旅途幸苦练字忙 practicing calligraphy on an arduous journey

清朝的时候在云南昆明有一个书法家，名字叫 [[ Qian Feng 钱沣 ]]【fēng】，又叫钱南园。

During the Qing Dynasty, there was a calligrapher who lived in Kunming by the name of Qian Feng. People also called him Qian Nanyuan.

有一天钱南园从朋友那里借来一本字帖，是唐代大书法家 [[ Yan Zhenqing 颜真卿 ]]的真迹。他认真地临摹起来，可连着写了三个月，还没有完全学到手，而进京赶考的日期到了。怎么办呢？

One day, Qian Nanyuan borrowed a book of model letters from his friend. It was a book of authentic works by the famous Tang Dynasty calligrapher Yan Zhenqing. He copied them studiously for over three months, but he still hadn’t quite gotten the knack for his style. The date of his departure to take part in the imperial exams in Beijing was getting closer. What could he do?

钱南园左思右想，最后只好找那个朋友商量，把这本字帖带着进京继续临摹。那个朋友答应了。

Qian Nanyuan thought long and hard. Finally, he went to see his friend to ask if he could take the volumes with him on the trip to Beijing so that he could continue working on his calligraphy. The friend graciously accepted.

钱南园辞别了亲人和朋友，骑上小毛驴，离开了故乡，踏上了进京的路途。一路上，不管多么劳累，钱南园每天都要抽时间练习大字，临摹字帖。

Qian Nanyuan bid farewell to friends and family, riding on a little donkey, leaving his hometown behind, and began the long trek to Beijing. No matter how arduous the trail was, Qian Nanyuan would always make time to practice his calligraphy, working from the copybook.

有一天钱南园迷了路，来到了一座山脚下。眼看太阳快下上了，他心里很着急。正在这时候，前面来了一位老和尚，看样子有六十多岁。钱南园急忙走上前去行礼，说明了自己的困难。

One day, Qian Nanyuan lost his way. He found himself at the foot of a mountain. The sun was low in the sky, and he started to feel a little anxious. Suddenly in the distance, he saw what seemed to be an old monk walking towards him. He looked to be around the age of 60. Qian Nanyuan greeted him graciously and told him how he had lost his way.

老和尚看钱南园是一个忠厚人，就答应把他带到庙里去住宿。这时候，天已黑了。两人摸黑走了好半天，才来到半山腰的一座庙里。钱南园吃完饭，铺开行李的时候夜已经深了。

The old monk knew immediately that Qian Nanyuan was an honest man, and agreed to shelter him at the monastery for a night. The sun set and the two travellers slowly made their way forwards through the darkness, finally arriving at the monastery halfway up the mountain. After Qian Nanyuan had finished eating and taking care of his luggage, it was already very late.

他很想躺下睡一觉，但是一想到今天的功课没有完成，就立即振作起精神，拿出了笔墨纸砚，认真的抄写起字来。

He would have liked nothing better than to lie down and sleep, but the thought that he hadn’t completed his daily exercise would not let him. He gathered his strength and picked up his brush, concentrating all of his energies on the task of writing.

老和尚见此情景走进屋里惊讶地说：“这么晚了，您怎么还不睡呢？明天还要赶路哇！”

The old monk saw what was going on in the room and asked, with an air of surprise: “It’s late, shouldn’t you be resting, you still have to continue your journey tomorrow!”

钱南园赶忙放下笔，抬起头回答说：“我在抄写一本字帖。这是我每天必须完成的功课。今天迷了路，耽误了时间，现在抓紧补课。”

Qian Nanyuan put down the brush and looked up from his papers, replying: “I’m working from a copybook of model letters. It’s an exercise that I must complete every day. Today I got lost, so now I have to make up for the lost time.”

“啊，原来是这样。您真是一个勤奋的人。好，好。”老和尚一边说，一边走出了房间。

“I see. Well, you really are a hard worker. Okay.” The old monk remarked as he left the room.

当钱南园抄写完字帖的时候，天已经亮了。

When Qian Nanyuan had finally finished his exercises, the first rays of dawn shone in the sky.

#QianFeng #QianNanyuan #BurningMidnightOil #Redeye #Allnighter #StoriesAboutCalligraphers #Monastery #Monks #Lost #ImperialExams #QingDynasty #清朝 #彻夜无眠 #通宵达旦 #书法家故事 #进京赶考 #钱南园 #钱沣 #寺庙 #和尚 #勤奋 #颜真卿

This line appears after every note.