7.1

A novice asked the master: "In the east there is a great tree-structure that men call 'Corporate Headquarters'. It is bloated out of shape with vice-presidents and accountants. It issues a multitude of memos, each saying 'Go, Hence!' or 'Go, Hither!' and nobody knows what is meant. Every year new names are put onto the branches, but all to no avail. How can such an unnatural entity exist?"
一个新学问大师：“在东方，有一个庞大的机构，人们称作总部。它由为数众多的大小领导。每天发出大量的备忘录，每个备忘录都说：‘干这个，干那个’，没有一个人知道它是什么意思。每年这个机构都会有更多的人加进来而变得越来越大，但是去没有人去做事情。怎么烩样奇怪的东西还能存在呢？”
The master replies: "You perceive this immense structure and are disturbed that it has no rational purpose. Can you not take amusement from its endless gyrations? Do you not enjoy the untroubled ease of programming beneath its sheltering branches? Why are you bothered by its uselessness?"
大师说：“你已经知道这个巨大的机构并不合理，你就不能不管它为什么这样吗？你尽管享受它的好处就是了，干吗要去管它到底是没有效率呢？”

7.2

In the east there is a shark which is larger than all other fish. It changes into a bird whose winds are like clouds filling the sky. When this bird moves across the land, it brings a message from Corporate Headquarters. This message it drops into the midst of the program- mers, like a seagull making its mark upon the beach. Then the bird mounts on the wind and, with the blue sky at its back, returns home.
在遥远的东方，传说有一只巨大的鱼，叫鲲，它变成了一只大鸟，叫鹏，鹏的翅膀可以遮天蔽日，这只大鸟经过陆地的时候，它带来了一个消息，它把这个消息丢在程序员中，就象一只海鸥在海滩上做的记号，然后鹏背负蓝天，乘风而上，回家去了。
The novice programmer stares in wonder at the bird, for he understands it not. The average programmer dreads the coming of the bird, for he fears its message. The master programmer continues to work at his terminal, for he does not know that the bird has come and gone.
初学者惊恐地看着这只鸟，根本不敢相信，中级程序员担心这只鸟的到来，因为它害怕它带来的消息，编程大师则继续在他的终端前工作他根本不知道这只鸟曾经来过。

7.3

The Magician of the Ivory Tower brought his latest invention for the master programmer to examine. The magician wheeled a large black box into the master's office while the master waited in silence.
一个学究带着他的最新发明去见编程大师，他把一个大黑盒子推进大师的办公室。
"This is an integrated, distributed, general-purpose workstation," began the magician, "ergonomically designed with a proprietary operating system, sixth generation languages, and multiple state of the art user interfaces. It took my assistants several hundred man years to construct. Is it not amazing?"
“这是综合的、分布式的通用工作站，”，学究开始介绍了，“按人体工学设计的操作系统，第六代的高级语言，多样的用户界面，整整花了我的助手好几百人年的时间，挺不错吧？”
The master raised his eyebrows slightly. "It is indeed amazing," he said.
大师扬了一下眉毛，说：“的确很了不起。”
"Corporate Headquarters has commanded," continued the magician, "that everyone use this workstation as a platform for new programs. Do you agree to this?"
“头儿已经说了，”这位学究继续说，“每个人都要用这个工作站作平台，你觉得怎么样？”
"Certainly," replied the master, "I will have it transported to the data center immediately!" And the magician returned to his tower, well pleased.
“当然了，”，大师回答说，“我要马上把它送到数据中心去！”，这位学究满意去回去了。
Several days later, a novice wandered into the office of the master programmer and said, "I cannot find the listing for my new program. Do you know where it might be?"
几天后，一个新手走进大师的办公室说，“我找不到我新写的程序了，你知道它可能会在哪儿吗？”
"Yes," replied the master, "the listings are stacked on the platform in the data center."
“当然，”，大师说，“你的程序在数据中心的平台里放着。”

7.4

The master programmer moves from program to program without fear. No change in management can harm him. He will not be fired, even if the project is canceled. Why is this? He is filled with the Tao.
编程大师从一个项目转到另一个项目而豪无顾虑，任何管理上的变动都不能影响他，他不会被解雇，即使项目被取消了。为什么呢？他了解了道。

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Hardware and Software
Book Eight

Thus spake the master programmer:

"Without the wind, the grass does not move.
Without software, hardware is useless."
风不动则草不动，
没有软件，硬件只是一堆发热的电子器件

8.1

A novice asked the master: "I perceive that one computer company is much larger than all others. It towers above its competition like a giant among dwarfs. Any one of its divisions could comprise an entire business. Why is this so?"
一个初学者问编程大师：“我知道有一家计算机公司比所有其它的公司都大。在它面前它的竞争对手就象站在巨人面前的侏儒。它的任一部门都有各自的业务，为什么会这样呢？”
The master replied, "Why do you ask such foolish questions? That company is large because it is so large. If it only made hardware, nobody would buy it. If it only maintained systems, people would treat it like a servant. But because it combines all of these things, people think it one of the gods! By not seeking to strive, it conquers without effort."
大师说，“为什么你问如此愚蠢的问题呢？那家公司大是因为它就是如此之大，如果它只做硬件，就没有人会买，如果它只维护系统，人们只会把它当作仆人，但是它的业务囊括了所有这些东西，人们就对它顶礼莫拜好象不用努力奋斗就可击败竞争对手

8.2

A master programmer passed a novice programmer one day. The master noted the novice's preoccupation with a hand-held computer game. "Excuse me", he said, "may I examine it?"
有一天编程大师碰见了一个正玩掌上游戏机的编程新手，他说：“给我看一下？”
The novice bolted to attention and handed the device to the master. "I see that the device claims to have three levels of play: Easy, Medium, and Hard", said the master. "Yet every such device has another level of play, where the device seeks not to conquer the human, nor to be conquered by the human."
新手把游戏机递给大师，“我看到上面说明了三种难度的玩法：容易，中等，高难”，大师说，“但是每个这样的游戏机都有另外一种玩法，此时游戏机即不是想着怎么赢你，也不是怎么被你赢。”
"Pray, great master," implored the novice, "how does one find this mysterious setting?"
“那么请问大师”，初学者说，“这种玩法到底是怎样玩的呢？”
The master dropped the device to the ground and crushed it under foot. And suddenly the novice was enlightened.
大师把游戏机摔到地下然后用脚踩碎它，突然初学者明白了。

8.3

There was once a programmer who worked upon microprocessors. "Look at how well off I am here," he said to a mainframe programmer who came to visit, "I have my own operating system and file storage device. I do not have to share my resources with anyone. The software is self-consistent and easy-to-use. Why do you not quit your present job and join me here?"
有一个工作在微机上的程序员对前来参观的大型机程序员说：“看看我这里吧，我有自己的操作系统和文件存储设备，我不需要与别人共享任何资源，软件条条有理并且易于操作。为什么你不辞去你的工作到这里来呢？”
The mainframe programmer then began to describe his system to his friend, saying: "The mainframe sits like an ancient sage meditating in the midst of the data center. Its disk drives lie end-to-end like a great ocean of machinery. The software is a multi-faceted as a diamond and as convoluted as a primeval jungle. The programs, each unique, move through the system like a swift-flowing river. That is why I am happy where I am."
大型机的程序员对他的朋友说：“大型机就象古代圣贤一样深思熟虑，它的磁盘设备从头到尾就象是一个巨大的机械设备的海洋。软件象钻石一样有多个面，象远古的森林一样令人费解。每一个程序都象水经过河流一样穿行于系统中，那就是为什么我乐于为它工作”
The microcomputer programmer, upon hearing this, fell silent. But the two programmers remained friends until the end of their days.
微机程序员听了这些话后，默默不语，但这两个程序员至死都是很好的朋友

8.4

Hardware met Software on the road to Changtse. Software said: "You are the Yin and I am the Yang. If we travel together we will become famous and earn vast sums of money." And so the pair set forth together, thinking to conquer the world.
硬件和软件在路上碰见了，软件说：“你是阴我是阳，如果我们联手就可以赚大钱。”所以它们走到了一直，考虑怎样征服世界。
Presently, they met Firmware, who was dressed in tattered rags, and hobbled along propped on a thorny stick. Firmware said to them: "The Tao lies beyond Yin and Yang. It is silent and still as a pool of water. It does not seek fame, therefore nobody knows its presence. It does not seeks fortune, for it is complete within itself. It exists beyond space and time."
不久，它们遇到了固件，固件衣衫褴褛，拄着一根拐棍步履蹒跚。固件对它们说：“道在于阴阳之外。它静如止水，它从不指望能扬名远近，所以没有人知道它的存在。它也不寻求幸福，它只是与它自己的存在在一起，它存在于空间和时间之外。”
Software and Hardware, ashamed, returned to their homes.
软件和硬件面有惭色，各自回了家。

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Epilogue
Book Nine

Thus spake the master programmer: 编程大师如是说：

"Time for you to leave."
“现在是你出师的时候了。”