苏轼

古之所谓豪杰之士者，必有过人之节。人情有所不能忍者，匹夫见辱，拔剑而起，挺身而斗，此不足为勇也。天下有大勇者，卒然临之而不惊，无故加之而不怒。此其所挟持者甚大，而其志甚远也。

The heroic figures in ancient times must have owned themselves exceptional personality traits, out of which they could bear the unbearable while other people could not.  An igorant man would come forwards insults with his sword drawn and fight against his rival, but that was not a deed of true grit. The valorous man of genuine courage will face any accidents with aplomb, and remain calm towards any insults come to him without rhyme or reason.  Because such a man must bosom a great, lofty aim to reach for the stars.        

夫子房受书于圯上之老人也，其事甚怪；然亦安知其非秦之世，有隐君子者出而试之。观其所以微见其意者，皆圣贤相与警戒之义；而世不察，以为鬼物，亦已过矣。且其意不在书。

It was a queer serendipity that on that bridge an old man gave away a book of military strategy to Zhang Liang.  Could it be that the old man was an outstanding hermit hidden in Qin Dynasty, who intended to give Zhang a severe test.  From his small clue we might see the old mans intention of his own: a cautionary warning only could be sensed between noble people.  But ordinary people could not discern its nuance and regarded the old man as a fairy, and that would be ridiculous.  The point was how much farther the ordeal of endurance that Zhang Liang could take, but not the book itself that mattered. 

当韩之亡，秦之方盛也，以刀锯鼎镬待天下之士。其平居无罪夷灭者，不可胜数。虽有贲、育，无所复施。夫持法太急者，其锋不可犯，而其势未可乘。子房不忍忿忿之心，以匹夫之力而逞于一击之间;当此之时，子房之不死者，其间不能容发，盖亦已危矣。

When state of Han had perished, Qin was in its heyday.  The emperor of Qin tackled with men of high aspiration by slaughtering them with machetes, saws, and cauldrons of boiling water, and annihilated innumerable innocent people without any charges of crime.  Even the brave as invincible as Ben and Yu could not find the chance to perform their tour de force.  Under the tyrannies of Gins rule, it was unwise to challenge the blades of its sharp swords, or to take chances in such an adverse situation.  In a rage, Zhang once did try to assassinate Emperor of Gin with one shot single-handedly; he missed the shot, freed from imminent danger, and escaped from death, but it was very, very close. 

千金之子，不死于盗贼，何者？其身之可爱，而盗贼之不足以死也。子房以盖世之才，不为伊尹、太公之谋，而特出于荆轲、聂政之计，以侥幸于不死，此圯上老人所为深惜者也。是故倨傲鲜腆而深折之。彼其能有所忍也，然后可以就大事，故曰：“孺子可教也。”

The persons who are born into a wealthy family are not willing to die in bandits hands.  Why not?   Because it isnt worth dying in the hands of the people who do not cherish their own lives.  Zhang possessed himself peerless talent, but in the first place he didnt act like Yiyin or Taigong, who were circumspect and farsighted; instead, he risked his life as Jingke and Niecheng did.  What he hadnt lost his life was just a fluke.  That was what the old man on bridge felt really sorry for Zhang, and that was also why he deliberately treated Zhang with such asperity and arrogance as to see if Zhang could stand the insults.  If Zhang could, that signified he could likewise tolerate any setbacks as to achieve a lofty goal.  Therefore, the old man praised Zhang as a "promising brat pack!".

楚庄王伐郑，郑伯肉袒牵羊以逆；庄王曰：“其君能下人，必能信用其民矣。”遂舍之。勾践之困于会稽，而归臣妾于吴者，三年而不倦。且夫有报人之志，而不能下人者，是匹夫之刚也。

When King Zhuang of Chu attacked state of Cheng, Duke of Cheng, in nakeness, greeted the Chu army with sheep.  King Zhuang said, "A humble monarch of a state could so deign himself must have obtined confidence from his subjects.", and then retreated his army.  King Goujian of Yue was besieged at Kuaiji, then he condecend himself as having been Wus hostage with his concubines for three years without overt complains.  Furthermore, a man who harbors avenge but is unable to be at his enemies command in order to seek opportunity to revenge is nothing but an ordinary person of foolish valor.    

夫老人者，以为子房才有余，而忧其度量之不足，故深折其少年刚锐之气，使之忍小忿而就大谋。何则?非有生平之素，卒然相遇于草野之间，而命以仆妾之役，油然而不怪者，此固秦皇之所不能惊，而项籍之所不能怒也。

That old man regarded Zhang as a person of great talent, but not a person of great magnanimity; hence, he intended to inflict a setback upon Zhangs elan, curbing the young mans impulse on aggrievedness so as to accomplish much greater deeds.  Why was that?  In the middle of nowhere, Zhang for the first time made the acquaintance of that old man who ordered Zhang acting like a maid to serve him for no reason, and Zhang didnt mind at all.  With this noble disposition, no one in this world could scare him or enrage him a bit, not even Emperor of Gin, or that invincible King of Ba, Xiang Yu.       

观夫高祖之所以胜，而项籍之所以败者，在能忍与不能忍之间而已矣。项籍唯不能忍，是以百战百胜而轻用其锋；高祖忍之，养其全锋而待其弊，此子房教之也。当淮阴破齐而欲自王，高祖发怒，见于词色。由此观之，犹有刚强不忍之气，非子房其谁全之？

Now lets review why did Emperor of Han could finally win over Xiang Yu in the fierce rivalry between Chu and Han.  The root cause was one had the quality of remarkable endurance, while the other had not.  Xiang failed to endure, so he overused his overwhelming power despite numerous triumphs in campaign.  Emperor of Han could endure to keep his overall capacity intact, waiting for his emeny in a feeble state from fatigue.  That was all Zhang taught him to do so.  When one of his generals, Han Xin, took the territoy of Qi and wanted to be conferred the title of king, the emperor was enraged, showing the anger in his words and his contenance.  From this aspect, even a strong man like Emperor of Han still had quick temper.  But for Zhang, who else could get the emperor back on track?   

太史公疑子房以为魁梧奇伟，而其状貌乃如妇人女子，不称其志气。呜呼！此其所以为子房欤！

The great historian Sima Qian thought Zhang Liang must have been big in stature; in fact, Zhang looked like a woman in apperance and figure, not to match his ambition and magnanimity.  Oh, that was why Zhang Liang had been unique!