孔子到吕梁游览，看到几十丈高的瀑布，水的泡沫溅出有四十里长，鱼鳖鼋鼍都无法游动，却有个壮年男子游在其中。孔子以为他是因为痛苦想要自杀，于是让他的弟子顺着水流去救人。

谁知这个人游了几百步后自己出来了。披着头发唱着歌，在塘下漫步。孔子走过去问他：“我以为你是水仙，仔细观察才发现你是凡人。请问，游水有什么门道吗？”

那人答道：“没有，我没什么门道。我从这里的基本条件出发，利用此处的特点成长，不知不觉就成功了。随着漩涡进入水中，随着上翻的波浪出来，顺着水流的方向，不另辟蹊径，这就是我能游水的秘密。”

孔子问：“什么是从这里的基本条件出发，利用此处的特点成长，不知不觉就成功了？”

那人回答道：“我生在山区就安心与山区，这就是从这里的基本条件出发，生在水边就安心水边，这就是利用此处的特点成长，不知道我为什么会成功却成功了，这就是命运。”

Confucius once made a visit to Luliang. He saw a gigantic cataract of five-mile height and the water foam spattering more than 12 miles, so that even great animals in water like turtles, crocodiles cannot swim, however there was an adult man swimming in it. Confucius thought the man might be killing himself, so he asked his disciple to save the man.

But surprisingly, after swimming for a while the man came out from the water and hung around a little far from the embankment singing a song with his hair disheveling on his shoulder. Confucius went to him and asked, “I had thought that you were a ghost, after a careful observation I found that you were a man. Could you please tell me if you have a magic of swim?

“No, I haven‟t. I just live on the basic conditions of here and grow up making use of the advantage, so that I get successful unconsciously. Get in the water along with the swirl, and get out by the surge. Just follow the trend of current not to make my own way. That‟s why I could swim.”

Confucius asked, “What‟s your meaning by ‘Just live on the basic conditions of here and grow up making use of the advantage, so that I get successful unconsciously’? ”

The man answered, “If I was born in the mountain areas, I feel relieved settling in the mountain areas. That‟s …living on the basic conditions of here‟. If I was born by the waterside, I feel at ease when I settle by the waterside. That‟s …growing up making use of the advantage‟. I don‟t know why I am successful, yet I do succeed. That‟s fate. ”

------------------------------------------Wang Juan

仞=7-8尺三千仞=24000尺=8000米=16里=4.97096954545英里