English Original
During his travels among the various states, Confucius encountered two children engaged in a heated argument.
He stopped and inquired about the subject of their dispute. The first child declared, "I believe the sun is closer to us when it first rises in the morning and farther away at noon." The second child countered, "I believe it is farther away at sunrise and closer at noon."
The first child elaborated, "At sunrise, the sun appears as large as a carriage canopy. By noon, it looks only as big as a plate. According to the principle that a distant object looks smaller and a near one looks larger, I am certain the sun is closer in the morning and farther at noon."
The second child argued, "It is cool when the sun rises, but hot at noon. For us to feel heat, the sun must be closer; when it is cool, it must be farther away."
Confucius found himself unable to decide who was right and ordered his carriage driver to depart.
中文翻译
孔子周游列国时，遇见两个小孩正在激烈地争辩。
他停下来询问他们争论的内容。第一个小孩说：“我认为太阳早晨刚升起时离我们近，中午时离我们远。”第二个小孩反驳道：“我认为太阳升起时离我们远，中午时才离我们近。”
第一个小孩进一步解释道：“日出时，太阳大如车盖。到了中午，它却只像盘子那么小。根据‘远者小而近者大’的道理，我确信太阳早晨近，中午远。”
第二个小孩则争辩说：“太阳初升时很凉爽，中午却很炎热。我们感到热，太阳必定离得近；感到凉爽时，它必定离得远。”
孔子无法判断谁对谁错，便吩咐车夫驾车离开了。