Anger and Short Temper世説新語 忿狷第三十一
1Then he killed the one of bad nature
魏武有一妓，聲最清高，而情性酷惡。欲殺則愛才，欲置則不堪。於是選百人一時俱教。少時，果有一人聲及之，便殺惡性者。
Emperor Wu of Wei had a singing girl whose voice was the clearest and the highest, but whose feeling and nature were cruelly bad.
He wished to kill her, and then he begrudged her talent; he wished to keep her, and then he could not bear her.
So he chose a hundred women and had them all taught at one time.
After a little while there was indeed one whose voice came up to hers, and then he killed the one of bad nature.
2If Anqi had had such a nature, there would still have been not one hair of him worth discussing. How much more Lantian!
王藍田性急。嘗食雞子，以筯刺之，不得，便大怒，舉以擲地。雞子於地圓轉未止，仍下地以屐齒蹍之，又不得，瞋甚，復於地取內口中，齧破即吐之。王右軍聞而大笑曰：「使安期有此性，猶當無一豪可論，況藍田邪？」
Wang of Lantian was hasty by nature.
He was once eating an egg, and when he stabbed at it with his chopsticks and could not get it, he flew into a great rage, picked it up and threw it on the ground.
The egg rolled about on the ground and did not stop, so he got down to the ground and trod on it with the teeth of his clogs, and again he could not get it.
His fury was extreme. He took it up from the ground again and put it in his mouth, bit it open, and spat it out.
When Wang of the Right Army heard of it he laughed aloud and said, "If Anqi had had such a nature, there would still have been not one hair of him worth discussing. How much more Lantian!"
Interlinear notes 1
《中興書》曰：「述清貴簡正，少所推屈，唯以性急為累。」安期，述父也。有名德，已見。
The Zhongxing shu says, "Shu was pure and noble, plain and upright, and there were few to whom he would yield, but his hasty nature alone was a burden on him." Anqi was Shu's father. He had a name for virtue, and he has appeared before.
3Cold as a ghost's hand, and you force yourself on me and take hold of a man's arm
王司州嘗乘雪往王螭許。司州言氣少有牾逆於螭，便作色不夷。司州覺惡，便輿床就之，持其臂曰：「汝詎復足與老兄計？」螭撥其手曰：「冷如鬼手馨，彊來捉人臂！」
Wang the Inspector of Sizhou once rode through the snow to Wang Chi's place.
The Inspector's words and manner were a little contrary to Chi, and Chi at once set his face and was not at ease.
The Inspector saw that it was going badly, so he had his couch carried over to him, took him by the arm and said, "How are you fit to reckon any further with your old elder brother?"
Chi flung off his hand and said, "Cold as a ghost's hand, and you force yourself on me and take hold of a man's arm."
Interlinear notes 2
王胡之、王恬並已見。恬小字螭虎。
Wang Huzhi and Wang Tian have both appeared before. Tian's childhood name was Chihu.
按《王氏譜》：胡之是恬從祖兄。
By the Wang shi pu, Huzhi was Tian's elder cousin of the generation of his grandfather's line.
4Seeing Master Yuan shift his anger, I know how precious Master Yan was
桓宣武與袁彥道樗蒱，袁彥道齒不合，遂厲色擲去五木。溫太真云：「見袁生遷怒，知顏子為貴。」
Huan Xuanwu was playing chupu with Yuan Yandao, and when Yuan Yandao's throw did not come out right, he set his face in anger and threw the five blocks away.
Wen Taizhen said, "Seeing Master Yuan shift his anger, I know how precious Master Yan was."
Interlinear notes 1
《論語》曰：「哀公問弟子孰為好學？孔子曰：『有顏回者，好學，不遷怒，不貳過，不幸短命死矣。』」
The Lunyu says, "Duke Ai asked which of the disciples loved learning. Confucius said, 'There was one Yan Hui who loved learning. He did not shift his anger, and he did not repeat a fault. Unhappily his span was short and he died.'"
5The men of that day sighed that he was hasty in nature and yet could bear something
謝無奕性麤彊。以事不相得，自往數王藍田，肆言極罵。王正色面壁不敢動，半日。謝去良久，轉頭問左右小吏曰：「去未？」答云：「已去。」然後復坐。時人嘆其性急而能有所容。
Xie Wuyi was coarse and headstrong by nature.
Over a matter on which they did not agree, he went himself to reprove Wang of Lantian, giving free rein to his tongue and abusing him to the utmost.
Wang composed his face and turned to the wall, not daring to move, for half a day.
A good while after Xie had gone, he turned his head and asked the petty clerk at his side, "Has he gone?"
The answer was, "He has already gone."
Only then did he sit down again.
The men of that day sighed that he was hasty in nature and yet could bear something.
6But there is so much boasting and clearing of the throat over this, and that is quite enough to take away from what is natural in him
王令詣謝公，值習鑿齒已在坐，當與併榻。王徙倚不坐，公引之與對榻。去後，語胡兒曰：「子敬實自清立，但人為爾多矜咳，殊足損其自然。」
Wang the director called on Lord Xie, and it happened that Xi Zaochi was already seated, so he would have had to share a couch with him.
Wang moved away and would not sit, and the duke drew him over and set him on a couch facing the other.
After he had gone, the duke said to Hu'er, "Zijing is truly pure and upstanding of himself. But there is so much boasting and clearing of the throat over this, and that is quite enough to take away from what is natural in him."
Interlinear notes 1
劉謙之《晉紀》曰：「王獻之性甚整峻，不交非類。」
Liu Qianzhi's Jin ji says, "Wang Xianzhi was very strict and severe by nature, and he did not keep company with those not of his own kind."
7The friendship of power and profit, as it is called, the men of old were ashamed of
王大、王恭嘗俱在何僕射坐。恭時為丹陽尹，大始拜荊州。訖將乖之際，大勸恭酒。恭不為飲，大逼彊之，轉苦，便各以帬帶繞手。恭府近千人，悉呼入齋，大左右雖少，亦命前，意便欲相殺。射無計，因起排坐二人之間，方得分散。所謂勢利之交，古人羞之。
Wang Da and Wang Gong were once together at the seat of He the vice director.
Gong was then intendant of Danyang, and Da had just been appointed to Jingzhou.
When it was over and they were about to part, Da pressed wine on Gong.
Gong would not drink it, and Da forced him hard until it grew painful, and then each of them wound his skirt sash about his hand.
Gong's office had nearly a thousand men, and he called them all into the study. Da's attendants were few, but he too ordered them to come forward, and now their minds were set on killing each other.
The vice director had no plan for it, so he rose and pushed his seat in between the two men, and only then could they be parted and dispersed.
The friendship of power and profit, as it is called, the men of old were ashamed of.
Interlinear notes 2
《中興書》曰：「何澄字子玄，清正有器望。歷尚書左僕射。」
The Zhongxing shu says, "He Cheng, styled Zixuan, was pure and upright, and had capacity and repute. He rose to be left vice director of the imperial secretariat."
《靈鬼志謠徵》曰：「初，桓石民為荊州，鎮上時，民忽歌黃曇曲曰：『黃曇英揚州，大佛來上朋。』少時，石民死，王忱為荊州。」佛大，忱小字也。
The Lingguizhi yaozheng says, "At first, when Huan Shimin was Governor of Jingzhou and held the garrison upstream, the people suddenly sang the song of Huangtan, saying, 'The blossom of the huangtan flies to Yangzhou, and the great Buddha comes up to the company.' A little later Shimin died, and Wang Chen became Governor of Jingzhou." Fo Da was Chen's childhood name.
8There is nothing strange in it. It must be one of Nanjun's tricks
桓南郡小兒時，與諸從兄弟各養鵝共鬥。南郡鵝每不如，甚以為忿；迺夜往鵝欄間，取諸兄弟鵝悉殺之。既曉，家人咸以驚駭，云是變怪，以白車騎。車騎曰：「無所致怪，當是南郡戲耳！」問，果如之。
When Huan of Nanjun was a small boy, he and his cousins each reared geese and set them to fight together.
The goose of Nanjun was always beaten, and this angered him greatly, so he went by night to the goose pen and took his cousins' geese and killed them all.
When dawn came, the people of the house were all startled and afraid, and said that it was a strange portent, and they reported it to the general of chariots and cavalry.
The general of chariots and cavalry said, "There is nothing strange in it. It must be one of Nanjun's tricks."
They asked, and it was indeed so.