The Devil's Axe and the God's Tool(鬼斧神工)
In ancient China there was a famous thinker
and philosopher called Zhuangzi.
He wrote a story about a carpenter called
Ziqing from the Kingdom of Lu. His craftsmanship was very good, and the works
he made did not look like they could have been made by human hands. The
refinement and beauty of his work seemed to be created only by Devil's and
Gods.
From this story, later scholars of Chinese
history derived this idiom.
The Yellow River is the most important
river in northern China. There is a section of the Yellow River in Henan
Province called (Sanmenxia). This part of the river is very special. From a
distance, it looks like a man took a huge axe and violently split three gorges
out of the mountains. The turbulent water in the upper reaches of the Yellow
River begins to calm down after passing through these three gorges. According
to historical legends, these three gorges were water conservancy projects
repaired by a very famous king named (Yu) in ancient China.
Because this project solved the chronic
flooding problem caused by the Yellow River, he was respected and remembered by
later generations of Chinese.
During the Yuan Dynasty in China, there was
a poet called Wang Sicheng. After visiting Sanmenxia, the poet wrote a poem.
The general meaning of the poem is as follows.
I believe that only the devil's axe and
God's tools can divide this mountain into three parts. This project cannot be
completed by human hands.
The rushing water of the Yellow River seems
to come down from the sky. When it hits these three gorges in Sanmenxia, the
water flow is blocked, sending up countless splashes of water like countless
white snows, and a huge sound like thunder echoes through the valley.
What a dangerous river this is, there have
been countless accidents in this area.
I can almost see the great kings of ancient
times leading the people and craftsmen of the time in their efforts to control
the Yellow River. It took them a long time to complete this huge and arduous
project.
We should not forget the contributions of
these ancient great men, and we should always remember them.
The literal translation of this idiom is
'the devil's axe and the god's tools'.
It is used to describe a work of art that
is so fine or a project that is so great that it seems impossible for human
beings to create or build it.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
What public projects do you think are great
in your country? What public projects do you think are great?
I hope this story can give you some new
insights.
鬼斧神工(The Devil's Axe and the God's Tool)
中國古代有一個著名的思想家與哲學家，他的名字叫做莊子。
他寫過一個故事，這個故事的內容是紀錄了魯王國的一個名字叫做(梓慶)的木匠，他的製作手藝非常的好，他所製作出來的作品就不像是人的手所可以做出來的，他所製作出來的作品的精細與精美就像是鬼與神才能創作出來的一樣。
根據他的這個故事，後代中國歷史上的文人引申出這句成語。
黃河是中國北方最重要的一條河流，黃河在河南省境內有一段河道的名字叫做(三門峽)，這段河道非常的特殊，如果從遠處看就好像有一個人拿一把巨大的斧頭強硬從山脈中劈出三個峽谷，黃河上游湍急的河水經過這三個峽谷後就開始變得平緩，根據歷史的傳說，這三個峽谷是中國上古時代極其著名的一個名字叫做(禹)的國王所修整的水利工程。
(禹)因為這項工程解決了黃河所造成的長期的水患的問題，他被後代的中國人所尊敬與紀念。
中國的元王朝時，有一個名字叫做王思誠的詩人，這個詩人來到三門峽參觀之後，他寫下了一首詩，這首詩大概的意思如下。
我認為只有鬼的斧頭與神的工具才可以將這座大山劈成三塊，這項工程不可能是人手所能建造完成的。
黃河奔騰的水流就好像從天上傾注而下一樣，在三門峽這個地方遇到這三座峽谷後水流受到阻擋因此激起了像是數不盡的白雪一樣的水花，巨大的聲響如同雷鳴在山谷中迴盪。
這是一個多麼危險的河道啊，有數不清的是事故在這個區域內發生。
我好像可以看到古代那些偉大的國王帶領著當時的人民與工匠為了整治黃河所做出的努力，他們花費了許多時間才終於完成了這個巨大且艱鉅的工程。
我們不應該忘記這些古代的偉人們做出的貢獻，我們應該要時刻紀念。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是鬼的斧頭與神的工具。
這句成語被用來形容一件作品非常精細或一個工程非常的偉大，這件作品或是工程不像是人類的力量所可以製作或建造的。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你的國家中有那些令你覺得偉大的公共工程呢?你覺得偉大的公共工程有那些呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為山西通志-卷224-王思誠-砥柱
出處為莊子-達生-11
https://ctext.org/zhuangzi/full-understanding-of-life/zh