Category: Chinese Words&Phrases

Zhànguó mòqī, Qínguó xiàng wèiguó chūbīng. Wèi wáng bǎ dàchén men zhàojí qǐlái, wèn dàjiā yǒu méiyǒu shǐ Qín guó tuìbīng de bànfǎ. Duō shù dàchén dōu quàn wèi wáng, yǐ tǔdì wéi dàijià, gēràng tǔdì gěi Qínguó, xiàng Qín wáng qiúhé.
战国末期，秦国向魏国出兵。魏王把大臣们召集起来，问大家有没有使秦国退兵的办法。多数大臣都劝魏王，以土地为代价，割让土地给秦国，向秦王求和。In the final years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei. The King of the State of Wei summoned his officials, and asked if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. Most of the officials wanted the king to cede land to the State of Qin in order to preserve peace.
Dàn qí zhōng yí gè móushì bù tóngyì zhè zhǒng qiúhé de fāngfǎ. Tā duì wèi wáng shuō:”Dàwáng, zhè xiē rén yīnwèi zìjǐ dǎnxiǎo-pàsǐ, cái ràng nín qù màiguó-qiúhé, gēnběn búshì Wèi guó jiā zhuóxiǎng. Nín xiǎng, bǎ dà piàn tǔdì gē ràng gěi Qín guó suīrán zànshí mǎnzú le Qín wáng de yěxīn, dàn Qín guó de yùwàng shì wú zhǐjìng de, zhīyào Wèi guó de tǔdì méi gē wán, Qín jūn jiù bú huì tíngzhǐ jìngōng wǒmen.”
但其中一个谋士不同意这种求和的方法。他对魏王说：“大王，这些人因为自己胆小怕死，才让您去卖国求和，根本不是为国家着想。您想，把大片土地割让给秦国虽然暂时满足了秦王的野心，但秦国的欲望是无止境的，只要魏国的土地没割完，秦军就不会停止进攻我们。”However, one advisor did not agree. He rushed to the king’s side and said, “Your Majesty, it is just because they are cowardly and afraid of death that they ask you to cede for peace and betray our country. Of course, you can temporarily satisfy the ambition of the king of the State of Qin, but he is insatiably greedy. He will only stop attacking us when all of our land has been given away.”
Jiēzhe, zhè wèi móushì yòu jiǎng le yí gè gùshì: cóngqián yǒu yí gè rén , tā de fángzǐ qǐhuǒ le, biérén quàn tā kuài yòng shuǐ qù jiāomiè dà huǒ, dàn tā bù tīng, piān bào qǐ yì kǔn cháicǎo qù jiùhuǒ, tā bù dǒng dé cháicǎo bú dàn bùnéng mièhuǒ fǎn’ ér néng zhùzhǎng huǒshì de dàolǐ. Dà wáng ruò tóngyì ná zhe Wèi guó tǔdì qù qiúhé, bù jiù děngyú bào zhe chái cǎo jiù huǒ ma?”
接着，这位谋士又讲了一个故事：从前有一个人，他的房子起火了，别人劝他快用水去浇灭大火，但他不听，偏抱起一捆柴草去救火，他不懂得柴草不但不能灭火反而能助长火势的道理。大王若同意拿着魏国土地去求和，不就等于抱着柴草救火吗？”The advisor then told a story, "Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried kindling to put out the fire, only to make it worse. That was because he didn't understand that instead of putting out the fire, kindling only makes it burn harder. If you agree to cede to preserve the peace isn’t it the same as using kindling to put out a fire?"
Words:
割让gēràng: cede (v.)
召集zhàojí: summon (v.)
胆小dǎnxiǎo: coward (adj.)
满足mǎnzú: satisfy (v.)
攻击gōngjī: assault (v.)
柴草cháicǎo: faggot (n.)
等同于děngtóngyú： equivalent（adj.）

Zài Zhōngguó Dōnghàn mònián, yǒu yí wèi zhùmíng yīshēng míng jiào Huà Tuó. Tā de yīshù fēicháng gāomíng.
在中国东汉末年，有一位著名医生名叫华佗。他的医术非常高明。During the final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there lived a famous physician named Hua Tuo, whose skill with medicine was superb.
Yí cì, yǒu liǎng gè rén dōu huàn le touting-fārè de bìng, tóngshí lái zhǎo Huà Tuó zhìbìng. Jīng guò xiángxì xúnwèn bìngqíng, xìxīn zhěnduàn hòu, Huà Tuó gěi tā liǎng rén gè kāi le yí gè yàofāng. Liǎng gè rén hùxiàng kàn le duìfāng de yàofāng hòu, gǎn dào hěn qíguài, wèn dào:” wǒmen liǎng rén dōu huàn yíyàng de bìng, wèishénme yòng de yào què bù yí yàng ne?”
一次，有两个人都患了头痛发热的病，同时来找华佗治病。经过详细询问病情，细心诊断后，华佗给他俩人各开了一个药方。两个人互相看了对方的药方后，感到很奇怪，问道：“我们两人都患一样的病，为什么用的药却不一样呢？”One day, two men suffering from headaches and fever both came to Hua Tuo. After detailed questioning and careful diagnosis, he prescribed treatments for the two men. Upon comparing the two prescriptions, the two men were puzzled, and asked, ”The two of us are suffering from the same illness .Why are the medications you prescribed different?”
Hua Tuo replied, “Treatment depends on the specific circumstances of the patient.
Huá Tuó jiěshì shuō:” Yòng yào yào kàn bìngrén de jùtǐ bìngqíng. Suīrán nǐ èr rén bìngzhèng xiàngtóng, dàn huànbìng de yuányīn què bù tong. Yí gè rén de shēntǐ nèibù dōu méiyǒu shén shénme máobìng, yóuyú wàibù shòu liáng, gǎnmào yǐn qǐ de, suǒyǐ yào chī fāsàn yào; ér lìng yí gè rén de shēntǐ wàibù méiyǒu shénme máobìng, bìng shì yóu nèibù yǐn qǐ de, yīnwèi chī de dōngxī tài duō le, shāngshí, suǒyǐ yào chī xièyào. Huànbìng de yuányīn bù tong, dāngrán yòng yào jiù bù néng xiàngtóng le.”
华佗解释说：“用药要看病人的具体病情。虽然你二人病症相同，但患病的原因却不同。一个人的身体内部都没有什么毛病，由于外部受凉、感冒引起的，所以要吃发散药；而另一个人的身体外部没有什么毛病，病是由内部引起的，因为吃的东西太多了，伤食，所以要吃泻药。患病的原因不同，当然用药就不能相同了。”Although the two of you have similar illnesses, their causes are actually quite different. One has nothing wrong internally, but has contracted a cold from external causes. The other one has nothing wrong externally, but has become ill from excessive eating and drinking; an internal problem. With two different causes, of course the treatments must be different.
Words:
著名zhùmíng： famous (adj.)
医术yīshù： medical skill (n.)
诊断zhěnduàn： diagnosis (v.)
药方yàofāng： prescription (n.)
泻药xièyào： laxative (n.)
奇怪qíguài： strange (adj.)
解释jiěshì： explain (v.)
病症bìngzhèng： disease (n.)
感冒gǎnmào： cold (n.)

Zhànguó shí, yǒu yí wèi jiào Gōngmíng Yí de yīnyuè jiā, tā tán de qǔzǐ yōuměi dòngtīng, hěn duō rén dōu xǐhuān tīng tā tánqín.
战国时，有一位叫公明仪的音乐家，他弹的曲子优美动听，很多人都喜欢听他弹琴。During the Warring States period, there was a musician named GongmingYi. The music he played was exquisite and pleasant to listen to. Many people loved to hear him play.
Yǒu yì tiān, Gōngmíng Yí lái dào jiāowài, kàn dào chūnfēng xúxú de chuīdòng zhe yángliǔ, yì tóu huángniú zhèng zài cǎodì shàng dītóu chīcǎo, tā lái le xìngzhì, lìkè bǎi shàng qín, bō dòng qínxián, gěi zhè tóu niú tán qǐ le yuèqǔ. Kěshì lǎo huángniú què méi shénme fǎnyìng, réngrán dītóu chīcǎo. Gōngmíng Yí xiǎng, zhè zhī qǔzǐ kěnéng tài gāoyǎ le, yúshì jiù huàn le jǐ shǒu tōngsú qǔzǐ, dànshì lǎo huángniú shǐzhōng háo wú fǎnyìng. Gōngmíng Yí hěn shīwàng.
有一天，公明仪来到郊外，看到春风徐徐地吹动着杨柳，一头黄牛正在草地上低头吃草，他来了兴致，立刻摆上琴，拨动琴弦，给这头牛弹起了乐曲。可是老黄牛却没什么反应，仍然低头吃草。公明仪想，这支曲子可能太高雅了，于是就换了几首通俗曲子，但是老黄牛始终毫无反应。公明仪很失望。One day, GongmingYi went out of town and saw the spring breeze gently blowing the willows as a yellow cow was busy eating grass in the field. He was very interested and immediately took up his instrument and began plucking the strings, playing his music for the cow. The cow, however, took no notice, but continued calmly eating the grass. GongmingYi thought, maybe this music was too refined, so he switched to some more popular tunes, but the cow still paid no attention to him whatsoever. Gongming Yi was very disappointed.
Zhèshí, yǒu rén duì tā shuō:” nǐ bú yào shēngqì le, bú shì nǐ dàn de qǔzǐ bù hǎotīng, érshì nǐ tán de qǔzǐ niú xīnshǎng bù le ā!”
这时，有人对他说：“你不要生气了，不是你弹的曲子不好听，而是你弹的曲子牛欣赏不了啊！”At this time, someone said to him: "Don't be upset. It's not that your music is not beautiful, but just that the cows can't appreciate it!"
Words:
优美yōuměi： graceful; exquisite (adj.)
动听dòngtīng： interesting or pleasant to the ear (adj.)
徐徐xúxú： slowly and gently (adv.)
兴致xīngzhì： interest;gusto (n.)
高雅gāoyǎ： elegant; refined (adj.)
始终shǐzhōng： from beginning to end(adv.)

Yǒu yì tiān, tiānqì hěn hǎo. Yì zhī hébàng jiù zhāng kāi liǎng piàn yìngké, zài hétān shàng shūfú de shài tàiyáng. Yì zhī yù niǎo kàn jiàn hébàng, jiù xiǎng měicān yídùn. Yú shì tā fēikuài de bǎ zuǐ shēn jìn bàngké lǐ, hěn hěn de zhuó bàngròu. Hébàng wèi le bǎo mìng, gǎn jǐn jiāng yìngké hé shàng, jǐn jǐn jiá zhù le yù de zuǐ.
有一天，天气很好。一只河蚌就张开两片硬壳，在河滩上舒服地晒太阳。一只鹬鸟看见河蚌，就想美餐一顿。，于是它飞快地把嘴伸进蚌壳里，狠狠地啄蚌肉。河蚌为了保命，赶紧将硬壳合上，紧紧夹住了鹬的嘴。One day, the weather was fine. A clam opened his two shells, basking in the beach. A snipe saw the clam and wanted to enjoy it. So he quickly put his beak into the shell. The clam immediately closed his shells and tightly clamped the snipe’s beak.
Yù méi chī dào ròu ，fǎndào bèi jiá zhù le zuǐ, zěnme yě bá bú chūlái. Hébàng yě bù néng huí dào hé lǐ. Tāmen jiù zhēngchǎo qǐlái, yù shuō:” yì tiān, liǎng tiān bú xià yǔ, nǐ huí bú dào hé lǐ, chízǎo huì gān sǐ de.” Hébàng bù fúqì, shuō dào:” yì tiān, liǎng tiān bá bú chū zuǐ, nǐ bù néng chī dōngxī, zǎowǎn yě dé è sǐ.”
鹬没吃到肉，反倒被夹住了嘴，怎么也拔不出来。河蚌也不能回到河里。它们就争吵起来，鹬说：“一天、两天不下雨，你回不到河里，迟早会干死的。”河蚌不服气，说道：“一天、两天拔不出嘴，你不能吃东西，早晚也得饿死。”The snipe did not have the clam meat, but to be clamped. And the clam could not go back to the river. They began to quarrel. The snipe said, “Today does not rain and tomorrow won’t either. You’ll be dry to death if you do not return to the river”. The clam said, “You will starve to death if you do not pull out your mouth and eat”.
Yù hé hébàng zài shātān shàng jiāngchí le hěn cháng shíjiān, tāmen dōu hěn lèi le, kě shuí yě bù kěn ràngbù. Zhè shí yǒu gè yúwēng zhèng hǎo lùguò zhèlǐ, kànjiàn tāmen jiá zài yìqǐ bù néng dòng, jiù hāhā dàxiào qǐlái, bǎ tāmen yìqǐ zhuō huí jiā le.
鹬和河蚌在沙滩上僵持了很长时间，它们都很累了，可谁也不肯让步。这时有个渔翁正好路过这里，看见它们夹在一起不能动，就哈哈大笑起来，把它们一起捉回家了。The snipe and clam refused to budge in the beach for a long time. They both were tired, but neither of them wanted to give in. There was a fisherman walking by at the same time. When he saw the snip and clam could not move, he laughed and caught them back home.

Gǔ shíhòu yǒu sì dà měinǚ, qí zhōng yí gè shì Yuè guó de Xī Shī, tā zhù zài xiǎo xī biān. Xī Shī de yǎnjīng bízǐ dōu hěn měi, shēncái yě fēicháng hǎo. Tā měitiān dōu qù xiǎoxī biān xǐ yīfú, shēnyǐng dǎoyìng zài xī shuǐ lǐ. Shuǐ lǐ de yú ér dōu kàn dāi le, wàngjì le yóuyǒng, jūrán chén dào le shuǐ dǐ.
古时候有四大美女，其中一个是越国的西施，她住在小溪边。西施的眼睛鼻子都很美，身材也非常好。她每天都去小溪边洗衣服，身影倒映在溪水里。水里的鱼儿都看呆了，忘记了游泳，居然沉到了水底。In Ancient China there were the Four Beauties. One of these beauties was named Xishi. She lived in the state of Yue by a small stream. Xishi was slender and lithe with beautiful eyes and a perfect nose. Every day she would go to the nearby stream to wash her clothes. Upon seeing her reflection in the water, fish often became so lost in her beauty they would forget to swim, and sink down to the stream’s floor.
Lìngwài yí wèi měinǚ shì Hàn dài de Wáng Zhāojūn, tā xiàng xiānnǚ yí yàng měi, hěn huì dànqín. Huángdì bǎ tā jià gěi le Běifāng xiōngnú guó de guówáng. Zài chūjià de lù shàng, Wáng Zhāojūn dàn qǐ le pípá. Zhè shí yǒu yì qún dàyàn fēi guò, yīnwèi tā de qínshēng tài dòngtīng le, dàyàn jìng rán wàngjì dǒudòng chìbǎng ér diào dào le dì shàng.
另外一位美女是汉代的王昭君，她像仙女一样美，很会弹琴。皇帝把她嫁给了北方匈奴国的国王。在出嫁的路上，王昭君弹起了琵琶。这时有一群大雁飞过，因为她的琴声太动听了，大雁竟然忘记抖动翅膀而掉到了地上。Another one of the “Four Beauties,” Wang Zhaojun, lived during the Han Dynasty. She was as beautiful as an angel and very gifted musically. The Emperor ordered her to marry a king in the Northern Hunnu State. On the way to the wedding, she began to play a four-stringed Chinese lute. At that very moment, a flock of wild geese flew by. The sound of her lute was so beautiful the geese quickly forgot how to flap their wings and fell to earth.
Words：
小溪xiăoxī： creek (n.)
倒映dàoyìng: to reflect (the image) (v.)
仙女xiānnǚ: fairy, angel(n.)
琵琶pípa: a plucked string instrument with a fretted fingerboard(n.)
大雁dàyàn: wild goose(n.)
动听dòngtīng: pleasant to the ears(adj.)
抖动dǒudòn g: to shake(v.)

Jìn cháo de shíhòu, yǒu yí gè jiào Yuè Guǎng de rén hěn xǐhuān qǐng péngyǒu hējiǔ. Yǒu yì tiān, tā fāxiàn yí wèi hǎo péngyǒu hěn jiǔ méi lái kàn tā le. Yuè Guǎng juédé qíguài jiù qù bàifǎng tā, jiéguǒ fāxiàn péngyǒu shēng le zhǒng bìng. Yuè Guǎng xúnwèn yuányīn, péngyǒu shuō:” shàng huí wǒ qù nǐ jiā hējiǔ shí, fāxiàn jiǔbēi lǐ yǒu yì tiáo xiǎo shé de yǐngzǐ, wǒ dāng shí xīn lǐ fēicháng yànwù tā, dàn hái shì bǎ jiǔ hē le. Huí lái yǐhòu wǒ yìzhí jué dé hěn nánshòu, jiéguǒ jiù shēng le zhè chǎng dàbìng.” Yuè Guǎng xiǎng le xiǎng, tā de tīngtáng guà le yì bǎ gōng, péngyǒu kàn dào de xiǎo shé kǒngpà shì gōng de yǐngzǐ. Yúshì Yuè Guǎng qǐng péngyǒu zài cì lái dào jiā zhōng, jiù zuò zài yuánlái de wèizhì shàng, ràng péngyǒu kàn bēi zhōng shì fǒu hái yǒu xiǎo shé. péngyǒu shuō,” hé shàng cì de yí yang”. Yuè Guǎng bǎ gōng qǔ xià lái, xiǎo shé de yǐngzǐ jiù xiāoshī le. Péngyǒu huǎngrándàwù, yì zhí zhì bú hǎo de zhòngbìng yí xià zǐ jiù hǎo le.
晋朝的时候，有一个叫乐广的人很喜欢请朋友喝酒。有一天，他发现一位好朋友很久没来看他了。乐广觉得奇怪就去拜访他，结果发现朋友生了重病。乐广询问原因，朋友说：“上回我去你家喝酒时，发现酒杯里有一条小蛇的影子，我当时心里非常厌恶它，但还是把酒喝了。回来以后我一直觉得很难受，结果就生了这场大病。”乐广想了想，他的厅堂挂了一把弓，朋友看到的小蛇恐怕是弓的影子。于是乐广请朋友再次来到家中，就坐在原来的位置上，让朋友看杯中是否还有小蛇。朋友说，“和上次的一样”。乐广把弓取下来，小蛇的影子就消失了。朋友恍然大悟，一直治不好的重病一下子就好了。Mistake the Shadow of a Bow in One's Cup as a Snake
In Jin Dynasty, there was a person named Yue Guang, who always entertained his guests with wine. One day, he realized one of his good friends hadn't visited him for long time. Out of curiosity, he paid a visit to his house and found the friend was seriously ill. Yue Guang asked about the reason, and the friend replied:"Last time when you invited me to drink in your home, I saw a little snake in my cup. It disgusted me very much but I still drank up the wine. After returning home, I felt badly and got sick soon." Yue Guang thought it over and remembered he had a bow hung on the wall. It was possible that his friend had mistaken the shadow of the bow as a snake in his wine cup. Yue Guang then invited this friend to his house again and arranged him to sit where he was last time and asked whether there was still a snake in his cup. The friend said:"Yes, the same snake appears again." Yue Guang then removed the bow from the wall and the snake disappeared immediately. His friend suddenly saw the light and then his illness was cured right off.
Words：
询问xúnwèn: enquire(v.)
厌恶yànwù： disgust(v.)
难受nánshòu： feel ill(adj.)
恐怕kǒngpà： perhaps(adv.)
位置wèizhì： place; location(n.)
消失 xiāoshī: vanish(v.)
恍然大悟 huǎngrán dàwù: see light suddenly

Hěnjiǔ hěnjiǔ yǐ qián, Chǔ guó yǒu yí gè shāngrén, yì tiān tā dào shìchǎng shàng qù mài zìjǐ zhìzào de máo hé dùn. Tā dà shēng de jiào mài, yǒu hěn duō rén wéiguò lái kàn, tā jǔ qǐ dùn shuō:” wǒ de dùn shì shìjiè shàng zuì jiāngù de, wúlùn zěnyàng fēnglì de dōngxī yě bù néng cìchuān tā!” Jiē zhe, tā yòu ná qǐ yí zhī máo, dé yì dì shuō:” wǒ de máo shì shìjiè shàng zuìfēng lì de, wúlùn zěnyàng jiāngù de dōngxī yě néng cìchuān!” Zhè shí yí wèi wéiguān de rén shàng qián ná qǐ tā de yì zhī máo hé yí miàn dùn wèn dào:” rúguǒ yòng zhè zhī máo qù cì zhè miàn dùn, jiéguǒ huì zěnyàng ne?” Zhè gè rén yí xià zǐ huídá bù chūlái, zuìhòu zhī hǎo huīliūliū de káng zhe máo hé dùn zǒu le.
很久很久以前，楚国有一个商人，一天他到市场上去卖自己制造的矛和盾。 他大声的叫卖，有很多人围过来看，他举起盾说：“我的盾是世界上最坚固的，无论怎样锋利的东西也不能刺穿它!” 接着，他又拿起一支矛，得意地说：“我的矛是世界上最锋利的，无论怎样坚固的东西也能刺穿!”这时一位围观的人上前拿起他的一支矛和一面盾问道：“如果用这支矛去刺这面盾，结果会怎样呢?” 这个人一下子回答不出来，最后只好灰溜溜地扛着矛和盾走了。Once upon a time, there was a businessman in Chu State. One day, he sold his spear and shield in the market. He told people, "My spear is the sharpest spear in the world. It can pierce everything. And my shield is the solidest in the world. Nothing can destroy it." Then somebody asked him, "If we use your spear to pierce your shield, what will happen?" The businessman didn't know how to reply.
Words：
楚国chǔguó： Chu state (n.)
商人shāngrén： businessman; merchant; dealer (n. )
矛máo： lancer; spear (n. )
盾dùn： shield (n.)
坚固jiāngù：firm; solid (adj.)
锋利fēnglì：sharp(adj.)
刺穿cìchuān：cut through; pierce (v.)
得意déyì: complacent (adj. )
围观wéiguān：to be an onlooker (v.)
扛káng：lift with hands; carry on the shoulder (v.)

Zhàn guó shíqī yǒu yí gè Zhào guó rén jiào Zhào Kuò, tā de fùqīn shì dāng shí yǒumíng de jiāngjūn Zhào Shē. Zhào Kuò niánqīng de shíhòu hěn xǐhuān xuéxí bīngfǎ, tánlùn qǐ yòngbīng dǎzhàng de shìqíng lái, jiù tāotāo-bùjué, yǒu shíhòu tā fùqīn yě hěn nán bódǎo tā.
战国时期有一个赵国人叫赵括，他的父亲是当时有名的将军赵奢。赵括年轻的时候很喜欢学习兵法，谈论起用兵打仗的事情来，就滔滔不绝，有时候他父亲也很难驳倒他。In the period of the Warring States, in the State of Zhao, there was a man named Zhao Kuo whose father was the famous general Zhao She. In his youth Zhao Kuo was obsessed with military strategy and tactics and read many related books. He could talk with great eloquence about military strategies and sometimes even his father couldn’t argue with him.
Gōngyuán qián 262 nián, Zhào guó hé Qín guó zài Chángpíng juézhàn, Qín guó cǎiqǔ le fǎnjiànjì, Zhào wáng zhōngjì, ràng Zhào Kuò dàitì Lián Pō qù gēn Qín guó dǎzhàng. Zhào Kuò zhī zhīdào gēnjù bīngshū shàng de fāngfǎ zuòzhàn, bù zhīdào biàntōng. ér Qín guó de jiānglǐng què chūqí-búyì, jiǎzhuāng zhàn bài táozǒu. Zhào Kuò bù zhīdào zhǒng le jì, màorán jìngōng, jiéguǒ bèi Qín jūn bāowéi, hái bèi jiéduàn le yùnsòng liángshí de dàolù.
公元前262年，赵国和秦国在长平决战，秦国采取了反间计，赵王中计，让赵括代替廉颇去跟秦国打仗。赵括只知道根据兵书上的方法作战，不知道变通。而秦国的将领却出其不意，假装战败逃走。赵括不知道中了计，贸然进攻，结果被秦军包围，还被截断了运送粮食的道路。In 262 B.C., a war broke out between the Zhao kingdom and the Qin kingdom in Changping. The Qin managed to sow discord between the king of Zhao and Lian Po, the most capable and distinguished general of Zhao. Instead of appointing Lian Po as the commander of its army, the king of Zhao sent Zhao Kuo in his place. Unfortunately, Zhao Kuo was just a bookworm who knew a lot about military theories but little about practical maneuvers when leading a real army. Much to Zhao Kuo’s surprise, the leader of the Qin army pretended to retreat from the battlefield.. Unaware that he had been deceived, Zhao Kuo recklessly led his army to pursue the enemies. In the end, Zhao Kuo’s army was besieged by Qin, and all their means of getting provisions were cut off.
Hòulá, Zhào Kuò, bèi qínjūn shè sǐ. Zhàojūn shìbīng jī’è píláo, yòu shīqù le zhǔjiāng, jūnxīn dà luàn. Zhào guó jǐ shí wàn de shìbīng dōu tóujiàng le Qín guó.
后来，赵括，被秦军射死。赵军士兵饥饿疲劳，又失去了主将，军心大乱。赵国几十万 的士兵都投降了秦国。Later, Zhao Kuo was killed by arrows from the army of Qin. After his death, the soldiers of Zhao, hungry and tired, became desperate and surrendered to the Qin.
Words：
将军jiāngjūn： general (n.)
兵法bīng fǎ： military strategy and tactics (n.)
滔滔不绝tāotāo bù jué： talking fluently and endlessly (ph.)
驳倒bódǎo： refute (v.)
公元前gōngyuán qián： B.C. (before Christ) (adv.)
反间计fǎnjiàn jì： stratagem of sowing distrust or discord among one's enemies (n.)
根据gēnjù： on the basis of, according to (prep.)
将领jiànglǐng： military officer (n.)
出其不意chū qí bú yì： to take sb. by surprise (ph.)
贸然màorán： rashly, without careful consideration (adv.)
截断jié duàn： to cut off (v.)
射shè： shoot (v.)
投降tóuxiáng： to surrender (v.)
Proper noun：
战国Zhànguó：the period of the Warring States (475 B.C. – 221B.C)
赵国Zhào guó：one of the seven kingdoms during the Warring Sates period
赵括Zhào Kuò：a general in the state of Zhao
赵奢Zhào Shē：a famous general in Zhao guo, father of Zhao Kuo
秦国Qín guó：one of the seven kingdoms during the Warring Sates period.
廉颇Lián Pō：a famous general in the late Zhao guo.
长平Chángpíng：a place located in Shanxi province.
Meanings：
“纸上谈兵”指在纸面上谈论打仗。比喻没有实际经验，只会照着书本空谈，不能成为现实。“纸上谈兵(Zhǐ Shàng Tán Bīng )” literally means talk about strategy on paper. It refers to those who have no practical experience and are only good at empty talk.
Senteces：
1. Rúguǒ quèdìng le yuǎndà de mùbiāo, jiù yào fùzhū shíjiàn xíngdòng, qiānwàn bú yào zhǐshàngtánbīng.
如果确定了远大的目标，就要付诸实践行动，千万不要纸上谈兵。If you have set a goal, you’d better put it into practice. Don’t let your goals become纸上谈兵.
2．Tā zhè gè rén jiù huì zhǐshàng tán bīng, zhēn yào ràng tā gàn diǎn shénme jiù bù xíng le.
他这个人就会纸上谈兵，真要让他干点什么就不行了。He knows nothing but 纸上谈兵, so you can never trust him with real work.