正文
中英對譯：下棋－梁實秋
有一種人我最不喜歡和他下棋，那便是太有涵養的人。殺死他一大塊，或是抽了他一個車，他神色自若，不動火，不生氣，好像是無關痛癢，使得你覺得索然寡味。君子無所爭，下棋卻是要爭的。當你給對方一個嚴重威脅的時候，對方的頭上青筋暴露，黃豆般的汗珠一顆顆的在額上陳列出來，或哭喪著臉作慘笑，或咕嘟著嘴作吃屎狀，或抓耳撓腮，或大叫一聲，或長籲短歎，或自怨自艾口中念念有詞，或一串串的噎膈打個不休，或紅頭漲臉如關公，種種現象，不一而足，這時節你“行有餘力”便可以點起一枝煙，或啜一碗茶，靜靜的欣賞對方的苦悶的象征。我想獵人困逐一隻野兔的時候，其愉快大概略相仿佛。因此我悟出一點道理，和人下棋的時候，如果有機會使對方受窘，當然無所不用其極，如果被對對方所窘，便努力作出不介意狀，因為既不能積極的給對方以煩惱，隻好消極的減少對方的樂趣。
The last man I would like to play chess with is a man with too much self-control. When he sees a huge piece of his position taken by his opponent （as in Go）, or *a chariot, lost to his opponent[1] through an erroneous move （as in Chinese chess）, he remains calm and unruffled, as if nothing whatever has happened. And that air of his will surely make you feel flat and insipid. A real gentleman seldom contests with others; he will, however, seek to do his opponent down in a game of chess. When you put him on the spot, you can expect to see blue veins standing out on his temples and drops of cold sweat the size of soybean appearing on his forehead. He will either wear a wan smile on his long face, or purse his lips in displeasure, or scratch his head, or let out a sharp cry, or sigh and groan, or bitterly repent his folly, or keep hiccupping unceasingly, or flush crimson with shame, and suchlike. And at such a moment, feeling carefree, you can light a cigarette or just take a sip from your teacup and savor the signs of your opponent\'s discomfort. The pleasure you have from it, I believe, is by no means less than that a hunter gets from a deadbeat rabbit at his mercy. And from this I have found out something—when engaged in a game of chess, you should resort to every conceivable means to embarrass your opponent, and try hard to remain calm when you yourself fall into difficulty. If you are unable to cause your opponent to suffer, why not try to let him find as little pleasure as possible from your trouble?
有一種人我最不喜歡和他下棋，那便是太有涵養的人。殺死他一大塊，或是抽了他一個車，他神色自若，不動火，不生氣，好像是無關痛癢，使得你覺得索然寡味。君子無所爭，下棋卻是要爭的。當你給對方一個嚴重威脅的時候，對方的頭上青筋暴露，黃豆般的汗珠一顆顆的在額上陳列出來，或哭喪著臉作慘笑，或咕嘟著嘴作吃屎狀，或抓耳撓腮，或大叫一聲，或長籲短歎，或自怨自艾口中念念有詞，或一串串的噎膈打個不休，或紅頭漲臉如關公，種種現象，不一而足，這時節你“行有餘力”便可以點起一枝煙，或啜一碗茶，靜靜的欣賞對方的苦悶的象征。我想獵人困逐一隻野兔的時候，其愉快大概略相仿佛。因此我悟出一點道理，和人下棋的時候，如果有機會使對方受窘，當然無所不用其極，如果被對對方所窘，便努力作出不介意狀，因為既不能積極的給對方以煩惱，隻好消極的減少對方的樂趣。
The last man I would like to play chess with is a man with too much self-control. When he sees a huge piece of his position taken by his opponent （as in Go）, or *a chariot, lost to his opponent[1] through an erroneous move （as in Chinese chess）, he remains calm and unruffled, as if nothing whatever has happened. And that air of his will surely make you feel flat and insipid. A real gentleman seldom contests with others; he will, however, seek to do his opponent down in a game of chess. When you put him on the spot, you can expect to see blue veins standing out on his temples and drops of cold sweat the size of soybean appearing on his forehead. He will either wear a wan smile on his long face, or purse his lips in displeasure, or scratch his head, or let out a sharp cry, or sigh and groan, or bitterly repent his folly, or keep hiccupping unceasingly, or flush crimson with shame, and suchlike. And at such a moment, feeling carefree, you can light a cigarette or just take a sip from your teacup and savor the signs of your opponent\'s discomfort. The pleasure you have from it, I believe, is by no means less than that a hunter gets from a deadbeat rabbit at his mercy. And from this I have found out something—when engaged in a game of chess, you should resort to every conceivable means to embarrass your opponent, and try hard to remain calm when you yourself fall into difficulty. If you are unable to cause your opponent to suffer, why not try to let him find as little pleasure as possible from your trouble?
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