hsk 5 lesson 15 with pinyin and English translation

Lesson 15   纸上谈淡兵  

Being an Armchair Strategist

Zhǐ shàng tán dàn bīng
纸上谈淡兵    
Being an Armchair Strategist

Liǎng qiān qībǎi duō nián qián de zhànguó mòqí, 

两千七百多年前的战国末期, 

At the end of the Warring States period more than 2,700 years ago, 

zhào guó míngjiàng Zhào shē yǒu gè érzi jiào Zhào kuò, 

赵国名将赵奢有个儿子叫赵括, 

Zhao She, a famous general in the country of Zhao, had a son named Zhao Kuo. 

tā cóngxiǎo dú le bù shǎo bīngshū, 

他从小读了不少兵书, 

He read a lot of military books since he was a child 

gēn biérén tánlùn qǐ jūnshì lái, 

跟别人谈论起军事来, 

and talked about military affairs with others. 

méiyǒu rén shuō déguò tā, 

没有人说得过他, 

No one can tell him, 

jiùshì fùqīn Zhào shē yě nàn bù zhù tā.

就是父亲赵奢也难不住他。

even his father Zhao She can't resist him.

Zhào kuò yīncǐ hěn jiāo'ào, 

赵括因此很骄傲, 

Zhao Kuo was very proud of this, 

zì yǐwéi tiānxià wúdí, 

自以为天下无敌, 

thinking that he was invincible in the world, 

lián fùqīn yě bù fàng zài yǎn lǐ.

连父亲也不放在眼里。

even his father was nothing in his eyes.

Dànshì Zhào shē xīnlǐ míngbái, 

但是赵奢心里明白, 

But Zhao She knew in his heart that 

zìjǐ de érzi suīrán duì jūnshì lǐlùn dōu hěn liǎojiě, 

自己的儿子虽然对军事理论都很了解, 

although his son had a good understanding of military theory, 

dànshì méiyǒu shíjì zuòzhàn de jīngyàn, 

但是没有实际作战的经验, 

he had no experience in actual combat 

xiǎngfǎ hěn bù fúhé shíjì.

想法很不符合实际。

and his ideas were very unrealistic.

Tā céngjīng tōutōu duì qīzi shuō: 

他曾经偷偷对妻子说: 

He once said secretly to his wife: 

“Érzi de máobìng shì zhǐ huì jiǎng dà dàolǐ,  

“儿子的毛病是只会讲大道理, 

"The son's fault is that he can only be rational, 

quēfá shíjì duànliàn,

缺乏实际锻炼,

Lack of physical exercise, 

bùnéng dāng dàjiàng.

不能当大将。

and cannot be a general.

Rúguǒ ràng tā dāngle dàjiàng, 

如果让他当了大将, 

If you let him become a general, 

chízǎo huì hàile zhào guó.

迟早会害了赵国。

sooner or later Zhao Guo will be killed.

Jǐ nián hòu, Zhào shē qùshìle.

几年后,赵奢去世了。

A few years later, Zhao She passed away.

Zhè yī nián zhènghǎo qín guó jūnduì lái dǎ zhào guó, 

这一年正好秦国军队来打赵国, 

This year, Qin's army came to fight against Zhao, 

zhào guó pài lǎojiàng Lián Pǒ dài 20 wàn dàjūn yíngzhàn.

赵国派老将廉颇带20万大军迎战。

and Zhao's veteran Lian Po brought 200,000 troops to fight.

Lián pǒ gēnjù dí qiáng wǒ ruò de xíngshì, 

廉颇根据敌强我弱的形势, 

According to the situation of the enemy's strength and our weakness, 

mìnglìng shìbīngmen jiānshǒu zhèndì, 

命令士兵们坚守阵地, 

Lian Po ordered the soldiers to stand firm 

juéduì bùkě zhǔdòng chūzhàn.

绝对不可主动出战。

and never take the initiative to fight.

Qín jūn duō cì tiǎozhàn, 

秦军多次挑战, 

Qin Jun challenged him many times, 

mà tā shì dǎnxiǎoguǐ, 

骂他是胆小鬼, 

calling him a coward, 

tā háishì bù chūbīng.

他还是不出兵。

but he still didn't send troops.

Zhège bànfǎ guǒrán fēicháng yǒuxiào, 

这个办法果然非常有效, 

This method was indeed very effective 

chénggōng de bǎ qín jūn lán zàile guómén zhī wài.

成功地把秦军拦在了国门之外。

and successfully blocked Qin Jun from the country.

Jiànjiàn de, qín jūn wúfǎ kuàisù qǔdé shènglì, 

渐渐地, 秦军无法快速取得胜利, 

Gradually, the Qin army was unable to win quickly, 

liángshí yě kuài méile, 

粮食也快没了, 

and the food was almost gone, 

yǒuxiē jiānchí bù zhùle.

有些坚持不住了。

and some could not hold on.

Qín rén shēn zhī Lián pǒ shànyú yòngbīng, 

秦人深知廉颇善于用兵, 

The people of Qin knew that Lianpo was good at using troops. 

rúguǒ xiǎng zài duǎnqí nèi dǎbài zhào guó, 

如果想在短期內打败赵国, 

If he wanted to defeat Zhao Guo in a short time, 

bìxū xiǎng bànfǎ jiào zhào guó bǎ Lián pǒ diào huíqù.

必须想办法叫赵国把廉颇调回去。

he must find a way to get Zhao Guo to transfer Lianpo back.

Yúshì, tāmen zài zhào guó sìchù sànbù yáoyán, 

于是, 他们在赵国四处散布谣言, 

As a result, they spread rumors around Zhao State, 

shuō qín jūn zuì pà zhào kuò, 

说秦军最怕赵括, 

saying that Qin Jun was most afraid of Zhao Kuo, 

bié de rén dōu bù fàng zài yǎn lǐ.

别的人都不放在眼里。

and other people ignored it.

Zhè shí, zhàowángzhèng yīn Lián pǒ bì mén bù zhàn ér shēngqì ne, 

这时, 赵王正因廉颇闭门不战而生气呢, 

At this time, Zhao Wangzheng was angry because Lianpo closed his door and did not fight. 

tīng dào wàimiàn dì nàxiē yáoyán, 

听到外面的那些谣言, 

Hearing the rumors outside, 

guǒrán shàngdàngle, 

果然上当了, 

he was really fooled. 

tā pài Zhào kuò qù huàn huí Lián pǒ.

他派赵括去换回廉颇。

He sent Zhao Kuo to exchange for Lianpo.

Zhào kuò de mǔqīn zàisān zǔzhǐ zhào wáng rènmìng érzi wéi dàjiàng, 

赵括的母亲再三阻止赵王任命儿子为大将, 

Zhao Kuo's mother repeatedly prevented King Zhao from appointing her son as a general, 

shuō tā hái méiyǒu dúlì dài bīng zuòzhàn de zīgé.

说他还没有独立带兵作战的资格。

saying that he did not have the qualifications to lead troops independently.

Kěshì, hútú de zhào wáng nǎlǐ tīng dé jìnqù! 

可是, 糊涂的赵王哪里听得进去! 

But, how can the confused King Zhao hear?

Gōngyuán qián 260 nián, Zhào kuò dài bīng chūzhàn.

公元前260年, 赵括带兵出战。

In 260 BC, Zhao Kuo led troops to battle.

Yīzhí mángmù zìxìn, 

一直盲目自信、

Having been blindly confident 

qīngshì qín jūn de 

轻视秦军的

and despising the Qin army, 

tā wánquán gǎibiànle lián pǒ de zuòzhàn fāng'àn, 

他完全改变了廉颇的作战方案, 

he completely changed Lian Po's combat plan.

sǐ bān bīngshū shàng de lǐlùn, 

死搬兵书上的理论, 

According to the theory in the books, 

zhǔdòng jìngōng qín jūn, 

主动进攻秦军, 

he took the initiative to attack the Qin army,

jiéguǒ shù shí wàn zhào jūn quánbù bèi shā, 

结果数十万赵军全部被杀, 

As a result, hundreds of thousands of Zhao army were killed 

diūdiàole bǎoguì de shēngmìng.

丟掉了宝贵的生命。

and lost precious lives.

Zhè jiùshì chéngyǔ “zhǐshàngtánbīng” de gùshì.

这就是成语 “纸上谈兵”的故事。

This is the story of the idiom "fight only on paper".

Xiànzài chángyòng zhège chéngyǔ fèngcì nàxiē zhǐ huì kōngtán lǐlùn de rén, 

现在常用这个成语讽刺那些只会空谈理论的人, 

Nowadays, this idiom is often used to taunt those who can only talk about theory, 

tíxǐng dàjiā zuòshì yīdìng yào línghuó, 

提醒大家做事一定要灵活, 

reminding everyone to be flexible in doing things, 

yào zhùyì lǐlùn liánxì shíjì.

要注意理论联系实际。

and to pay attention to combining theory with practice.

Full Translation:    

Being an Armchair Strategist

At the end of the Warring States period more than 2,700 years ago, Zhao She, a famous general in the country of Zhao, had a son named Zhao Kuo. He read a lot of military books since he was a child and talked about military affairs with others. No one can tell him, even his father Zhao She can't resist him.

Zhao Kuo was very proud of this, thinking that he was invincible in the world, even his father was nothing in his eyes. But Zhao She knew in his heart that although his son had a good understanding of military theory, he had no experience in actual combat and his ideas were very unrealistic.

He once said secretly to his wife: "The son's fault is that he can only be rational, lack of physical exercise, and cannot be a general. If you let him become a general, sooner or later Zhao Guo will be killed. A few years later, Zhao She passed away.

This year, Qin's army came to fight against Zhao, and Zhao's veteran Lian Po brought 200,000 troops to fight. According to the situation of the enemy's strength and our weakness, Lian Po ordered the soldiers to stand firm and never take the initiative to fight. Qin Jun challenged him many times, calling him a coward, but he still didn't send troops.

This method was indeed very effective and successfully blocked Qin Jun from the country. Gradually, the Qin army was unable to win quickly, and the food was almost gone, and some could not hold on. The people of Qin knew that Lianpo was good at using troops. If he wanted to defeat Zhao Guo in a short time, he must find a way to get Zhao Guo to transfer Lianpo back.

As a result, they spread rumors around Zhao State, saying that Qin Jun was most afraid of Zhao Kuo, and other people ignored it. At this time, Zhao Wangzheng was angry because Lianpo closed his door and did not fight. Hearing the rumors outside, he was really fooled. He sent Zhao Kuo to exchange for Lianpo.

Zhao Kuo's mother repeatedly prevented King Zhao from appointing her son as a general, saying that he did not have the qualifications to lead troops independently. But, how can the confused King Zhao hear?In 260 BC, Zhao Kuo led troops to battle. Having been blindly confident and despising the Qin army, he completely changed Lian Po's combat plan. 

He took the initiative to attack the Qin army according to the theory in the books. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Zhao army were killed and lost precious lives. This is the story of the idiom "fight only on paper".

Nowadays, this idiom is often used to taunt those who can only talk about theory, reminding everyone to be flexible in doing things, and to pay attention to combining theory with practice.

hsk 5 上 lesson 15 audio with pinyin and English translation 👇

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