倾国倾城
汉朝有个艺人李延年，能歌善舞 ， 而且常常唱一些自己创作或改编的歌曲，令人耳目一新。因此，汉武帝很喜欢他，每回宫中设宴，总要把他召来表演。
这一天，皇宫里又是轻歌曼舞，丝竹声声。汉武帝一边开怀畅饮，一边观赏着宫女们翩翩的舞姿。 过了一会儿，一个身材修长、相貌英俊的青年出场了，他就是李延年。皇帝微笑地看着他，今天李延年显得比往常更加神采奕奕，白净的脸上透着一层淡淡的红光。
李延年向皇上请了安，就飘然起舞，引吭高 歌：“北方有佳人，绝世而独立。一顾倾人城，再顾倾人国” “哦？”汉武帝放下酒杯，身子略略前倾，注意地听着。
李延年继续唱道：“宁不知倾城与倾国，佳人难再得。”一曲歌毕，余音袅袅。
汉武帝惊叹道：“啊！世界上难道真有这样的美人吗 ”显然，皇帝是被李延年的歌打动了。
“禀告皇上，这位绝代佳人就是我的亲妹妹。”李延年看出皇帝的意思，不失时机地说。其实，李延年就是为了引荐妹妹，才作这首歌的。
“快 ，快把她接到宫里来！”汉武帝急切地说。
这样，李延年的妹妹就被召进宫去。皇帝一看，果然是一个美丽绝伦的女子，并且同她哥哥一样能歌善舞，心中便非常喜欢，对她倍加宠爱。
这女子就是历史上著名的“李夫人”, “ 倾国倾城”也成了一个形容美貌女子的成语。
Devastating Beauty
Today, we’ll learn a new phrase that means “lovely enough to cause the fall of a city or a state.” In Chinese it reads, “qing guo qing cheng.” Word for word, it literally means, “collapse the country, collapse the city.” We use it to describe women who are exceedingly beautiful. There is a story behind the idiom.
China’s official conservatory of music was set up as early as more than 2,300 years ago, in the Qin Dynasty. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, about 21-hundred years ago, the conservatory, which was called the Yuefu, or music office, was fully developed. Besides playing music on such occasions as banquets and parades, the Yuefu was also responsible for collecting folksongs and ballads.
At that time, there was a court music player called Li Yannian. His parents and brothers were also musicians, and his younger sister was a singing girl.
Li Yannian was in Emperor Wu’s good graces. He often sang and danced in front of the emperor, who was especially interested when he heard this song.
‘A beauty in the north,
A beauty of beauties, peerless.
The people in the whole city were bewitched.
The people in the whole country were bewitched.
A beauty like her,
Who can entrance the whole city, the whole country,
Will never be seen again.”
Emperor Wu was captivated, and asked Li Yannian, “Is there really such a beauty on this earth?”
Before Li Yannian answered, Princess Pingyang, the emperor’s sister, smiled and said, “There is such a beauty. She is Li Yannian’s younger sister.”
The Emperor Wu ordered her brought to his palace. He enraptured by her indeed incomparable beauty. He made her stay with him, and called her “Madam Li.” Madam Li was not only stunningly beautiful, but also an excellent singer and dancer. The emperor adored her.
Sadly, while still young, Madam Li died. The Emperor Wu was so sad over her death that he had her portrait hung in his palace. He also wrote poems in commemoration of her.
From this sad story, people drew the idiom “lovely enough to cause the fall of a city or a state”. In Chinese it reads, “Qing Guo Qing Cheng”, “collapse the country, collapse the city.” Now you have the perfect way to sweet talk your girlfriend. It reminds me of the English expression, “The face that launched a thousand ships,” which refers to that beauty of ancient Greece, Helen of Troy.
(Source:english.cri.cn)
