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[ximen]

So in Classical Chinese, we've been reading the 戰國策 (Zhan Guo Ce), which are little stories about the political advisers and rulers of the various warring states. Since I want to remember the stories, I'm going to put up occasional translations of them here, just for the fun of it. These translations probably aren't as precise as my professor would like, and I'm going to use the standard translations of titles instead of the ones my professor has made up, but fortunately he won't be reading these anyway.


The state of Zhao took the state of Zhou's sacrificial ground. The lord of Zhou was distressed by this, and reported it to Zheng Zhao. Zheng Zhao said, "My lord, do not be distressed. I beseech you to give me 30 pieces of gold, and I will retake it." The lord of Zhou gave it to him. Zheng Zhao offered it up to the Grand Oracle of Zhao, using the opportunity to tell him about the matter of Zhou's sacrificial ground. Later, the king of Zhao fell sick, and had the Oracle divine the cause. The Oracle reprimanded him, saying, "Zhou's sacrificial ground is serving as a malevolent influence." The king of Zhao thus returned it to Zhou.

Marquis Wen of Wei wanted to borrow Zhao's roads to attack Zhongshan, but the Marquis of Zhao was not going to permit it. Zhao Li said, "That would be a mistake. If Wei attacks Zhongshan and cannot take it, then Wei will necessarily be exhausted, and if they are exhausted, then Zhao will be stronger. If Wei does uproot Zhongshan, they will certainly not be able to leap over Zhao and hold Zhongshan. In this, the one who uses soldiers is Wei, but the one who obtains the territory is Zhao. Nothing is better than you allowing it. But if you are too enthusiastic about allowing it, then they will know that you will benefit, and are certain to stop. It would be best if you loaned them the roads, but acted as if you had no choice in the matter."



Okay, back to real work.

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[moreocean.livejournal.com]

these are really cool