There was a scholar in the Zhou Dynasty who had tried several times in his life to seek for an official post， but failed again and again till his temples turned white.

周朝有個(gè)讀書人，一生中幾次謀求做官，可是直到兩鬢斑白仍然沒有做成。

One day， as he was walking on the road， he looked back upon the past and shed tears of sorrow.

一天，他走在路上，回首往事，傷心地掉下了眼淚。

Someone asked him： “Why are you weeping？”

有人問道： “您為什么哭泣呢？”

He replied： “Several times I have failed to win recognition. Now I am old and no longer have any opportunity. That is why I am weeping.”

他回答說(shuō)： “我?guī)状味嫉貌坏劫p識(shí)。現(xiàn)在年紀(jì)大了，再也沒有機(jī)會(huì)了，因此哭泣?！?/p>

The man asked again： “Then how is it that you have never won recognition？”

那人又問： “那您怎么一次都得不到賞識(shí)呢？”

He replied： “When I was young， I studied the classics hard and had all the literary qualifications. When I sought for an official post， unexpectedly the king liked to appoint old men. After the king died， his successor liked to appoint warriors. I made a determined effort to learn martial arts， but when I had learned the military skills， the king who liked martial arts passed away. Now the new king likes to appoint young men， but I am already old. Thus I have never won recognition in my whole life and have never held an official post.”

他回答說(shuō)：“我少年時(shí)苦讀經(jīng)書，文才兼?zhèn)洹Ｈデ蠊?，不料君王喜歡任用老年人。君王死后，繼位的君王又喜歡任用武士。我發(fā)憤改學(xué)武藝，誰(shuí)知武功剛學(xué)成，好武的君王又死去了?，F(xiàn)在新立的君王卻喜歡任用年輕人，而我已經(jīng)老了。就這樣，我終生不曾得到一次賞識(shí)，也沒有做過(guò)一次官?！?/p>

（思 年 摘編）

編后語(yǔ)：

仕數(shù)不遇這個(gè)寓言講述的是周人試圖求官，直到老年都未能得到君主賞識(shí)的故事。他之所以不被任用，碌碌終生，就是因?yàn)樗鶕?jù)君主的喜好，今天學(xué)這樣，明天學(xué)那樣，最終沒有一樣精通的本領(lǐng)，沒能實(shí)現(xiàn)理想。