A civilian¹ named Shentu Dun in Luoyang obtained an unearthed² tripod of the Han Dynasty from Shenchuan, Chang'an.

 

On the tripod, the crisscross designs of clouds and ancient hornless dragons were bright and clear. Lu Sheng, his neighbour on the west, took a fancy to it instantly. He asked a coppersmith to cast a tripod in imitation, soaked and dyed it with a strange decoction, dug a pit and buried it underground.

 

After three years, he dug it out. Owing to the decoction and corrosion⁴ of the earth, the copper³ surface of the tripod changed and looked very much like Shentu Dun's genuine tripod.

 

One day, Lu Sheng presented this fake tripod to an influential⁵ official, who was so pleased as if he had got a treasure that he invited guests to a banquet to appreciate it together.

 

At the time, Shentu Dun was also present. He knew in his heart that Lu Sheng's tripod was a fake. He said: "I also have a tripod of about the same shape as this one. But I don't know which one is genuine."

 

The influential official asked him to fetch it at once. After he examined it for a long time, he said: "This one is not genuine."

 

The guests also chimed in and said one after another: "It is indeed not genuine."

 

Shentu Dun was quite perturbed⁶ and argued on just grounds, but the others rallied together to attack him, ridiculed⁷ and even insulted him, so he said no more.

 

When he returned home, he sighed: "I didn't know until today the power of authority, which can confound right with wrong and pass off the fake as the real thing."

  

洛阳，有一位平民叫申屠敦，他从长安深川得到了一尊出土的汉鼎。

 

鼎上，云和蝠交错的花纹，灿烂清晰。申屠敦家西边的一位邻居鲁生一见到就十分喜爱，让铜匠模仿着也铸了一尊，用一种奇特的药浸染之后，挖了一个坑，把它埋在地下。

 

过了三年，他把鼎从地下挖出来一看，由于药物和泥土的锈蚀，表面的铜质起了变化，跟申屠敦的真的汉鼎极其相似。

 

一天，鲁生将这尊假汉鼎献给了一位权贵。权贵如获至宝，便大宴宾客，请大家共同欣赏。

 

当时，申屠敦也在座。他心里头最明白，鲁生的那尊是假的，就说：“我也有一尊汉鼎，形状和这尊差不多，但不知哪一尊是真的。”

 

权贵立即叫他搬过来，左右端详了很久，说：“这尊不是真的!”

 

众宾客也附和着，一个接一个地说：“的确不是真的!”

 

申屠敦心中很不平静，据理争辩。众人竟群起而攻之，冷嘲热讽，甚至羞辱，他便不再做声了。

 

回到家里，申屠敦唉声叹气：“我今天才知道权势的威力，可以颠倒是非，以假乱真。”

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