In China,the word ‘stuff ’ is composed of two characters representing east and west.

在中国，“stuff”这个词由代表东方和西方的两个汉字组成。

When you put east and west together you get a dongxi.

当你把东方和西方放在一起时，你就得到了一个“东西”。

Long,long ago there was a well-educated ancient scholar who would like to ask why.

很久很久以前，有一个受过良好教育的古代学者，他想问为什么。

One day he met a friend in the street who was carrying a basket to buy some stuff.

有一天，他在街上遇到一个朋友提着一个篮子去买东西。

He wondered why he was buying dongxi,instead of south and north.

他不明白自己为什么要买东西，而不是南和北。

It turns out that in ancient China,wood stands for east,gold stands for west,fire stands for south,and water stands for north.

原来，在中国古代，木代表东方，金代表西方，火代表南方，水代表北方。

We can put wood and gold,not fire and water into a bamboo basket.

我们可以放木头和金子，不能放水火在竹筐。

So,people say they buy dongxi instead of south and north.

所以，人们说他们买东西，而不是南和北。

Thus,dongxi represents stuff.

因此，东西代表物质。