Shareables · HSK 5 · 文 · Culture

庄子 · 庄周梦蝶

Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly, and woke unsure which way round it was.

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庄周梦蝶Zhuāng Zhōu mèng diéZhuang Zhou dreams a butterfly

原文 · THE PASSAGE

Xī zhě Zhuāng Zhōu mèng wéi húdié,昔者庄周梦为蝴蝶,Once, Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly,

xǔxǔrán húdié yě.栩栩然蝴蝶也。a butterfly flitting and fluttering.

Bù zhī Zhōu zhī mèng wéi húdié yú,不知周之梦为蝴蝶与,He did not know whether Zhou had dreamt the butterfly,

húdié zhī mèng wéi Zhōu yú?蝴蝶之梦为周与?or the butterfly was dreaming Zhou.

与 at the end of a classical sentence is read yú, not yǔ. It is the particle that leaves a question hanging. 《庄子·齐物论》

What this card is

A one-page Chinese lesson from the HSK 5 set, filed under 文 · Culture. Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly, and woke unsure which way round it was.

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Where it fits

The source: 庄周梦蝶 in the dictionary.

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