HSK 4Lesson 72
Confucius and Laozi lived more than two thousand years ago, yet people still read their words. Teacher Wang tells Liu Ming about Confucius's life, Liu Xiaoxue tells Anne the legend of Laozi, and students talk about what these old books mean to them today.
You will learn to tell the life story of a historical figure and a famous legend, and to talk about why their words still matter now and in the future.
Part 1 · 12 new words
Contains 5 words
when; at the time of
by the time; when (finally)
in the end; finally
from then on
even; go so far as to
Contains 4 words
the future
from now on
Contains 3 words
still (formal)
still
Part 2 · 8 phrases
当我第一次到北京的时候，一句汉语也不会说。
When I first got to Beijing, I couldn't say a word of Chinese.
等到我们到电影院，电影已经开始了。
By the time we got to the cinema, the movie had already started.
他试了很多次，最终拿到了第一名。
He tried many times and in the end took first place.
那次旅行以后，她从此爱上了爬山。
After that trip, she fell in love with hiking from then on.
我将来想当老师，所以今后每天都要多练习。
I want to be a teacher in the future, so from now on I need to practice more every day.
目前我还没找到工作，先在朋友的店里帮忙。
At present I haven't found a job, so I'm helping out at a friend's shop for now.
Part 3 · 4 conversations
After class, Liu Ming asks Teacher Wang who Confucius really was, and she tells him the main events of his life.
刘明Liu Ming
王老师，孔子到底是什么人？我只知道他很有名。
Teacher Wang, who exactly was Confucius? I only know that he's famous.
王老师Teacher Wang
他是两千五百多年前的一位老师，也是中国历史上最有名的人之一。
He was a teacher more than two thousand five hundred years ago, and one of the most famous people in Chinese history.
Part 4 · 3 points
介词 当
Open a sentence with 当dāng + clause + 的时候de shíhou or 时shí to say when something happened, especially in stories and formal speech.
Frame the time
当dāng + clause + 的时候de shíhou，main clause.
at present
for the time being
forever; always
二十年过去了，他仍然住在那间小房子里。
Twenty years passed, and he still lives in that little house.
钱暂时不够，我们下个月再买。
We don't have enough money for now; we'll buy it next month.
刘明Liu Ming
听说他去过很多国家？
I hear he went to a lot of countries?
王老师Teacher Wang
对。当他五十多岁的时候，他离开了自己的国家，到别的国家去，希望有人用他的想法。
Yes. When he was in his fifties, he left his own country and went to other countries, hoping someone would put his ideas to use.
刘明Liu Ming
那些国家用了吗？
Did those countries use them?
王老师Teacher Wang
没有。他走了十几年，最终还是回到了自己的国家，从此一直在家里教学生。
No. He traveled for more than ten years, but in the end he went back to his own country, and from then on he taught students at home.
刘明Liu Ming
他的学生多吗？
Did he have many students?
王老师Teacher Wang
很多，听说有三千多人，甚至有人从很远的地方来找他学习。
A great many. They say he had over three thousand, and some even came from far away to study with him.
Anne has come across the name Laozi, and Liu Xiaoxue tells her the best-known legend about him.
安妮Anne
小雪，我在书上看到“老子”这个名字。他是谁？
Xiaoxue, I came across the name Laozi in a book. Who was he?
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
他跟孔子生活的时间差不多，听说孔子还去问过他问题。
He lived at about the same time as Confucius. They say Confucius even went to ask him questions.
安妮Anne
关于他，有什么有名的故事吗？
Are there any famous stories about him?
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
听说他老了以后，骑着一头牛往西走。等到他走到国家西边的大门，管大门的人认得他，请他留下一本书。
They say that when he was old he rode an ox west. When he reached the western gate of the country, the man in charge of the gate knew who he was and asked him to leave behind a book.
安妮Anne
他就写了吗？
And he wrote one?
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
对，于是他写了一本五千多字的书。写完以后，他出了大门，从此再也没有人见过他。
Yes, so he wrote a book of a little over five thousand characters. When he had finished, he went out through the gate, and from then on nobody ever saw him again.
安妮Anne
真像电影里的故事！我也想读读那本书。
It's just like a story in a movie! I'd like to read that book too.
Bai Jiayue asks Wang Yixue about the book of Confucius's sayings she is reading, and whether such old words are any use today.
白家月Bai Jiayue
你最近在看什么书？
What have you been reading lately?
王一雪Wang Yixue
一本孔子的书，里面都是他跟学生说的话。我目前每天晚上看一点儿。
A book of Confucius's sayings. It's full of things he said to his students. At the moment I'm reading a bit of it every evening.
白家月Bai Jiayue
两千多年前的话，现在还有用吗？
Are words from two thousand years ago still any use now?
王一雪Wang Yixue
当然有用。比如他说，学了以后要常常复习。我觉得这句话永远都对。
Of course. For example, he said that after you learn something you should review it often. I think these words will always be true.
白家月Bai Jiayue
你说得对。那你将来想研究中国历史吗？
You're right. So do you want to study Chinese history in the future?
王一雪Wang Yixue
想是想，可是还没决定。今后我想多读几本这样的书，然后再决定。
I'd like to, but I haven't decided. From now on I want to read more books like this, and then decide.
Li Wen and Liu Ming each have to present a historical figure in history class next week, and they choose who to talk about.
李文Li Wen
下个星期的历史课，每个人都要介绍一个历史上有名的人，你选谁？
In next week's history class everyone has to present a historical figure. Who are you choosing?
刘明Liu Ming
我暂时还没想好。你呢？
I haven't decided yet. What about you?
李文Li Wen
我想介绍孔子。他是两千多年前的人，可是他的话仍然影响着很多人。
I want to present Confucius. He lived more than two thousand years ago, but his words still influence a lot of people.
刘明Liu Ming
那我介绍老子吧。他的书很短，可是今天仍有很多人在研究。
Then I'll present Laozi. His book is very short, but many people still study it today.
李文Li Wen
好啊。等到我们都准备好了，就先互相讲一遍，看看还有什么问题。
Great. Once we're both ready, let's give our talks to each other first and see what still needs work.
刘明Liu Ming
行，那星期五晚上我们在图书馆见。
Okay, then let's meet in the library on Friday evening.
Teacher Wang tells Confucius's life like a story.
In sentences
Life story
当他五十多岁的时候，他离开了自己的国家。
When he was in his fifties, he left his own country.
Storytelling style.
Arriving
当我到北京的时候，已经是晚上了。
When I got to Beijing, it was already evening.
A personal story.
Written 时
当我走进教室时，老师已经开始上课了。
When I walked into the classroom, the teacher had already started the lesson.
时shí in place of 的时候de shíhou.
A：当你第一次看到长城的时候，你在想什么？ B：我什么也没想，只觉得它真长。
A: What were you thinking when you first saw the Great Wall? B: Nothing, I just felt how long it is.
当刘明说要介绍孔子的时候，李文选了老子。
When Liu Ming said he would present Confucius, Li Wen chose Laozi.
当dāng is a preposition that frames a time: 当dāng + clause or time phrase + 的时候de shíhou means when or at the time when, and the main clause follows: 当他五十多岁的时候，他离开了自己的国家dāng tā wǔshí duō suì de shíhou, tā líkāi le zìjǐ de guójiā. In writing 时shí often replaces 的时候de shíhou: 当我走进教室时dāng wǒ zǒujìn jiàoshì shí. The meaning is the same as the clause + 的时候de shíhou alone, but 当dāng marks the frame clearly and sounds more formal, so it suits storytelling, history and speeches; in everyday talk 的时候de shíhou alone is more common. The 当dāng phrase normally goes at the start of the sentence. Like 自zì and 随着suízhe, taught earlier as prepositions of time, it belongs mainly to more careful language. Do not confuse it with the verb 当dāng, to work as, as in 当老师dāng lǎoshī. A common error is to leave out the closing 的时候de shíhou or 时shí: say 当他五十多岁的时候dāng tā wǔshí duō suì de shíhou, not 当他五十多岁dāng tā wǔshí duō suì.
……，于是……
Use 于是yúshì at the start of the second clause to say that something happened as a result of, and right after, what came before.
And so …
Event 1，于是yúshì + event 2.
In dialogue 2 the first event is in Liu Xiaoxue's earlier turn; 于是yúshì carries the story on.
In sentences
Legend
管大门的人请他留下一本书，于是他写了一本五千多字的书。
The man in charge of the gate asked him to leave a book, so he wrote a book of a little over five thousand characters.
Two past events in a story.
Personal story
地铁一直不动，于是我下了车，打了一辆出租车。
The subway train just wouldn't move, so I got off and took a taxi.
What the speaker did next.
Decision
他听说那家店的饺子很有名，于是第二天早上就去了。
He heard that shop's dumplings were famous, so he went the very next morning.
What he heard led to what he actually did.
A：你怎么没去上课？ B：我起晚了，于是给老师发了一条短信。
A: Why didn't you go to class? B: I got up late, so I sent the teacher a text message.
老子觉得国家越来越乱，于是骑着牛向西走了。
Laozi felt the country was getting more and more chaotic, so he rode west on an ox.
于是yúshì means so or and so. It links two real events in a story: the first creates a situation, and 于是yúshì introduces what someone then did because of it. In the Laozi story, the gatekeeper asks for a book, and 于是他写了一本五千多字的书yúshì tā xiě le yì běn wǔqiān duō zì de shū. It stands at the start of its clause, before the subject, and is common in stories, reports and careful speech. Unlike 所以suǒyǐ, which can give the result of any reason, including opinions, advice and plans, 于是yúshì is for events that actually followed one another, usually in the past. A common error is to use it for advice or the future: say 明天下雨，所以我们不去了míngtiān xiàyǔ, suǒyǐ wǒmen bú qù le, not 明天下雨，于是我们不去了míngtiān xiàyǔ, yúshì wǒmen bú qù le.
……，甚至……
Use 甚至shènzhì to add the most surprising case, going one step beyond what you have just said.
One step further
Statement，甚至shènzhì + more extreme case.
Teacher Wang shows how famous Confucius was as a teacher.
In sentences
Students
他的学生很多，甚至有人从很远的地方来找他学习。
He had many students; some even came from far away to study with him.
甚至shènzhì before a clause.
With 连
他太忙了，甚至连饭都忘了吃。
He was so busy he even forgot to eat.
Often with 连……都…… (lián … dōu …).
In a list
这本书大人喜欢读，甚至小孩子也喜欢。
Adults like reading this book; even children like it.
The surprising group comes last.
A：孔子的书今天还有人读吗？ B：有，甚至外国人也在读。
A: Does anyone still read Confucius's book today? B: Yes, even foreigners are reading it.
老子的故事很有名，甚至小学生也知道。
The story of Laozi is famous, and even primary school pupils know it.
甚至shènzhì means even. After a statement, it adds a further case that is more extreme or less expected, to show how far something goes: 很多，听说有三千多人，甚至有人从很远的地方来找他学习hěn duō, tīngshuō yǒu sānqiān duō rén, shènzhì yǒu rén cóng hěn yuǎn de dìfang lái zhǎo tā xuéxí. It can stand before a subject or a verb, and it often works with 连……都/也…… (lián … dōu/yě …): 他太忙了，甚至连饭都忘了吃tā tài máng le, shènzhì lián fàn dōu wàng le chī. It can also join words in a list, putting the extreme item last: 大人，甚至小孩子dàren, shènzhì xiǎo háizi. 甚至shènzhì adds a real case; it is not even if. For a supposed situation use 即使……，也…… (jíshǐ …, yě …). A common error is to use it that way: say 即使下雨，我也去jíshǐ xiàyǔ, wǒ yě qù, not 甚至下雨，我也去shènzhì xiàyǔ, wǒ yě qù.
