内容简介

《三字经》产生于宋代，并经过后人的修改。它每句3个字，所以叫“三字经”。全书总共约500句，其中讲的许多观念和道理，对中国人影响深远。《三字经》已经被联合国教科文组织选入儿童道德修养的必读书目，译成多国文字，在全世界范围内发行。《<三字经>故事》根据《三字经》，精选一些广泛流传的故事，以简短而生动有趣的方式讲述出来。

The Three Character Classic came out during the Song Dynasty times and was modified later. As it has three characters in each sentence,the book is titled the Three CharacterClassic . It comprises about 500 sentences . Many ideas and truths in it have profound impact on the Chinese people. UNESCO incorporated the book into a list of compulsory books dedicated for the child moral education. It was translated into many languages and circulated globally.

内页插图

目录

Contents

目录

劝学故事

Studying Encouraging Tales

美德故事

Tales of Virtue

人才故事

Tales of Talents

传说故事

Legendary Tales

历史故事

Historical Tales

《三字经》

精彩书摘

孔融让梨

原文：

融四岁，能让梨，

弟于长，宜先知。

故事：

生活在东汉末年的孔融，是现在的山东省曲阜市人。他出生在中国最有名的书香世家，是孔子的第二十世孙。孔融以文章和学问著称，而中国人至今仍然津津乐道的，是他小时候的事情。

孔融兄弟一共七人，他排行第六，上面有五个哥哥，下面还有一个弟弟。七兄弟彼此之间非常友爱。孔融四岁时，有一次家里得到一些梨子，妈妈让孩子们一起来吃。孩子们看见香甜多汁的梨子都很高兴，因为梨子有的大，有的小，妈妈就让最小的孔融和弟弟先挑选。孔融看了看，挑出一个最小的，把大一些的梨子让给了弟弟和哥哥们。

正好爸爸经过他们身边，看见这情形，就问他：“妈妈让你先挑选，你为什么挑了个最小的呢？”孔融回答：“我年龄小，不应该吃大的。”爸爸指着最小的儿子又问：“弟弟不是比你小吗，为什么你又把大梨留给他呢？”孔融答道：“他是弟弟，我是哥哥，应该照顾他呀！”

爸爸听了孔融的回答，觉得他聪明而又懂事，心里很高兴，但还是故意问：“这么好吃的梨子，大家都想多吃几口，难道你就不想吗？”孔融说：“我们是兄弟，感情好得不分彼此，哥哥和弟弟获得了快乐，就等于我也获得了快乐。”听了孔融的话，哥哥、弟弟也纷纷谦让，还把最好吃的梨子拿给爸爸妈妈尝。看到这种情形，孔融的父母十分欣慰。

孔融十岁的时候，跟随父亲到首都洛阳，拜会名望很高的李膺（y~ng）。孔融先跑到李家门前，守门人因为他是个孩子，不肯为他通报。孔融说：“我跟李先生家有很亲近的关系。”守门人只得让他进去。李膺不认识他，就问：“请问你的祖父或者父亲跟我有交情吗？”孔融回答：“我的祖上是孔子，先生您的祖上是老子（本名李耳），孔子曾经拜老子为师，他们两位是这样的关系，那我家与您家不就世世代代都有交情吗？”在座的人听了都哈哈大笑，李膺也被孔融的解释逗乐了，将他当作客人对待。孔融的父亲来了，李膺夸奖说，这个孩子将来一定会成为了不起的人物。

孔融成年后果然成为一代名士，在文学和儒学方面都很有成就。

Kong Rong Offers the Best Pears to Others

Kong Rong lived during the latter part of the Eastern Han, in Qufu City in what is now the province of Shandong. He was born into the most illustrious of all scholarly families in China, namely the Kong family. He was the twenty-second generation of Kong descendants, after Confucius. Kong Rong became famous for his literary achievements and scholarship, but the thing most people remember him for today relates to tales of his childhood.

He was sixth among seven brothers, with five older and one younger, all of whom got along extremely well. One time, the family was given some pears and the mother of the children wanted them all to share them. The children gazed at the pears, mouths watering, and noticed that some were larger and some were smaller. Kong Rong was four years old at the time. His mother asked the two youngest boys to choose first. Kong Rong chose the smallest of the pears and allowed both his older brothers and his younger brother to take the bigger ones.

Just then, his father happened to pass by and noticed this. He asked, “You were allowed to go first, so why did you choose the smallest?” Kong Rong answered, “I’m younger, so I shouldn’t have a larger pear.” His father pointed out that his little brother was even younger, so Kong Rong then said, “He is Little Brother, I am Older Brother to him, so naturally I need to look after him!”

The father was quite pleased with this but he continued to question his son. “Such delicious pears, and everyone wants a few more bites, don’t you feel the same way?” Kong Rong responded, “We are all brothers, and don’t distinguish between what’s yours and what’s mine. When my brothers are happy, that means I’m happy too.” Hearing all of this, the brothers all allowed others better pears as well and offered up the best pears to their mother and father.

When Kong Rong was ten years old, he accompanied his father to the capital city of Luoyang to pay a formal call on the famous personage Li Ying. Kong Rong got to the door first, and the guard there would not announce him, since he was just a child. Kong Rong declared, “I have a very close relationship with Mr. Li’s family,” so the guard had no choice but to let him in. Li Ying did not recognize Kong Rong, however, and instead asked, “Please let me know, did your father or grandfather have some connection to me?” Kong Rong replied, “My ancestor was Confucius, and Sir, your ancestor was Laozi (whose original name was Li Er). Confucius regarded Lao-zi as his teacher. That was the relationship, so our families have had a connection through many generations.” Those sitting nearby laughed at this, and Li Ying himself was also pleased with the explanation. He treated little Kong Rong as an honored guest. When Kong Rong’s father arrived, Li Ying boasted that the child would certainly be a great man in the future.

Indeed, when he grew up, Kong Rong became “one in a generation” in the fields of literature and the Ru-school of philosophy.

前言/序言

前言

中国古代重视对儿童和青少年的教育，产生了多种流传很广的启蒙读物，以使学生加强修养，增长智慧。《三字经》《百家姓》《千字文》和《幼学琼林》就是这些蒙学读物中的佼佼者，它们的主要功能是使学生认识汉字，并对他们进行文化和品德教育。

这些蒙学读物内容通俗易懂，形式简单，读起来很像歌谣，非常适合读者朗读和背诵。对很多中国人来说，这些读物是对他们一生影响最大的书籍，他们通过这些读物认识汉字，了解中国的历史、地理、社会等多方面的知识，并受到品德教育。直到今天，中国人仍然喜爱和重视这些蒙学读物。

上面提到的四本书中，《千字文》产生最早，是南北朝时梁朝人编写的，4个字一句，共250句，1000个字，所以称为“千字文”。

《三字经》产生于宋代，并经过后人的修改。它每句3个字，所以叫“三字经”。全书总共约500句，其中讲的许多观念和道理，对中国人影响深远。《三字经》已经被联合国教科文组织选入儿童道德修养的必读书目，译成多国文字，在全世界范围内发行。

《百家姓》也产生于宋代，是有关中国人姓氏的启蒙读物，采用4个字一句的歌谣形式，共计568字，介绍了504个中国人的姓氏。

《幼学琼林》在这四本书里产生最晚，是明朝人编写的。它内容极为丰富，几乎是一部小型的自然和社会百科全书，所以有人说“读了《幼学》走天下”。

这些书中蕴藏着丰厚的中华民族历史文化传统，尤其是其中提到的那些隽永、生动的故事，令读者印象深刻。“中国蒙学经典故事”丛书从上述四本书中精选出一些在中国广泛流传的故事，以简短而生动有趣的文字讲述出来，通过它们，向全世界广大的读者介绍中华民族的历史文化知识和思想、道德观念。书中的故事分成若干现代人容易理解的类型，并配以幽默生动的漫画。

这套丛书不仅适合儿童和青少年，也适合广大对中国文化感兴趣、初步接触中国历史文化的读者。

Preface

The ancient China long ago has stressed on the child and youth education. Many primer readings spreading far and beyond came into focus, thus strengthening the cause of child upbringing and brightness. The Three Character Classic, the Hundreds Surnames, the Thousand Character Classic, and the Children's Knowledge Treasury are the best examples of such primer readings. Their main goal is to enable the child to learn characters and educate them about culture and morality.

The readings are easy to understand, and simple to read and recite as they resemble songs. They influenced the lives of many Chinese. They learned Chinese, as well as gaining knowledge on Chinese history, geography, and society. They are well-educated on morality too. Till today, Chinese still love and stress these readings.

Of the above-mentioned four books, the Thousand Character Classic came out earliest. It was compiled by a man of the Liang Dynasty. With four characters in each sentence, there are 250 sentences and 1,000 characters in the book. Due to this reason, the book is titled the Thousand Character Classic.

The Three Character Classic came out during the Song Dynasty times and was modified later. As it has three characters in each sentence, the book is titled the Three Character Classic. It comprises about 500 sentences. Many ideas and truths in it have profound impact on the Chinese people. UNESCO incorporated the book into a list of compulsory books dedicated for the child moral education. It was translated into many languages and circulated globally.

The Hundreds Surnames came out during the Song Dynasty times. It is a primer reading related to the Chinese surnames. With a total of 568 characters and in the form of songs with four characters in each sentence, it introduced 504 Chinese surnames in all.

The Children’s Knowledge Treasury came out the latest. The people of Ming Dynasty compiled this book. With rich contents, it became a miniencyclopeadia of natural and social sciences. It owns the reputation of “Making you knowledgeable enough after reading the Children's Knowledge Treasury”.

We can see profound historical and cultural traditions clearly in these books - especially those vivid and meaningful tales greatly impress the readers. Tales from China's Classic Essential Readings has selected tales spreading far and beyond in China from the above four books and tells them in short, lively and interesting truths. Readers, around the world, can learn the historical and cultural knowledge of the Chinese nation, ideology and morality through them. The tales are divided into categories to be easily understood by modern people, with the support of humorous and vivid cartoons.

The books are not only suitable for children and youth, but also for readers with interest in Chinese culture. They can experience the contact with Chinese history and culture.