苏秦之楚
Su Qin Arrived in Chu
【原文】
苏秦之楚，三（日）[月]乃得见乎王。谈卒，辞而行。楚王曰寡人 闻先生，若闻古人。今先生不远千里而临寡人，曾不肯留，愿闻其说。” 对曰楚国之食贵于玉，薪贵于桂，谒者难得见如鬼，王难得见如天帝。今令臣食玉炊桂，因鬼见帝。”王曰：“先生就舍，寡人闻命矣."
【今译】
苏秦来到楚国，三个月才得以见到楚王。说完了话，就告辞离去。 楚王说我听了先生的一番话，如同听到古人的教诲一般。如今先生 不远千里来到我这里，却不肯留下来。我想听听这是怎么回事。”苏秦 回答说楚国的粮食比玉还责，楚国的柴草比桂枝还贵，拜见负责引见宾客的官员跟见鬼一样难，拜见大王跟见天帝一样难^如今让我吃玉， 用桂枝生火做饭，通过鬼来拜见天帝。”楚王说先生回到宾馆住下吧， 我听命就是了."
After Su Qin arrived in the state of Chu, he wasn’t been able to see the king till three days later. After he finished his talk with the king, he said good-bye and was ready to leave Chu. The king of Chu said, “I have heard your advice. It sounds like the teachings of ancient sages. Now you have troubled to travel one thousand Li to my state，but you don't want to stay here. Please tell me your reason." Su Qin replied, “Food in your state is as expensive as jade. Firewood in Chu is as expensive as cinnamon. To see the officials in charge of introducing guests to Your Majesty is as difficult as meeting a ghost. To see Your Majesty in person is as difficult as visiting God. But you asked me to eat food as expensive as jade, build cooking fires with firewood as expensive as cinnamon and visit God through the introduction of ghosts, ” The king said，" Please return to the hotel and live there. I will follow your advice. ”