沈括 著

【原文】

《夢(mèng)溪筆談 · 卷18技藝1》

賈魏公[1]為相日，有方士姓許，對(duì)人未嘗稱名，無(wú)貴賤皆稱 ?“我 ”，時(shí)人謂之“許我 ? ”。言談?lì)H有可采，然傲誕，視公卿蔑如也。公欲見(jiàn)，使人邀召數(shù)四，卒不至。又使門(mén)人苦邀致之，許騎驢徑欲造丞相廳事。門(mén)吏止之不可。吏曰：“此丞相廳門(mén)，雖丞郎亦須下 ??！??許曰：“我無(wú)所求于丞相，丞相召我來(lái)，若如此，但須我去耳 ??！??不下驢而去。門(mén)吏急追之不還， ? 以白丞相。魏公又使人謝而召之，終不至。公嘆曰：“許市井人耳。惟其無(wú)所求于人，尚不可以勢(shì)屈，況其以道義自任者乎?！?/p>

【注釋】

[1] 賈昌朝（公元997年－1065年），北宋宰相、文學(xué)家、書(shū)法家。

【今譯】

賈昌朝擔(dān)任丞相的那段日子，有一位姓許的方士，他對(duì)人從來(lái)沒(méi)有說(shuō)過(guò)自己的名字，不論對(duì)方是有身份的人，還是社會(huì)地位低下的人他都自稱 “我”，當(dāng)時(shí)的人就叫他“許我”。言談很有些可取之處，但性情高傲不合常理，對(duì)達(dá)官顯貴常顯露輕視的樣子。賈昌朝想見(jiàn)他，派人邀請(qǐng)了多次，還是不來(lái)。又派手下門(mén)客苦苦邀請(qǐng)他來(lái)，許我騎著毛驢要直接進(jìn)丞相客廳。守門(mén)的官吏阻止他不能這樣。說(shuō)：“這是丞相的廳門(mén)，即使是寺丞郎官也必須下馬?！?許我說(shuō)：“我沒(méi)什么求丞相的，丞相召我來(lái)。如果這樣，只能讓我走了?！?他便沒(méi)下驢而去。守門(mén)的官吏急忙追趕他，他也不肯回頭。守門(mén)的官吏將實(shí)情向丞相稟告。賈昌朝又派人去道歉并邀請(qǐng)他，許我最終還是沒(méi)有來(lái)。賈昌朝感嘆地說(shuō)：“許我只不過(guò)是個(gè)平民百姓罷了。只因?yàn)樗麩o(wú)所求于人，尚不能以權(quán)勢(shì)讓他屈服，更何況他是以道義為己任的人呢?”

【English Translation】

Mengxi ?Bitan ?(Volume 18 Jiyi 1)

When Jia Changchao (賈昌朝) [1] became prime minister, there ?was an alchemist surnamed Xu, who never made known to others his given name. ? As he always called himself “I” when talking to people of high social status ?and of low social position, he got the nickname Xu Wo (許我, “I am Xu”). Knowledgeable and ?talented, he was a man of peevish temper who had little regard for eminent ?officials. Jia longed to see him. He had invited him for several times, but ?Xu declined all his invitations. Jia went so far as to sending his men to invite ?again and again. Xu eventually consented to meet Jia in his official ?residence. He rode on a donkey and intended to go directly into the reception ?hall. However, the guard in front of the entrance stopped him, saying, “This ?is the prime minister’s official residence! Whoever you are, you will have to? dismount from your donkey!”

Xu replied, “I am not here to as the ?prime minister for help. It is the prime minister who invited me here. If I ?cannot enter, I will have to leave.”

The alchemist left without dismounting ?from his donkey. The guard then chased Xu in a hurry, pleading him to stay, ?but he refused to come back. The guard had to report the event to Jia, who ?sent his men to apologize to the alchemist and invited him again, but he ?would not come. Jia sighed with mixed feeling, saying, “Xu is only a ?civilian, yet he does not yield to no influential officials because he seeks ?no profit for himself. What a virtuous man he is!”

【Notes】

[1] Jia Changchao (997 – 1065) was a prime minister, writer, and calligrapher of the Northern Song dynasty.

Article by Tao Steven Zheng（鄭濤）