Words & phrases
Model sentences
皇帝把衣服看得比治理国家更重要。
huáng dì bǎ yī fú kàn de bǐ zhì lǐ guó jiā gèng zhòng yào。
The emperor considers clothing more important than governing the country.
两个骗子假装能织出聪明人才看得见的布。
liǎng gè piàn zi jiǎ zhuāng néng zhī chū cōng míng rén cái kàn de jiàn de bù。
Two swindlers pretend that they can weave cloth visible only to clever people.
诚实的孩子说出了大家都看见的事实。
chéng shí de hái zi shuō chū le dà jiā dōu kàn jiàn de shì shí。
An honest child states the fact that everyone can see.
大臣们因为害怕失去职位而保持沉默。
dà chén men yīn wèi hài pà shī qù zhí wèi ér bǎo chí chén mò。
The ministers remain silent because they fear losing their positions.
周围人的态度给每个人带来不敢说真话的压力。
zhōu wéi rén de tài dù gěi měi gè rén dài lái bù gǎn shuō zhēn huà de yā lì。
The attitudes of those around them create pressure not to tell the truth.
事实不会因为所有人假装看不见就发生改变。
shì shí bú huì yīn wèi suǒ yǒu rén jiǎ zhuāng kàn bú jiàn jiù fā shēng gǎi biàn。
A fact does not change because everyone pretends not to see it.
皇帝的新衣
A newly written retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale.
从前，有一位皇帝非常喜欢漂亮的衣服。他每天都要换好几套，花许多钱买新衣，甚至连处理事情的时候，也总想着下次该穿什么。
cóng qián， yǒu yí wèi huáng dì fēi cháng xǐ huan piào liàng de yī fú。 tā měi tiān dōu yào huàn hǎo jǐ tào， huā xǔ duō qián mǎi xīn yī， shèn zhì lián chǔ lǐ shì qíng de shí hou， yě zǒng xiǎng zhe xià cì gāi chuān shén me。
Once there was an emperor who loved fine clothes. He changed several times a day and spent heavily on new outfits, thinking about his next costume even while attending to business.
一天，两个骗子来到城里，自称能织出世界上最美的布。他们说：“这种布还有一个特别的本领，愚蠢的人，或者不适合自己职位的人，都看不见它。”
yì tiān， liǎng gè piàn zi lái dào chéng lǐ， zì chēng néng zhī chū shì jiè shàng zuì měi de bù。 tā men shuō：“zhè zhǒng bù hái yǒu yí ge tè bié de běn lǐng， yú chǔn de rén， huò zhě bú shì hé zì jǐ zhí wèi de rén， dōu kàn bú jiàn tā。”
Two swindlers arrived and claimed they could weave the finest cloth in the world. “It also has a special quality,” they said. “Foolish people, or people unfit for their positions, cannot see it.”
皇帝很高兴，给他们钱和丝线。骗子摆好织布机，整天忙来忙去，机器上却连一根线也没有。他们把送来的材料藏好，又要求更多。
huáng dì hěn gāo xìng， gěi tā men qián hé sī xiàn。 piàn zi bǎi hǎo zhī bù jī， zhěng tiān máng lái máng qù， jī qì shàng què lián yì gēn xiàn yě méi yǒu。 tā men bǎ sòng lái de cái liào cáng hǎo， yòu yāo qiú gèng duō。
Delighted, the emperor gave them money and silk. They set up looms and worked busily all day, though not a thread was on them. They hid the materials and demanded more.
皇帝派老大臣去看。大臣走进房间，只见空空的机器，心里一惊：“难道我不配做大臣？”他不敢说看不见，反而赞美颜色美丽、花纹精巧。
huáng dì pài lǎo dà chén qù kàn。 dà chén zǒu jìn fáng jiān， zhǐ jiàn kōng kōng de jī qì， xīn lǐ yī jīng：“nán dào wǒ bù pèi zuò dà chén？” tā bù gǎn shuō kàn bú jiàn， fǎn ér zàn měi yán sè měi lì、 huā wén jīng qiǎo。
The emperor sent an old minister to inspect the work. Seeing only empty looms, he thought in alarm, “Am I unfit to be a minister?” Afraid to admit he saw nothing, he praised the colours and patterns.
第二位官员也说布很好。后来皇帝亲自来了，同样什么也看不见。他听着身旁的赞美，勉强点头：“真漂亮！”骗子便忙着剪裁、缝制，把空气当成衣料。
dì èr wèi guān yuán yě shuō bù hěn hǎo。 hòu lái huáng dì qīn zì lái le， tóng yàng shén me yě kàn bú jiàn。 tā tīng zhe shēn páng de zàn měi， miǎn qiǎng diǎn tóu：“zhēn piào liàng！” piàn zi biàn máng zhe jiǎn cái、 féng zhì， bǎ kōng qì dàng chéng yī liào。
A second official also praised it. When the emperor visited, he too saw nothing. Hearing the praise around him, he forced himself to say, “Beautiful!” The swindlers pretended to cut and sew the air.
游行那天，骗子请皇帝脱下衣服，做出替他穿上新衣的动作。皇帝转过身，侍从弯腰去托那不存在的衣摆，大家都装作看得清清楚楚。
yóu xíng nà tiān， piàn zi qǐng huáng dì tuō xià yī fú， zuò chū tì tā chuān shàng xīn yī de dòng zuò。 huáng dì zhuǎn guò shēn， shì cóng wān yāo qù tuō nà bù cún zài de yī bǎi， dà jiā dōu zhuāng zuò kàn de qīng qīng chu chǔ。
On the parade day, the swindlers asked him to undress and pretended to put the new clothes on him. Attendants bent to lift the nonexistent train, and everyone acted as if it were visible.
皇帝走上街，百姓也怕别人说自己愚蠢，纷纷喊：“皇帝的新衣真好看！”一个孩子忽然大声说：“可是，他什么衣服也没有穿呀！”
huáng dì zǒu shàng jiē， bǎi xìng yě pà bié rén shuō zì jǐ yú chǔn， fēn fēn hǎn：“huáng dì de xīn yī zhēn hǎo kàn！” yí ge hái zi hū rán dà shēng shuō：“kě shì， tā shén me yī fú yě méi yǒu chuān ya！”
In the street, people feared being called foolish and cried, “What beautiful new clothes!” Suddenly a child called out, “But he has nothing on!”
孩子的父亲轻轻拉住他，旁边的人却开始把这句话传给别人。声音从一个人传到另一个人，最后整条街都响起来：“他真的没有穿衣服！”
hái zi de fù qīn qīng qīng lā zhù tā， páng biān de rén què kāi shǐ bǎ zhè jù huà chuán gěi bié rén。 shēng yīn cóng yí ge rén chuán dào lìng yí ge rén， zuì hòu zhěng tiáo jiē dōu xiǎng qǐ lai：“tā zhēn de méi yǒu chuān yī fú！”
The child's father gently held him, but nearby people repeated his words. They passed from person to person until the whole street rang with, “He really has nothing on!”
皇帝浑身一抖。他也觉得大家说得对，却想：“游行已经开始，必须继续。”于是挺起胸膛向前走。侍从跟在后面，仍然认真地托着那根本不存在的衣摆。
huáng dì hún shēn yī dǒu。 tā yě jué de dà jiā shuō de duì， què xiǎng：“yóu xíng yǐ jīng kāi shǐ， bì xū jì xù。” yú shì tǐng qǐ xiōng táng xiàng qián zǒu。 shì cóng gēn zài hòu miàn， réng rán rèn zhēn de tuō zhe nà gēn běn bù cún zài de yī bǎi。
The emperor shivered. He too thought the people were right, but told himself the parade must continue. He held his head high and walked on, while the attendants solemnly carried the train that did not exist.
Conversation
A 大臣真的看见花纹了吗？
dà chén zhēn de kàn jiàn huā wén le ma？
Did the minister actually see patterns?
B 没有，他害怕被说成愚笨。
méi yǒu， tā hài pà bèi shuō chéng yú bèn。
No; he feared being called foolish.
A 很多人赞美能证明布存在吗？
hěn duō rén zàn měi néng zhèng míng bù cún zài ma？
Does widespread praise prove the cloth exists?
B 不能，他们可能受到同一种压力。
bù néng， tā men kě néng shòu dào tóng yì zhǒng yā lì。
No; they may face the same pressure.
A 孩子改变了什么？
hái zi gǎi biàn le shén me？
What did the child change?
B 他说出观察，让大家重新检查说法。
tā shuō chū guān chá， ràng dà jiā chóng xīn jiǎn chá shuō fǎ。
He stated an observation, prompting others to check the claims.
