沉鱼是春秋的西施,落雁是西汉的王昭君,闭月是后汉末的貂蝉,羞花是唐代的杨贵妃。 这些都是历史误会。“沉鱼”的典故出自 《庄子·齐物论》。庄子说,毛嫱、丽姬是人们所说的大美人,但是鱼儿见了照样潜到水里,鸟儿见了高飞云霄,麋鹿见了四散奔逃,这三者知道什么是女性的美吗? 这里很明显,鱼儿见了西施沉到水底是怕被西施捉去吃了,而不是看得发呆,都忘了游泳,以至沉入水底; 歌妓貂婵闭月其实只是巧合,她在后花园拜月时,忽然一阵风吹来,浮云遮住明月,而不是月亮比不过貂蝉躲进云里去了;而杨玉环在皇宫后花园摸的是含羞草;只有昭君出塞时,大雁是否真的掉落她身旁无法考证,也许是一只惊弓之鸟,被箭射伤过,听到琵琶声,以为又是弓响,就掉下来了。 If a man sleep in a damp place, he will have a pain in his loins, and half his body will be as if it were dead; but will it be so with an eel? If he be living in a tree, he will be frightened and all in a tremble; but will it be so with a monkey? And does any one of the three know his right place? Men eat animals that have been fed on grain and grass; deer feed on the thickset grass; centipedes enjoy small snakes; owls and crows delight in mice; but does any one of the four know the right taste? The dog-headed monkey finds its mate in the female gibbon; the elk and the axis deer cohabit; and the eel enjoys itself with other fishes. Mâo Zhiang and Lî Kî were accounted by men...