In this short fable, we find out that the biggest is not always the strongest.
从前，山坡上长着一棵高大的竹子和一棵矮小的小草。竹子非常骄傲，常常嘲笑小草说：”你看你多么渺小，而我多么高大挺拔！”
小草温和地回答：”朋友，我们各有各的长处。”但竹子从不听小草的话。
一天，狂风暴雨来了。竹子骄傲地挺直身体，想要证明自己的强大。然而，风越来越猛，最终把竹子从中间折断了。
风雨过后，小草慢慢地站了起来。它虽然被吹倒在地，但因为懂得弯腰，所以没有受伤。
断掉的竹子终于明白了：真正的强大不是永远挺直，而是懂得在困难面前适当地低头。柔软有时比坚硬更有力量。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 从前 | cóng qián | previously; formerly; once upon a time |
| 山坡 | shān pō | hillside |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 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 |
| 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 … |
| 棵 | kē | classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc |
| 高大 | gāo dà | tall; lofty; towering |
| 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… |
| 竹子 | zhú zi | bamboo; CL:棵[ke1],根[gen1] |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 矮小 | ǎi xiǎo | short and small; low and small; undersized |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 草 | cǎo | variant of 草[cao3]; grass; straw; manuscript; draft (of a document); careless; rough; CL:棵[ke1],撮[zuo3],株[zhu1],根[gen1] |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 骄 | jiao | proud |
| 傲 | ǎo | proud; to despise; to defy |
| 常常 | cháng cháng | frequently; often |
| 嘲 | chāo | to ridicule |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 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.) |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 多么 | duō me | how (wonderful etc); what (a great idea etc); however (difficult it may be etc); (in interrogative sentences) how (much etc); to what extent |
| 渺 | miáo | (of an expanse of water) vast; tiny or insignificant |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 挺 | tǐng | straight; erect; to stick out (a part of the body); to (physically) straighten up; to support; to withstand; outstanding; (coll.) quite; very; classifier for machine guns |
| 拔 | bā | to pull up; to draw out by suction; to pick; to surpass |
| 温 | wen | warm; temperate; temperature; to warm up; to review; surname Wen |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 回答 | huí dá | to reply; to answer; reply; answer |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 各 | gè | each; every |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 长处 | cháng chù | good aspects; strong points |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 从不 | cóng bù | never |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 的话 | de huà | if (coming after a conditional clause) |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 狂风 | kuáng fēng | gale; squall; whole gale (meteorology) |
| 暴 | bǎo | violent; fierce; sudden; cruel; to expose; to spoil (bao4); to expose to the sun (pu4) |
| 雨 | yǔ | rain; CL:陣|阵[zhen4],場|场[chang2] |
| 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… |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 身体 | shēn tǐ | the body; one's health |
| 想要 | xiǎng yào | to want to; to feel like; to fancy; to care for sb; desirous of |
| 证 | zhěng | to admonish |
| 明 | Míng | Ming Dynasty (1368–1644); surname Ming; Ming (c. 2000 BC), fourth of the legendary Flame Emperors, 炎帝[Yan2 di4] descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2] Farmer God |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 强 | qiāng | strong; powerful; vigorous; better; to force (qiang3); stubborn (jiang4); surname Qiang |
| 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) |
| 然而 | rán ér | however; but; yet |
| 风 | fēng | wind; news; style; custom; manner; CL:陣|阵[zhen4],絲|丝[si1] |
| 越 | Yuè | generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods; abbr. for Vietnam 越南 |
| 猛 | měng | ferocious; fierce; violent; brave; suddenly; abrupt; (slang) awesome |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 终 | zhong | end |
| 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… |
| 从中 | cóng zhōng | from among them; from it |
| 间 | jiān | between; among; within a definite time or space; room; section of a room or lateral space between two pairs of pillars; classifier for rooms |
| 折 | zhē | to snap; (bound form) to sustain a loss (in business) |
| 断 | duàn | to break; to snap; to cut off; to give up or abstain from sth; to judge; (usu. used in the negative) absolutely; definitely; decidedly |
| 风雨 | fēng yǔ | wind and rain; the elements; (fig.) trials and hardships |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 慢 | màn | slow |
| 站 | zhàn | station; to stand; to halt; to stop; branch of a company or organization; website |
| 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… |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 虽然 | suī rán | although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc) |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 吹 | chuī | to blow; to play a wind instrument; to blast; to puff; to boast; to brag; to end in failure; to fall through |
| 倒 | dǎo | to fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally; to fail; to go bankrupt; to overthrow; to change (trains or buses); to move around; to resell at a profit |
| 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) |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 懂 | dǒng | to understand; to comprehend |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 弯 | wān | to bend; bent; a bend; a turn (in a road etc); CL:道[dao4] |
| 腰 | yao | the waist and lower back; the waist of trousers or a skirt; (bound form) the middle section of an upright object (mountain, bottle etc) |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 受伤 | shòu shāng | to sustain injuries; wounded (in an accident etc); harmed |
| 掉 | diào | to fall; to drop; to lag behind; to lose; to go missing; to reduce; fall (in prices); to lose (value, weight etc); to wag; to swing; to turn; to change; to exchange; to swap; to sh… |
| 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… |
| 明白 | míng bai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable; to understand; to realize |
| 真正 | zhēn zhèng | genuine; real; true; really; indeed |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 永远 | yǒng yuǎn | forever; eternal |
| 而是 | ér shì | rather |
| 困难 | kùn nan | difficult; challenging; straitened circumstances; difficult situation |
| 面前 | miàn qián | in front of; facing; (in the) presence (of) |
| 适当 | shì dàng | suitable; appropriate |
| 低 | dī | low; beneath; to lower (one's head); to let droop; to hang down; to incline |
| 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] |
| 柔软 | róu ruǎn | soft |
| 有时 | yǒu shí | sometimes; now and then |
| 比 | Bǐ | Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利時|比利时[Bi3 li4 shi2] |
| 坚硬 | jiān yìng | hard; solid |
| 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) |
| 有力 | yǒu lì | powerful; forceful; vigorous |
| 量 | liáng | to measure |
Long ago, on a hillside, there grew a tall bamboo and a short blade of grass. The bamboo was very proud and often mocked the grass, saying, “Look how tiny you are, and how tall and upright I am!”
The grass replied gently, “My friend, each of us has our own strengths.” But the bamboo never listened.
One day, a fierce storm arrived, with raging wind and rain. The bamboo proudly held its body straight, trying to prove its strength. However, the wind grew stronger and stronger, and in the end it snapped the bamboo in half.
After the storm passed, the grass slowly stood back up. Though it had been blown flat to the ground, it was unharmed because it knew how to bend.
Only then did the broken bamboo understand: true strength is not always standing rigidly upright, but knowing when to bow in the face of hardship. Sometimes, softness is more powerful than hardness.