1. ◆一人一双手，做事没帮手，十人十双手，拖着泰山走。

1. ◆ One person, one pair of hands, no helper to assist in tasks; ten people, ten pairs of hands, can carry Mount Tai.

2. ◆早饭吃得饱，午饭吃得好，晚饭吃得少，不用大夫瞧。

2.◆ Breakfast should be filling, lunch should be good, and dinner should be light; then you won't need to see a doctor.

3. ◆三勤一懒，想懒不得懒；三懒一勤，想勤不得勤。

3. ◆ Three diligent and one lazy, you can't be lazy; three lazy and one diligent, you can't be diligent.

4. 山西中南部较西北部温暖得多，林木更为繁茂。据宋《太平环宇记》载，太原西山多柏树，北宋时太原东西山仍是“古柏苍槐树木阳翳”，有“锦绣岭”之称。金代元好问《过晋阳故城书》说，晋祠西山是“水上西山如卧屏，郁郁苍苍三百里”。古代有关晋南、晋东南森林的记载很多，《山海经》就提到中条山、太行山多木多竹。《诗经》描述太行山南段“陡坡景山，松柏丸丸。”东魏建都邺城（河北临漳），大造宫殿，取大材于上党，黎城、平顺一带“山林丛密，取材甚易。”《梦溪笔谈》载：“渐至太行，松木太丰”，等等。

4. Southern and central Shanxi is much warmer than the northwestern part, and the forests are more lush. According to the Song Dynasty's "Taiping Huan Yu Ji," the western mountains of Taiyuan are abundant in cypress trees. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the eastern and western mountains of Taiyuan were still described as "ancient cypress and wutong trees shading the sun," and were known as the "Brocade Ridge." In the Jin Dynasty, Yuan Haowen's "Over the Ancient City of Jinyang" said that the western mountains of the Jinci Temple were "the water mountain in the west like a lying screen, lush and verdant for three hundred miles." There are many ancient records about the forests in southern and southeastern Shanxi, with the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" mentioning that Zhongtiao Mountain and Taihang Mountain are rich in wood and bamboo. The "Book of Songs" describes the southern section of Taihang Mountain as "steep slope of Jing Mountain, pines and cypresses round and round." The capital of the Eastern Wei was established in Ye City (Linzhang, Hebei), where they built palaces and took large materials from Shangdang, Licheng, and Pingshun areas, which were "dense with mountains and forests, and it was easy to collect materials." The "Dream of the Lake Pen" records: "As we gradually approached Taihang, the pine trees were too abundant," etc.

5. ◆讲《三国》，离不得诸葛；说赵云，离不了长枪。

5.◆ When discussing the "Three Kingdoms," Zhuge Liang is indispensable; when mentioning Zhao Yun, it cannot be separated from the long spear.

6. ◆见人不施礼，枉跑四十里；见人施一礼，少走十里地。

6. ◆ Not showing respect when meeting people, you'll have wasted a forty-mile trip; showing respect with a single bow, you'll save a ten-mile walk.

7. ◆玉不琢，不成器；木不雕，不成材；人不学，不知理。

7. ◆ Jade not carved, cannot become a utensil; wood not carved, cannot become material; people not learning, cannot understand principles.

8. ◆一路精，赚金又赚银；路路精，无钱吃点心。

8. ◆ A journey well planned brings gold and silver; a poorly planned journey leaves no money for snacks.

9. ◆能吃，糠能吃，气不能吃；吃能让，穿能让，理不能让。

9. ◆ It can be eaten, chaff can be eaten, air cannot be eaten; one can make compromises in eating and dressing, but not in principles.

10. ◆人不在大小，要有本事；山不在高低，要有景致。

10.◆ It's not about size for a person, but about capability; it's not about height for a mountain, but about scenery.

11. ◆一针不补，十针难缝；有险不堵，成灾叫苦。

11. ◆If a single thread is not mended, it's difficult to sew with ten; if dangers are not blocked, the resulting disaster will bring great suffering.

12. ◆今天来客，往日有意；今天打架，往日有气。

12. ◆ Today's guests have intentions from the past; today's fights have tempers from the past.

13. ◆只怕不勤，不怕不精；只怕无恒，不怕无成。

13.◆ Be afraid of not being diligent, not afraid of not being skilled; be afraid of lacking constancy, not afraid of not achieving anything.

14. ◆生不恋旦，班子要散；旦不恋生，班子要崩。

14. ◆ If the sheng does not have affection for the dan, the troupe will disband; if the dan does not have affection for the sheng, the troupe will collapse.

15. 以上史料充分说明，黄土高原历史上确是森林广布的地区。令人遗憾的是“黄土高原草原论者”完全忽视了如此大量生动的历史文献记载。即使撇开历史资料不谈，黄土高原森林分布的现实也足以证明它属森林草原地带。现在，在黄土高原的最北部的人工林生长茂盛，便是佐证。例如城墙曾被流沙堆埋的右玉县已造成100多万亩人工林（华北落叶松、油松、小叶杨等），被誉为“塞上绿洲”。另像河曲、榆林、靖边受毛乌素沙漠前锋侵袭的县，都营造成几十万亩人工林，林木生长茂盛。究其原因，是当地有400多毫米的降水量，其生境条件就允许森林生长，它原本就是森林和森林草原环境，否则森林是难以存活成林的。黄土高原北部森林尚能生长良好，中南部就更不用说了。

15. The above historical materials fully demonstrate that the Loess Plateau was indeed a region abundant in forests in history. It is regrettable that the "Loess Plateau Grassland theorists" have completely ignored such a large amount of vivid historical literature records. Even setting aside historical materials, the present distribution of forests in the Loess Plateau is enough to prove that it belongs to a forest-steppe region. Now, the artificial forests in the northernmost part of the Loess Plateau are growing luxuriantly, which serves as evidence. For example, in the county of Youyu, where the city wall was buried by flowing sand, more than one million mu of artificial forests (Norway spruce, Chinese pine, small-leaf Populus, etc.) have been created, and it is被誉为 "Oasis on the Frontier". In other counties like Hequ, Yulin, and Jingbian, which have been invaded by the advancing front of the Mu Us Desert, tens of thousands of mu of artificial forests have been planted, and the trees are growing luxuriantly. The reason for this is that the local area has over 400 millimeters of annual precipitation, and the habitat conditions allow for the growth of forests; it was originally an environment of forests and forest steppes. Otherwise, the forests would find it difficult to survive and grow into a forest. The forests in the northern part of the Loess Plateau can still grow well, let alone in the central and southern parts.

16. ◆一个巧皮匠，没有好鞋样；两个笨皮匠，彼此有商量；个臭皮匠，胜过诸葛亮。

16.◆ A clever cobbler has no good shoe pattern; two foolish cobblers can discuss with each other; a stinking cobbler is better than Zhuge Liang.

17. 森林是环境的“卫士”。黄土高原大面积森林遭到破坏以后，便失去了生态屏障，生态环境严重恶化，从而导致河川水源枯竭、水土流失和风沙日益加剧、旱涝灾害日益频繁等一系列灾难性后果。这是严重的历史教训。至今仍困扰黄土高原的生态灾难问题主要有五个：

17. Forests are the "protectors" of the environment. After the large-scale destruction of forests in the Loess Plateau, the ecological barrier was lost, and the ecological environment deteriorated severely, leading to a series of catastrophic consequences such as the exhaustion of river water sources, soil erosion, increasingly severe wind and sand, and more frequent droughts and floods. This is a serious historical lesson. To this day, the ecological disaster issues that still困扰 the Loess Plateau mainly include the following five:

18. 我只知道形成, 关于黄土的来源，长期以来，中外学者有过不同的争论。其中，以“风成说”比较令人信服。认为黄土来自北部和西北部的甘肃、宁夏和蒙古高原以至中亚等广大干旱沙漠区。这些地区的岩石，白天受热膨胀，夜晚冷却收缩，逐渐被风化成大小不等的石块、沙子和粘土。同时这些地区，每逢西北风盛行的冬春季节，狂风骤起、飞沙走石，尘土蔽日。粗大的石块残留在原地成为“戈壁”，较细的沙粒落在附近地区，聚成片片沙漠，细小的粉沙和粘土，纷纷向东南飞扬，当风力减弱或迂秦岭山地的阻拦便停积下来，经过几十万年的堆积就形成了浩瀚的黄土高原。根据黄土堆积环境的不同，可将我国黄士发育分为三个时期：早更新世，相当于第一次冰期，气候比新第三纪干寒，发生午城黄土堆积；中更新世，发生第二次冰期，气候进一步变干，堆积了离石黄土，范围广、土层厚；晚更新世第三次冰期，气候更加干寒，堆积了马兰黄土，厚度虽小，但分布范围更广，南方称下蜀黄土。进入全新世，气候转为暖湿，疏松的黄土层，经流水侵蚀，形成了沟壑纵横、梁、峁广布的破碎地表。

18. I only know that there have been different arguments among Chinese and foreign scholars for a long time about the origin of loess. Among them, the "wind formation theory" is more convincing. It is believed that loess comes from the vast arid desert areas of Gansu, Ningxia, and the Mongolian Plateau in the north and northwest, as well as Central Asia. The rocks in these areas expand when heated during the day and contract when cooled at night, gradually being weathered into stones, sand, and clay of varying sizes. At the same time, during the winter and spring seasons when the northwest wind is prevalent in these areas, fierce winds arise, sand and stones fly, and dust blocks the sun. Large stones remain in place to form the "Gobi Desert," finer sand particles settle in nearby areas, forming patches of desert, and the tiny silt and clay are blown southeastward. When the wind weakens or is obstructed by the Qinling Mountains, they settle down. After millions of years of accumulation, the vast Loess Plateau was formed. According to the different loess accumulation environments, the development of China's loess can be divided into three periods: Early Pleistocene, corresponding to the first ice age, with a climate drier and colder than the Neogene, resulting in the accumulation of the Wucheng loess; Middle Pleistocene, with the second ice age, the climate becoming even drier, leading to the accumulation of the Lishizhi loess, which has a wide range and thick soil layers; Late Pleistocene, the third ice age, with an even drier and colder climate, resulting in the accumulation of the Malan loess, which has a smaller thickness but a wider distribution range, known as the Xiushui loess in the south. Entering the Holocene, the climate turned warm and humid, and the loose loess layers, after being eroded by running water, formed a broken land surface with numerous ravines, ridges, and mounds.

19. ◆画人难画手，画树难画柳，画马难画走，画兽难画狗。

19. It's difficult to paint a person's hands, trees are hard to paint with willows, horses are hard to paint when they are running, and animals are hard to paint with dogs.

20. ◆十个叔叔抵不上一个老子，十件褂子抵不上一件袄子。

20. ◆Ten uncles are not as good as one father, and ten jackets are not as good as one coat.

21. ◆绊人的桩，不一定高；咬人的狗，不一定叫。

21.◆ A tripping stake is not necessarily high; a biting dog is not necessarily barking.

22. 从上可知，黄土高原在秦汉以前是森林和森林草原地带是确凿无疑的。但由于长期以来的人为破坏，使大面积的森林逐渐消失而成为今日的荒山秃岭。大规模破坏森林的方式包括战争破坏、营造宫殿、樵采、毁林开荒等。其中以毁林开荒对森林的破坏最为严重和彻底。黄土高原的生态环境就是近两千年不断滥伐滥垦毁坏的。自秦汉以来黄土高原经历了三次滥伐滥垦高潮，第一次是秦汉时期的大规模“屯垦”（边防军有组织大垦荒）和“移民实边”开垦。这次大“屯垦”使晋北陕北的森林遭到大规模破坏。第二次是明王朝推行的大规模“屯垦”，使黄土高原北部的生态环境遭到空前浩劫。据考证，明初在黄土高原北部陕北（延安、绥德、榆林地区）和晋北大力推行“屯田”制，竟强行规定每位边防战士毁林开荒任务。《天下郡国利病书》对明代“屯田”有“天下兵卫邻近间旷之地，皆分亩为屯”的记载。由于军民争相锄山为田，使林草被覆的山地丘陵都被开为农田，使屯田“错列在万山之中，岗阜相连”。据《明经世文编》记载，自永宁（今离石）至延（安）绥（德）的途中，“即山之悬崖峭壁，无尺寸不耕”。从这里我们不难看出，明代推行“屯田”制对环境破坏之严重。第三次大垦荒是清代，清代曾推行奖励垦荒制度，垦荒范畴自陕北、晋北而北移至内蒙古南部，黄土高原北部和鄂尔多斯高原数以百万亩计的草原被开垦为农田，使大面积的土地沙化，水土流失加剧。

22. As can be seen from the above, it is undoubtedly true that the Loess Plateau was a forest and forest-steppe region before the Qin and Han dynasties. However, due to long-term human destruction, a large area of forests gradually disappeared and became the barren and bald mountains of today. The ways of large-scale forest destruction include war destruction, construction of palaces, felling of trees for firewood, and clearing forests for cultivation, among which the destruction of forests for cultivation is the most severe and thorough. The ecological environment of the Loess Plateau has been damaged by continuous over-cutting and over-cultivation for nearly two thousand years. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the Loess Plateau has experienced three peaks of over-cutting and over-cultivation. The first was the large-scale "reclamation" (organized large-scale reclamation by frontier troops) and "immigration to the border" during the Qin and Han dynasties. This large-scale "reclamation" caused a massive destruction of forests in northern Shanxi and northern Shaanxi. The second was the large-scale "reclamation" implemented by the Ming Dynasty, which caused an unprecedented disaster to the ecological environment in the northern part of the Loess Plateau. According to research, during the early Ming Dynasty, the "reclamation" system was vigorously implemented in the northern part of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi (Yan'an, Suide, Yulin areas) and northern Shanxi, and it was even forcibly stipulated that each frontier soldier was responsible for destroying forests for cultivation. The "Book of Benefits and Diseases of All States" records that during the Ming Dynasty, "the land near the border was divided into plots for reclamation." Due to the competition between civilians and soldiers to turn mountains into farmland, all mountainous and hilly areas covered with forests and grasslands were turned into farmland, making the reclamation "scattered among thousands of mountains, and ridges connected." According to the records of "Ming Jing Shi Wen Bian," on the way from Yongning (now Lishi) to Yan'an and Suide, "even the cliffs and steep slopes of the mountains were not left unplowed." From here, it is not difficult to see the seriousness of the environmental damage caused by the implementation of the "reclamation" system in the Ming Dynasty. The third large-scale reclamation was during the Qing Dynasty, when the Qing Dynasty implemented a reward system for reclamation, and the scope of reclamation moved from northern Shaanxi and northern Shanxi to the south of Inner Mongolia. Countless acres of grasslands in the northern part of the Loess Plateau and the Ordos Plateau were turned into farmland, causing large areas of land to desertify and soil and water loss to worsen.

23. ◆人不在大小，马不在高低。人往高处走，水往低处流。

23.◆ It does not matter how big or small a person is, nor how tall or short a horse is. People strive to rise to higher positions, while water flows downwards.

24. ◆男人无志，钝铁无钢，女人无志，乱草无秧。

24. ▲ A man without ambition is like dull iron without steel; a woman without ambition is like wild grass without seedlings.

25. ◆节令不到，不知冷暖；人不相处，不知厚薄。

25.◆ If the season has not changed, one does not know the cold and warmth; if people do not interact, one does not know the depth of others.

26. ◆一个和尚挑水喝，两个和尚抬水喝，三个和尚没水喝。

26. ▲ One monk carries water to drink, two monks carry water together to drink, and three monks have no water to drink.

27. ◆为富不仁 ，为仁不富。

27. ◆ The rich are not benevolent, and the benevolent are not rich.

28. 应该指出，黄土高原自古以来盛行广种薄收轮荒制度，农谚是“不整百垧，不打百担”。他们不是选择适宜耕种的土地来开垦，靠精耕细作来增产粮食，而是采取轮荒制，不择手段地放火烧山，掠夺性扩大耕地，种地不施肥，靠自然肥力来产粮食，种几年以后表土流失了，肥力流光了便丢荒，另择稍好的荒草地开垦。这样轮来轮去，使有林草覆盖的土地都被剃了“光头”，而且是长期以来无休止的轮番开垦，致使原来的林草植被种源破坏殆尽，无法恢复。可见广种薄收、轮荒制度是黄土高原生态环境遭到彻底破坏的最主要的祸根，是环境劣变的主要原因。

28. It should be pointed out that the Loess Plateau has long been dominated by the system of extensive planting and thin harvest, and shifting cultivation, with the farming proverb saying, "Without a hundred sections of land, don't expect to reap a hundred loads." Instead of choosing suitable land for cultivation and increasing grain output through intensive farming, they adopt the system of shifting cultivation, resorting to means such as burning mountains without any scruples to expand arable land, farming without fertilization, relying on natural fertility for grain production. After several years of cultivation, when the topsoil is eroded and the fertility exhausted, the land is abandoned. They then choose slightly better wasteland for cultivation. This continuous shifting cultivation has led to the land covered by forests and grass being denuded, and this has been going on for a long time without interruption, resulting in the near complete destruction of the original forest and grass vegetation, making it impossible to recover. It is evident that the system of extensive planting and thin harvest, and shifting cultivation is the main cause of the complete destruction of the ecological environment of the Loess Plateau, and is the main reason for the deterioration of the environment.

29. ◆宁可身冷，不可心冷；宁可人穷，不可志穷。

29.◆ It is better to be cold-bodied than cold-hearted; it is better to be poor in material wealth than poor in spirit.

30. 山西东北部恒山、五台山、太行山北段曾是森林密布地区。如《宋会要稿》记述太行山中北段是“林木茂密”、“松林遍布”。《清凉山志》描述五台山在宋代时是“四面林峰拥翠峦，万壑松声心地响”。明代撰写的《胡、高二公禁伐传》载：“自古相传，五峰内外，七百余里，茂林森耸，飞鸟不渡，国初（指明初）尚然”。明朝在北京大造宫殿，木材多取自代州（五台、代县、繁峙、原平一带），毁林严重。《明经世文编》记载当时毁林的情景是：“百家成群、千夫为邻，逐之不可，禁之不从”，林区被延烧成灰，砍伐者数里如扫，仅贩到北京的巨木，每年不下百十万株。恒山、五台山的森林就这样被一扫而光。

30. The northern part of Shanxi, including the Hengshan, Wutai Mountain, and the northern section of the Taihang Mountains, were once densely forested areas. As recorded in the "Comprehensive Treatise of the Song Dynasty," the middle and northern sections of the Taihang Mountains were described as "dense with trees" and "covered with pine forests." The "Record of Qingliang Mountain" describes Wutai Mountain during the Song Dynasty as "surrounded by green peaks and forested ridges, with the sound of pine trees echoing in the hearts." The "Legend of Hu and Gao's Prohibition of Logging" written during the Ming Dynasty states: "Since ancient times, it has been passed down that within and outside the five peaks, over seven hundred miles, there were lush forests towering, where birds did not cross, and this was still the case at the beginning of the dynasty (referring to the early Ming Dynasty)." During the Ming Dynasty, when grand palaces were built in Beijing, much of the timber came from Dazhou (an area including Wutai, Daxian, Fanzhi, and Yuanping), resulting in severe deforestation. The "Ming Jingji Wenbian" records the scene of deforestation at the time: "Hundreds grouped together, thousands living as neighbors, pursuing them was impossible, and prohibition was ignored," the forested areas were burned to ashes, and the loggers cut down trees for miles as if sweeping, with only the giant logs transported to Beijing numbering over a million each year. The forests of Hengshan and Wutai Mountain were thus cleared away completely.