted |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 绿 | lù | used in names |
| 苔 | ||
| 黑斑 | hēi bān | dark spot or blotch on the skin |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
| 讨 | tǎo | to invite; to provoke; to demand or ask for; to send armed forces to suppress; to denounce or condemn; to marry (a woman); to discuss or study |
| 厌 | yàn | (bound form) to loathe; to be fed up with; (literary) to satiate; to satisfy |
| 曾 | Zēng | surname Zeng |
| 合 | gě | 100 ml; one-tenth of a peck; measure for dry grain equal to one-tenth of sheng 升 or liter, or one-hundredth dou 斗; variant of 合[he2] |
| 伙 | huó | (bound form) meals (as in 伙食[huo3 shi2]) |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 力气 | lì qi | physical strength |
| 不足 | bù zú | insufficient; lacking; deficiency; not enough; inadequate; not worth; cannot; should not |
| 虽 | suī | although; even though |
| 时时 | shí shí | often; constantly |
| 咒 | zhòu | curse; incantation |
| 骂 | mǎ | to scold; to curse |
| 弃 | qì | to abandon; to relinquish; to discard; to throw away |
| 无可 | wú kě | can't |
| 奈何 | nài hé | to do something to sb; to deal with; to cope; how?; to no avail |
| 只好 | zhǐ hǎo | to have no other option but to ...; to have to; to be forced to |
| 任 | Rén | surname Ren |
| 稍 | shao | somewhat |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 安 | An | surname An |
| 慰 | wěi | to comfort; to reassure |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
| 小的 | xiǎo de | (coll.) young child; the little one(s) of the family; (old) (humble) I; me; my (used by a commoner when speaking to an official) |
| 坑 | keng | pit; hollow; depression; (literary) to bury alive |
| 凹 | ao | concave; depressed; sunken; indented; female (connector etc) |
| 雨天 | yǔ tiān | rainy day; rainy weather |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 盛 | Shèng | surname Sheng |
| 满 | Mǎn | Manchu ethnic group |
| 水 | Shuǐ | surname Shui; Shui ethnic group |
| 雨 | yǔ | rain; CL:陣|阵[zhen4],場|场[chang2] |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 三 | Sān | surname San |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 地上 | dì shang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 干 | gān | old variant of 乾|干[gan1]; surname Gan; variant of 乾|干[gan1]; tree trunk; main part of sth; to manage; to work; to do; capable; cadre; to kill (slang); to fuck (vulgar); (coll.) pissed off; annoyed |
| 燥 | zǎo | dry; parched; (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [sao4]) minced meat |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 还有 | hái yǒu | there still remain(s); there is (or are) still; in addition |
| 鸡儿 | jī ér | chick; baby chicken; (vulgar) penis |
| 渴 | kě | thirsty |
| 饮 | yǐn | old variant of 飲|饮[yin3]; to drink |
| 每每 | měi měi | often |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 十五 | shí wǔ | fifteen; 15 |
| 夜晚 | yè wǎn | night; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 盼 | pǎn | to hope for; to expect |
| 月 | yuè | moon; month; monthly; CL:個|个[ge4],輪|轮[lun2] |
| 爬 | pá | to crawl; to climb; to get up or sit up |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 其 | qí | his; her; its; their; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) |
| 翘望 | qiáo wàng | to raise one's head and look into the distance; fig. to forward to; to long for |
| 天边 | tiān biān | horizon; ends of the earth; remotest places |
| 害怕 | hài pà | to be afraid; to be scared |
| 摔 | shuai | to throw down; to drop and break |
| 果 | guǒ | fruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 一次 | yī cì | first; first time; once; (math.) linear (of degree one) |
| 磕 | ke | to tap; to knock (against sth hard); (esp.) to knock (mud from boots, ash from a pipe etc) |
| 破 | pò | broken; damaged; worn out; lousy; rotten; to break, split or cleave; to get rid of; to destroy; to break with; to defeat; to capture (a city etc); to expose the truth of |
| 膝 | xi | old |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 真是 | zhēn shi | indeed; truly; (coll.) (used to express disapproval, annoyance etc) |
| 终 | zhong | end |
| 日 | rì | (bound form) sun; day; day of the month; (bound form) Japan (abbr. for 日本[Ri4 ben3]); (vulgar) to fuck; to have sex with |
| 村 | cūn | village; (dialect) to scold; rustic; boorish; variant of 村[cun1] |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 天文学 | tiān wén xué | astronomy |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 前路 | qián lù | the road ahead |
| 突然 | tū rán | sudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 眼光 | yǎn guāng | gaze; insight; foresight; vision; way of looking at things |
| 立即 | lì jí | immediately |
| 拉 | lā | to pull; to play (a bowed instrument); to drag; to draw; to chat; (coll.) to empty one's bowels |
| 直 | Zhí | surname Zhi; Zhi (c. 2000 BC), fifth of the legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝[Yan2 di4] descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2] Farmer God |
| 走去 | zǒu qù | to walk over (to) |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 好些 | hǎo xiē | a good deal of; quite a lot |
| 陨 | ||
| 天上 | tiān shàng | the sky; the heavens |
| 落下 | luò xià | to fall; to drop; to land (of projectile) |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 百年 | bǎi nián | hundred years; century; (fig.) a whole lifetime; a person's whole life |
| 件 | jiàn | item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 了不起 | liǎo bu qǐ | amazing; terrific; extraordinary |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 不久 | bù jǐu | not long (after); before too long; soon; soon after |
| 车 | Chē | surname Che |
| 小心 | xiǎo xīn | to be careful; to take care |
| 翼翼 | yì yì | (literary) cautious; careful |
| 将 | jiāng | will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[ba3]) |
| 运 | yùn | to move; to transport; to use; to apply; fortune; luck; fate |
| 使 | shǐ | to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 惊奇 | jīng qí | to be amazed; to be surprised; to wonder |
| 怪 | guǎi | odd; strange; uncanny; to find strange; to regard as odd; (coll.) somewhat; rather |
| 原 | Yuán | surname Yuan; (Japanese surname) Hara |
| 补过 | bǔ guò | to make up for an earlier mistake; to make amends |
| 发 | fā | to send out; to show (one's feeling); to issue; to develop; to make a bundle of money; classifier for gunshots (rounds); hair; Taiwan pr. [fa3] |
| 过热 | guò rè | too hot; (fig.) (economics) overheated; (physics) to superheat |
| 闪 | shán | to flash; to dodge; to sidestep; to sprain; a lightning flash |
| 光 | guāng | light; ray (CL:道[dao4]); bright; shiny; only; merely; used up; finished; to leave (a part of the body) uncovered |
| 先祖 | xiān zǔ | (literary) my deceased grandfather; (literary) ancestors |
| 或许 | huò xǔ | perhaps; maybe |
| 仰 | yáng | to look up; to admire; to rely on; to face upward; surname Yang |
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar); old variant of 望[wang4] |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 光明 | guāng míng | light; radiance; (fig.) bright (prospects etc); openhearted |
| 向往 | xiàng wǎng | to yearn for; to look forward to |
| 憧 | ||
| 憬 | ||
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 污 | wu | dirt; filth; to dirty; corrupt; a stain |
| 土 | Tǔ | surname Tu; Tu ethnic group |
| 躺 | tǎng | to recline; to lie down |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 真 | zhēn | really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine |
| 看不出 | kàn bu chū | can't discern |
| 不一 | bù yī | to vary; to differ |
| 般 | bān | sort; kind; class; way; manner |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 连 | Lián | surname Lian |
| 不成 | bù chéng | won't do; unable to; (at the end of a rhetorical question) can that be? |
| 真的 | zhēn de | really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine; (math.) proper |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 正是 | zhèng shì | is precisely |
| 美 | Měi | (bound form) the Americas (abbr. for 美洲[Mei3 zhou1]); (bound form) USA (abbr. for 美國|美国[Mei3 guo2]) |
| 是以 | shì yǐ | therefore; thus; so |
| 美的 | Měi dí | Midea (brand) |
| 是的 | shì de | yes, that's right; variant of 似的[shi4 de5] |
| 处 | chǔ | to reside; to live; to dwell; to be in; to be situated at; to stay; to get along with; to be in a position of; to deal with; to discipline; to punish |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 一般 | yī bān | same; ordinary; so-so; common; general; generally; in general |
| 顽 | wán | mischievous; obstinate; to play; stupid; stubborn; naughty |
| 当然 | dāng rán | only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt |
| 玩意儿 | wán yì r | erhua variant of 玩意[wan2 yi4] |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 遭到 | zāo dào | to suffer; to meet with (sth unfortunate) |
| 世 | Shì | surname Shi |
| 俗 | sū | custom; popular; coarse; secular |
| 讥 | ji | to ridicule |
| 讽 | fěng | to satirize; to mock; to recite; Taiwan pr. [feng4] |
| 脸 | liǎn | face; CL:張|张[zhang1],個|个[ge4] |
| 红 | Hóng | surname Hong |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 可耻 | kě chǐ | shameful; disgraceful; ignominious |
| 伟大 | wěi dà | huge; great; grand; worthy of the greatest admiration; important (contribution etc) |
| 甚至 | shèn zhì | even; so much so that |
| 怨 | yuǎn | to blame |
| 恨 | hěn | to hate |
| 这么 | zhè me | so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this |
| 多年 | duō nián | many years; for many years; longstanding |
| 默默 | mò mò | in silence; not speaking |
| 忍 | rén | to bear; to tolerate |
| 受 | shòu | to receive; to accept; to suffer; subjected to; to bear; to stand; pleasant; (passive marker); (LGBT) bottom |
| 一切 | yī qiè | everything; every; all |
| 深 | shēn | old variant of 深[shen1]; (lit. and fig.) deep |
| 那种 | nà zhǒng | that kind of |
| 不屈 | bù qū | unyielding; unbending |
| 误 | wù | mistake; error; to miss; to harm; to delay; to neglect; mistakenly |
| 解 | Xiè | surname Xie |
| 寂 | jǐ | silent; Taiwan pr. [ji2] |
| 寞 | mǒ | lonesome |
| 生存 | shēng cún | to exist; to survive |
I often think regretfully of that ugly rock outside the door of our home: it lay there darkly, looking like a cow; no one knew when it had been left there, and no one paid it any attention. It was only in harvest season, when wheat was spread before the door, that grandma would always say: That ugly rock, takes up all the [space on the] ground, we should move it before long.
And so, [when] my uncle was building a house [there], he wanted to use it to lay the gables, but was troubled that it was uneven, it had no edges and corners, and wasn’t flat; he [could have] used a chisel to break it open, but was too lazy to expend that much effort, and because the riverbank wasn’t far away, he could carry a rock back from there on his shoulders, and any one of [those rocks by the river] were better than it. [Once] the house was built, [uncle was] laying the stairs, and [for this purpose he] also didn’t see it as [suitable]. One year, a stonemason came to fashion a millstone for our family, and grandma said again: How about you use that ugly rock, and save [yourself the effort] of bringing one from far away. The stonemason gave it a look over, shook his head, disliking the smooth quality of the stone, which wasn’t of much use.
It wasn’t fine like marble, which could be engraved with letters and flowers, and it wasn’t as smooth as limestone, which could be used to wash cloth, it lay there silently, the shade of the scholartrees didn’t cover it, and flowers wouldn’t grow at its side. Weeds [sprouted] out in profusion, branches and tendrils all over, and slowly, it rusted over with green moss and black stripes. We kids also began to hate it, and we once banded together to move it away, but we weren’t strong enough; so sometimes we would curse it, or avoid it, but we had no choice, we had to allow it to stay there.
What comforted us a little was that the top of the rock had a pit in it neither large nor small, which would fill up with water on a rainy day. Often three days after a rain had passed, the ground was already dry, but the pit in that rock still had water in it, and the birds would go there to drink. Whenever it reached the middle night of the month, we would watch the full moon come out, and climb on top of it, to gaze up at the sky; grandma always yelled [at us], afraid we would fall off. Naturally it happened, and I smashed open my knee.
Everyone cursed it as an ugly rock, an ugly rock so ugly it couldn’t be uglier.
Finally one day, an astronomer came to the village. He passed in front of our house, and suddenly saw this stone, and his gaze was immediately drawn to it. He didn’t keep walking, but stopped there; and later, many more people arrived, saying this was a meteorite, which had fallen from the sky and had already been here for two or three hundred years, that it was a praiseworthy thing. Soon a car came, and carefully took it away.
This shocked us all! As it turned out, this strange and ugly rock was from the heavens! It had mended the sky [NOTE: A reference to a mythological story in which a goddess uses molten rocks to mend a tear in the sky], it had burned in the firmament, had sparkled with light, our ancestors may have looked upon it, it had given them radiance, hope, yearning; but it fell here, in the filth, in the weeds, and lay there several hundred years?!
Grandma said: “You couldn’t tell by looking at it! So unique, yet it couldn’t brace a gable, or be used to make stairs?”
“It’s too ugly,” the astronomer said.
“Yes, too ugly.”
“But this is its beauty!” the astronomer said, “It’s beauty comes from its ugliness.”
“Beauty from ugliness?”
“Yes, when ugliness reaches its extreme, it also reaches the extreme of beauty. Precisely because it isn’t average stone, of course it can’t [be used to] make a wall, or [be used to] make stairs, and can’t be carved or wash cloth. It’s not made to do those things, so it often suffers common ridicule.”
Grandma’s face reddened, my face reddened also.
I felt my own humiliation, and felt the rock’s greatness. I even resented it for silently enduring everything for years, and I deeply felt the greatness of its lonely existence unbent for having been misunderstood.