也不过是做出几块好墨
“only make a few good pieces of ink in their lifetime.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
像那些老的制墨家 包括我爷爷在内 一生最多
“Old ink makers, including my grandfather, at most,”
也不过 是做出几块好墨
“only make a few good pieces of ink in their lifetime.”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
Traditional Chinese artisans measure their life's worth not by volume of sales, but by crafting a tiny handful of flawless masterworks.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
merely / is no more than
Used to downplay or define the modest scope of an achievement or situation.
to produce / to craft successfully
A resultative complement construction indicating the successful completion of crafting or making an item.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“The ink produced can only be considered barely usable. That's not the case.”
“making a simple and useful ink would also be worthwhile.”
“So the ink they produce is always a mess.”
“Needless to say, this is fine piece of ink.”
“can't afford to always use good ink.”
“of fairly good-quality ink stick.”