In this short story, a garden rake (草耙 – cǎo pá) teaches one stuck-up kid a lesson in humility. HSK 3-4.
上大学的儿子从城里回到农村，回到父亲这儿。
父亲说：“今天你和我一起去割草，你去拿草耙，给我当个帮手。”
可是儿子不愿干活，他说：“我学的是科学，乡下人的活我全都忘记了。草耙是什么样的东西?”
他刚刚走进院子，就一脚踩在草耙上，草耙的把儿一下子打在他的脑门上。这时他终于想起了什么是草耙。
做人不能忘本，更不能因为学了一点本事而恃才傲物，夜郎自大。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 大学 | Dà xué | the Great Learning, one of the Four Books 四書|四书[Si4 shu1] in Confucianism |
| 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… |
| 儿子 | ér zi | son |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 城 | chéng | city walls; city; town; CL:座[zuo4],道[dao4],個|个[ge4] |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 回到 | huí dào | to return to |
| 农 | Nóng | surname Nong; variant of 農|农[nong2] |
| 村 | cūn | village; (dialect) to scold; rustic; boorish; variant of 村[cun1] |
| 父亲 | fù qīn | father; also pr. [fu4 qin5]; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 这儿 | zhè r | here |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) |
| 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);… |
| 割 | ge | to cut |
| 草 | cǎo | variant of 草[cao3]; grass; straw; manuscript; draft (of a document); careless; rough; CL:棵[ke1],撮[zuo3],株[zhu1],根[gen1] |
| 拿 | ná | old variant of 拿[na2]; variant of 拿[na2]; to hold; to seize; to catch; to apprehend; to take; (used in the same way as 把[ba3]: to mark the following noun as a direct object) |
| 草耙 | cǎo pá | a rake |
| 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) |
| 当 | dāng | (onom.) dong; ding dong (bell); to be; to act as; manage; withstand; when; during; ought; should; match equally; equal; same; obstruct; just at (a time or place); on the spot; right; just at |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 帮手 | bāng shou | helper; assistant |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 愿 | yuàn | honest and prudent; variant of 願|愿[yuan4]; (bound form) wish; hope; desire; to be willing; to wish (that sth may happen); may ...; vow; pledge |
| 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 |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 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]) |
| 学 | xué | to learn; to study; to imitate; science; -ology |
| 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] |
| 科学 | kē xué | science; scientific knowledge; scientific; rational; CL:門|门[men2],個|个[ge4],種|种[zhong3] |
| 乡 | xiang | country or countryside; home village or town |
| 下人 | xià rén | (old) servant; (dialect) children; grandchildren |
| 全都 | quán dōu | all; without exception |
| 忘记 | wàng jì | to forget |
| 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 |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 刚刚 | gāng gang | just recently; just a moment ago |
| 走进 | zǒu jìn | to enter; to step into |
| 院子 | yuàn zi | courtyard; garden; yard; patio; CL:個|个[ge4]; (old) servant |
| 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… |
| 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 … |
| 脚 | jiǎo | foot; leg (of an animal or an object); base (of an object); CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1]; classifier for kicks |
| 踩 | cái | to step on; to tread; to stamp |
| 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) |
| 把儿 | bà r | a handle |
| 一下子 | yī xià zi | once; one time; (following a verb) for a moment; briefly; for a little while; in no time; almost immediately; all at once; all of a sudden |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 脑门 | nǎo mén | forehead |
| 这时 | zhè shí | at this time; at this moment |
| 终 | zhong | end |
| 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… |
| 想起 | xiǎng qǐ | to recall; to think of; to call to mind |
| 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… |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 忘本 | wàng běn | to forget one's roots |
| 更 | gēng | to change or replace; to experience; one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided; watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard) |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 一点 | yī diǎn | a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er; a point (in a discussion etc); (calligr… |
| 本事 | běn shì | source material; original story |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 恃 | ||
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 傲 | ǎo | proud; to despise; to defy |
| 物 | wù | (bound form) thing; (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself; people other than oneself |
| 夜郎 | Yè láng | small barbarian kingdom in southern China during the Han dynasty |
| 自大 | zì dà | arrogant |
A college student came back from the city to [his] village, returning to his father’s place.
His father said, “Today we’re going to cut the grass, go get the rake, and be my helping hand.”
But his son wasn’t willing to do the work, and he said, “I studied science, and I’ve forgotten all [the particulars of] village work. What kind of thing is a rake?” [The son] had just walked into the yard, when he trod upon the rake with his foot, and the rake’s handle suddenly [sprung up and] hit him in the head. That’s when he finally remembered was a rake was.
People must not forget their roots, and moreover [they] shouldn’t be full of themselves just because they’ve learned a few things.