English Original
One day, Confucius and his disciples were traveling through the State of Chu. While crossing a forest, they saw a hunchbacked old man standing under a tree, catching cicadas with a bamboo pole. With each deft stroke, he caught one, as easily as picking it up at will.
Confucius asked, "You are remarkably skillful. There must be a method to it."
"Indeed," replied the old man. "Cicadas are alert insects; the slightest rustle of leaves will startle them away. Therefore, the first step is to train your hand to hold the pole perfectly steady. If you can balance two pellets on its tip without them falling, you gain some assurance in catching cicadas. With three pellets steady, perhaps only one in ten escapes. When you can balance five pellets, catching them becomes as effortless as gathering them by hand."
He continued, "But that alone is not enough. One must also master concealment. Here I stand, resembling half a tree stump, my arm extended like a withered twig. Lastly, and most crucially, one must cultivate absolute focus. When I am catching cicadas, I think not of the vastness of the universe, nor do I notice the myriad things around me. My vision is fixed solely on the cicada's wings. Nothing distracts my attention. It is by accomplishing all this that I have attained such skill."
Hearing this, Confucius turned to his disciples and said, "Remember this truth from the hunchbacked elder: In any endeavor, only through unwavering perseverance and concentrated devotion can one reach the acme of perfection."
中文翻译
一日，孔子带领弟子前往楚国。穿过一片树林时，他们看见一位驼背老人站在树下，用竹竿粘捕蝉虫。他手法娴熟，每出手必得一只，轻松得如同随手拾取。
孔子问道：“您技艺如此高超，想必掌握了其中的诀窍吧？”
老人答道：“正是。蝉是机警的小虫，风声叶响都会惊飞它。因此，捕蝉首先要练就手持竹竿纹丝不动的功夫。当能在竿顶放两颗弹丸而不坠落时，捕蝉便有了几分把握；能放三颗而不落，十只蝉中或许仅逃走一只；待到能放五颗而不落，捕蝉就如随手拾取般容易了。”
他接着说：“但这还不够。还必须善于隐藏自身。我站在这里，就像半截树桩；伸出的手臂，宛如一段枯枝。最后，也是最重要的，必须心神专一。捕蝉时，我心中不想天地之广大，眼中不见周围之万物，只专注于蝉的双翼。任何事物都无法分散我的注意力。正因做到了这一切，我才能有这般技艺。”
孔子听后，转身对弟子们说：“记住这位驼背长者揭示的道理：无论做什么事，唯有锲而不舍、心无旁骛，方能达到出神入化的至高境界。”