In this dialogue, two soldiers from warring countries discover they have more in common than they thought.
很久以前, 两个国家打仗,中间有一堵很长很高的墙。
墙的左边是士兵小李。墙的右边是士兵小王。他们每天守在墙边,等着,等着。
有一天晚上,小李觉得很无聊,就对着墙说:”喂,你那边有人吗?”
墙的另一边安静了一会儿。然后有一个声音说:”有。”
小李吓了一跳。”你是谁?”
“我是士兵,”那个声音说。”你呢?”
“我也是士兵,”小李说。
两个人都不说话了。
但是第二天晚上,小李又说:”喂。”
“喂,”那个声音回答。
他们每天晚上说话。他们说家里的事,说妈妈做的饭,说家乡的天气。小李说他家乡有很大的河。小王说他家乡有很高的山。
他们从来不说自己叫什么名字。从来不问对方是哪个国家的人。
一个月过去了。
有一天晚上,小李说:”我不想打仗了。”
墙的另一边安静了很久。
“我也不想,”小王说。
又安静了很久。
“你家乡的山,现在应该很漂亮,”小李说。
“你家乡的河,现在应该也很漂亮,”小王说。
然后两个人都不说话了。
但是这次的安静,和以前不一样。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 打仗 | dǎ zhàng | to fight a war |
| 墙 | qiáng | wall |
| 士兵 | shì bīng | soldier |
| 无聊 | wú liáo | bored |
| 安静 | ān jìng | quiet |
| 吓了一跳 | xià le yí tiào | to be startled |
| 家乡 | jiā xiāng | hometown |
| 从来 | cóng lái | never (always) |
| 对方 | duì fāng | the other party |
| 漂亮 | piào liang | beautiful |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 久 | jǐu | (of a period of time) long |
| 以前 | yǐ qián | before; formerly; previous; ago |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 国家 | guó jiā | country; nation; state |
| 中间 | zhōng jiān | the middle; the inside; in the middle; within; between; among; during; in the meantime |
| 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 … |
| 堵 | dú | to block up (a road, pipe etc); (fig.) (of a person) choked up with anxiety or stress; (classifier for walls) |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 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… |
| 左边 | zuǒ bian | left; the left side; to the left of |
| 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] |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 李 | lí | plum; surname Li |
| 右边 | yòu bian | right side; right, to the right |
| 王 | Wáng | surname Wang |
| 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]) |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 每天 | měi tiān | every day |
| 守 | shǒu | to guard; to defend; to keep watch; to abide by the law; to observe (rules or ritual); nearby; adjoining |
| 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) |
| 边 | biān | side; edge; margin; border; boundary; CL:個|个[ge4]; simultaneously |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (… |
| 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 |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 晚上 | wǎn shang | evening; night; CL:個|个[ge4]; in the evening |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 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… |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 喂 | wéi | hello (when answering the phone); variant of 餵|喂[wei4]; to feed |
| 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.) |
| 那边 | nà bian | over there; yonder |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom) |
| 吗 | má | (coll.) what? |
| 另 | lìng | other; another; separate; separately |
| 一边 | yī biān | one side; either side; on the one hand; on the other hand; doing while |
| 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 |
| 一会儿 | yī huì r | a moment; a while; in a moment; now...now...; also pr. [yi1 hui3 r5] |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 声音 | shēng yīn | sound; voice |
| 谁 | shéi | who; also pr. [shui2] |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 那个 | nà ge | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one… |
| 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… |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 个人 | gè rén | an individual; oneself; (attributive) personal; one's own |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 说话 | shuō huà | to speak; to say; to talk; to gossip; to tell stories; talk; word |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 第 | dì | (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth"); (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed; (old) residence of a high… |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 回答 | huí dá | to reply; to answer; reply; answer |
| 家里 | jiā lǐ | home |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama; mommy; mother; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 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… |
| 饭 | fàn | cooked rice; CL:碗[wan3]; meal; CL:頓|顿[dun4]; (loanword) fan; devotee |
| 天气 | tiān qì | weather |
| 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) |
| 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] |
| 山 | Shān | surname Shan |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 名字 | míng zi | name (of a person or thing) |
| 不问 | bù wèn | to pay no attention to; to disregard; to ignore; to let go unpunished; to let off |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 月 | yuè | moon; month; monthly; CL:個|个[ge4],輪|轮[lun2] |
| 过去 | guò qù | (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 不想 | bù xiǎng | unexpectedly; to one's surprise |
| 现 | xiàn | to appear; present; now; existing; current |
| 应 | Yīng | surname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4] |
| 该 | gāi | should; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned |
| 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) |
| 次 | cì | next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated e… |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 不一 | bù yī | to vary; to differ |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
A long time ago, two countries were at war, and between them was a very long and very tall wall.
On the left side of the wall was a soldier named Xiao Li. On the right side of the wall was a soldier named Xiao Wang. Every day they guarded the wall, waiting and waiting.
One night, Xiao Li felt very bored, so he spoke to the wall: “Hey, is there anyone on your side?”
The other side of the wall was quiet for a moment. Then a voice said: “Yes.”
Xiao Li was startled. “Who are you?”
“I’m a soldier,” the voice said. “And you?”
“I’m a soldier too,” Xiao Li said.
Neither of them spoke anymore.
But the next night, Xiao Li said again: “Hey.”
“Hey,” the voice answered.
They talked every night. They talked about things at home, about the food their mothers cooked, about the weather in their hometowns. Xiao Li said his hometown had a very big river. Xiao Wang said his hometown had a very tall mountain.
They never said what their names were. They never asked which country the other was from.
A month passed.
One night, Xiao Li said: “I don’t want to fight anymore.”
The other side of the wall was quiet for a long time.
“I don’t want to either,” Xiao Wang said.
It was quiet again for a long time.
“The mountain in your hometown must be very beautiful right now,” Xiao Li said.
“The river in your hometown must be very beautiful too right now,” Xiao Wang said.
Then neither of them spoke anymore.
But this time, the silence was different from before.