Raise a Corpse and Bring Back the Soul

Qíncháo mònián, tiānxià dà luàn, gèdì de yīngxióng fēnfēn qǐbīng fǎnkàng Qíncháo de bàozhèng.

At the end of the Qin dynasty, the realm fell into chaos, and heroes everywhere rose in arms against Qin's harsh rule.

Chǔguó míngjiàng Xiàng Yān de hòurén Xiàng Liáng, yě zài Jiāngnán qǐbīng, yìxīn xiǎng yào huīfù Chǔguó.

Xiang Liang, a descendant of the famous Chu general Xiang Yan, also raised an army in the Jiangnan region, determined to restore the state of Chu.

Kěshì Xiàng Liáng jiànjiàn fāxiàn, dān píng zìjǐ de mínghào, hěn nán ràng tiānxià bǎixìng zhēnxīn guīfù.

But Xiang Liang gradually realized that, relying on his own name alone, it was hard to make the people of the realm truly submit.

Zhèshí, móushì Fàn Zēng gěi tā chū le yí ge gāomíng de bànfǎ.

At this point, his strategist Fan Zeng offered him a brilliant plan.

Fàn Zēng shuō: Chǔ rén zhìjīn réng huáiniàn jiù zhǔ, nín ruò néng zhǎodào Chǔ wáng de hòurén lì wéi wáng, tiānxià rén bìdìng wénfēng-xiǎngyìng.

Fan Zeng said: the people of Chu still long for their old ruler; if you can find an heir of the king of Chu and enthrone him, the whole realm will surely answer your call.

Xiàng Liáng yī jì xíngshì, pài rén sìchù xúnfǎng, zhōngyú zài mínjiān zhǎodào le Chǔ Huáiwáng de sūnzi Xióng Xīn.

Xiang Liang followed the plan, sent men to search everywhere, and finally found among the common people Xiong Xin, grandson of King Huai of Chu.

Dāngshí Xióng Xīn zhèng liúluò xiāngjiān tì rén fàng yáng, háo bù qǐyǎn; Xiàng Liáng què bǎ tā zhèngzhòng jiē huí, lì wéi Chǔ wáng, réng chēng “Chǔ Huáiwáng”.

At the time Xiong Xin was wandering the countryside herding sheep for others, quite unremarkable; yet Xiang Liang solemnly brought him back, enthroned him as king of Chu, and still called him "King Huai of Chu."

Zhè yì zhāo guǒrán zòuxiào, Chǔdì de bǎixìng hé gèlù yìjūn tīngshuō Chǔ wáng fùlì, fēnfēn qiánlái guīfù.

This move worked: when the people of Chu and the various rebel armies heard that the king of Chu had been restored, they came one after another to submit.

Xiàng Liáng de shìlì yīncǐ xùnsù zhuàngdà, “jiè Chǔ zhī míng” chéng le fǎn Qín de yí miàn dàqí.

Xiang Liang's power thus grew rapidly, and "in the name of Chu" became a great banner of the anti-Qin cause.

Zhè jiùshì “jiè shī huán hún” —— jièyòng yí ge zǎoyǐ xiāowáng de jiù míngyì, ràng xīn de lìliàng jièjī chóngshēng.

This is "borrowing a corpse to bring back the soul": borrowing a long-dead old name so that a new force can be reborn through it.

Dào le jīntiān, yì jiā lǎo zìhào suīrán zǎoyǐ tíngchǎn, kě zhǐyào yǒu rén chóngxīn qǐyòng tā de zhāopai tuīchū xīn chǎnpǐn, lǎo gùkè biàn huì fēnfēn huítóu.

Even today, an old brand may have long stopped production; but if someone revives its name to launch new products, old customers will come flocking back.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: zìjǐ yìshí hái méiyǒu hàozhàolì shí, qiǎomiào jiè yí ge réng bèi rén xìnrèn de jiù míngzi, chángcháng néng níngjù rénxīn, shìbàn-gōngbèi.

Its wisdom: when you yourself do not yet have the power to rally people, cleverly borrowing an old name that people still trust can often win hearts and achieve twice the result with half the effort.