[中文]李秀才

唐郎中李播典蕲州日,有李生称举子来谒。会播有疾病，子弟见之，览所投诗卷，咸播之诗也。既退，呈于播。惊曰：“此昔应举时所行卷也，唯易其名矣。”明日，遣其子邀李生，从容诘之曰：“奉大人咨问，此卷莫非秀才自制乎？”李生闻语，色已变曰：“是吾平生苦心所著，非谬也。”子又曰：“此是大人文战时卷也，兼笺翰未更，却请秀才不妄言。”遽曰：“某向来诚为诳。二十年前，实于京辇书肆中以百钱赎得。殊不知是贤尊郎中佳制，下情不胜恐悚。”子复闻于播。笑曰：“此盖无能之辈耳，亦何怪乎！饥穷若是，实可哀也。”遂沾以生馁，令子延食于书斋。

数日后，辞他适。遗之缣缯。是日播方引见。李生拜谢前事毕，又云：“某执郎中盛卷游于江淮间，已二十载矣。今欲希见惠，可乎？所贵光扬旅寓。”播曰：“此乃某昔岁未成事所怀之者，今日老为郡牧，无用处，便奉献可矣。”亦无愧色，旋置袖中。播又曰：“秀才今拟何之？”生云：“将往江陵，谒表丈卢尚书耳。”播曰:“贤表丈任何官？”曰：“见为荆南节度使。”播曰：“名何也？”对曰：“名弘宣。”播拍手大笑曰：“秀才又错也。荆门卢尚书是某亲表丈。”生惭悸失次，乃复进曰：“诚如郎中之言，则并荆南表丈一时曲取。”于是再拜而走出。播叹曰：“世上有如此人耶！”蕲间悉话为笑端。[/中文]

[外文]The Young Scholar Mr. Li

That day Li Bo,who had the rank of Langzhong in the Tang Dynasty,got to post as prefect of Qizhou,a young scholar also by the name of Li came to call on him.He introduced himself as a nominee eligible to sit for the upcoming top-grade imperial examination.Li Bo happened to be taken ill and so his son played host to him. After flipping through the manuscript Mr. Li presented as his own., he found in astonishment that all the poems in it were his father′s works. After seeing Mr. Li off calmly, he rushed to show his father the manuscript.Li Bo fumed,saying,′′ This is the manuscript I presented to some VIP when I was in the capital for the highest imperial examination.Nothing but the author′s name has been changed.′′

The next day, the prefect dispatched his son to find Mr. Li out.Having met him,the son proceeded to question him in a rather mild tone,′′My father just wants to make sure if the poems in the manuscript are all yours.′′At that Mr. Li changed color immediately,but insisted that he authored them all.′′Yes. I took great pains to compose all these poems.It′s beyond all doubt.′′

“But I′m afraid, sir,” said the son,”I′ve to beg to disagree with you because it is the manuscript that my father presented to the VIP to read when he was taking the top imperial examination in the capital.Every word on it is in my father′s handwriting and the paper sheets used for the manuscript were all his.I′m begging of you not to tell a lie.”

“I admit I lied to you,”confessed Mr. Li.”Twenty years ago I chanced upon the manuscript in a bookstore in the capital and bought it at one hundred.I really didn′t know the poems were all your father′s excellent works.I do apologize for my misdemeanor.”

The son reported this back to Li Bo.And he said,laughing,”What a worthless schorlar he is!No wonder he stoops to cheating like that.He′s hard up and deprivation brings about all this.It′s really lamentable.”Then he urged his son to give Mr.Li a sack of grain and asked him to stay and eat in his study for a few days.

Having enjoyed his sojourn at the prefect′s a couple of days, Mr. Li thought of leaving.Li Bo offered him a length of silk as a momento. As fate would have it, the emperor granted Li Bo an audience on the very day Mr. Li was scheduled to depart.Having giving ample thanks for his hospitality,Mr. Li said,”I roved lots of places between the banks of the Yangtze River and the Huai River showing the precious manuscript of yours around for the last twenty years.I′d venture to ask a favour of you. Would you please let me keep the manuscript?This earns me a lot of honour wherever I go.”

“The manuscript had been my soul mate,” said Li Bo,”in the days before I passed the imperial examination.I′m aged now, besides being saddled with a prefect′s crushing duties.I don′t need it any longer.Now I offer it to you as a tribute.”

Without the least abashment,he took and put the manuscript in his sleeve at once.”May I know your destination after you leave here?”asked Li Bo.”I plan to go to Jiangliang to visit my maternal uncle Mr. Lu who has the rank of a state minister.”

“Well,would you let me know what official position your maternal uncle is holding now?”asked Li Bo.”He is now Jingnan Garrison Commander.”Oh, may I know his name?””His name is Lu Zhongxuan.”

At this Li Bo clapped his hands and gave a loud guffaw.“You′re wrong again,sir.Minister Lu Zhongxuan is my own maternal uncle.”Mr. Li was so ashamed and alarmed that he lost his composure completely.After a while, he said,”If that is the case,why wouldn′t you go the whole hog by also giving me your maternal uncle in Jingnan?”Then he retired after giving the prefect two deep bows.

“An absolutely impossible type!”the prefect commented at last. Qizhou folks spread this episode as a laughingstock.[/外文]