The original text and translation of Xunzi's "Encouraging Learning" chapter are as follows:

1. The original text of "Encouraging Learning"

The gentleman said: Learning cannot be stopped. Green is derived from blue, and green is from blue; ice is derived from water, and is cold from water. The wood is straight and the rope is in the middle, and the frame is used as a wheel.

Therefore, if wood is supported by a rope, it will be straight, and if metal is sharpened, it will be beneficial. If a gentleman is knowledgeable and examines himself every day, he will know clearly and act without mistakes. Therefore, if you do not accumulate steps, you cannot reach a thousand miles; if you do not accumulate small streams, you cannot reach a river or sea. A horse can't take ten steps with one leap; a horse can ride ten times without giving up its merits. If you persevere, the rotten wood will not be broken; if you persevere, the metal and stone can be carved.

2. Translation of "Encouraging Learning"

The gentleman said: Learning should never stop. Indigo is extracted from indigo, but it is darker than indigo; ice is made of water, but it is colder than water. If the wood is straight enough to conform to the straightened ink line, and it is made into a wheel using a burning process, then the curvature of the wood will conform to the standard of a circle. Even if it is dried up by wind and sun, the wood will not be straight again because it has been processed to make it like this.

So wood measured with an ink line and then processed with an axe-saw can be straightened, and a sword can become sharp after being ground on a whetstone. A gentleman who studies extensively and examines and reflects on himself every day will be wise. Be sensible and behave without fault.

Therefore, if you don’t climb the mountains, you don’t know how high the sky is; if you don’t face the deep streams, you don’t know how thick the earth is; if you don’t understand the teachings of the previous emperors, you don’t know the breadth of knowledge. The children of Qian, Yue, Yi and Raccoon are almost the same when they are born, but their customs will be different when they grow up. A country with good education is more civilized than a country with poor education.

Appreciation of the works of "Encouraging Learning":

A major feature of "Encouraging Learning" in writing is to use metaphors to explain principles and prove arguments. Except for a few places where the truth is directly explained, the whole text is almost all metaphors. The article uses a large number of common metaphors in life to explain abstract principles clearly, concretely, vividly, and in simple terms, making it easy for readers to accept.

Sometimes the work combines several parallel metaphors to illustrate the problem repeatedly from the same perspective. This technique is called "general metaphor" in rhetoric. There are various forms of metaphors in the article. Sometimes similar things are used as metaphors to repeatedly illustrate problems from the same perspective and emphasize the author's point of view.