不龟手之药

A person in the state of Song was good at making a medicine that can prevent skin chaps. It was his family tradition to bleach¹ cotton to make a living.

 

A merchant heard of this medicine and offered him a hundred pieces of gold. The Song person thought a hundred pieces of gold was a lot of money, so he gave him the recipe. The merchant brought this recipe to the King of the state of Wu and persuaded the king to produce this medicine.

 

Once the state of Wu went into war with the state of Yue. The king appointed the merchant to be the general to fight the Yue soldiers in the river in winter times. Because the Wu soldiers had used that medicine and wasn't bothered by water, they defeated the Yue army.

 

The king of the state of Wu awarded the merchant a fief（封地） for his exploits. Having the same feat², someone used it to get an award while someone continued to bleach cotton. It was all because how the feat was used.

 

宋国有个人善于制造让手免于破裂的药物，他祖祖辈辈都以漂洗棉絮为生。

 

一个商人听到这件事，便拿出一百两金子要买他的秘方。宋人以为一百两金子不少，便把秘方卖给了他。商人拿着秘方去游说吴王，让吴王制造这种药。

 

一次吴越发生战争，吴王任命商人做统帅，冬天和越人进行水战。由于吴军涂了药，不怕水，所以打败了越军。

 

吴王论功行赏封了一块地给商人。虽然是同一种技艺，但有的人用来博得了封赏，有的人却仍然以漂洗棉絮为业，这是因为技艺的使用方法不同啊！

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