English Original
The son of a high official of the state of Ren angled in the East Sea, using fifty oxen as bait. For a whole year, he did not catch a single fish.
Yet he was not discouraged and did not give up. In the end, a giant fish swallowed the bait.
If this fish were made into dried provisions, it would be enough to feed all the people living east of Zhejiang and north of Cangwu Mountain. It is difficult for those whose minds are set only on small fish and shrimp to catch a big fish.
Similarly, those who use sugared-up words to pursue high posts and handsome salaries are far from the true path. Therefore, anyone who has not heard of the story of catching the big fish has a long way to go before achieving the goal of governing a state well.
中文翻译
任国的公子用五十头牛做钓饵,在东海钓鱼。整整一年,他一条鱼也没钓到。
但他毫不气馁,没有放弃。最终,一条大鱼吞下了钓饵。
若将此鱼制成鱼干,足以让浙江以东、苍梧山以北的所有人饱餐一顿。那些心中只想着小鱼小虾的人,是难以钓到大鱼的。
同样,那些用花言巧语去攀求高官厚禄的人,也远离了真正的道。因此,没听说过任公子钓大鱼这个故事的人,距离治理好天下的目标,还有很长的路要走。