The Empty City Stratagem

Sān Guó zhī shí, Shǔhàn chéngxiàng Zhūgě Liàng běifá Zhōngyuán, bīng chū Qíshān, qìshì-rúhóng.

In the Three Kingdoms era, the Shu-Han chancellor Zhuge Liang campaigned north against the Central Plains, marching out through Mount Qi with towering ambition.

Búliào Mǎ Sù Jiētíng shīshǒu, Shǔ jūn qiánxiàn zhòurán bēngkuì, Sīmǎ Yì shuài shíwǔ wàn dàjūn chéngshì zhí pū Zhūgě Liàng suǒ zài de Xīchéng.

To his dismay, Ma Su lost the stronghold of Jieting and the Shu front collapsed; Sima Yi led a hundred and fifty thousand troops straight for the small city of Xicheng, where Zhuge Liang then was.

Bǐshí Zhūgě Liàng shēnbiān jǐn yú wénguān yǔ shù qiān lǎoruò cánbīng, chéng wài chéntóu bì rì, zhòng guān miàn rú tǔ sè.

By then Zhuge Liang had only civil officials and a few thousand old, weak soldiers with him; outside the walls a dust-cloud blotted out the sun, and every officer went pale.

Zhūgě Liàng què shénsè-zìruò, xiàlìng yǎnqí-xīgǔ, dà kāi sì miàn chéngmén, měi mén pài èrshí lǎobīng sǎsǎo jiēdào, zìjǐ dēng chéng fénxiāng cāo qín.

Yet Zhuge Liang stayed perfectly composed: he ordered the banners furled and the drums silenced, threw all four gates wide open, posted twenty old soldiers to sweep the streets at each gate, and himself climbed the wall to burn incense and play the qin.

Sīmǎ Yì qiánfēng lái dào chéng xià, jiàn chéngmén dòngkāi, bǎixìng dītóu sǎo dì, Zhūgě Liàng duānzuò chénglóu, qínshēng yōurán bú luàn.

When Sima Yi's vanguard reached the walls, they found the gates gaping open and common folk calmly sweeping the ground, while Zhuge Liang sat upright on the tower, his zither music unhurried and even.

Sīmǎ Yì sù zhī Zhūgě Liàng yìshēng jǐnshèn, cóng bú shèxiǎn, yùfā yí chéng zhōng yǒu zhòngbīng máifu.

Sima Yi had long known Zhuge Liang for a man cautious all his life, who never took a risk; the more he looked, the more he suspected a great ambush hidden in the city.

Tā lèi mǎ chénsī liángjiǔ, yuè kàn yuè juéde Zhūgě Liàng xiōngyǒu-chéngzhú, suì xiàlìng quán jūn hòuduì gǎi qiánduì, huǒsù chètuì.

He reined in his horse and thought it over for a long while; the longer he looked, the more certain he grew that Zhuge Liang had a plan ready, so he ordered the whole army to turn about and retreat at full speed.

Dài Wèi jūn yuǎn qù, Zhūgě Liàng fǔ zhǎng ér xiào, zuǒyòu jīng wèn qí gù.

Once the Wei army had marched far away, Zhuge Liang clapped his hands and laughed; his astonished officers asked why.

Tā dá dào: “Sīmǎ Yì zhī wǒ píngshēng jǐnshèn, bì liào wǒ chéng zhōng shè fú; wǒ ruò cānghuáng ér zǒu, fǎn wèi tā suǒ qín.” —— Xīchéng jiù cǐ huàxiǎn-wéiyí.

He answered, “Sima Yi knows I have been careful all my life, so he was sure I had laid an ambush; had I fled in panic, he would have caught me.” — and so Xicheng turned danger into safety.

Zhè biàn shì “Kōngchéng-jì” —— yǐ xū shì xū, yǐ jìng zhì dòng, ràng qiángdà de duìshǒu yíshén-yíguǐ, bú zhàn ér tuì.

This is the “Empty City Stratagem”: showing emptiness with emptiness, mastering motion with stillness, so that a mighty foe begins to imagine traps everywhere and retreats without a battle.

Zài xiàndài zhíchǎng lǐ, dāng zīyuán zhuōjīn-jiànzhǒu shí, yǔqí shǒumáng-jiǎoluàn de yǎnshì, bùrú zhèndìng-zìruò de ànbù-jiùbǎn, fǎndǎo ràng rén bù gǎn qīngjǔ-wàngdòng.

In today's workplace, when you are short on resources, it is better to stay calm and carry on step by step than to scramble and hide it — composure alone can make others afraid to act rashly.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: zhēnzhèng de qiángdà bù zàiyú shǒu lǐ yǒu duōshǎo bīng, ér zàiyú duìshǒu yǐwéi nǐ yǒu duōshǎo bīng.

Its wisdom: real strength lies not in how many soldiers you hold, but in how many your enemy believes you have.