胸有成竹

北宋時有一位學問好、品格高尚的人叫文同，他很喜歡竹子，經常在竹林中散步，仔細觀察竹子生長的情況、枝葉伸展的姿態、竹筍成長的細節以及在四季中的變化。他對竹子非常熟悉，閉上眼都能想出竹子的樣子，一有時間就在家裡畫竹。他畫的竹子栩栩如生，遠近聞名，許多人千里迢迢地趕來請他畫竹。

晁補之是文同的知心朋友，常和文同喝酒賞竹，最愛看他畫竹。有一位年輕人想向文同學習畫竹，先向晁補之請教文同畫竹的秘訣，晁補之說：「當他畫竹時，已經心裡面有竹的影子了，這就是他獨到的地方。」

To Have an Image of Bamboo In One's Mind

During the Sung dynasty, there lived a scholar named Wen Tung, who loved to paint. He painted many kinds of plants, animals and insects, but his favorite subject was bamboo. Wen Tung planted some bamboo in front of his house, name cared for it very carefully. Everyday, no matter what the weather, he would observe the way his bamboo was growing, and study the way its leaves and branches changed with the seasons. After having studied his bamboo for a long time, Wen Tung could paint it with his eyes closed. All of his works were just as vivid as the real thing. One day, his friend Chau Bu-jr went to visit Wen Tung, and found him right in the middle of painting bamboo, watching Wen Tung work, Chau Bu-jr wrote a poem about him, the meaning of which was, "When Wen Tung paints, he has an image of bamboo in his mind."

Today, when a person is very sure of whatever he is doing, one can say that he "has an image of bamboo in his mind."