饭前一千字 1000 characters before breakfast

元朝时候的书法家 [[ Kangli Nao 康里巎 ]]【náo】，又叫康里子山，是蒙族人，出身在一个蒙古贵族家庭。他的祖父是元朝的开国皇帝忽必烈部下的武将，曾立过战功。父亲和哥哥都擅长书法。子山从小受到父兄的影响，也非常喜爱书法。他常常帮助父亲和哥哥磨墨，看他们写字。时间长了，他也对书法产生了兴趣。

The Yuan Dynasty calligrapher Kangli Nao, also known as Kanli Zishan was a Mongolian, born into aristocracy. His grandfather was a decorated general under the founder of the Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan. His father and brother were both talented calligraphers. Their love of calligraphy rubbed off on Zishan, who was also fascinated by the art of writing from an early age. When he was little he’d grind ink for his father and brother, and watch them write. After a while, he wanted to give it a go himself.

有一次他磨完墨，哥哥还没有来。他就找来一张纸自己练了起来。写了好半天，一张纸都写完了，可没有写好一个字。小子山心里想：“为什么父亲和哥哥写字那样轻松、自如，写的那样好，自己写字那么费劲，写的字又那样难看呢？”他放下笔就去找父亲要问个明白。

One day after he had finished grinding ink, his brother didn’t come. He found a piece of paper and started writing. He wrote for a long time and finished a whole sheet of paper, but not one of the characters he wrote was any good. He thought to himself: “How do my father and big brother make it look so easy? Why do I find it so difficult, and yet my characters are all so misshapen?” He put down his brush and went to ask his father.

子山把自己的想法告诉了父亲。父亲语重心长地说：“孩子，你只看到我们现在写字轻松自如，可你没有看到我们从小就下苦功夫学书法。轻松自如是从痛苦的磨练中得来的。”

Zishan told his father about what he was thinking. His father spoke earnestly: “Son, you’ve only seen me write with ease, you don’t know about the hours of practice I’ve spent on the art since I was a boy. I had to work hard to make it look easy.”

小子山听了父亲的话，暗地里下决心要从头练起。每天他同哥哥一道起床，洗脸以后就开始写字。他给自己规定：每天早晨写完一千字以后才吃早饭。

Zishan took his father’s words to heart and secretly swore an oath that he would start from scratch. Every day, Zishan and his big brother would get up, wash their faces and practice calligraphy. He gave himself a rule: each morning he would write 1000 characters before allowing himself to eat breakfast.

有一天哥哥看他睡得正香，没有叫醒他，自己独自一人练字去了。子山醒来的时候，太阳已经升得老高了。他赶紧跑到书房去，看见哥哥已经写完了，正准备吃早饭。哥哥见他来了，就对他说：“弟弟，快来吃饭吧，吃完再去写字。”

One morning his big brother saw that he was still fast asleep. Not wanting to disturb him, he went to practice calligraphy alone. When Zishan finally awoke the sun was high above the horizon. He ran to the study, only to find that his big brother had just finished practising and was about to eat breakfast. Noticing his arrival his big brother turned to him and said: “Hey bro! Come and have some breakfast. You can practice calligraphy after you’ve eaten.”

小子上摇了摇头，回答说：“我还没有写完一千个字，怎么能吃饭呢？哥哥，你先吃吧！”说完，就埋头练起字来，一直到把一千个字写完了才去吃早饭。

Zishan shook his head and replied: “How can I eat if I haven’t finished my 1000 characters? You go on ahead!” with that, he began writing. Only after he had finished writing 1000 characters did he go to eat breakfast.

几十年过去了子山始终保持着这个习惯，从来没有间断过。后来，他终有成为有名的书法家。

Decades passed but Zishan’s habit remained constant, not missing a single day of practice. Later he became an eminent calligrapher of great renown.

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