肖显写匾 xiao xian writes a placard

万里长城的东头，有一座名叫“山海关”的城楼。城楼上有一块匾，上面写着“天下第一关”几个特别大的字，是明朝的进士 [[ Xiao Xian 肖显 ]]写的。离老远老远就能看见。关于肖显写这块匾，还有一个流传很广的故事。

On the easternmost extremity of the great wall of China, there’s a bastion called Shanhai Pass. Above the gateway is a placard on which is written: ‘the first pass under heaven’. The characters are large and imposing, and they were written by Ming Dynasty scholar, Xiao Xian. You can see the characters from a long, long way away. There is an interesting story about how Xiao Xian wrote the placard.

据说肖显虽然写字有点名气，可他从来没写过这么大的字。为了写好这块匾，他每天很早就起床练功。他还专门准备了一支又粗又大的毛笔，在院中间的一块大青石板上练字，一写就是几个钟头，一直练到手腕酸疼为止。就这样整整练了三个月。

It was said that despite being quite a name in the world of calligraphy, Xiao Xian had never written anything quite so monumental. To guarantee that he would be physically fit enough to do a good job, he did exercises every morning at the crack of dawn. He prepared a special brush that was long and wide, and he would use it to write on the bluestone slabs in his courtyard. He would practise for hours on end until his wrists stung. He trained like this for three whole months.

在写匾额的那一天，天刚麻麻亮，就有许多人从几十里地以外赶来看，里三层外三层，把城楼围得水泄不通。太阳出来的时候，肖显在地方官的陪同下来到了城楼上。按照他的吩咐，人们点着了一炉香。

On the day that had been chosen for the inscription of the plaque, the first rays of dawn flickered in the east revealing a huge crowd of onlookers who had travelled from far and wide to witness the spectacle. The pass was surrounded. Once the sun had risen, Xiao Xian arrived and stood on the ramparts, accompanied by local officials. According to his wishes, people burned incense.

肖显坐在椅子上闭目养神。过了好一会儿，他睁开眼睛拿起笔写起来。当他挥笔写道“天下第一关”的“关”字门框（关字繁体为“關”）， 要写最后一钩的时候，手腕的力量支持不住了，眼看就要写坏。他急中生智，忙用右脚灵巧的将笔往上踢，助了“一脚之力”，才把匾写完。

Xiao Xian sat down on a chair and closed his eyes, deep in meditation. After a long while, he opened his eyes, picked up the brush and began writing. He was just finishing the final hook stroke of the character meaning pass (關) when he felt his wrist giving out under the pressure. It seemed certain he was going to make a mess of it. Necessity being the mother of invention, he had a stroke of genius: He lifted his right leg and kicked the brush, lending it a helping “foot” and completing the final brush stroke.

还有一个关于肖显写匾的传说，是讲那一天匾挂起来以后，人们发现“下”字少了那个“点”，都议论开了。肖显不慌不忙，从附近的茶楼里借来一块抹布，放到墨汁里。然后，他把沾满墨汁的抹布用力向匾上扔去。抹布不偏不倚，正好落在空缺的“点”的位置上。人们顿时欢叫起来。

There’s another story about Xiao Xian, which tells of an event that came to pass after the placard had been hung. Someone discovered that the dot which should be present in the character xìa (下) meaning under was missing. Everyone started talking about it. Xiao Xian was unfazed. He casually sauntered over to the local tea house and borrowed a dishcloth, then dipped it in ink. He then scrumpled the dishcloth into a ball and flung it at the placard. The dishcloth landed right where the missing dot should have been, and everyone cheered.

这个故事虽然离奇，但是流传不绝。说明人们对“天下第一关”这几个大字的喜爱。

It’s a tall tale to be sure, but one that has been passed down for generations. It just goes to show that people feel a real connection to “the first pass under heaven”.

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