东施效颦故事怎么翻译成英文还有古文原文在哪儿

The story of Dong Shi效颦 (东施效颦) can be translated into English as "Dong Shi Imitating Xi Shi." The tale is a famous Chinese folktale that dates back to the Warring States period (475–221 BC). It is found in the ancient Chinese text "Mozi" (墨子), specifically in the chapter "Bai Gao" (非攻). The story goes as follows: Xi Shi, one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China, was renowned for her extraordinary beauty. One day, she felt a pockmark on her face and, upon seeing it, removed a stone from a nearby hill to use as a mirror. Dong Shi, a woman from the same village, upon seeing Xi Shi's reflection, was horrified by her own appearance and believed that she needed to have pockmarks like Xi Shi to be considered beautiful. Dong Shi then went to the same hill, dug a hole, and tried to place the stone into it to imitate Xi Shi's beauty. However, her imitation was far from flattering, and the villagers laughed at her for her foolish attempt to mimic someone they already admired for her natural beauty.

The moral of the story is that it is foolish to imitate others blindly without considering one's own unique qualities. It emphasizes the importance of being true to oneself and the value of natural beauty over artificial imitation. The phrase "东施效颦" has since become a common idiom in Chinese, used to describe someone who blindly follows or imitates others inappropriately, often in a ridiculous manner.