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Mark the Boat for a Dropped Sword

Mar 2, 2009

Storyteller: You must remember this: in the end of infamous “TITANIC”(1998) movie, old Rose walks alone to the stern of the salvage ship and opens her hands to reveal the necklace, which she has kept all of her life. She lets the necklace fall from her hand and into the water.

What a pity! I mean the diamond ...

What a pity! I mean the diamond ...

When I was in the cinema, I definitely felt how disappointed and regretful the audiences were when they saw the diamond lost deep into the ocean — Oh no, it’s lost forever.

Have you ever dropped something into the water when you are on a ship/boat? No matter you are on a small ferry or a giant like Titanic, it’s very hard to find something dropped in water because it’s hard to locate the site when water is flowing and boat is moving, too.

Well, 2000 years ago, there was a “smart” guy who came up with a “brilliant” idea.

Mark the Boat for a Dropped Sword

Long, long ago, in Spring and Autumn period of ancient China, a man from Chu state dropped his beautiful well-set sword into the water because of the shake from the boat while he was in the middle of the river .

“Oh, God.” He cried in dear pity. “What can I do ?” On hearing that, the boatman replied calmly, “It doesn’t matter. I’m coming to dive for it.” But the man from Chu hesitated for a while and said: “We can’t do that because the water is rapid and deep. But I have a marvelous idea.”

With these words, he took out his knife and made a mark on one side of the boat where his sword was dropped. “Well, everything is done! ” When the boat stopped at the opposite bank, the man undressed himself immediately and dove into the water for his sword from the very place where he had made the mark.

Of course, he got nothing. Finally he appeared in the water and murmured: “What’s happening? why can’t I find my sword from the water just under the mark? ” Laughter burst from the passengers.

mark-the-boat-for-a-dropped-sword

Mark the boat for a dropped sword

This Chinese idiom is to satirize foolish, stubborn, and inflexible actions.

Storyteller: Btw, I really hope Rose marked the salvage ship when she dropped the precious “Heart of the Ocean” into the Atlantic Ocean in the end of the film. So I can find the ship and seek the diamond according to her mark!

[References]
1. chineseculture.about.com

[Chinese Keywords]
刻舟求剑



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  1. Wing
    March 2nd, 2009 at 21:15 | #1

    It’s funny when relating to TITANIC. 🙂

  2. Storyteller
    March 3rd, 2009 at 00:07 | #2

    Thank you 🙂

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