先生，介于你良好的中文水平，你能能看得懂唐帝國(guó)時(shí)期的漢語(yǔ)嗎？如果不能，你能看懂多久以前的漢語(yǔ)？
Can a modern Chinese person understand and read Chinese from the Tang Dynasty? If not, how far back in time can you understand?
譯文簡(jiǎn)介
AS：閱讀中文有兩個(gè)不同的維度。1：閱讀漢字，識(shí)讀古文字對(duì)大多數(shù)中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)并不是什么障礙，現(xiàn)在使用的漢字和1800年前的漢字差別不大，因此大多數(shù)中國(guó)人都能輕松識(shí)讀唐代文字，而對(duì)于更早的漢字，現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人經(jīng)過(guò)簡(jiǎn)單的學(xué)習(xí)，也能正常閱讀......
正文翻譯
@Aya Shawn
Yes, but it's not that easy
There are two different dimensions to reading Chinese
1: Reading Chinese characters
Reading ancient Chinese characters is not a barrier for most Chinese people. The Chinese characters used today are not much different from those used 1,800 years ago. Therefore, most Chinese people can easily read Tang Dynasty characters. For earlier Chinese characters, modern Chinese people can also read them normally after simple learning.
We can regard Chinese characters as basic words in English. Each Chinese character has its meaning. Of course, many Chinese characters have multiple meanings.
So, being able to read Chinese characters gives modern Chinese people the basic ability to understand ancient documents.
是的，但沒(méi)那么容易
閱讀中文有兩個(gè)不同的維度
1：閱讀漢字
識(shí)讀古文字對(duì)大多數(shù)中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)并不是什么障礙，現(xiàn)在使用的漢字和1800年前的漢字差別不大，因此大多數(shù)中國(guó)人都能輕松識(shí)讀唐代文字，而對(duì)于更早的漢字，現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人經(jīng)過(guò)簡(jiǎn)單的學(xué)習(xí)，也能正常閱讀。
我們可以將漢字視為英語(yǔ)的基本詞匯，每個(gè)漢字都有其含義，當(dāng)然很多漢字有多重含義。
所以，讀懂漢字，就使現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人具備了理解古代文獻(xiàn)的基本能力。
Yes, but it's not that easy
There are two different dimensions to reading Chinese
1: Reading Chinese characters
Reading ancient Chinese characters is not a barrier for most Chinese people. The Chinese characters used today are not much different from those used 1,800 years ago. Therefore, most Chinese people can easily read Tang Dynasty characters. For earlier Chinese characters, modern Chinese people can also read them normally after simple learning.
We can regard Chinese characters as basic words in English. Each Chinese character has its meaning. Of course, many Chinese characters have multiple meanings.
So, being able to read Chinese characters gives modern Chinese people the basic ability to understand ancient documents.
是的，但沒(méi)那么容易
閱讀中文有兩個(gè)不同的維度
1：閱讀漢字
識(shí)讀古文字對(duì)大多數(shù)中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)并不是什么障礙，現(xiàn)在使用的漢字和1800年前的漢字差別不大，因此大多數(shù)中國(guó)人都能輕松識(shí)讀唐代文字，而對(duì)于更早的漢字，現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人經(jīng)過(guò)簡(jiǎn)單的學(xué)習(xí)，也能正常閱讀。
我們可以將漢字視為英語(yǔ)的基本詞匯，每個(gè)漢字都有其含義，當(dāng)然很多漢字有多重含義。
所以，讀懂漢字，就使現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人具備了理解古代文獻(xiàn)的基本能力。
2: Reading documents
There are actually two different grammatical rules for ancient Chinese documents
A. Classical Chinese
This is an ancient Chinese grammar and rules that was born 3,500 years ago. Because paper had not yet been invented, the text was written on bronze, animal bones and bamboo slips. Writing materials were very expensive and writing was difficult. So the Chinese at that time invented classical Chinese, which is a compression algorithm: using the least Chinese characters to express the most meaning. It is completely different from the spoken language used by people in daily life, and only trained people can master it.
Therefore, classical Chinese was only mastered by scholars, students and officials who systematically studied knowledge for thousands of years. Most civilians could not read and write classical Chinese correctly.
Modern Chinese can only read classical Chinese if they have completed secondary education. Some more ancient and obscure classical Chinese can only be read by experts.
2：閱讀文檔
古漢語(yǔ)文獻(xiàn)實(shí)際上有兩種不同的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則
A. 文言文
這是誕生于3500年前的古老中國(guó)語(yǔ)法和規(guī)則。因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)還沒(méi)有發(fā)明紙，文字都是寫(xiě)在青銅、獸骨和竹簡(jiǎn)上。書(shū)寫(xiě)材料非常昂貴，書(shū)寫(xiě)也非常困難。所以當(dāng)時(shí)的中國(guó)人發(fā)明了文言文，這是一種壓縮算法：用最少的漢字表達(dá)最多的意思。它和人們?nèi)粘Ｉ钪惺褂玫目谡Z(yǔ)完全不同，只有經(jīng)過(guò)訓(xùn)練的人才能掌握。
因此，千百年來(lái)，文言文只是系統(tǒng)學(xué)習(xí)知識(shí)的文人、學(xué)生和官員所掌握的，大多數(shù)平民百姓并不能正確地讀寫(xiě)文言文。
現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人要讀懂文言文，必須受過(guò)中等教育，一些比較古老、晦澀的文言文，只有專家才能讀懂。
There are actually two different grammatical rules for ancient Chinese documents
A. Classical Chinese
This is an ancient Chinese grammar and rules that was born 3,500 years ago. Because paper had not yet been invented, the text was written on bronze, animal bones and bamboo slips. Writing materials were very expensive and writing was difficult. So the Chinese at that time invented classical Chinese, which is a compression algorithm: using the least Chinese characters to express the most meaning. It is completely different from the spoken language used by people in daily life, and only trained people can master it.
Therefore, classical Chinese was only mastered by scholars, students and officials who systematically studied knowledge for thousands of years. Most civilians could not read and write classical Chinese correctly.
Modern Chinese can only read classical Chinese if they have completed secondary education. Some more ancient and obscure classical Chinese can only be read by experts.
2：閱讀文檔
古漢語(yǔ)文獻(xiàn)實(shí)際上有兩種不同的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則
A. 文言文
這是誕生于3500年前的古老中國(guó)語(yǔ)法和規(guī)則。因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)還沒(méi)有發(fā)明紙，文字都是寫(xiě)在青銅、獸骨和竹簡(jiǎn)上。書(shū)寫(xiě)材料非常昂貴，書(shū)寫(xiě)也非常困難。所以當(dāng)時(shí)的中國(guó)人發(fā)明了文言文，這是一種壓縮算法：用最少的漢字表達(dá)最多的意思。它和人們?nèi)粘Ｉ钪惺褂玫目谡Z(yǔ)完全不同，只有經(jīng)過(guò)訓(xùn)練的人才能掌握。
因此，千百年來(lái)，文言文只是系統(tǒng)學(xué)習(xí)知識(shí)的文人、學(xué)生和官員所掌握的，大多數(shù)平民百姓并不能正確地讀寫(xiě)文言文。
現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人要讀懂文言文，必須受過(guò)中等教育，一些比較古老、晦澀的文言文，只有專家才能讀懂。
B. Vernacular Chinese
It was born 1,600 years ago, during the Tang Dynasty. As paper became very cheap, people no longer pursued the use of the least words to express the most meaning. People wrote down their daily spoken language directly, forming vernacular Chinese. Vernacular Chinese is consistent with daily spoken language, so as long as Chinese people can read Chinese characters, they can read vernacular Chinese.
For more than a thousand years after the Tang Empire, Chinese people used both vernacular Chinese and classical Chinese. Formal official documents, literary works, poems and books often use classical Chinese. While daily life uses more vernacular Chinese.
So, if a modern Chinese sees a document from the Tang Empire,
can he read it normally? It depends on what kind of grammatical rules the document uses.
B. 白話文
它誕生于1600年前的唐朝，由于紙張變得非常便宜，人們不再追求用最少的文字表達(dá)最多的意思，而是把日?？谡Z(yǔ)直接寫(xiě)下來(lái)，形成了白話文。白話文和日?？谡Z(yǔ)是一致的，只要中國(guó)人能讀懂漢字，就能讀懂白話文。
唐朝以后的一千多年里，中國(guó)人既使用白話文，又使用文言文。正式的官方文件、文學(xué)作品、詩(shī)歌和書(shū)籍經(jīng)常使用文言文。而日常生活中使用白話文較多。
所以，如果一個(gè)現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人看到一份唐朝文獻(xiàn)，
能正常閱讀嗎？這要看文檔用了什么樣的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則。
It was born 1,600 years ago, during the Tang Dynasty. As paper became very cheap, people no longer pursued the use of the least words to express the most meaning. People wrote down their daily spoken language directly, forming vernacular Chinese. Vernacular Chinese is consistent with daily spoken language, so as long as Chinese people can read Chinese characters, they can read vernacular Chinese.
For more than a thousand years after the Tang Empire, Chinese people used both vernacular Chinese and classical Chinese. Formal official documents, literary works, poems and books often use classical Chinese. While daily life uses more vernacular Chinese.
So, if a modern Chinese sees a document from the Tang Empire,
can he read it normally? It depends on what kind of grammatical rules the document uses.
B. 白話文
它誕生于1600年前的唐朝，由于紙張變得非常便宜，人們不再追求用最少的文字表達(dá)最多的意思，而是把日?？谡Z(yǔ)直接寫(xiě)下來(lái)，形成了白話文。白話文和日?？谡Z(yǔ)是一致的，只要中國(guó)人能讀懂漢字，就能讀懂白話文。
唐朝以后的一千多年里，中國(guó)人既使用白話文，又使用文言文。正式的官方文件、文學(xué)作品、詩(shī)歌和書(shū)籍經(jīng)常使用文言文。而日常生活中使用白話文較多。
所以，如果一個(gè)現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人看到一份唐朝文獻(xiàn)，
能正常閱讀嗎？這要看文檔用了什么樣的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則。
Let me give you an example:
There is a sentence in Sun Tzu's Art of War
"上兵伐謀"，If I write this sentence directly in English, it is "up;Soldier;Attack;Strategy"
There is a sentence in Sun Tzu's Art of War
"上兵伐謀"，If I write this sentence directly in English, it is "up;Soldier;Attack;Strategy"
You can understand each word,but you don't understand the meaning of this sentence, which is classical Chinese
Translate it into vernacular Chinese:
最頂級(jí)的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)哲學(xué)，是通過(guò)智謀、策略來(lái)破壞敵人的計(jì)劃和意圖，使其無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)
Translate it into vernacular Chinese:
最頂級(jí)的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)哲學(xué)，是通過(guò)智謀、策略來(lái)破壞敵人的計(jì)劃和意圖，使其無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)
English translation: "The most brilliant philosophy of war is to destroy the enemy's plan through wisdom and strategy, so that the enemy cannot achieve its strategic goals"
Classical Chinese uses 4 Chinese characters, while vernacular Chinese uses 20-30 Chinese characters. Classical Chinese is like an abbreviation of English, and it cannot be understood by ordinary people without special learning.
舉個(gè)例子：
孫子兵法里有一句話
“上兵伐謀” ，這句話如果直接用英文寫(xiě)出來(lái)就是"up;Soldier;Attack;Strategy"
你看得懂每個(gè)詞，卻不懂這句話的意思，這是文言文
翻譯成白話文：
最高明的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)哲學(xué)，是通過(guò)智謀、策略來(lái)破壞敵人的計(jì)劃和意圖，從而使其無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)
文言文有4個(gè)字，白話文有20-30個(gè)字，文言文就像英文的縮寫(xiě)，一般人不經(jīng)過(guò)專門(mén)的學(xué)習(xí)是無(wú)法理解的。
Classical Chinese uses 4 Chinese characters, while vernacular Chinese uses 20-30 Chinese characters. Classical Chinese is like an abbreviation of English, and it cannot be understood by ordinary people without special learning.
舉個(gè)例子：
孫子兵法里有一句話
“上兵伐謀” ，這句話如果直接用英文寫(xiě)出來(lái)就是"up;Soldier;Attack;Strategy"
你看得懂每個(gè)詞，卻不懂這句話的意思，這是文言文
翻譯成白話文：
最高明的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)哲學(xué)，是通過(guò)智謀、策略來(lái)破壞敵人的計(jì)劃和意圖，從而使其無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)
文言文有4個(gè)字，白話文有20-30個(gè)字，文言文就像英文的縮寫(xiě)，一般人不經(jīng)過(guò)專門(mén)的學(xué)習(xí)是無(wú)法理解的。
In 2019, when I visited China, I found such text on a Tang Dynasty stone carving in Henan Province. This is the content written in vernacular Chinese by some Buddhist believers.
It says: I donated and carved this Buddha statue for my parents, wife and son, hoping that they will be healthy and free of disease. I am a believer, Wei Wen, March of the fourth year of Datong (March 539 AD)
As a Singaporean Chinese, I have not undergone systematic learning, I only know basic Chinese characters. But I have no difficulty reading these contents from 1,600 years ago.
2019年我去中國(guó)的時(shí)候，在河南的一塊唐代石刻上發(fā)現(xiàn)了這樣的文字，這是一些佛教信徒用白話書(shū)寫(xiě)的內(nèi)容。
上面寫(xiě)著：我捐獻(xiàn)雕刻此尊佛像，為我的父母、妻子、兒子，祈愿他們身體健康，無(wú)病無(wú)災(zāi)。我是信眾魏文，大統(tǒng)四年三月（公元539年三月）
身為新加坡華人，我沒(méi)有經(jīng)過(guò)系統(tǒng)的古文學(xué)習(xí)，只認(rèn)識(shí)基本的漢字，但讀懂這些1600年前的內(nèi)容卻毫無(wú)困難。
PS：實(shí)際是南北朝時(shí)期，說(shuō)唐代利于中國(guó)之外的人理解
It says: I donated and carved this Buddha statue for my parents, wife and son, hoping that they will be healthy and free of disease. I am a believer, Wei Wen, March of the fourth year of Datong (March 539 AD)
As a Singaporean Chinese, I have not undergone systematic learning, I only know basic Chinese characters. But I have no difficulty reading these contents from 1,600 years ago.
2019年我去中國(guó)的時(shí)候，在河南的一塊唐代石刻上發(fā)現(xiàn)了這樣的文字，這是一些佛教信徒用白話書(shū)寫(xiě)的內(nèi)容。
上面寫(xiě)著：我捐獻(xiàn)雕刻此尊佛像，為我的父母、妻子、兒子，祈愿他們身體健康，無(wú)病無(wú)災(zāi)。我是信眾魏文，大統(tǒng)四年三月（公元539年三月）
身為新加坡華人，我沒(méi)有經(jīng)過(guò)系統(tǒng)的古文學(xué)習(xí)，只認(rèn)識(shí)基本的漢字，但讀懂這些1600年前的內(nèi)容卻毫無(wú)困難。
PS：實(shí)際是南北朝時(shí)期，說(shuō)唐代利于中國(guó)之外的人理解
But on a stone tablet just 50 meters away, they used exactly the same Chinese characters, and I could read every character. But its grammar was classical Chinese, so it was difficult for me to accurately understand the meaning of the content.
但就在50米外的一塊石碑上，用了完全相同的漢字，我也能讀懂每一個(gè)字，只是它的語(yǔ)法是文言文，所以我很難準(zhǔn)確理解內(nèi)容的意思。
Earlier Chinese characters
In this picture, I show how to write two Chinese characters, "Hourse" and "Fish".
The left is the writing of the Qin Empire (2200 years ago), the middle is the writing of the Han Empire (2000 years ago), and the right is the writing of the Tang Empire (1500 years ago-modern times).
There are differences between ancient Chinese characters and modern Chinese characters, but they are also related. So after a short period of learning, Chinese people can still read more ancient Chinese characters.
早期漢字
在這幅圖中，我展示了如何寫(xiě)兩個(gè)漢字“馬”和“魚(yú)”。
左邊是秦帝國(guó)（2200年前）的文字，中間是漢帝國(guó)（2000年前）的文字，右邊是唐帝國(guó)（1500年前-現(xiàn)代）的文字。
古字和現(xiàn)代字有區(qū)別，但也有聯(lián)系，所以中國(guó)人經(jīng)過(guò)短暫的學(xué)習(xí)，還是能認(rèn)識(shí)比較多的古字的。
In this picture, I show how to write two Chinese characters, "Hourse" and "Fish".
The left is the writing of the Qin Empire (2200 years ago), the middle is the writing of the Han Empire (2000 years ago), and the right is the writing of the Tang Empire (1500 years ago-modern times).
There are differences between ancient Chinese characters and modern Chinese characters, but they are also related. So after a short period of learning, Chinese people can still read more ancient Chinese characters.
早期漢字
在這幅圖中，我展示了如何寫(xiě)兩個(gè)漢字“馬”和“魚(yú)”。
左邊是秦帝國(guó)（2200年前）的文字，中間是漢帝國(guó)（2000年前）的文字，右邊是唐帝國(guó)（1500年前-現(xiàn)代）的文字。
古字和現(xiàn)代字有區(qū)別，但也有聯(lián)系，所以中國(guó)人經(jīng)過(guò)短暫的學(xué)習(xí)，還是能認(rèn)識(shí)比較多的古字的。
Conclusion:
1. If the document is from the Tang Dynasty (1500 years ago) and is written in vernacular Chinese
All Chinese people can read it smoothly, including primary school students
2. If the document is from the Tang Dynasty and is written in classical Chinese
All Chinese people can read those Chinese characters, but only people with secondary school education can understand the meaning of the document, and some content can only be understood by experts.
3. If the document is from an earlier era, such as the Qin Dynasty (2200 years ago)
Ordinary Chinese people find it difficult to directly recognize those Chinese characters and need simple training.
結(jié)論：
1. 如果該文獻(xiàn)來(lái)自唐代（1500年前），并且是用白話文寫(xiě)的
所有中國(guó)人都能流暢閱讀，包括小學(xué)生
2. 如果該文獻(xiàn)來(lái)自唐代，并且是用文言文寫(xiě)的
所有中國(guó)人都能讀懂那些漢字，但只有中學(xué)文化程度的人才看得懂文件上的意思，有些內(nèi)容只有專家才能看懂。
3. 如果文獻(xiàn)來(lái)自更早的時(shí)代，例如秦朝（2200年前）
普通中國(guó)人直接識(shí)別這些漢字有一定的難度，需要經(jīng)過(guò)簡(jiǎn)單的訓(xùn)練。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://equalizerredsea.com 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處
1. If the document is from the Tang Dynasty (1500 years ago) and is written in vernacular Chinese
All Chinese people can read it smoothly, including primary school students
2. If the document is from the Tang Dynasty and is written in classical Chinese
All Chinese people can read those Chinese characters, but only people with secondary school education can understand the meaning of the document, and some content can only be understood by experts.
3. If the document is from an earlier era, such as the Qin Dynasty (2200 years ago)
Ordinary Chinese people find it difficult to directly recognize those Chinese characters and need simple training.
結(jié)論：
1. 如果該文獻(xiàn)來(lái)自唐代（1500年前），并且是用白話文寫(xiě)的
所有中國(guó)人都能流暢閱讀，包括小學(xué)生
2. 如果該文獻(xiàn)來(lái)自唐代，并且是用文言文寫(xiě)的
所有中國(guó)人都能讀懂那些漢字，但只有中學(xué)文化程度的人才看得懂文件上的意思，有些內(nèi)容只有專家才能看懂。
3. 如果文獻(xiàn)來(lái)自更早的時(shí)代，例如秦朝（2200年前）
普通中國(guó)人直接識(shí)別這些漢字有一定的難度，需要經(jīng)過(guò)簡(jiǎn)單的訓(xùn)練。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://equalizerredsea.com 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處
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Very nice explanation, thanks. The more I hear about China culture the more I understand different mindset and approach of that civilization.
非常好的解釋，謝謝。越了解中國(guó)文化，我越能理解那種文明的不同思維方式和方法。
Yep. It's a pretty powerful civilizational motivator to feel like you are directly connected to a civilization that has been going for 2–3 millenniums if we are being technical(and only start counting from after the first Qin dynasty) but in reality we feel connected for 5,000+ years easily.
是的。感覺(jué)自己直接與一個(gè)延續(xù)了兩三千年的文明相連，這是一個(gè)非常強(qiáng)大的文明動(dòng)機(jī)（如果從秦朝之后開(kāi)始算）。但實(shí)際上，我們感到與五千多年的歷史相連，這是很自然的。
Yes that also. But about language I always wondered why China, Japan, Egypt use symbols for writing and Indo-European languages use letters.
Letters sistem is definitely easier to learn and understand, but if you have melodic language like Chinese it's not sufficient because to many words have same vocals but different meanings depending on accentuation and melody. Also if your kingdom includes vast variations of dialects it becomes even more challenging - so using pictographic language is better solutions because regardless of dialects and accentuation it's have exactly same meaning.
是的，還有一點(diǎn)。我一直想知道為什么中國(guó)、日本、埃及使用符號(hào)來(lái)書(shū)寫(xiě)，而印歐語(yǔ)系使用字母。
字母系統(tǒng)確實(shí)更容易學(xué)習(xí)和理解，但如果像中文這樣有旋律感的語(yǔ)言，這就不夠了，因?yàn)樵S多詞語(yǔ)有相同的發(fā)音，但根據(jù)重音和旋律有不同的含義。此外，如果你的王國(guó)包含了大量的方言變體，那就更具挑戰(zhàn)性——所以使用象形文字是更好的解決方案，因?yàn)椴还芊窖院椭匾羧绾巫兓鼈兊囊饬x都是完全相同的。
There's another important aspect. Continuity which allows Chinese to easily read texts that are 2000 years old, or even older. Maybe not fluently but you can guess the meaning because the pictographs look similar and the word and meaning is probably the same with just a slightly different ‘picture” like one dot or slash or line added or removed.
So while Chinese can read 2000+ year old texts and poems in their original form, can say English or Italians or whichever which uses alphabet do the same?
The grammar and way to write and talk has changed completely. It's like learning a new language basically..
還有另一個(gè)重要方面，那就是連續(xù)性，這使得中國(guó)人能夠輕松閱讀2000年前甚至更久的文本。也許不流利，但你可以猜出其含義，因?yàn)橄笮挝淖挚雌饋?lái)相似，而且詞語(yǔ)和含義大概是相同的，只是“圖畫(huà)”稍有不同，比如增加或去掉一個(gè)點(diǎn)、斜杠或線條。
所以，當(dāng)中國(guó)人可以閱讀2000多年前的文本和詩(shī)歌時(shí)，使用字母的英語(yǔ)或意大利語(yǔ)等語(yǔ)言能做到這一點(diǎn)嗎？
語(yǔ)法和寫(xiě)作方式已經(jīng)完全改變了，基本上就像在學(xué)習(xí)一種新語(yǔ)言一樣。
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That is the beauty and strength of pictograph.
Even the writing itself is art and calligraphy. We can even see from the thickness of the strokes, the speed and pressure used, the skill and personal style of the writer by the strokes and the way they are written, just how it was written by X person milennia ago, and we can compare our current day writing and style and technique to theirs. Think like.some beautiful cursive calligraphy written in English. But for Chinese, all writing is like that basically, especially by someone using brush.
比如，現(xiàn)在的英國(guó)人能讀懂2000多年前的英語(yǔ)嗎？意大利人能讀懂2000多年前的羅馬文或其他什么語(yǔ)言嗎？法國(guó)人或德國(guó)人或其他任何人呢？
這就是象形文字的美麗和力量所在。
即使是書(shū)寫(xiě)本身也是一種藝術(shù)和書(shū)法。我們甚至可以從筆畫(huà)的粗細(xì)、書(shū)寫(xiě)時(shí)的速度和壓力、筆者的技巧和個(gè)人風(fēng)格來(lái)判斷千年前某人是如何寫(xiě)下這些文字的，并將我們當(dāng)代的書(shū)寫(xiě)風(fēng)格和技巧與他們進(jìn)行比較。想象一下英文中一些美麗的草書(shū)書(shū)法。但對(duì)于中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，所有的書(shū)寫(xiě)基本上都是這樣的，尤其是用毛筆書(shū)寫(xiě)的人。
That would be a piece of art and national treasure today, and as a pictograph it's worth would dwarf the letter/word/alphabet example if some king just wrote one word like “l(fā)ove” on a piece of paper back in the day. Chinese would frx and hang it up. Others would just see it as trash scribble and it would have been lost by now even if it existed at all.
例如，某位國(guó)王或皇帝寫(xiě)的字，即使他只寫(xiě)了一個(gè)字，如“愛(ài)”或“殺”或“美”或其他什么。象形文字中存在著普通字母書(shū)寫(xiě)中不存在的深刻性。你可以在他們的書(shū)寫(xiě)中看到或感受到某人的力量或意圖或其他情感，而這些在字母或拼音語(yǔ)言中是不存在的。
這在今天將是一件藝術(shù)品和國(guó)寶，而作為象形文字，它的價(jià)值將遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)字母/單詞/字母的例子。如果某個(gè)國(guó)王在過(guò)去的某一天在紙上只寫(xiě)了一個(gè)字，比如“愛(ài)”，中國(guó)人會(huì)將其裝框并掛起來(lái)。而其他人可能只會(huì)把它視為垃圾涂鴉，即使它曾經(jīng)存在，現(xiàn)在也早已遺失。
至于為什么，我猜是因?yàn)橹袊?guó)和埃及是最早的文明之一。象形文字是最早的書(shū)寫(xiě)形式。而中國(guó)和埃及是最早的文明。因此，這兩個(gè)最早的文明擁有象形文字。我猜想，即使那些現(xiàn)在不再使用象形文字的文明，一開(kāi)始也曾使用象形文字。比如，中文的“1”就是“-”。一條直線。一個(gè)“2”是“=”，而“3”是三條水平線等。
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Chinese also have pin yin system now, which uses English or western letters and characters, so Chinese have the best of both worlds. Pin yin is mainly used for typing on computer etc.
日本完全從中國(guó)復(fù)制了他們的書(shū)寫(xiě)系統(tǒng)，而且這個(gè)時(shí)間要晚得多，像耶穌之后很久才出現(xiàn)。所以不需要談?wù)撊毡镜臍v史，因?yàn)樗麄儊?lái)得很晚，而且他們的書(shū)寫(xiě)系統(tǒng)完全來(lái)自中國(guó)，并且他們至今仍在使用。
現(xiàn)在中文還有拼音系統(tǒng)，使用英語(yǔ)或西方字母和字符，所以中國(guó)人擁有兩全其美的東西。拼音主要用于計(jì)算機(jī)打字等。
I only had up to 3rd grade education in Chinese and I can read a lot of classical Chinese, including classical poems, with good understanding. I think an interest in Chinese history helps.
我只接受過(guò)三年級(jí)的中文教育，但我可以閱讀很多古文，包括古典詩(shī)歌，并且理解得很好。我認(rèn)為對(duì)中國(guó)歷史的興趣有所幫助。
Don’t know why this guy learnt Chinese so poorly. At least the way it thinks is not what a native speaker will do. 上兵伐謀, literally translation is top-military-attacks-(by)-strategy. quite easy for any native speaker or Chinese learner to understand
不知道為什么這個(gè)人中文學(xué)得這么差。至少他的思維方式不像母語(yǔ)者?！吧媳ブ\”字面翻譯是“上等兵法是通過(guò)謀略進(jìn)行攻擊”。對(duì)于任何母語(yǔ)者或中文學(xué)習(xí)者來(lái)說(shuō)都很容易理解。
As a foreigner, being able to learn Chinese to this level already exceeds many Chinese people.
There is no doubt that the OP has become Quora's expert on China issues.
作為一個(gè)外國(guó)人，能學(xué)中文到這個(gè)水平已經(jīng)超過(guò)許多中國(guó)人了。
毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，答主已經(jīng)成為Quora的中國(guó)問(wèn)題專家
TLDR
texting my friends
Writing an essay with minimum 3000 words:
（文言文）就像發(fā)4個(gè)字母的短信給我的朋友，然后要求他寫(xiě)一篇至少3000字的文章
Google translated “上兵伐謀” into “The best strategy is to attack the enemy's strategy”.
谷歌翻譯“上兵伐謀”為“最好的策略是攻擊敵人的策略”。
這個(gè)翻譯和真正的意思有多接近？我確信它遺漏了一些細(xì)微差別和特定的意義/文化背景，但它是否忠于核心意思？
@都是好事兒
很顯然這個(gè)翻譯違背了原意，答主的翻譯是很精準(zhǔn)的，盡管增加了一些不必要的修飾語(yǔ)
It’s ture. The best method is to attack the enemy’s strategy (so that, they cannot implement their plans and deployments.) 其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城: And second strategy is defeat the enemy in diplomacy, unite more allies, and play one off against the other. And slightly worse method is to launch a war and defeat the opponent's main force. The worst way is to attack the cities defended by others which requires significant casualties and may not necessarily lead to a successful outcome.
確實(shí)如此。最好的方法是攻擊敵人的策略（使他們無(wú)法實(shí)施計(jì)劃和部署）。其次是伐交，再其次是伐兵，最差的是攻城：其次的策略是通過(guò)外交擊敗敵人，團(tuán)結(jié)更多盟友，并利用敵人之間的矛盾。而稍差的方法是發(fā)動(dòng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，擊敗對(duì)方的主力。最糟糕的方式是攻打別人防守的城市，這需要巨大的傷亡，且未必能取得成功。
I think it’s fairly accurate.
我認(rèn)為這相當(dāng)準(zhǔn)確。
Not really close. If you read the next 3 parts, this actually mean the best military tactics is to use strategy. Nothing about attacking enemy’s strategy.
其實(shí)并不太接近。如果你閱讀后面的三部分，這實(shí)際上是指最好的軍事策略是使用謀略。與攻擊敵人策略無(wú)關(guān)。
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Strategy in itself basically means coming up with and using a good or superior plan/method to beat the enemies plan(or strategy). If they don't have one then even better. In other words, you use your brain and plan ahead to try to think of what the enemy would do, and then counter the enemies plan(strategy) with your own. So strategy to beat enemies strategy.
So while it might be redundant, ultimately I think it means the same thing.
策略本身基本上意味著制定并使用一個(gè)良好的或更優(yōu)的計(jì)劃/方法來(lái)打敗敵人的計(jì)劃（或策略）。如果他們沒(méi)有，那就更好了。換句話說(shuō)，你要?jiǎng)幽X子，提前計(jì)劃，試圖預(yù)測(cè)敵人會(huì)做什么，然后用自己的策略來(lái)對(duì)抗敵人的策略。所以策略是用來(lái)打敗敵人策略的。
所以盡管可能有些冗余，但最終我認(rèn)為這意思是一樣的。
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Ie “you have a tactical strategy”. You don't really say “having a strategic tactic”. Or you have a strategy which involves lots of tactics instead of saying you have a tactic which involves lots of strategies. although you probably could, but to me it doesn't sound as correct.
戰(zhàn)術(shù)即是策略，反之亦然。我將策略定義為一系列戰(zhàn)術(shù)，并且包括了定位、時(shí)機(jī)、出其不意、優(yōu)越的知識(shí)等一切，所以對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，策略是頂層的，而戰(zhàn)術(shù)只是策略的一個(gè)方面。
比如“你有一個(gè)戰(zhàn)術(shù)策略”。你不會(huì)真的說(shuō)“有一個(gè)戰(zhàn)略戰(zhàn)術(shù)”?；蛘吣阌幸粋€(gè)包含許多戰(zhàn)術(shù)的策略，而不是說(shuō)你有一個(gè)包含許多策略的戰(zhàn)術(shù)。盡管你可能會(huì)這么說(shuō)，但對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)這聽(tīng)起來(lái)不太正確。
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This is reflected in chess terms also. Like using fork tactic, or pawn sacrifice tactic. Which is like a one or two move tactical shot. But strategy is much deeper concept and involves many moves if not the whole game. Like you play a slow, closed positional strategy.
戰(zhàn)術(shù)更為孤立，是一次單獨(dú)的攻擊，而策略則是更大的整體，包括從戰(zhàn)術(shù)（如突襲）到軍隊(duì)定位再到攻擊時(shí)機(jī)的一切。
這在國(guó)際象棋術(shù)語(yǔ)中也有所反映。比如使用雙重攻擊戰(zhàn)術(shù)，或棄兵戰(zhàn)術(shù)。這就像是一兩步的戰(zhàn)術(shù)打擊。但策略是更深遠(yuǎn)的概念，涉及許多步甚至整個(gè)游戲。就像你采取一種緩慢的、封閉的定位策略。
上兵伐謀
Without context one is left with understanding of the words. Chinese characters are often paired one could recognise a relevant pair here 兵伐 (military expedition). 謀 is plot or strategy. 上 is up and here it could mean top.
More likely the pairs are (上兵) sending in the military (伐謀) battle strategy. I would go with this but of course we need to look at the actual text to know what the “title” actually says.
上兵伐謀
在沒(méi)有上下文的情況下，只能通過(guò)理解這些字詞來(lái)解釋。中文字符通常是成對(duì)出現(xiàn)的，可以在這里識(shí)別出相關(guān)的對(duì)，如兵、伐（軍事遠(yuǎn)征）。謀是計(jì)謀或策略。上是向上，這里可能是指頂層。 更有可能的配對(duì)是（上兵）派遣軍隊(duì)，（伐謀）作戰(zhàn)策略。我會(huì)選擇這個(gè)解釋，但當(dāng)然我們需要看實(shí)際的文本來(lái)了解“標(biāo)題”實(shí)際上說(shuō)了什么。
嘿，我只是試試。
This is what I wrote about the reading of ancient China characters by modern China people. Its inscxtion comes from near the capital of Mongolia and records the history of the Han Dynasty's conquest of Mongolian grasslands and the elimination of xiongnu.
這是我寫(xiě)的關(guān)于現(xiàn)代中國(guó)人閱讀古代中國(guó)文字的文章。它的銘文來(lái)自蒙古首都附近，記錄了漢朝征服蒙古草原和消滅匈奴的歷史。
If you find it hard to read Tang Dynasty text then you must have not finished primary school.
如果你覺(jué)得難以閱讀唐代文字，那你肯定是小學(xué)沒(méi)讀完。
The stele in front of the Buddha statue is obviously not from the Tang Dynasty, but should be from the Western Wei period. This is because the calligraphy style is very clearly that of the Wei stele, closely resembling the style of the “元懷墓志”(Yuan Huai's Epitaph), although the skill level is slightly lower.
It was likely written by someone who was learning this style of calligraphy.
I'm not an expert, just an ordinary person, but Chinese people are quite familiar with their own culture and history, to some extent considered "common knowledge."
佛像前的碑明顯不是唐代的，而是西魏時(shí)期的。因?yàn)檫@種書(shū)法風(fēng)格非常明顯屬于魏碑風(fēng)格，與《元懷墓志》風(fēng)格非常接近，盡管技藝水平稍遜。我查了一下，發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)碑確實(shí)是西魏時(shí)期的（公元539年），而《元懷墓志》是在公元517年完成的，早了大約22年。
這碑文很可能是由一個(gè)學(xué)習(xí)這種書(shū)法風(fēng)格的人寫(xiě)的。我不是專家，只是一個(gè)普通人，但中國(guó)人對(duì)自己的文化和歷史還是比較熟悉的，這在某種程度上被認(rèn)為是“常識(shí)”。
…non of my copies translated those four words into a paragraph
……我所有的譯本都沒(méi)有把那四個(gè)字翻譯成一段話
To me, that paragraph seems more like an explanation of the 4-character idiom, rather than a direct translation from classical into vernacular Chinese.
對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，那段話更像是對(duì)那個(gè)四字成語(yǔ)的解釋，而不是直接從古文翻譯成白話文。
The explanation includes context from art of war, but context is just 「使其無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)」. The rest can still be a direct translation.
For example, I personally find it hard to translate 「其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城」without context, but the context is for the whole sentence instead of just the first part.
這個(gè)解釋包含了《孫子兵法》的上下文，但上下文其實(shí)只是「使其無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)」。其余部分還是可以直接翻譯的。
例如，我個(gè)人覺(jué)得如果沒(méi)有上下文的話，很難翻譯「其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城」，但上下文是針對(duì)整句話而不是僅僅針對(duì)第一部分。
Without context, some ppl will ask “why u messing with others”, but if you for example, convert the context 「使其無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)」into 孫子曰 or smth like that, ppl will understand that this is used as an art of war. Definitely not direct translation but directly translating context is hard when ur translating for someone with no background knowledge of Chinese history.
如果沒(méi)有上下文，有些人可能會(huì)問(wèn)“你為什么要干擾別人”，但如果你把「使其無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)」轉(zhuǎn)化為“孫子曰”或類似的東西，人們就會(huì)明白這是在使用《孫子兵法》。這顯然不是直接翻譯，但在為沒(méi)有中國(guó)歷史背景知識(shí)的人翻譯時(shí)，直接翻譯上下文是很困難的。
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Very good explanation
解釋得很好。
這里就自己的認(rèn)識(shí)做一個(gè)補(bǔ)充，我們能不能正確解讀出古代文獻(xiàn)的意思，重點(diǎn)并不是文字本身，而是讀者自身是否認(rèn)識(shí)這個(gè)字本身（可以通過(guò)字典查閱，一個(gè)字一點(diǎn)定型，就不會(huì)改變）和斷句的地方（非常規(guī)斷句方式，普通人是需要一些訓(xùn)練后，才能解讀正確的意思），古代文獻(xiàn)是沒(méi)有標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)的，同一篇文章，不同的斷句位置，會(huì)產(chǎn)生完全不同的意思解讀。例：道可道非常道（古文形式），斷句：1（道可道，非常道）2（道，可道，非常，道）3（道可、道，非、常道），這3種斷句，就會(huì)得出完全不同的解讀。
‘English translation: "The most brilliant philosophy of war is to destroy the enemy's plan through wisdom and strategy, so that the enemy cannot achieve its strategic goals"’
How did they get that from “up;Soldier;Attack;Strategy”? Is there a Tang-era version in vernacular Chinese?
“英文翻譯：‘戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的最高哲學(xué)是通過(guò)智慧和策略摧毀敵人的計(jì)劃，使敵人無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)’”
他們?cè)趺磸摹吧?；兵；伐；謀”中得出這個(gè)意思的？有沒(méi)有唐代白話版的？
These four words are part of a dialogue by Sun Tzu, in which he explains the three levels of war. Its meaning can be better understood in context, I just took this small section to illustrate.
up: top, best
Soldier: military, war, fighting method
Attack: attack, execution, fighting
Strategy: strategy, tactics
Direct translation: The top fighting method is strategy
Fuller explanation(MY exp): The highest philosophy of war is to destroy the enemy's plan through wisdom and strategy, so that the enemy cannot achieve its strategic goals
這四個(gè)字是一段孫子的對(duì)白中的一部分，他在闡述戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的3個(gè)層次。 結(jié)合上下文可以更好的理解它的意思，我只是截取了這一小段來(lái)舉例說(shuō)明。
上：頂級(jí)的，最好的
兵：軍事，戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，作戰(zhàn)方式
伐：進(jìn)攻，執(zhí)行，作戰(zhàn)
謀：謀略，計(jì)策
直接翻譯：頂級(jí)的作戰(zhàn)方式是謀略
更充分的解釋（我的理解）：戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的最高哲學(xué)是通過(guò)智慧和策略摧毀敵人的計(jì)劃，使敵人無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)其戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)
It's just one of those common sense things. It's like someone says “I'll eat you for dinner”. Everyone knows that they don't mean they will be a cannibal and eat their opponent literally, and instead is just some friendly trash talk.
But some clueless foreigner or alien who sees such words has no understanding and will probably take it as a literal threat and statement of intent to kill and then eat them, or some serious threat when in reality it can even be a friendly trash talk with no serious threatening connotations behind it.
這只是常識(shí)性的問(wèn)題。就像有人說(shuō)“我晚餐要吃了你”，大家都知道這不是字面意思要成為食人族并真的吃掉對(duì)方，而只是一些友好的廢話。
但是一些毫無(wú)頭緒的外國(guó)人或外星人看到這些話可能不理解，可能會(huì)把它當(dāng)成字面上的威脅，認(rèn)為是要?dú)⒘怂麄內(nèi)缓蟪缘?，或者是某種嚴(yán)重的威脅，而實(shí)際上這甚至可能只是友好的廢話，沒(méi)有任何嚴(yán)重的威脅含義。
兵 in the context of the art of war should be translated as warfare.
So in a sense 上兵伐謀 is quite easy to understand even by direct transliteration:
在《孫子兵法》的語(yǔ)境中，"兵" 應(yīng)該翻譯為戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。
所以某種意義上，上兵伐謀即使直接譯也很容易理解：
高（或最高），戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，戰(zhàn)斗（用），策略。
上兵伐謀 just mean best military tactics is to use strategy to win the enemy. The full sentence should be 上兵伐謀，其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城。Without the last 3 parts, the first part does not really give the context.
上兵伐謀的意思就是最好的軍事策略是用計(jì)謀打敗敵人。完整的句子應(yīng)該是“上兵伐謀，其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城?！比绻麤](méi)有后三部分，第一部分其實(shí)沒(méi)有上下文。
完整的意思應(yīng)該是，最好的軍事策略是用計(jì)謀打敗敵人，其次是通過(guò)外交，再其次是軍事戰(zhàn)斗，攻城應(yīng)該是最后的手段。
1。 The so called vernacular Chinese translation of 上兵伐謀 is too complicated. 2。 1600 years ago is not Tang Dynasty because Tang is 618–907, including the 15 years of Empress Wu Zetian.
1。所謂的上兵伐謀的白話翻譯太復(fù)雜了。
2。1600年前不是唐朝，因?yàn)樘瞥?18–907年，包括武則天的15年。
Japan and Korea didn't even have writing before they adopted Chinese wholesale.. no?
日本和朝鮮在全面采用漢字之前甚至沒(méi)有文字吧？
In Japan and North Korea, Chinese characters are characters used by upper class people
在日本和朝鮮半島，漢字是上層社會(huì)使用的文字。
大統(tǒng)四年不是唐朝，而是南北朝時(shí)期，隋朝統(tǒng)一之前。
建議修改。
Quite silly question
I am a Korean, we use Chinese character in ancient times. But recently we repealed the Chinese character. I think it's a silly and ridiculous decision.
why? Korean people can't read any ancient literatures. So multiple Korean are pompous and not have any knowledge about ancient culture. Hangul is a phonograph. the advantage is easily learning, but now, the disadvantage has appeared. It has no culture and contents.
相當(dāng)愚蠢的問(wèn)題
我是韓國(guó)人，我們古代使用漢字。但最近我們廢除了漢字。我認(rèn)為這是一個(gè)愚蠢而荒謬的決定。
為什么？韓國(guó)人看不懂古代文獻(xiàn)，所以很多韓國(guó)人很浮夸，對(duì)古代文化沒(méi)有一點(diǎn)了解。韓語(yǔ)是留聲機(jī)，優(yōu)點(diǎn)是容易學(xué)，但是現(xiàn)在缺點(diǎn)就出來(lái)了，沒(méi)有文化，沒(méi)有內(nèi)涵。
Now, almost every Chinese people can read books and poems easily, although they can date back to Tang Dynasty.
相反，中國(guó)并沒(méi)有不斷廢除漢字，也許一開(kāi)始這對(duì)漢字的普及不利。但它永遠(yuǎn)保留了漢字的獨(dú)特優(yōu)勢(shì)?，F(xiàn)在，時(shí)間證明，中國(guó)當(dāng)時(shí)做出了正確的決定。
如今，幾乎每個(gè)中國(guó)人都可以輕松地閱讀書(shū)籍和詩(shī)歌，盡管它們的歷史可以追溯到唐代。
So, I can tell, Chinese can read their culture easily, but we Korean not. So I learn Chinese now and hope study in China in the future
作為一個(gè)韓國(guó)人，說(shuō)實(shí)話，我很佩服中國(guó)，羨慕他們文化的豐富，也許中國(guó)人和其他人無(wú)法理解，很多韓國(guó)人都很羨慕，他們一方面侮辱攻擊中國(guó)文化，另一方面瘋狂地竊取中國(guó)文化。
所以，我能看出，中國(guó)人很容易理解他們的文化，但我們韓國(guó)人卻不行。所以我現(xiàn)在學(xué)習(xí)中文，希望將來(lái)能在中國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)
現(xiàn)在我在中國(guó)工作，我可以告訴你們大多數(shù)中國(guó)年輕學(xué)生都能讀唐詩(shī)，但在韓國(guó)，抱歉，除了法官和律師，我找不到任何人能流利地閱讀漢字，韓國(guó)人似乎放棄了中文特點(diǎn)。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://equalizerredsea.com 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處