Befriend the Distant, Attack the Near

Zhànguó zhōnghòuqī, Qínguó yuè lái yuè qiángshèng, yǐ chéng xīfāng bàzhǔ, Qín Zhāowáng xióngxīn-bóbó, yù yìtǒng tiānxià.

In the middle and late Warring States period, Qin grew ever stronger and had become the hegemon of the west; King Zhao of Qin, brimming with ambition, dreamed of uniting the realm.

Cǐqián Qínguó yòngbīng, chángcháng yuèguò jìnlín Hán Wèi, qù gōngdǎ yuǎnfāng de Qíguó, jiéguǒ láoshī-yuǎnzhēng, dé dì què shǒu bú zhù.

In earlier campaigns Qin had often marched past its near neighbors Han and Wei to strike distant Qi; the long expeditions won land it could not hold.

Zhèshí, yí wèi cóng Wèiguó táowáng láidào Qínguó de móushì Fàn Jū, xiàng Qín Zhāowáng shàng le yí dào zhùmíng de zòuzhāng.

Just then a strategist named Fan Ju, who had fled from Wei to Qin, presented the king with a celebrated memorial.

Fàn Jū zhíyán Qínguó yòngbīng zhī shī, tí chū le yǐngxiǎng shēnyuǎn de yì tiáo dàjì —— “Yuǎnjiāo-jìngōng”.

Fan Ju spoke plainly of Qin's failed campaigns and put forth a far-reaching grand strategy: “befriend the distant, attack the near.”

Tā fēnxī dào, Qíguó yuǎn zài dōngfāng, yǔ Qín zhījiān gé zhe Hán Wèi, jíbiàn zhànshèng, zhōngjiān tǔdì yě wúfǎ xiānglián.

Qi, he argued, lay far to the east, with Han and Wei in between; even if Qin won, the new land could never be joined to its own.

Ér línjìn de Hán Wèi, yǔ Qín jiērǎng, gōngxià yí cùn biàn shì yí cùn, dédào de tǔdì néng shíshí-zàizài de bìngrù Qínguó.

But the neighboring Han and Wei shared borders with Qin: every inch conquered was an inch kept, and the land could truly be folded into Qin.

Yīncǐ tā jiànyì, pài shǐzhě jiéjiāo yuǎnfāng de Qí Chǔ, shǐ qí xiùshǒu-pángguān, tóngshí jízhōng bīnglì bùbù cánshí Hán Wèi.

He therefore advised sending envoys to befriend distant Qi and Chu and keep them on the sidelines, while focusing the army on nibbling away, step by step, at Han and Wei.

Qín Zhāowáng dàxǐ, lìjí bài Fàn Jū wéi xiàng, quánmiàn tuīxíng zhè yí cèlüè, Qínguó cónghǐ duìwài yòngbīng yǒu le míngquè de fāngxiàng.

Delighted, King Zhao made Fan Ju his prime minister and put the strategy into full effect; from then on, Qin's campaigns had a clear compass.

Cǐhòu shùshí nián, Qínguó wěnzhā-wěndǎ, xiān qǔ Hán Wèi zhī dì, zài tú Chǔ Zhào, zhōng wèi yìtǒng liù guó diàndìng le gēnjī.

In the decades that followed, Qin advanced steadily — first taking the lands of Han and Wei, then turning to Chu and Zhao — laying the foundation for the unification of the six states.

Suǒwèi “Yuǎnjiāo-jìngōng”, biàn shì liánluò yuǎnfāng shìlì yǐ gūlì jìnchù zhī dí, zài jízhōng lìliàng, gègè-jīpò.

“Befriend the distant, attack the near” means allying with far-off powers to isolate nearby foes, then concentrating your strength to defeat them one by one.

Bǐrú shāngzhàn zhōng, nǐ kě yǔ hǎiwài dàchǎng jié chéng hézuò, xiān wěnzhù yuǎnfāng de duìshǒu, zài quánlì zhēngduó běndì shìchǎng de jìnlín.

In business, for example, you might partner with an overseas giant to stabilize faraway rivals, then throw all your weight into winning the local market from nearby competitors.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: bù tú xūmíng, bù tān yuǎn gōng, xiān chīxià zuǐbiān de ròu, cái shì wěnzhā-wěndǎ de qǔshèng zhī dào.

Its wisdom: chase neither empty fame nor distant glory — first take the gain within reach, and steady step by steady step, victory follows.