100 must-read books for college students

Chapter 8 The Fables of the World

Chapter 7 The world's first collection of fables: "Aesop's Fables"

As early as the beginning of this century, a Western scholar said that the most widely circulated book in the world may be "Aesop's Fable" besides the "Bible".
Word".

"Aesop's Fables" was introduced to China more than 300 years ago and is the oldest collection of fables in the world. "Aesop's Fables"

short and sharp

Through fictitious anthropomorphic short stories, it summarizes many common life experiences of human beings.These stories are easy to understand, but they show a

a profound truth.

A treasure trove of edutainment and entertainment

Aesop's life experience is not very clear, he lived about 2500 years ago, that is, in ancient Greece in the early 6th century BC.
He is a domestic slave who was liberated by his master as a freeman because of his outstanding intelligence.After he obtained the status of a free citizen, he roamed all over Greece,
And once served as an official in the court of the king of Lydia, when he acted as the king's special envoy to Delphi, he was falsely accused of blasphemy and was killed by the Delphiians.
kill.In the works of ancient Greek historian Herodotus, dramatist Aristophanes, philosopher Plato and Aristotle

In the works, Aesop has been mentioned.As for whether Aesop's fables are all created by Aesop, according to experts who have studied this book

The more consistent view is that it is impossible for Aesop to create it all by himself, but it is a folk art in different periods and places in ancient Greece.
A compilation of fables, not only the works of Aesop himself "good at telling fables", but also Aesop can be considered the most
The person who collected these folk fables earlier, and after him, has been supplemented and sorted by many people, so it is circulated
There are many different versions of "Aesop's Fables" in the world, and the content is generally the same, but the number of articles is more or less. 1625, Tomorrow Awakens

During the year, "Aesop's Fables" was published in Chinese translation in Chang'an under the name of "Kuang Yi" (collecting 22 fables).

The "Aesop's fables" that are now being circulated are based on the fables collected by the Byzantine monk Pranudes and the ancient fables that have been discovered one after another.

Compiled from the manuscripts of Greek fables, some stories may also come from Asia and Africa, with more than 300 articles collected.

The content of "Aesop's Fables" is extremely rich, and most of them use anthropomorphic techniques, using a short story to illustrate a story.

reason.For example, the story of "The Farmer and the Snake" warns a truth throughout the ages: one must never be merciful to the wicked. "tortoise and hare

The story of "Racing" can be said to be a household name all over the world. It has become a way for generations of people to instill "pride" in young children.

And slack" is not as good as the enlightenment textbook for the principle of "stupid and powerless". A small story like this, in "Aesop's Fables" is

There are many, roughly estimated, there are as many as three or four hundred.

It is very interesting that many stories in "Aesop's Fables" coincide with our country's folk fables and proverbs, such as "the farmer's
The children" said: "There was a farmer whose children were always quarreling.The farmer tried to persuade him many times, but it didn't make any sense.
To convince them with facts, so the children were asked to bring a bundle of sticks.When they brought the branches, the farmer first took the whole bundle

give them branches to break.The children put in a lot of effort one by one, and they couldn't stop breaking.Then the farmer took the bundle of branches
Untie it, and give each of them a branch, and they all break the branch easily.At this time, the farmer said: 'Children, you too

Similarly, if you are united, you are invincible; however, if you quarrel endlessly, you will easily be broken by the enemy. '" my country "

There is such a paragraph in Weishu Tuyuhun Biography: "A jackal has 20 sons, and the eldest son of Wei Dai. A jackal said: 'You and others will serve me
An arrow fell to the ground. Er Er ordered his mother and younger brother Mu Liyan to say, "Take an arrow and break it."Mu Liyan folded it.He also said:'

You take nineteen arrows and break them.Delay cannot be folded.A jackal said: "Do you know, Do you know that a single is easy to break, but a crowd is hard to break, so if you work hard together,
Then the country can be solidified. '” There are many similar stories in the folk, with chopsticks and branches, all of which are about the same theme.

There is a "Lion and Bear" story: "The Lion and the Bear found a fawn and fought over it. They fought hard

, After a long struggle, they were all dizzy, half dead from exhaustion, and fell to the ground.A fox was walking around and saw

Both of them were hurt, and the fawn lay among them, and ran through the middle, and snatched the fawn away.The lion and the bear watched
Looking at the fox, but unable to stand up, they said at the same time: "We are so unlucky, we have worked hard for the fox!" '” This fable is related to our country

The fable of "the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman wins" is exactly the same.As for the story of "the wolf is coming, the wolf is coming" that is widely circulated in our country.

It is a direct reprint of the "Joking Shepherd" in "Aesop's Fables". The passage "The Crow and the Serpent" says that the crow "sees

A snake was lying in the sun, and it swooped down and caught him.The snake turned back and took a bite.On his deathbed the crow said, 'I am so unlucky

, I discovered this windfall, but died. '" There is also a proverb in our country that "people die for money, birds die for food". Such
There are many situations.

Many parts of "Aesop's Fables" are about the moral principles of being a human being, and many articles promote the value of honest friendship, such as

"The Wild Goat and the Shepherd", "The Pedestrian and the Bear", "The Deer and the Lion", "The Lion and the Dolphin" are all masterpieces in this regard,

There should be no pity and no trust for the wicked, such as "cats and roosters", "people bitten by dogs", etc.For traitors,

The "cave bird and the crow", "the bird catcher and the pheasant" have done a good job of betraying their compatriots and their motherland.
Bitter sarcasm.In the fable, there is a very vivid description of the ugliness of the fox who pretends to be the tiger and the dog who takes power: "A man put the statue of the god
On the back of a donkey, driving the donkey into the city, all the people I met on the road worshiped the statue.The donkey thought that everyone was worshiping him, so he was very happy.

He cried out and refused to go any further. When the donkey driver realized what was going on, he beat it with a stick and cursed: "Bad thing,

It's too early for people to bow down before donkeys! '" ("The Donkey Carrying the God Statue"); there is also an article where the villain is also a donkey, saying that the donkey

Swim around in a lion's skin to frighten wild animals.It saw the fox and wanted to scare it too.It so happened that the fox had heard it before
He said to it: "You have to know, if I haven't heard you call, even I will be afraid of you."

"(Warring States Policy·Chu Ce [-]) takes the fox as the villain.
This is also very interesting. There are also several fables about parents educating their children.

There are not many "Aesop's Fables" that directly reflect politics. A story entitled "The Fisherman" pretends that the fisherman is fishing and deliberately disturbs the water.

Only when you are muddy can you catch fish, it is used to satirize city-state politicians who create turmoil for personal gain. "The bird catcher and the crested sparrow" imply that the people will not accept

Ruled by deceit and cruelty. "The wolf and the sheep" said that the dog guarded the sheep so that the wolf could not eat the sheep, but the sheep listened to the slander of the wolf.
The dog was handed over, and the result can be imagined, the sheep became a delicious meal for the wolf.

In the story of "The Wolf and the Lamb", the "wolf" makes all kinds of excuses to entrap the weak, and once the lie is exposed, it will reveal its vicious
The truth is, he ate the lamb in one bite.This fable reveals that the ruler has no excuses to oppress the people.In "The Lion and
"The Fox" and "The Cat and the Chicken" describe the story of the witty weak defeating the ferocious strong.

The ancient fable is infinitely wise

As the oldest collection of fables in the world, "Aesop's Fables" is short in length and informal in form.

It shines the light of wisdom, bursts out the spark of wit, and contains profound meaning.It is not only to instill the beauty of good and evil in children

It is not only an enlightenment textbook for ugly concepts, but also a powerful means to satirize ugly words and deeds and whip out social sickness.
As a living textbook, it has had a great influence on later generations.In the history of European literature, it laid the foundation for the creation of fables.

The fable creations of the French poet La Fontaine in the 17th century and the Russian Krylov in the early 19th century were deeply influenced by "Aesop's Fables".
Inspire and influence.Literary works and even political works of various countries in the world often quote "Aesop's Fables", or as a reasoning

A metaphor in an argument, or as a weapon of criticism and satire.The essence of this book still has positive practical significance.

Mr. Qian Zhongshu, a contemporary Chinese scholar, recommended this book to people. He said: ""Aesop's Fables" can be read. It is at least
Give us triple comfort.First of all, this is an ancient book, reading it can increase our pride in modern civilization.secondly

, it is a children's book, and after reading it, we will feel that we are adults and have surpassed those naive opinions.Finally, this

Almost all the books are about beasts, from beasts to humans, you see how much evolution is needed in the process! "

Throughout "Aesop's Fables", the text is concise, and the least words are used to express a very profound meaning.
For example, the article "The Lion and the Fox" wrote: "The fox ridiculed that the lioness gave birth to only one son per litter.The lioness replied: 'Of course
But a lion! '" In just 20 words, it portrays the essence so thoroughly. This reminds me of Lenin's attack on German women.

Revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg's famous comment: "Luxembourg made some mistakes, but she was not a

A chicken is always an eagle. "Lenin's metaphor may have been inspired by Aesop's fables.

Nowadays, many famous articles have already been selected as textbooks in primary and secondary schools all over the world.

To quote the cautionary rhetoric.The works of Marx, Engels, and Lenin have used the language of "Aesop's Fables";
Shipea, La Fontaine, and Krylov also used the plot of the book.

"Aesop's Fables" is a folk literature handed down orally in ancient Greece. It is easy to understand, with concise words, concentrated themes, and easy to remember.
It has gone beyond the boundaries of the region and become a treasure of world literature, and has been accepted by people all over the world.For example, in our country widely
The popular "grapes are sour if you can't eat them", "the tortoise and the hare", "the farmer and the snake" and so on are all from "Aesop's fables".
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It should be pointed out that in "Aesop's Fables", there are also some negative thoughts such as advocating reverence for gods and being content with destiny.
Since these are some folk tales from ancient Greece more than 2000 years ago, we should not be picky.

(End of this chapter)