Indeed, it is so.(果然如此)
At the end of the Ming dynasty in China,
there was a famous writer named Ling Mengchu who wrote a collection of short
stories. Most of the stories in this book are based on earlier works, and
readers can experience the social realities and atmosphere of the time through
his reinterpretations.
The gist of the middle section of one of
these stories is as follows:
In Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, there
lived a young man named Wang. His parents died when he was young.
His aunt took responsibility for caring for
him, taking him into her home and treating him like her own child.
When Wang turned 18, his aunt supported him
in starting his own business.
He planned to buy local specialities from
Suzhou and sell them in other cities. However, the day after he left Suzhou,
his ship was robbed by a group of bandits. All his money and goods were stolen.
Dejected, he returned to Suzhou. Instead of criticizing him, Mr Wang's aunt
encouraged and comforted him with kind and positive words.
About a month later, she told him, 'You
should cheer up. I recently heard that some special fabrics made using unique
techniques in Suzhou are very popular in other cities. I think you should try
your hand at business again.
I've borrowed some money, plus some of my
savings, and I'm giving it all to you. Overcome your fears and use this money
to buy fabrics to sell in the cities along the lower Yangtze River.'
Encouraged by his aunt, Mr Wang regained
his confidence and bought a large quantity of these special fabrics. This time,
he even rented a medium-sized boat to transport them and set off happily on
what he considered an auspicious day.
He had been travelling by boat for two days
and was getting closer and closer to Changzhou. However, he encountered an
issue: the main waterway leading to Changzhou was severely congested. Seeing
this, he became anxious and his face showed great worry.
The captain, who was navigating the boat,
noticed his state of mind and said to him,
'I know a less travelled waterway that also
leads to Changzhou. Shall we take that one instead?"
Mr Wang replied to the captain.
'Is that a good idea? That waterway is
quite remote. Wouldn't it be dangerous?'
The captain smiled and replied,
'It's only the afternoon now. I don't think
robbers would be out robbing people during the day.'
Mr Wang agreed with the captain and nodded.
But misfortune struck. About half an hour
after their boat entered the narrow waterway, they heard rapid splashing all
around them. Mr Wang and the captain looked around immediately and saw a group
of bandits approaching their vessel in several boats, all armed with sharp
weapons.
As the bandits' boats drew close, they
jumped aboard Mr Wang's vessel. One of the bandits, who appeared to be the
leader, ordered Mr Wang and the captain to hand over all their money. Meanwhile,
the other bandits began loading the cloth that Mr Wang had prepared for sale
onto their smaller boats.
At that moment, Mr Wang suddenly realised
that the bandit leader's face looked familiar, so he shouted at him.
'Brother, you robbed me once before! How
come I've run into you again? What bad thing did I do to you in my past life?
Why am I being robbed twice in this life? Please don't steal my goods!'
After hearing Mr Wang's cries, the leader
of the robbery group looked at him. A young robber standing next to him stared
at Mr Wang for about ten seconds before speaking to the leader.
Indeed, it is so.We robbed that young man
who's shouting now a month ago.
Upon hearing this, the leader laughed
heartily, then said to Mr Wang, 'Since I robbed you last time, I suppose we're
destined to meet. I won't take all your money though — you'll at least have
some to go home with.'
After a quick ten-minute robbery, the
robbers retreated quickly, leaving only Mr Wang and the captain on the boat,
staring helplessly at each other.
This idiom translates directly as
"Indeed, it is so."
It is used to describe something that is
indeed as it seems.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you gain from this story?
Have you ever experienced a series of
unfortunate events? Have you ever made a decision that you later regretted?
I
hope this story offers you some new insights.
果然如此(Indeed, it is so.)
中國的明王朝末年，有一個著名的文學家，他的名字叫做(凌濛初)，他寫過一本短篇小說集。他這本小說中的故事題材大多取自前代著述，經過他的再創作後，讀者可以從這些故事中感受到當時的社會現實和時代氣息。
這本書中的其中一個故事的中間段的大意如下。
在中國的江蘇省的蘇州市，有一個姓王的年輕人，他的父親與母親在他還是幼童得時候就過世了。
王先生的嬸嬸承擔起照顧他的責任，他的嬸嬸把他接到自己的家中居住，他的嬸嬸把他成像是自己的孩子一樣關心與照顧。
王先生18歲的那一年，在他的嬸嬸的資助下，他決定開始他的經商之路。
他計畫從蘇州買了一些蘇州市的特色貨品到其他城市去銷售，但是他離開蘇州的第二天，他所搭乘的船隻就被一群強盜打劫，他身上所有的錢與所有的貨品都被搶走，他的心情很沮喪，他黯然地回到蘇州。
王先生的嬸嬸沒有責怪王先生，相反的，王先傷的嬸嬸鼓勵他並且用溫柔且正面的言語安慰他。，
這件事情發生大約一個月後，王先生的嬸嬸對他說。
你應該打起精神，最近我聽說蘇州市中的一些特殊工藝所做的布匹在其他的城市很受歡迎，我認為你應該再次挑戰經商。
我去借了一些錢，加上我原本的一些積蓄，我把這些錢都交給你，你應該打破內心的恐懼，你帶著我給你的這些錢去買一些布匹然後去那些長江下游的城市銷售。
王先生在他的嬸嬸的鼓勵下，他重新燃起了信心，他就去買了一大批這種特殊工藝所做的布匹，他這次還專門租了一條中型的船放這些珍貴的布匹，在一個他認為吉祥的日子開心地他啟程出發。
他搭著船過了兩天，他租的這艘船愈來愈靠近常州這座城市，但是不知道發生了甚麼事情，前往常州這座城市的主要水道上發生了很嚴重的壅塞的情況，他看到這個情況心情變得很焦慮，他的臉上表情非常的憂愁。
幫他駕駛船的船長看見他的情況就對他說。
我知道有一條比較偏僻的小河道也可以通往常州市，我們是否要改走那一條小水道呢?
王先生回答船長。
這樣好嗎?那條河道比較偏僻，會不會有危險呢?
船長聽到王先生的話後笑著回答。
現在時間才下午，我認為強盜不可能在白天出來打劫。
王先生覺得船長的話有道哩，就點頭答應船長。
但是不幸的事情發生了，就在他們的船進入那條小水道航行了大概半個小時後，他們聽到四周圍傳來急促的水聲，王先生與船長立刻到處張望，他們看到一群強盜正分別搭著好幾艘船航向他們的船，這些強盜的手上拿著尖銳的武器。
強盜的船貼近王先生的船後，這些強盜立刻跳到了他的船上，其中一個看起來像是領導者的強盜下令要求他與船長把身上的錢都全部拿出來，另外幾個強盜開始把他所準備的要用來販售的布匹搬到自己的小艇上。
王先生這個時候突然覺得那群強盜中的領導者的臉看起來很熟悉，他就對著那個領導者大喊。
大哥阿，我上次已經被你強劫過一次了，怎麼這次又遇到你了呢?我是上輩子對你做了甚麼壞事嗎?這輩子竟然要被你連續搶劫兩次阿，你懇求你不要搶劫我的商品好嗎?
那群強盜的領導者聽到王先生的呼喊後就看著他，站在領導者旁邊的一個年輕的強盜仔細注視著王先生大約十幾秒後對那個領導者說。
真的是這樣沒有錯，我們在一個月前強劫過那個現在正在喊叫的年輕人。
那個領導者聽到這句話後就哈哈大笑，然後他對王先生說。
既然我上次搶劫過你，那麼我們算是很有緣份啊。我就不把你身上的錢全部搶光，讓你還能夠留下一些錢回家。
那群強盜經過十幾分鐘的快速強劫後就立刻快速的撤退，船上只留下王先生與船長兩個人無奈地彼此對視。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是真的是這樣沒有錯。
這句成語被用來形容一件事情果然如此。
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。
你曾經接連遇到好幾件很倒楣的事嗎?你是否曾經做過你覺得很後悔的決策呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為凌濛初-初刻拍案驚奇-卷8