Join me in a reading of the classic 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore first written in 1823.  This story was the inspiration for the modern-day image of Santa Claus.  Some of the words are outdated, but it remains a charming tale enjoyed by children during the Christmas season.  

Play, Learn, Speak

Episode 1:  Twas the night before Christmas

大家好，我是潘妮，欢迎来到古典智慧拾贝。在这里，我主要与大家分享中国古代的思想家的智慧。

今天这句话来自老子的《清静经》，是老子道家的智慧。

上士不争，下士好争。意思是有上等智慧的人，是没有争夺的心的，只有最下等最没有智慧的人，才一天到晚与人争夺。

我第一次看到这句话的时候，非常震撼。因为我们现代人，大部分都已经习惯了在各种场合与人争一个高低。不管是争夺有限的物质，还是在意见和他人不一样的时候争强好胜，都是古代圣贤最不会做的事情。老子不愧是圣人，只有不与人争，才能保持清静的心，保持一种自在和自由。这其实是传统中国文化的核心部分。

对此，你是怎么想的呢？谢谢你的收听，我们下次见。

Hello everyone, my name is Penny, welcome to this channel. In this channel, I will share with you wisdoms of Chinese thinkers and philosophers from the past.

Today's phrase comes from Lao Tzu, from the wisdom of Taoism. 

The highly respected men don’t argue and contest, the lowly respected men like to argue and contest. It means that people with superior wisdom do not compete or fight, and only least intelligent people compete with others all the time.

The first time I saw this sentence, it was a shock. Because most of us modern people have been used to competing with people on various occasions. Whether it is competing for limited material resources, or competing to win when opinions differ, these are the last things that ancient sages do. Only by not fighting with others can we maintain a quiet mind and keep our hearts truly free and at ease. This is actually a core part of traditional Chinese wisdom.

What do you think about this? Thanks for your listening and see you next time.

Wisdom From the Past 古典智慧拾贝

古典智慧拾贝 - 上士不争

大家好，我是潘妮，欢迎来到古典智慧拾贝。在这里，我主要与大家分享中国古代的思想家的智慧。

今天这句话来自《论语》，是一本儒家经典。《论语》是讲述孔子说的话，还有他和他的弟子们的对话。

见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也。这句话的意思是，看到别人的美德，就想着向他学习，看到没有仁德的人，就要反省自己有没有相同的过失。

孔子给了我们很多做人的指导和启发。许多人看到别人的美德，受到大家的尊敬，不但不去学习，反而会有嫉妒心。这样的人，孔子就说他是“小人”，而不是君子。

如果能做到“见贤思齐”，你一定会越来越成长，越来越进步，越来越能受到大家的尊重。

谢谢你的收听，我们下次见。

Hello everyone, my name is Penny, welcome to this channel. In this channel, I will share with you wisdoms of Chinese thinkers and philosophers from the past.

Today's phrase comes from the Analects of Confucius, a Confucian classic. The Analects of Confucius tells the story of what Confucius said and his conversations with his disciples.

Seeing the wise, think about doing the same wise; seeing the non-wise, think about reflecting on your own faults. The meaning of this sentence is that when you see the virtues of others, you learn from them, and when you see people without virtues, you must reflect on whether you have the same faults.

Confucius gave us a lot of guidance and inspiration on how to live a life. Many people, seeing the virtue of others and being respected by everyone, will not only learn, but would be jealous. Such a person, Confucius said he is a "small man", not a noble man.

If you can do this over time, you will have more growth, make more progress, and be more respected by everyone to become a modern time “noble man”.

Thanks for your listening and see you next time.

古典智慧拾贝 - 见贤思齐

大家好，我是潘妮，欢迎来到古典智慧拾贝。在这里，我主要与大家分享中国古代的思想家的智慧。

今天的智慧来自《中庸》。这本书是一部儒家经典，主要讲学习的方式和做人的规范。几千年来，都是中国文化的经典。

喜怒哀乐之未发，谓之中，发而皆中节，谓之和。

也就是说，快乐、生气、伤心和喜悦这样的情感没有发生时，叫做“中”，在合适的情况下发生，叫做“和”。

“中”与“和”这两个字，在中国的语言文化中，既简单，又极其重要。

谢谢你的收听，我们下次见。

Hello everyone, my name is Penny, welcome to this channel. In this channel, I will share with you wisdoms of Chinese thinkers and philosophers from the past.

The wisdom of the day comes from “The Doctrine of the Mean”, which is a confucianist classic. It mainly talks about study methods and what does it mean of being a human. For thousands of years, it is revered as a classic of Chinese culture.

While there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow or joy, the mind may be said to be in the state of Equilibrium.

When those feelings have been stirred, and they act in their due degree, there ensues what may be called the state of Harmony.

This two words (character 中 and 和 ) is so simple but so important in Chinese language and culture. 

Thanks for your listening, and I will see you next time.

古典智慧拾贝  - 《中庸》第一集

大家好，我是潘妮，欢迎来到古典智慧拾贝。在这里，我主要与大家分享中国古代的思想家的智慧。 Hello everyone, my name is Penny, welcome to this channel. In this channel, I will share with you wisdoms of Chinese thinkers and philosophers from the past. 今天我们来看看道德经的第四章，Now let’s look at the fourth Chapter of Tao De Jing

道冲，而用之或不盈。渊兮，似万物之宗：挫其锐，解其纷；和其光，同其尘。湛兮，似或存。吾不知谁之子，象帝之先。

这几句话是什么意思呢？

规律是空虚而没有形态的，如果遵循着他办事，也许就不会要求把事情办得完美无缺。规律是那样的深远而复杂，好象是万物的根源：他消磨去万物的锋芒，从而融解文明之间的纷争；调和它们的长处，从而使它们都不那样完美。规律是无有形态，是隐没的，但又实际存在着。我不知道它是如何传下来的，只知道它出现在上帝之前。

这一章又讲了玄妙的道，也翻译成万物自然的规律。What is the rule of the vast universe in his eyes? 这个规律可以消磨万物的锋芒，也就是让一切都圆融和平。能够让一切都不那样完美，缓解大家的纷争。If you can look closely with discerning eyes, everything is not perfect in this world. This is why we are able to understand others. 
感谢收听，下次见！Thanks for listening and see you next soon. 

古典智慧拾贝之道德经第四章 Tao Te Ching Chapter Four

我们来看看道德经的第三章。

不上贤，使民不争；不贵难得之货，使民不为盗；不见可欲，使民不乱。是以圣人之治也，虚其心，实其腹，弱其志，强其骨，恒使民无知、无欲也。使夫知不敢、弗为而已，则无不治矣。

第三章的内容，对许多人来说都是有争议的。Some people may not understand this chapter, because we tend to think intellects are good. 然而，老子看到了有才德的人的问题。In my understanding of this chapter, it means intellects bring about ego, which is not align with Tao. 表面上突出的事物会带来争斗。老子追求的是顺其自然，无为而治。竞争和欲望可以导致战乱，When I said the sage weakens people’s ambition, you may disagree, because our time is the age of ambition and everyone want to become better. But this also makes people anxious and overload. Lao Tzu advocates letting go and non-doing, go with how things are. 当所有人都满足于自己的生活，天下就会太平，不会有争斗。

感谢收听，我们下次见~

古典智慧拾贝之道德经第三章 Tao Te Ching Chapter Three

我们来看看道德经的第二章。

天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善矣。有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相盈，音声相和，前后相随。是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教。万物作，焉而弗辞，生而弗有，为而弗恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。

根据老子的思想，万物都是相对的。比如美和丑，善和恶，长和短，有和无。他们互相对立，也互相依赖。If the beauty is everywhere, no one will see it as beautiful anymore. So we shouldn’t push too hard on the things we cannot control. For example, if all the girls do the plastic surgery to become a standard beauty, there would be no one considered beautiful, because everyone is the same. Diversity is beautiful. 所以，老子说，我们要随万物生长而不去限制和控制，这样的无为，也就是不去做一些事，符合道。放下了强烈的我执，有时候选择不去做一些事，比去做还要困难。但是很多情况下，无为，不去做，才是智慧。 

感谢收听，下次见~

古典智慧拾贝之道德经第二章 Tao Te Ching Chapter Two 

今天，我们来看看道德经的第一章。Now let's look at the first chapter of Tao Te Ching.
"道，可道，非常道。名，可名，非常名。无名，天地之始；有名，万物之母 。故常无欲，以观其妙；常有欲，以观其徼。此两者同出而异名，同谓之玄。玄之又玄，众妙之门。"
The Tao that can be followed is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth.
While naming is the origin of the myriad things.
Therefore, always desireless, you see the mystery
Ever desiring, you see the manifestations.
These two are the same
When they appear they are named differently.
This sameness is the mystery,
Mystery within mystery;
The door to all marvels. 
(Translated by Yi-Ping Ong)
