差不多先生 （胡适)

你 知道中国最有名的人是谁？
提起此人，人人皆晓，处处闻名。他姓差，名不多，是各省各
县各村人氏。你一定见过他，一定听过别人谈起他。差不多先
生的名字天天挂在大家的口头，因为他是中国全国人的代表。

差不多先生的相貌和你和我都差不多。他有一双眼睛，但看的
不很清楚；有两只耳朵，但听的不很分明；有鼻子和嘴，但他
对于气味和口味都不很讲究。他的脑子也不小，但他的记性却
不很精明，他的思想也不很细密。他常常说：“凡事只要差不
多，就好了。何必太精明呢？”

他小的时候，他妈叫他去买红糖，他买了白糖回来。他妈骂，
他摇摇头说：“红糖白糖不是差不多吗? ”
他在学堂的时候，先生问他：“直隶省的西边是哪一省？”
他说是陕西。先生说，“错了。是山西，不是陕西。”
他说：“陕西同山西，不是差不多吗？”

后来他在一个钱铺里做伙计；他也会写，也会算，只是总不会
精细。十字常常写成千字，千字常常写成十字。掌柜的生气，
常常骂他。他只是笑嘻嘻地赔小心道：“千字比十字只多一小
撇，不是差不多吗？”

有一天，他为了一件要紧的事，要搭火车到上海去。他从从容
容地走到火车站，迟了两分钟，火车已开走了。他白瞪着眼，
望着远远的火车上的煤烟，摇摇头道：“只好明天再走了，今
天走同明天走，也还差不多。可是火车公司未免太认真了。八
点三十分开，同八点三十二分开，不是差不多吗？”
他一面说，一面慢慢地走回家，心里总不明白为什么火车不肯
等他两分钟。

有一天，他忽然得了急病，赶快叫家人去请东街的汪医生。那
家人急急忙忙地跑去，一时寻不着东街的汪大夫，却把西街牛
医王大夫请来了。差不多先生病在床上，知道寻错了人；但病
急了，身上痛苦，心里焦急，等不得了，心里想道：“好在王
大夫同汪大夫也差不多，让他试试看罢。”于是这位牛医王大
夫走近床前，用医牛的法子给差不多先生治病。不上一点钟，
差不多先生就一命呜呼了。差不多先生差不多要死的时候，一
口气断断续续地说道：“活人同死人也差不多，…
凡事只要差不多就好了，…… 何必太认真呢？“
他说完了这句话，方才绝气了。

他死后，大家都称赞差不多先生样样事情看得破，想得通；大
家都说他一生不肯认真，不肯算帐，不肯计较，真是一位有德
行的人。于是大家给他取个死后的法号，叫他做圆通大师。

他的名誉越传越远，越久越大。无数无数的人都学他的榜样。
于是人人都成了一个差不多先生。他的名誉越传越远，越久越
大。无数无数的人都学他的榜样于是人人都成了一个差不多先
生。-- 然而中国从此就成为一个懒人国了。

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Chabuduo Xiansheng 差不多先生傳

A timeless essay on the human condition by Hu Shi.

差不多先生傳
胡適

你知道中國最有名的人是誰？提起此人，人人皆曉，處處聞名。他姓差，
名不多，是
各省各縣各村人氏。你一定見過他，一定聽過別人談起他；差不多先生的
名字，天
天掛在大家的口頭，因為他是中國全國人的代表。

nǐ zhī dào zhōng guó zuì yǒu míng de rén shì shéi？tí qǐ cǐ rén，rén rén jiē xiǎo，chǔ chù wén míng。tā
xìng chā，míng bù duō，shì gè shěng gè xiàn gè cūn rén shì。nǐ yī dìng jiàn guò tā，yī dìng tīng guò bié
rén tán qǐ tā；chā bù duō xiān shēng de míng zì，tiān tiān guà zài dà jiā de kǒu tóu yīn wéi tā shì zhōng
guó quán guó rén de dài biǎo。

差不多先生的相貌，和你和我都差不多。他有一雙眼，但看的不很清楚；
有兩隻耳
，但聽的不很分明；有鼻子和嘴，但他對於氣味和口味都不很講究；他
的腦子也
不小，但他的記性卻不很精明，他的思想也不細密。

chā bù duō xiān shēng de xiàng mào，hé nǐ hé wǒ dōu chā bù duō。tā yǒu yī shuāng yǎn，dàn kàn de bù
hěn qīng chǔ；yǒu liǎng zhī ěr duǒ，dàn tīng de bù hěn fēn míng；yǒu bí zi hé zuǐ，dàn tā duì yú qì wèi
hé kǒu wèi dōu bù hěn jiǎng jiù；tā de nǎo zi yě bù xiǎo，dàn tā de jì xìng què bù hěn jīng míng，tā de sī
xiǎng yě bù xì mì。

他常常 ：「凡事只要差不多就好了。何必太精明呢？」

tā cháng cháng shuō：「fán shì zhī yào chā bù duō jiù hǎo le。hé bì tài jīng míng ne？」

他小的時候，他媽媽叫他買紅糖，他買白糖回來。他媽媽罵他，他搖搖頭
道：「紅
糖同白糖，不是差不多嗎？」

tā xiǎo de shí hòu，tā mā mā jiào tā mǎi hóng táng，tā mǎi bái táng huí lái。 tā mā mā mà tā，tā yáo yáo
tóu dào：「hóng táng tóng bái táng，bú shì chā bù duō ma？」
他在學堂的時候，先生問他：「直隸省的西邊是那一省？」他 是陜西。
先生 ：
「錯了。是山西，不是陜西。」他 ：「陜西同山西，不是差不多嗎？
」

tā zài xué táng de shí hòu，xiān shēng wèn tā：「zhí lì shěng de xī biān shì nà yī shěng？」tā shuō shì
shǎn xī。xiān shēng shuō：「cuò le。shì shān xī，bú shì shǎn xī。」tā shuō：「shǎn xī tóng shān xī，
bú shì chā bù duō ma？」

後來他在一個錢舖裡做夥計；他也會寫，也會算，只是總不會精細；十字
常常寫成
千字，千字常常寫成十字。掌櫃的生氣了，常常罵他，他只是笑嘻嬉的賠
小心道：
「千字比十字只多一小撇，不是差不多嗎？」

hòu lái tā zài yī gè qián pù lǐ zuò huǒ jì；tā yě huì xiě，yě huì suàn，zhī shì zǒng bù huì jīng xì；shí zì
cháng cháng xiě chéng qiān zì，qiān zì cháng cháng xiě chéng shí zì。zhǎng guì de shēng qì le，cháng
cháng mà
tā，tā zhī shì xiào xī xī de péi xiǎo xīn dào：「qiān zì bǐ shí zì zhī duō yī xiǎo piě，bú shì chā bù duō ma
？」

有一天，他為了一件要緊的事，要搭火車到上海去，他從從容容的走到火
車站，遲
了兩分鐘，火車已開走了。他白瞪著眼，望著遠遠的火車上的煤煙，搖搖
頭道：
「只好明天再走了，今天走同明天走，也還差不多；可是火車公司未免太
認真了。
八點三十分開，同八點三十二分開，不是差不多嗎？」他一面 ，一面慢
慢的走回
家，心理總不很明白為什麼火車不肯等他兩分鐘。

yǒu yī tiān，tā wéi le yī jiàn yào jǐn de shì，yào dā huǒ chē dào shàng hǎi qù，tā cóng cóng róng róng de
zǒu dào huǒ chē zhàn，chí le liǎng fēn zhōng，huǒ chē yǐ kāi zǒu le。tā bái dèng a yǎn，wàng a yuǎn
yuǎn de huǒ chē shàng de méi yān，yáo yáo tóu dào：「zhī hǎo míng tiān zài zǒu le，jīn tiān zǒu tóng
míng tiān zǒu，yě huán chā bù duō；kě shì huǒ chē gōng sī wèi miǎn tài rèn zhēn le。bā diǎn sān shí fēn
kāi，tóng bā diǎn sān shí èr fēn kāi，bú shì chā bù duō ma？」tā yī miàn shuō，yī miàn màn màn de zǒu
huí jiā，xīn lǐ zǒng bù hěn míng bái wéi shén me huǒ chē bù kěn děng tā liǎng fēn zhōng。

有一天，他忽然得了一急病，趕快叫家人去請東街的汪先生。那家人急急
忙忙的跑
過去，一時尋不著東街的汪大夫，卻把西街的牛醫王大夫請來了。差不多
先生生病
在床上，知道尋錯了人；但病急了，身上的痛苦，心裡焦急，等不得了，
心裡想道：
「好在王大夫同汪大夫也差不多，讓他試試看罷。」於是這位牛醫王大夫
走近床前，
用醫牛的法子給差不多先生治病。不上一點鐘，差不多先生就一命嗚呼了
。差不多
先生差不多要死的時候，一口氣斷斷續續的 道：「活人同死人也差……
差……差
……不多，……凡是只要……差……差……不多……就……好了，……何
……必…
…太……太認真呢？」他 完了這句格言，就 了氣。

yǒu yī tiān，tā hū rán de le yī jí bìng，gǎn kuài jiào jiā rén qù qǐng dōng jiē de wāng xiān shēng。nà jiā
rén jí jí máng máng de pǎo guò qù，yī shí xún bù a dōng jiē de wāng dài fū，què bǎ xī jiē de niú yī wáng
dài fū qǐng lái le。chā bù duō xiān shēng shēng bìng zài chuáng shàng，zhī dào xún cuò le rén；dàn bìng
jí le，shēn shàng de tòng kǔ，xīn lǐ jiāo jí，děng bù de le，xīn lǐ xiǎng dào：「hǎo zài wáng dài fū tóng
wāng dài fū yě chā bù duō，ràng tā shì shì kàn bà。」yú shì zhè wèi niú yī wáng dài fū zǒu jìn chuáng
qián，yòng yī niú de fǎ zi gěi chā bù duō xiān shēng zhì bìng。bù shàng yī diǎn zhōng，chā bù duō xiān
shēng jiù yī mìng wū hū le。chā bù duō xiān shēng chā bù duō yào sǐ de shí hòu，yī kǒu qì duàn duàn xù
xù de shuō dào：「huó rén tóng sǐ rén yě chā……chā……chā……bù duō，……fán shì zhī
yào……chā……chā……bùduō……jiù……hǎo le，……hé……bì……tài……tài rèn zhēn ne？」tā shuō
wán le zhè jù gé yán，jiù jué le qì。

他死後，大家都很稱讚差不多先生樣樣事情看得破，想的通；大家都 他
一生不肯
認真，不肯算帳，不肯計較，真是一位有德行的人。於是大家給他取個死
後的法號，
叫他做「圓通大師」。他的名譽越傳越遠，越久越大，無數無數的人，都
學他的榜
樣。於是人人都成了一個差不多先生。──然而中國從此就成了一個懶人
國了。

tā sǐ hòu，dà jiā dōu hěn chēng zàn chā bù duō xiān shēng yàng yàng shì qíng kàn de pò，xiǎng de tōng；
dà jiā dōu shuō tā yī shēng bù kěn rèn zhēn，bù kěn suàn zhàng，bù kěn jì jiào，zhēn shì yī wèi yǒu dé
xíng de rén。yú shì dà jiā gěi tā qǔ gè sǐ hòu de fǎ hào，jiào tā zuò「yuán tōng dà shī」。 tā de míng yù
yuè chuán yuè yuǎn，yuè jiǔ yuè dà，wú shù wú shù de rén，dōu xué tā de bǎng yàng。yú shì rén rén
dōu chéng le yī gè chā bù duō xiān shēng。──rán ér zhōng guó cóng cǐ jiù chéng le yī gè lǎn rén guó le。

Click Here to Download PDF Version with Vocabulary

Click Here to Download PDF version in in Simplified Characters

English Translation

The Life of Mr. Chabuduo (Mr. "Close-Enough")

By Hu Shih
Do you know who the most famous person in China is? Just mention his name and everybody will
recognize it. His last name is “Cha” (差) and his first name is “Bu-Duo” (不多). Every province, county,
and village has someone named after him. It is certain that you have seen him - and you have undoubtedly
heard others talk about him. Each day, Mr. Chabuduo's name is uttered by countless people to the extent
that he has come to represent the entire population of China.

Mr. Chabuduo’s appearance resembles yours and mine. He has two eyes - but does not see things very
clearly. He has two ears - but they don't listen very well. He has a nose and a mouth, but does not
distinguish much between different smells and tastes. His head isn't particularly small - however - his
memory isn't very good.

He would often say, "Things only have to be done ‘chabuduo’ (meaning ‘more-or-less' or ‘close enough’)
to be good. After all, what sense does it make to be a perfectionist and waste the time and effort necessary
to have things absolutely correct all the time?”

When he was a small child, his mother sent him out to buy some brown sugar. He came back with white
sugar. His mother scolded him – but the young Mr. Chabuduo simply shook his head and said, “Brown
sugar – white sugar! Are they not both just about the same?”

Once, while attending school, a teacher asked him which province was located on the western border of
Hebei. He answered by saying it was Shaanxi (陕西.) “Wrong!” the teacher corrected him. “It is Shanxi (
山西) not Shaanxi (陕西).” At this, Mr. Chabuduo remarked, “Well aren't Shanxi and Shaanxi just about
the same?"

Afterwards, he worked in a bank. While capable of both writing and doing math – he was never very
careful. Often, he turned the character "十" (10) into "千" (1000), and would write the character for 1000 (
千) as the character for 10 (十). This infuriated the bank manager who would routinely reprimand him. Mr.
Chabuduo's response to these incidents was always to reply with a smirking sort of countenance that the
number for 1,000 “千” differed from the number for 10 “十” by only one simple stroke of the pen - wasn’t
that close enough?

One day, in order to take care of an urgent affair he wanted to go by train to Shanghai. He casually strolled
to the station arriving 2 minutes late. The train, being on schedule, had already left. He stared blankly at
the distant trail of smoke left by the departing train and shook his head. "I guess I’ll just go tomorrow,” he
said. “After all, going tomorrow is just about the same as going today. But these people who run the trains
are entirely too serious about keeping to their schedule. After all, isn't 8:32 just about the same as 8:30?"
As he spoke he slowly began to return home. He truly could not understand why the train couldn’t wait
just two minutes for him.

Finally, the time came when Mr. Chabuduo suddenly became very sick. He hurriedly asked his family to
go get Dr. Wong (汪) who lived on East Street. A family member ran off for a short while looking for this
Dr. Wong, but got confused in the excitement and ended up on West Street where he happened to find Dr.
Wong (王) the veterinarian. Since, after all, the doctor's name was "Wong" and it was necessary to find
somebody with a medical background back to deal with this emergency, Dr. Wong the veterinarian was
persuaded to make a house call at the Chabuduo residence. Mr. Chabuduo – who was now so ill that he
could not get out of bed – knew that his family had fetched the wrong Dr. Wong. Nevertheless, since his
condition had become so desperate, his pain so great, and his heart so anxious for relief, Chabuduo said to
himself, "Luckily this Dr. Wong (王) the veterinarian is "chabuduo" the same as Dr. Wong (汪) the M.D. –
I might as well let him take a look at me." At this point, Dr. Wong the veterinarian, knowing that there was
little time left to try anything else, approached the bed and attempted to cure his patient with the same
methods used to treat sick cattle. In less than an hour, Mr. Chabuduo was dead.

As Mr. Chabuduo was dying, he uttered in an uneven breath, "The living and the dead are
cha.........cha........buduo – just about the same – and as long as everything is cha.........cha........buduo, then
things will be fine. Why...........be............too serious?" After these final words, he took his last gasp of air.

After his death, people began to praise Mr. Chabuduo for his outlook on life and his capability of reasoning
with himself despite the circumstances. It was declared that the equanimity that he displayed in the face of
death was due to his not being overly conscientious nor hung up on details such as balancing books and
settling accounts. Because he never made a fuss about things being exactly right, he was considered a
model of morality and virtue. Upon his death, Mr. Chabuduo was regarded as a saint and became known to
all by a Buddhist title naming him the “Great Master of Flexibility” (圆通大师).

With each passing day, Mr. Chabuduo’s reputation continues to spread far and wide. Countless people
study his example with the result that everyone is now becoming a “Mr. Chabuduo.” This is the reason
why China is quickly being transformed into a country that the rest of the world will soon call “the Nation
of Laziness.”

(Tr. RS Bond)

Notes:

1. Depending on its context, 差不多 “Chabuduo” can be translated as “close-enough, almost, just about,
approximately, etc.” Literally, it means, “Difference not much.”

2. Dr. Hu Shih was a philosopher and eminent man of letters who served as the Chinese ambassador to the
United States from 1938 to 1942 and later became the chancellor of Peking University. Upset with the
“close-enough-for-government-work” mentality of many civil servants and students whose poor
performance was becoming an embarrassment to a modernizing China, Hu Shih penned this essay in 1924
as a protest to their attitude and a warning of the consequences of adopting mediocrity as an institutional
ideal. During the communist takeover of Mainland China, Hu Shih moved to Taiwan where he continued
his literary and academic career. He died on February 24, 1962 at the age of 71 and is recognized as one of
the most influential contributors to modern Chinese literature.

Hu  Shi’s  Mr.  Almost  Good  Enough  

Posted  on  May  2,  2011  by  admin    

Capturing Chinese have brought you notable authors in the past months. This week, our featured author is
Hu Shih (胡 适 -Hú Shì), a Chinese Nationalist scholar, philosopher, diplomat and essayist born December
17, 1891 (Shanghai, China) and who died February 24, 1962 (Taiwan). Hu is well-respected for his great
help on the institutionalization of vernacular Chinese as the formal written language of China. Today, he
still remains as an inspiration and influence to modern China, due to his exemplary contributions to
Chinese liberalism and language reform.

Hu was a recipient of the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program, which provided for Chinese students to
study in the US. In 1910, he enrolled at Cornell University’s agriculture program. His passion for language
motivated him to shift from agriculture to literature and philosophy in 1912. After his undergraduate
degree he went on to study under the tutelage of John Dewey at Columbia University.

Hu was deeply influenced by Dewey’s perspectives towards pragmatic evolutionary change. He brought
his professor’s idealisms back to China. He facilitated a series of lectures in Peking University where he
served tenure. Chinese intellectuals admired Hu’s strong conviction, and he quickly rose to prominence. He
became a leader among Chinese intellectuals and supported the May Fourth Movement.

With the aid of his devout supporters, he wrote several political journals and newspapers. He also lead the
advocacy towards language reform. He proposed that classical Chinese should be replaced by vernacular
Chinese as the formal writing medium which would thus simplify the writing process and allow average
Chinese people to enjoy literature, newspapers, etc. Hu succeeded on this endeavor and was one of his most
important contributions to modern China.

In 1938, Hu served as the ambassador of China to the United States until 1942. In 1946, he went back to
China and became chancellor of Peking University. However, on the eve on the the communist revolution
in 1949 he moved to New York where he lived in semiretirement. In 1956 he went to Taiwan to became
president of the Academia Sinica in Taipei.

He continued to write through the Free China Journal where he was chief executive. While being a
vigorous critic of the govenerment on the mainland, the Kuomingtang (the government in Taiwan) gave
him no mercy. The journal was eventually shut down by the government due to its solid criticisms against
Chang Kai-Shek.

On the mainland, Hu Shih was villified as an American trained, liberal intellectual. He was even
denounced by his own son. The pragmatic evolutionary change that Hu Shi had preached had been
replaced by revolutionary change instead. His works were in disrepute on the Mainland until an article
written in 1986 advocated remembering Hu Shi’s great contributions to modern Chinese literature.

At the age of 70, he perished due to a heart attack. He is buried in a tomb inside the campus of Academia
Sinica.