马说 On Horses
Han Yu 韩愈 · Tang, late 8th / early 9th century
Han Yu’s hungry thousand-li horse has become a familiar way to talk about talent that goes unrecognised.
世有伯乐，然后有千里马。 shì yǒu bó lè, rán hòu yǒu qiān lǐ mǎ.
Only when there is a Bole in the world can there be a thousand-li horse.
千里马常有，而伯乐不常有。 qiān lǐ mǎ cháng yǒu, ér bó lè bù cháng yǒu.
Thousand-li horses are common, but Boles are not.
故虽有名马，祗辱于奴隶人之手，骈死于槽枥之间，不以千里称也。 gù suī yǒu míng mǎ, zhǐ rǔ yú nú lì rén zhī shǒu, pián sǐ yú cáo lì zhī jiān, bù yǐ qiān lǐ chēng yě.
So even a fine horse may suffer humiliation at the hands of servants and die alongside ordinary horses in the stable, never known for its thousand-li ability.
马之千里者，一食或尽粟一石。 mǎ zhī qiān lǐ zhě, yī shí huò jìn sù yī dàn.
A horse capable of a thousand li may eat a whole measure of grain at a single meal.
食马者不知其能千里而食也。 sì mǎ zhě bù zhī qí néng qiān lǐ ér sì yě.
Its keeper feeds it without knowing that it can travel a thousand li.
是马也，虽有千里之能，食不饱，力不足，才美不外见，且欲与常马等不可得，安求其能千里也？ shì mǎ yě, suī yǒu qiān lǐ zhī néng, shí bù bǎo, lì bù zú, cái měi bù wài xiàn, qiě yù yǔ cháng mǎ děng bù kě dé, ān qiú qí néng qiān lǐ yě?
Although this horse has the ability to travel a thousand li, it has too little food and too little strength to show its fine abilities. It cannot even manage to match an ordinary horse; how could anyone expect it to travel a thousand li?
策之不以其道，食之不能尽其材，鸣之而不能通其意，执策而临之，曰：“天下无马！” cè zhī bù yǐ qí dào, sì zhī bù néng jìn qí cái, míng zhī ér bù néng tōng qí yì, zhí cè ér lín zhī, yuē: “tiān xià wú mǎ!”
They whip it without the proper method, feed it without enabling it to use its full ability, and hear it neigh without understanding it. Then they stand over it, whip in hand, saying, “There are no good horses in the world!”
呜呼！ wū hū!
Ah!
其真无马邪？ qí zhēn wú mǎ yé?
Are there really no good horses?
其真不知马也！ qí zhēn bù zhī mǎ yě!
They truly do not understand horses!