九牛一毛－中國成語故事英語版中英對照
a drop in the bucket九牛一毛
li ling was a great general during the time of emperor han wu-di (hàn wǔ dì漢武帝). he was a very good fighter, and he won every battle.
西漢時代有個很有名的大將軍名叫李陵，他驍勇善戰，百戰百贏。
one time, however, li ling's troops were so hopelessly outnumbered by the huns that although they fought bravely, the whole army was soon taken captive.
有一次，雖然李陵的軍隊奮勇殺敵，因為兵力不足而戰敗投降。
li ling shamefully surrendered for the moment, planning to wait for an opportunity to strike back.
李陵打算暫時先忍辱投降，以便伺機等待機會反擊。
but when news of the surrender reached the capital, the emperor's jealous ministers began to degrade li ling in front of the emperor.
但當李陵投降的消息傳到首都，皇上身邊嫉妒的大臣們都開始指責李陵。
what he heard made the emperor so angry that he had li ling's wife and mother put to death.
皇上十分氣憤，他將李陵的妻子與母親都賜死了。
ze-ma chian, who had always respected li ling, believed that he wouldn't surrender without a reason, and urged the emperor not to believe rumors.
司馬遷一直很敬重李陵，他不信李陵會無緣無故投降，便諫言皇上不要聽信謠言。
this time, the emperor grew angry at sz-ma chian, and locking him up, punished him severely.
但就因為這樣，皇上便遷怒司馬遷，并將他囚禁，進行嚴懲。
sz-ma chian then wrote a long letter to a friend, saying, "i am now in the middle of writing a history book. if i die, it will be as if one ox in a group on nine were to lose a single hair. i am willing to withstand punishment in order to complete this book." sz-ma chian finally did finish his book - the very famous shr-ji.
司馬遷隨后寫了一封長信給他的朋友，說道：“我現在在寫一部歷史長篇，如果我死了，就如同九牛一毛般微不足道，但我愿意承受住這般的懲罰，來完成這部書。”最終，司馬遷完成了這部名流千古的史學著作——《史記》。
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