Borrow a Passage to Attack Guo

Chūnqiū chūqī, Jìnguó xióngjù Huánghé yǐběi, guójūn Xiàngōng yěxīn-bóbó, yìxīn xiǎng yào xiàngwài kuòzhāng.

Early in the Spring and Autumn period, Jin dominated the lands north of the Yellow River, and its ruler, Duke Xian, burned with ambition to expand.

Zài Jìnguó de nánbiān, jiā zhe liǎng ge xiǎoguó —— Yúguó yǔ Guóguó, tāmen jiāngtǔ xiānglián, sùlái hùxiāng yīcún.

To Jin's south lay two small states, Yu and Guo; their lands adjoined and they had long relied on each other to survive.

Jìn Xiàngōng yìxīn yào mièdiào Guóguó, kěshì Guóguó yuǎn zài Yúguó zhī wài, Jìnjūn ruò yào jìnjūn, bìxū jiè dào Yúguó.

Duke Xian was determined to destroy Guo, but Guo lay beyond Yu, so any Jin army marching on it would have to borrow a passage through Yu.

Yúshì Jìnguó jūnchén dìngxià yí jì: yǐ zhòngjīn míngmǎ huìlù Yúgōng, jiè “fá Guó” zhī míng, xíng “tūn Yú” zhī shí.

So the rulers of Jin devised a plan: with rich gold and fine horses they would bribe the Duke of Yu, using “an attack on Guo” as a pretext to mask a true design on Yu itself.

Jìn Xiàngōng pài dàfū Xún Xī dài shàng míngguì de Qūdì liángmǎ hé Chují yùbì, sòngdào Yúgōng miànqián, qǐngqiú jiè dào.

Duke Xian sent the minister Xun Xi to the Duke of Yu with famed horses from Qu and a jade disk from Chui, asking leave to pass through.

Yúguó dàfū Gōng Zhīqí yìyǎn kànchuān Jìnguó de yòngxīn, jímáng quànjiàn Yúgōng: “Guó yǔ Yú rú chúnchǐ-xiāngyī, chún wáng zé chǐ hán!”

Yu's minister Gong Zhiqi saw through Jin's intent at once and hurriedly warned his duke: “Guo and Yu lean on each other like lips and teeth — without the lips, the teeth grow cold!”

Rán'ér Yúgōng tātú Jìnguó de bǎowù, tīng bú jìn zhōngyán, jìng dāying le Jìnjūn jiè dào de qǐngqiú.

Yet the Duke of Yu, blinded by greed for Jin's treasures, would not hear wise counsel, and granted the Jin army its passage.

Jìnjūn dàjūn jièdào Yúguó, chángqū-zhírù, yì jǔ gōngxià Guóguó zhòngzhèn, bùjiǔ biàn jiāng Guóguó chèdǐ tūnbìng.

The Jin host marched through Yu and drove deep into Guo, seizing its key strongholds and, before long, swallowing Guo whole.

Bānshī huícháo túzhōng, Jìnjūn shùnshǒu zhùbīng yú Yúguó, yǐ “kàoláo” wéi míng, chèn Yúgōng bù bèi, yì jǔ jiāng Yúguó yě miè le.

On the march home, the Jin army paused and billeted itself in Yu; under the pretext of “rest and reward,” it caught the Duke of Yu off guard and extinguished Yu as well.

Zhè biàn shì “Jiǎtú-fáGuó” —— jiè lù shì jiǎ, tūnbìng jiè lù zhī guó shì zhēn, yí jì ér miè liǎng guó.

This is “borrowing a passage to attack Guo”: the borrowed road was a sham, the swallowing of the lender was real — one stratagem, two states destroyed.

Hòulái “chúnwáng-chǐhán” yě yóucǐ ér lái: lìyì xiāngguān de huǒbàn yí dàn dǎoxià, zìjǐ yě nán dú cún.

From this came the saying “when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold”: when an interdependent partner falls, you can hardly survive alone.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: jǐngtì nàxiē dǎzhe hézuò qíhào, shízé jìyú nǐ gēnjī de rén, mò yīn yìshí xiǎolì, diū le lìshēn zhī běn.

Its wisdom: be wary of those who wave the banner of cooperation while eyeing your foundation — never trade a small gain now for the very ground you stand on.