Create Something from Nothing

Tángcháo Ānshǐzhīluàn shí, pànjiàng Lìnghú Cháo shuàilǐng dàjūn wéigōng Yōngqiū, shǒuchéng de jiànglǐng Zhāng Xún bīnglì shífēn dānbó.

During the An Lushan Rebellion of the Tang dynasty, the rebel general Linghu Chao led a huge army to besiege Yongqiu, and the defending general Zhang Xun had only a small force.

Díjūn rén duō shì zhòng, yòu bǎ chéngchí wéi de shuǐxiè-bùtōng, Zhāng Xún zhǐ néng jù chéng jiānshǒu.

The enemy was numerous and powerful, and they sealed the city so tightly that not a drop of water could slip through; Zhang Xun could only hold the walls and stand firm.

Dǎ le méi duōjiǔ, chéng zhōng de jiànshǐ yǎnkàn jiù yào yòngguāng, jiàngshìmen dōu shífēn jiāojí.

Before long, the city's arrows were almost gone, and the officers and men grew deeply anxious.

Zhèshí, Zhāng Xún língjī-yídòng, xiǎngchūle yì tiáo “Wúzhōng-shēngyǒu” de miàojì.

Just then, a flash of inspiration came to Zhang Xun, and he thought up a brilliant plan of 'creating something from nothing'.

Tā mìng rén zāle shàng qiān ge cǎorén, gěi tā chuān shàng hēiyī, chèn yèsè yòng shéngzi zhuì xià chéngqiáng.

He ordered his men to make over a thousand straw men, dress them in black, and under cover of night lower them down the city wall with ropes.

Díjūn zài hēi'àn zhōng kàn bù qīngchǔ, yǐwéi shì Tángjūn chèn yè tōuxí, biàn fēnfēn wànjiàn-qífā.

In the darkness the enemy could not see clearly; thinking the Tang army was attacking under cover of night, they let fly a storm of ten thousand arrows.

Cǎorén zhuǎnyǎnjiān chāmǎn le jiàn, Zhāng Xún de rén bǎ tā lā huí chéng shàng, yí yè jiù dé jiàn shùshí wàn zhī.

In the blink of an eye the straw men were stuck full of arrows; Zhang Xun's men hauled them back up onto the wall, and in a single night they gained hundreds of thousands of arrows.

Jiēlián jǐ tiān, Zhāng Xún dōu yòng tóngyàng de bànfǎ piàn jiàn, díjūn jiànjiàn chájué shàngdàng, zài yě bù kěn fàng jiàn le.

For several days running Zhang Xun used the same trick to gather arrows; the enemy gradually caught on and refused to shoot any more.

Zhè yì tiān yèlǐ, Zhāng Xún què yòu bǎ zhēnrén zhuì xià chéngqiáng, chèndírén háowú fángbèi fāqǐ tūxí.

That night, however, Zhang Xun lowered real soldiers down the wall instead, and caught the enemy completely off guard with a surprise attack.

Díjūn yǐwéi yòu shì cǎorén, gēnběn méi zuò zhǔnbèi, jiéguǒ bèi shā de dàbài ér táo.

Thinking it was the straw men again, the enemy had made no preparation at all, and were beaten so badly that they fled in rout.

Zhè jiùshì “Wúzhōng-shēngyǒu” —— xiān yòng jiǎxiàng piàn de dírén fàngsōng jǐngtì, zài hūrán bǎ jiǎ biànchéng zhēn, jiàorén fángbùshèngfáng.

This is 'creating something from nothing': first use a false show to make the enemy drop their guard, then suddenly turn the false into the real, leaving them no time to defend.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: xiān yòng jiǎ bǎ rén mábì, zài yòng zhēn chūjī, zhēnjiǎ zhījiān, duìfāng zìrán wúfǎ zhāojià.

Its wisdom lies here: first numb the other side with what is fake, then strike with what is real; in the shift between false and true, the opponent simply cannot hold them off.