To explain why a character acts, find the lines before and after the action that point to a motive, and name the motive they support together. A reason that fits only your own imagination is not evidence.
This lesson is part of classical Chinese comprehension. Earlier lessons on word meaning and faithful translation feed into it.
How do I use context to explain an action?
Use a three-part frame: before, action, after.
- Before: what happened or was known before the action?
- Action: what exactly did the character do?
- After: what followed, and what does it show about the aim?
A motive is well supported when before and after both point the same way.
Worked example
Passage: 商人遗金于路，农夫拾之，坐待其人至夜。明日，商人返，农夫还之，不受谢。
Question: Why did the farmer sit waiting until night?
Before. The merchant had dropped gold on the road (遗金), and the farmer picked it up (拾之). The gold belonged to someone else.
Action. The farmer sat and waited for the owner (待其人), until night fell (至夜).
After. The next day, when the merchant came back, the farmer returned the gold (还之) and declined thanks (不受谢).
Model answer: 农夫拾到商人遗落的金子，就坐在路边等失主，直到夜里；第二天商人回来，他把金子还给商人，还不接受感谢，可见他等待是为了把金子归还原主，并不是想得到回报。
Two lines of evidence, 待其人 and 还之, point to returning the gold. A third, 不受谢, rules out the reward motive.
A guessed motive versus a supported motive
| Answer | Evidence | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| He wanted a reward | none; 不受谢 contradicts it | Unsupported |
| He was lazy and had nothing to do | none | Unsupported |
| He wanted to return the gold | 待其人, 还之 | Supported |
The unsupported answers might sound reasonable, but the passage does not back them.
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is to answer from general knowledge: farmers are honest, or people like rewards. The answer may be plausible, yet it does not come from the text, so it loses marks.
Another slip is to answer from the action alone. Saying “he waited because he wanted to wait” repeats the question. Only the lines around the action can explain it.
The fix is to write the answer in this order: quote a line, say what it shows, then link it to the action.
Check yourself
Passage: 学生迟到，立于门外，良久不入。师出，问之。生曰：“恐扰同学听讲。”师叹其诚。
Why did the student stand outside? What does the teacher’s reaction show?
Answer
The student says it himself: 恐扰同学听讲 (he feared disturbing classmates who were listening). Before the speech, 立于门外，良久不入 shows he waited a long time and did not enter.
The teacher’s reaction, 叹其诚, shows approval of his honesty. 叹 means sighed in admiration, and 诚 means sincerity.
Model answer: 学生迟到后站在门外很久不进去，因为他说怕打扰同学听讲；老师感叹他诚恳，说明老师认为他的做法体现了诚实和体谅。
What to study next
Test all four skills in the classical Chinese comprehension practice set, then track slips in the mistake log. For a deeper look at how sentence links prove a reading, see classical Chinese meaning in context.
If you want a teacher to ask you for the supporting line each time, see online one-to-one Chinese tuition.