Learning the Handan Walk
邯郸学步：学习邯郸人的走路方式
In Chinese history, the Warring States period (475–221 bce ) was a time when many feudal lords vied for supremacy. By 260 bce , the number of feudal states had dwindled from over a hundred to just seven. Among them were Yan and Zhao, two states mentioned in the present story.
在中国历史上，战国时期（公元前475年–公元前221年）是许多封建诸侯争霸的时期。到公元前260年，封建诸国的数量从百余个减少到仅剩七个。其中就包括我们故事中提到的燕国和赵国。
The state of Yan, located around present-day Beijing, was the oldest of the seven. The rival state of Zhao, situated to the south of Yan, was an up-and-coming state at the time and its capital Handan remains one of the biggest cities in Hebei province today. Handan is about 270 miles from Beijing; these days, the high-speed train takes only two hours to travel between these two cities.
燕国，位于今天的北京附近，是这七国中最古老的一个。而与燕国相邻的赵国，是当时崛起的国家，其首都邯郸至今仍是河北省最大的城市之一。邯郸距离北京约270英里，而如今高铁仅需两小时即可穿梭于这两座城市之间。
The story“Learning the Handan Walk” is about a young man from the state of Yan who went to Handan to learn to walk like the Handanese. Why would he do such a bizarre thing?
故事《邯郸学步》讲述了一位来自燕国的年轻人前往邯郸学习邯郸人走路的经历。为什么他要做这样古怪的事情呢？
Well, by the end of the Warring States period, the state of Zhao was more advanced than its neighbors. It was politically unified, it had a strong military, and its culture was flourishing. Therefore, it became a model for its neighbors. Rumor had it that the Handanese were beautiful, danced well, and even their walk was very graceful!
战国时期末期，赵国在周边国家中更为先进，政治上统一，军事雄厚，文化繁荣。因此，它成为了周边国家的楷模。有传言称邯郸人美丽动人，舞蹈有型，甚至走路都很优雅！
Hearing all this, a young man of Yan grew envious of the Handanese and decided to go to there to learn their walk. There was no high speed train in those days, so it took this young man many days of walking to reach Handan. Once there, he was out on the street day after day, studying the way the Handanese walked. He walked just a few steps behind his unsuspecting models, slavishly imitating each step.
听说这一切，燕国的一位年轻人开始嫉妒邯郸人，决定亲自前往学习他们的步法。那个年代还没有高铁，所以这位年轻人花了很多天的时间步行才到达邯郸。一到那里，他整天都在街上观察邯郸人的走路方式。他紧随在毫不知情的邯郸人身后，刻苦地模仿每一步。
But no matter how hard he practiced, he still could not walk like a Handanese. The young man became really frustrated and depressed. But what’s worse, he even forgot how he himself used to walk! Now he was really in trouble! How was he going to return to his home in the state of Yan? Well, in the end, he had to simply crawl home on all fours.
然而，无论他练习多努力，他仍然无法像邯郸人一样走路。这位年轻人变得真的很沮丧和郁闷。更糟糕的是，他甚至忘记了自己过去是怎么走路的！现在他真的麻烦大了！他要怎么回到自己在燕国的家呢？最终，他只能匍匐着四肢回家。