This is one of several famous fables about military strategist Zhuge Liang, a real historical figure who has become legend due to his loyalty and tricky tactics.
那一天，诸葛亮的军队出去打仗了。城里只剩下诸葛亮和几个老兵。突然，有人跑来报告：”司马懿带着十五万大军来了！”
城里的人都非常害怕。士兵们问诸葛亮：”我们怎么办？我们打不过他们！”
诸葛亮想了一会儿，然后平静地笑了笑。他说：”不要怕。你们按照我说的去做。”
诸葛亮让士兵们把城门全部打开。然后，他让几个士兵穿上普通的衣服，在城门口扫地，就像什么事都没有发生一样。
诸葛亮自己走上城墙，坐下来，拿出古琴，开始弹琴。他弹得非常慢，非常平静。
不久，司马懿的大军到了城外。司马懿抬头一看，城门开着，城墙上只有诸葛亮一个人坐在那里弹琴。城门口有几个人在扫地。城里非常安静。
司马懿觉得非常奇怪。他心想：”诸葛亮这个人做事非常小心，从来不冒险。今天城门大开，他却坐在那里弹琴。这里面一定有陷阱。城里一定藏着很多士兵，等我们进去。”
司马懿看了很长时间，越想越害怕。最后，他对士兵们说：”撤退！快撤退！”
十五万大军就这样走了。
城里的士兵看到敌人走了，非常高兴。他们跑去问诸葛亮：”您为什么要这样做？您不害怕吗？”
诸葛亮笑着说：”我当然害怕。但是我知道司马懿这个人想太多。他看到城门开着，一定会以为里面有陷阱。所以我就坐在那里弹琴，让他更加害怕。”
士兵们听了，都非常佩服诸葛亮。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大军 | dà jūn | great army |
| 平静 | píng jìng | calm/peaceful |
| 城墙 | chéng qiáng | city wall |
| 古琴 | gǔ qín | ancient Chinese zither |
| 冒险 | mào xiǎn | to take risks |
| 陷阱 | xiàn jǐng | trap |
| 撤退 | chè tuì | to retreat |
| 敌人 | dí rén | enemy |
| 佩服 | pèi fú | to admire |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 诸 | zhu | all; various; (in 诸位 'everyone'); surname Zhu |
| 葛 | gē | kudzu vine; a coarse cloth; surname Ge |
| 亮 | liàng | bright; light; to shine; to flash; loud and clear; to show (one's passport etc); to make public (one's views etc) |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 军队 | jūn duì | armed forces; troops; CL:支[zhi1] |
| 出去 | chū qù | to go out |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 仗 | zhǎng | weaponry; to wield; to depend on; battle |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 城 | chéng | city walls; city; town; CL:座[zuo4],道[dao4],個|个[ge4] |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 剩 | shèng | to remain; to be left; to have as remainder; variant of 剩[sheng4] |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 几个 | jǐ ge | a few; several; how many |
| 老 | lǎo | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl… |
| 兵 | bing | soldiers; an army; arms; warlike |
| 突然 | tū rán | sudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom) |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 报 | bào | to report; to inform; to announce; to respond; to reply; to sign up for; to register for (abbr. for 報名|报名[bao4 ming2]); to reward; to recompense; to take revenge; to retaliate; new… |
| 告 | gào | (bound form) to say; to tell; to announce; to report; to denounce; to file a lawsuit; to sue |
| 司 | Sī | surname Si |
| 马 | Mǎ | surname Ma; abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4] |
| 懿 | ||
| 带 | dài | band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; CL:條|条[tiao2]; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 十五 | shí wǔ | fifteen; 15 |
| 万 | mò | used in 万俟[Mo4 qi2]; surname Wan |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 害怕 | hài pà | to be afraid; to be scared |
| 士 | Shì | surname Shi |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 办 | bàn | to take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event); to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise); (law) to handle; to investigat… |
| 打不过 | dǎ bu guò | to be unable to defeat; to be no match for (sb) |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 一会儿 | yī huì r | a moment; a while; in a moment; now...now...; also pr. [yi1 hui3 r5] |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 不要 | bù yào | don't!; must not |
| 怕 | Pà | surname Pa |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 按 | ǎn | to press; to leave aside or shelve; to restrain; to check or refer to; in the light of |
| 照 | zhào | variant of 照[zhao4]; to shine; to illuminate; according to; in accordance with; to shine; to illuminate; to reflect; to look at (one's reflection); to take (a photo); photo; as requested; as before |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 城门 | chéng mén | city gate |
| 全部 | quán bù | whole; all |
| 打开 | dǎ kāi | to open; to show (a ticket); to turn on; to switch on |
| 穿上 | chuān shang | to put on (clothes etc) |
| 普 | pú | general; everywhere |
| 通 | tōng | to go through; to know well; (suffix) expert; to connect; to communicate; open; to clear; classifier for letters, telegrams, phone calls etc |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 口 | kǒu | mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc); classifier for bites or mouthfuls |
| 扫地 | sǎo dì | to sweep the floor; (fig.) (of one's reputation etc) to reach rock bottom; to be at an all-time low |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 发生 | fā shēng | to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 上城 | Shàng chéng | see 上城區|上城区[Shang4 cheng2 Qu1] |
| 墙 | qiáng | variant of 牆|墙[qiang2]; wall (CL:面[mian4],堵[du3]); (slang) to block (a website) (usu. in the passive: 被牆|被墙[bei4 qiang2]) |
| 坐下 | zuò xia | to sit down |
| 拿出 | ná chū | to take out; to put out; to provide; to put forward (a proposal); to come up with (evidence) |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 弹 | dǎn | crossball; shot; ball |
| 琴 | qín | guqin 古琴[gu3 qin2] (a type of zither); musical instrument in general; variant of 琴[qin2], guqin or zither |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 慢 | màn | slow |
| 不久 | bù jǐu | not long (after); before too long; soon; soon after |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 城外 | chéng wài | outside of a city |
| 抬 | tái | to lift; to raise; (of two or more persons) to carry; variant of 抬[tai2] |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 qu… |
| 一个人 | yī gè rén | by oneself (without assistance); alone (without company) |
| 坐 | Zuò | surname Zuo |
| 那里 | nà li | there; that place |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 安静 | ān jìng | quiet; peaceful; calm |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 奇 | jī | odd (number) |
| 怪 | guǎi | odd; strange; uncanny; to find strange; to regard as odd; (coll.) somewhat; rather |
| 心想 | xīn xiǎng | to think to oneself; to think |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 小心 | xiǎo xīn | to be careful; to take care |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 大开 | dà kāi | to open wide |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 这里 | zhè lǐ | variant of 這裡|这里[zhe4 li3] |
| 面 | miàn | face; side; surface; aspect; top; classifier for objects with flat surfaces such as drums, mirrors, flags etc; variant of 麵|面[mian4]; flour; noodles; (of food) soft (not crunchy); (slang) (of a person) ineffectual; spineless |
| 一定 | yī dìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled; a certain ...; a given ... |
| 藏 | Zàng | Tibetan ethnic group; Tibet Autonomous Region (short name for 西藏自治區|西藏自治区[Xi1 zang4 Zi4 zhi4 qu1]) |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 多士 | duō shì | toast (loanword) |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (… |
| 进去 | jìn qù | to go in |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 时间 | shí jiān | (concept of) time; (duration of) time; (point in) time |
| 越 | Yuè | generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods; abbr. for Vietnam 越南 |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 的士 | dī shì | taxi (loanword) |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy; glad; willing (to do sth); in a cheerful mood |
| 您 | nín | you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你[ni3]) |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 吗 | má | (coll.) what? |
| 当然 | dāng rán | only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5] |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 以为 | yǐ wéi | to think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief) |
| 里面 | lǐ miàn | variant of 裡面|里面[li3 mian4] |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 更加 | gèng jiā | more (than sth else); even more |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
One day, Zhuge Liang’s army had gone out to fight a battle. Only Zhuge Liang and a few old soldiers remained in the city. Suddenly, someone came running to report: ‘Sima Yi is coming with an army of 150,000 soldiers!’
Everyone in the city was terrified. The soldiers asked Zhuge Liang: ‘What should we do? We can’t defeat them!’
Zhuge Liang thought for a moment, then smiled calmly. He said: ‘Don’t be afraid. Just do as I say.’
Zhuge Liang ordered the soldiers to open all the city gates. Then, he had a few soldiers put on ordinary clothes and sweep the ground at the city entrance, as if nothing was happening.
Zhuge Liang himself walked up onto the city wall, sat down, took out an ancient qin, and began to play. He played very slowly and very calmly.
Soon, Sima Yi’s great army arrived outside the city. Sima Yi looked up and saw the city gates wide open, with only Zhuge Liang sitting alone on the city wall playing the qin. A few people were sweeping at the city entrance. The city was very quiet.
Sima Yi found this very strange. He thought to himself: ‘Zhuge Liang is a very careful person who never takes risks. Today the city gates are wide open, yet he sits there playing music. There must be a trap here. There must be many soldiers hiding inside the city, waiting for us to enter.’
Sima Yi watched for a long time, and the more he thought about it, the more afraid he became. Finally, he said to his soldiers: ‘Retreat! Retreat quickly!’
And so the army of 150,000 soldiers left just like that.
The soldiers in the city were overjoyed when they saw the enemy leave. They ran to ask Zhuge Liang: ‘Why did you do this? Weren’t you afraid?’
Zhuge Liang smiled and said: ‘Of course I was afraid. But I know that Sima Yi is someone who overthinks things. When he saw the city gates open, he would definitely think there was a trap inside. So I just sat there playing the qin, making him even more afraid.’
When the soldiers heard this, they all greatly admired Zhuge Liang.