Original text:
The sky and the earth are black and yellow? (tiān dì xuán huáng), the universe is vast and wild (yǔ zhòu hóng huāng).
The sun and the moon are in full bloom (rì yuè yíng zè), and the stars are in the sky (chén xiù liè zhāng).
Cold comes and summer comes (hán lái shǔ wǎng), autumn harvests and winter hides (qiū shōu dōng cáng).
Leap Yu Chengsui (rùn yú chéng suì), Lu Lu Tiaoyang (lǜ lǚ tiáo yáng).
The clouds turn into rain (yún téng zhì yǔ), and the dew condenses into frost (lù jié wéi shuāng).
Gold comes from Lishui (jīn shēng lì shuǐ), jade comes from Kungang (yù chū kūn gāng).
The sword is called Juque (jiàn hào jù què), and the pearl is called Luminous (zhū chēng yè guāng).
Guozhen Li Wei (guǒ zhēn lǐ nài), vegetable heavy mustard ginger (cài zhòng jiè jiāng).
The sea is salty and the river is fresh (hǎi xián hé dàn), and the scales are hidden and the feathers are flying (lín qián yǔ xiáng).
Longshi Fire Emperor? (lóng shī huǒ dì), Bird Officer Human Emperor? (niǎo guān rén huáng).
The beginning of writing (shǐ zhì wén zì) was to wear clothes (nǎi fú yī cháng).
To push the throne and give way to the country (tuī wèi ràng guó), there is Yu Taotang (yǒu yú táo táng).
Diào mín fá zuì), Zhou Fa Yin Tang (zhōu fā yīn tāng).
Sitting in court and asking questions (zuò cháo wèn dào), hanging down and arching to level the chapter (chuí gǒng píng zhāng).
Vernacular translation:
The sky is blue-black, the earth is yellow, and the universe was formed in a state of chaos and ignorance. The sun is upright and tilted, the moon is full and waning, and the stars are all over the boundless space.
The cycle of cold and heat changes, coming and going, going and coming again; harvesting crops in autumn and storing food in winter. The accumulated leap years are combined into one month and placed in the leap year; the ancients used Liulu and Liulu to regulate yin and yang.
When the clouds rise and become cold, they form rain, and when the dew at night becomes cold, they condense into frost. Gold is produced in the Jinsha River, and jade is produced in the Kunlun Mountains.
The sharpest sword is called "Juque", and the most precious pearl is called "Yeguang". The most precious fruits are plums and plums, and the most important vegetables are mustard greens and ginger.
The sea water is salty, the river water is fresh, fish swim in the water, and birds fly in the air. The Dragon Master, the Fire Emperor, the Bird Official, and the Human Emperor were all imperial officials in ancient times.
Cangjie (jié) created writing, and Lei (léi) made clothes. Tang Yao and Yu Shun were wise and selfless, and took the initiative to abdicate their thrones to meritorious officials and sages. To punish the people and punish their crimes, Zhou issued Yin Tang. He sat down and asked, bowing his head to the ground.
Source: From the "Thousand Character Essay" written by Zhou Xingsi in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Extended information:
Creative background:
Zhou Xingsi (469-537), courtesy name Si Zuan, was born in Xiang, Chen Jun (now Shenqiu County, Henan). He lived in Gushu, Jiangnan (now Dangtu, Anhui). Minister and historian of the Southern Dynasties.
Erudite and good at writing. Emperor Wu of Liang succeeded to the throne and paid homage to the minister of Ancheng Kingdom. Every time the emperor ordered his heir to write a text, such as "Bronze Table Inscription", "Gate and Pond Boundary", "Wei Weiwen" and "Ci Yun Wang Yi's Book".
Every time he is praised for his good deeds, the official will eventually get into trouble. He participated in the compilation of more than 100 volumes of emperor's records, records of emperor's virtues, notes on daily life, and professional etiquette, etc., and authored ten volumes of anthology. The "Thousand-Character Essay" has been passed down through the ages. Emperor Wu of Liang died on July 15th in the third year of Datong. "Liang Shu" and "Liang Shu Zhi" were handed down to the world.
Literacy textbooks dedicated to enlightenment have appeared in China very early. In the Qin Dynasty, there were "Cangjie Pian" and "Yanli Pian", and in the Han Dynasty there was Sima Xiangru's "Fan Jiang Pian" , Jia Li's "Pang Xi Pian", Cai Yong's "Encouragement to Learning", Shi You's "Ji Jiu Zhang", and the Three Kingdoms era include "Pi Cang", "Guang Cang", "Shi Xue Pian", etc.
Among these works, only "Ji Jiu Zhang" had an impact on later generations, and the others had little impact. Although "Ji Jiu Zhang" is a more prominent primary school book after "Cangjie Pian", due to various problems in its circulation, its authority was far less than before in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Some enlightenment readings that appeared during this period such as "Ting" "Gao", "Jieyou" and the like, their readability is limited. It was against this background that "The Thousand Character Essay" came out.
During the Southern Dynasties, in order to teach calligraphy to the kings of the Liang Dynasty, Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty, asked Yin Tieshi to carve out a thousand different characters from Wang Xizhi’s works, each character on a piece of paper, and then put these out of order. The rubbings were given to Zhou Xingsi, who compiled them into rhymes with content. This is the "Thousand-Character Classic" that has been passed down to the 21st century for more than 1,400 years.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Zhou Xingsi