Close the Door to Catch the Thief

Zhànguó hòuqī, Qín Zhào liǎng guó wèi zhēngduó Shàngdǎng, zài Chángpíng yídài zhǎnkāi le yì chǎng juédìng tiānxià géjú de dàzhàn.

Late in the Warring States period, Qin and Zhao clashed over the Shangdang region, fighting a great battle at Changping that would shape the fate of the realm.

Qǐchū Zhàoguó yóu lǎojiàng Lián Pō jiānshǒu bù chū, Qínjūn jiǔgōng-búxià, shuāngfāng xiāngchí le zhěngzhěng sān nián.

At first the veteran general Lian Po held firm for Zhao and refused to give battle; Qin could make no headway, and the two sides stood off for three full years.

Qínguó jiàn qiánggōng wú wàng, biàn shī fǎnjiànjì, sànbù yáoyán shuō Qínjūn zuì pà de shì Zhào Kuò, Zhàowáng guǒrán zhòngjì, yǐ zhǐshàng-tánbīng de Zhào Kuò huànxià Lián Pō.

Seeing no hope in frontal assault, Qin sowed discord with rumors that its army feared only Zhao Kuo; the King of Zhao took the bait and replaced Lian Po with Zhao Kuo, a man of paper tactics.

Zhào Kuò shàngrèn hòu, yìgǎi Lián Pō de shǒushì, zhǔdòng shuài dàjūn chūjī, Qínguó ànzhōng què huànshàng le míngjiàng Bái Qǐ wéi zhǔjiàng.

On taking command, Zhao Kuo abandoned Lian Po's defensive stance and boldly led a great army out to attack — while Qin quietly installed its master general Bai Qi at the head of its forces.

Bái Qǐ yángbài hòutuì, yílù bǎ Zhàojūn yǐnrù le yùshè de kǒudài zhèn, ránhòu tūrán cóng liǎngyì bāochāo.

Bai Qi feigned defeat and retreated, drawing the Zhao army into a prepared pocket, then suddenly swept around both flanks.

Qínjūn yì zhī qīngqí xùnsù qiēduàn Zhàojūn de liángdào yǔ guīlù, Zhào Kuò zhè cái fāxiàn, zìjǐ de dàjūn yǐ bèi tuántuán wéizhù, jìntuì-wúmén.

A swift Qin cavalry severed the Zhao army's supply line and route home; only then did Zhao Kuo realize his host was completely encircled, with no way in or out.

Bèi wéi sìshíliù tiān, Zhàojūn liáng jìn yuán jué, shènzhì chūxiàn hùxiāng cánshí de cǎnzhuàng, jūnxīn chèdǐ bēngkuì.

Besieged for forty-six days, the Zhao army ran out of food and hope; horrors of mutual starvation followed, and morale collapsed completely.

Zhào Kuò shuàijūn pínsǐ tūwéi, fǎn bèi Qínjūn shèshā, yúbù wúnài tóuxiáng, Zhàoguó yídài jīngruì jiùcǐ quánjūn-fùmò.

Zhao Kuo led a desperate breakout and was shot down; the rest had no choice but to surrender, and an entire generation of Zhao's elite was wiped out.

Zhè yì chǎng wéijiān zhàn, zhèng shì “Guānmén-zhuōzéi” zuì jīngdiǎn de yǎnyì: xiān fàng duìshǒu jìnlái, zài duàn qí hòulù, yì jǔ quán jiān.

This war of encirclement is the classic display of “closing the door to catch the thief”: let the foe enter, cut off the way out, and annihilate them in one stroke.

Suǒwèi “Guānmén-zhuōzéi”, biàn shì yòudí shēnrù, qiēduàn qí tuìlù yǔ wàiyuán, shǐ qí xiànrù chāchì-nánfēi de juéjìng.

“Closing the door to catch the thief” means luring the enemy deep, then cutting off their retreat and outside help, trapping them beyond any hope of escape.

Bǐrú xiàqí shí, gùyì ràng chū yí bù tiántou, dài duìfāng tān zǐ shēnrù, zài diàobīng fēngsǐ tuìlù, biàn néng yì jǔ qínhuò.

In chess, for example, you may offer a tempting gain; once the rival takes the bait and pushes deep, you seal off the escape and capture everything at once.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: yǔqí sìchù zhuījī ràng rén táotuō, bùrú shè hǎo kǒudài, guānshàng chūkǒu, ràng duìshǒu jìn de lái, chū bú qù.

Its wisdom: rather than chasing everywhere and letting your quarry slip away, set the trap, close the exits, and let your rival walk in — but never walk out.