从前，有一个人要从魏国到楚国去。
他带了很多钱，雇了好车和快马，请了很优秀的车夫，就上路了。
楚国在魏国的南面，可这个人却让车夫驾着马车一直向北走。
路上有人问他要往哪儿去，他大声回答说：“去楚国！
”路人告诉他说：“到楚国去应该往南方走，你这是往北走，方向不对。
”那人不在乎地说：“没关系，我的马快着呢。
”路人替他着急，拉住他的马，阻止他说：“方向错了，你的马再快，也到不了楚国呀。
”那人依然不以为然：“不要紧，我带的钱多着呢。
”路人又劝阻他说：“虽说你的钱多，可是你走的不是那个方向，你的钱也只能是白花呀。
”那人有些不耐烦地说：“这有什么难的，我的车夫驾车的本领高着呢。
”路人无奈，只好看着他走了。
那个魏国人，觉得自己的马快、钱多、车夫好，就朝着相反方向一意孤行。
那么，他条件越好，他就只会离他要去的地方越远，因为他的方向是错的。
这个故事告诉我们，无论做什么事，都首先要找到正确的方向，才能充分发挥自己的有利条件；
如果方向错了，那么有利条件只会起到相反的作用。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
narration saved locally, offline — from https://download.mandarinbean.com/audio?source=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFmZmljLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vc2VjdXJlL2xlYXJuY2hpbmVzZS9UaGVfcmlnaHRfZGlyZWN0aW9uXy1fNDEyMS5tcDM&filename=The-right-direction.mp3&signature=b2ec6be0d9c48eb9242c2c87768585f3d5c15fe96faab5daf825317eb571bf19
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 从前 | cóng qián | previously / formerly / once upon a time |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 一 | yī | one / single / a (article) |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 要 | yào | will; shall; about to / need to; should / if |
| 从 | cóng | from; through; via / (bound form) retainer; attendant / (bound form) assistant; auxiliary; subordinate / (bound form) related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor |
| 魏国 | Wèi guó | Wei State (407-225 BC), one of the Seven Hero States of the Warring States / Wei State or Cao Wei 曹魏 (220-265), the most powerful of the Three Kingdoms |
| 到 | dào | to leave for; to go to |
| 楚国 | Chǔ guó | the state of Chu, one of the most important of the small states contending for power in China between 770 and 223 BC, located around present-day Hubei |
| 去 | qù | to go, to go to |
| 他 | tā | he; him; his |
| 带 | dài | to wear / to carry / to take along / to bear / to bring |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 很多 | hěn duō | many; a lot of |
| 钱 | qián | coin / money / unit of weight, one tenth of a tael |
| 雇 | gù | to employ / to hire / to rent |
| 好 | hǎo | good / appropriate; proper |
| 车 | chē | car / vehicle / machine |
| 和 | hé | and; together with |
| 快 | kuài | rapid / quick |
| 马 | mǎ | horse / horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess / knight in Western chess |
| 请 | qǐng | to invite |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 优秀 | yōu xiù | outstanding; excellent |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 车夫 | chē fū | cart driver / coachman |
| 就 | jiù | as soon as; immediately after |
| 上 | shàng | to climb; to get onto; to go up |
| 路 | lù | road / journey / route / line (bus etc) / sort; kind |
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 南 | nán | south |
| 面 | miàn | side / surface / aspect / top |
| 可 | kě | but; however |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 却 | què | but / yet / however / while / nevertheless / even though |
| 让 | ràng | to permit / to let sb do sth / to have sb do sth / to make sb (feel sad etc) |
| 驾 | jià | to harness / to draw (a cart etc) / to drive / to pilot / to sail / to ride |
| 着 | zhe | aspect particle indicating action in progress or ongoing state |
| 马车 | mǎ chē | cart / chariot / carriage / buggy |
| 一直 | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line) / continuously; always; all the way through |
| 向 | xiàng | towards / shortly before / formerly / always / all along |
| 北 | běi | north |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk / to go / to run / to move (of vehicle) / to visit / to leave / to go away / to die (euph.) / to change (shape, form, meaning) |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 往 | wǎng | to / towards / (of a train) bound for |
| 哪儿 | nǎ r | where? |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great / older (than another person) / eldest |
| 声 | shēng | sound / voice / tone / noise / reputation |
| 回答 | huí dá | to reply; to answer / reply; answer |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 路人 | lù rén | passer-by / stranger |
| 告诉 | gào su | to tell; to inform; to let know |
| 应该 | yīng gāi | ought to; should; must |
| 南方 | nán fāng | south; southern direction / (in China) southern regions, often referring to areas south of the Yangtze River |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 是 | shì | indeed (used for emphasis) |
| 方向 | fāng xiàng | direction; orientation |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 对 | duì | right; correct |
| 那 | nà | (specifier) that; the; those / (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or situations) |
| 在乎 | zài hu | to rest with; to lie in; to be due to (a certain attribute) / (often used in the negative) to care about |
| 地 | de | -ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 没关系 | méi guān xi | it doesn't matter |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation still holds |
| 替 | tì | for / on behalf of |
| 着急 | zháo jí | to worry; to feel anxious / to feel a sense of urgency; to be in a hurry |
| 拉 | lā | to pull / to play (a bowed instrument) / to drag / to draw / to chat / (coll.) to empty one's bowels |
| 住 | zhù | (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 阻止 | zǔ zhǐ | to prevent / to block |
| 错 | cuò | wrong / bad / interlocking / complex |
| 再 | zài | no matter how ... |
| 也 | yě | even (extreme or unexpected case) |
| 到不了 | dào bù liǎo | cannot reach; cannot get there |
| 呀 | ya | (particle equivalent to 啊 after a vowel, expressing surprise or doubt) |
| 依然 | yī rán | still; as before |
| 不以为然 | bù yǐ wéi rán | not to accept as correct (idiom); to object / to disapprove / to take exception to |
| 要紧 | yào jǐn | important / urgent |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again |
| 劝阻 | quàn zǔ | to advise against / to dissuade |
| 虽说 | suī shuō | though / although |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however |
| 不是 | bù shì | is not |
| 只 | zhǐ | only; merely; just |
| 能 | néng | can / to be able to / might possibly |
| 白 | bái | in vain / gratuitous / free of charge |
| 花 | huā | to spend (money, time) |
| 有些 | yǒu xiē | somewhat; rather; a bit |
| 耐烦 | nài fán | to put up with (sth disagreeable) |
| 什么 | shén me | something; anything |
| 难 | nán | difficult (to...) / difficult |
| 本领 | běn lǐng | skill / ability / capability |
| 高 | gāo | high / tall / above average / loud |
| 无奈 | wú nài | frustrated / exasperated / helpless |
| 只好 | zhǐ hǎo | to have no other option but to ...; to have to; to be forced to |
| 看 | kàn | to see; to look at / to read / to watch / to visit; to call on / to consider; to regard as / to look after / to treat (a patient or illness) / to depend on / to feel (that) / (after a verb) to give it a try / to watch out for |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ... |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 朝 | cháo | facing / towards |
| 相反 | xiāng fǎn | opposite / contrary |
| 一意孤行 | yī yì gū xíng | obstinately clinging to one's course (idiom) / willful / one's own way / dogmatic |
| 那么 | nà me | then; in that case |
| 条件 | tiáo jiàn | condition; circumstance; term; factor / situation; state; condition |
| 越 | yuè | the more... the more |
| 会 | huì | to be likely to; to be sure to |
| 离 | lí | (in giving distances) from / without (sth) / independent of |
| 地方 | dì fang | place; location; area; space; territory / aspect; part |
| 远 | yuǎn | far / distant / remote |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 故事 | gù shi | narrative; story; tale |
| 我们 | wǒ men | we; us; ourselves; our |
| 无论 | wú lùn | no matter what or how / regardless of whether... |
| 做 | zuò | to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc) |
| 事 | shì | matter / thing / item / affair |
| 都 | dōu | all; both; entirely |
| 首先 | shǒu xiān | first of all; in the first place |
| 找 | zhǎo | to try to find / to look for / to call on sb / to find / to seek |
| 正确 | zhèng què | correct; sound; right; proper |
| 才 | cái | then and only then |
| 充分 | chōng fèn | fully / to the full |
| 发挥 | fā huī | to display / to exhibit / to bring out implicit or innate qualities / to express (a thought or moral) / to develop (an idea) / to elaborate (on a theme) |
| 有利 | yǒu lì | advantageous; favorable |
| 如果 | rú guǒ | if; in case; in the event that |
| 起到 | qǐ dào | to have effect; to play |
| 作用 | zuò yòng | action; function; activity / impact; result; effect |