Make a Sound in the East, Strike in the West

Chǔ-Hàn xiāngzhēng shí, Hàn wáng Liú Bāng shǒuxià de dàjiàng Hán Xìn, fèngmìng qù dǎ pànbiàn de Wèi wáng Bào.

During the Chu-Han struggle, the great general Han Xin, under the King of Han Liu Bang, was ordered to attack the rebel King of Wei, Bao.

Wèi wáng Bào bǎ zhòngbīng bǎi zài Huánghé dùkǒu Línjìn guān, dǎngzhù Hàn jūn dōng qù de qùlù.

The King of Wei placed his main force at Linjin Pass on the Yellow River crossing, blocking the Han army's way east.

Huánghé duì'àn, Wèijūn mìmi-mámá, qízhì zhāozhǎn, kàn qǐlái rènhé qiánggōng dōu huì shībài.

On the far bank of the Yellow River the Wei army was thick with fluttering banners; any direct assault seemed sure to fail.

Hán Xìn què xiàole xiào, tā xīnli zǎoyǐ yǒule shēngdōng-jīxī de hǎo bànfǎ.

Han Xin only smiled; in his heart he already had a fine plan of “making a sound in the east and striking in the west.”

Tā ràng rén zài Línjìn yídài dàzhāng-qígǔ de sōují chuánzhī, yòu bǎi chū hǎoduō mùchuán, zhuāngchū yào zài zhèlǐ guò hé.

He had his men ostentatiously gather boats around Linjin and laid out many wooden boats, pretending they would cross right there.

Wèijūn guǒrán shàngdàng le, bǎ suǒyǒu bīnglì dōu diào dào Línjìn duì'àn, yánzhèn-yǐdài.

The Wei army took the bait and moved all their strength to face Linjin, ready for battle.

Kě Hán Xìn zhēnzhèng de zhǔlì, què qiāoqiāo xiàng shàngyóu zǒule yìbǎi duō lǐ, láidào Xiàyáng.

But Han Xin's real main force quietly marched over a hundred li upstream to Xiayang.

Nàlǐ méiyǒu Wèi bīng, Hán Xìn ràng rén bǎ mùyīng bǎng chéng fúpá, chèn yèsè qiāoqiāo dùguò le Huánghé.

With no Wei troops there, Han Xin had his men lash wooden vessels into a raft and crossed the Yellow River quietly under cover of night.

Hànjūn yí guò hé, lìkè zhípū Wèi dū Ānyì, Wèi wáng Bào dàjīng-shīsè, cōngmáng huíbīng, jiéguǒ bīngbài bèifú.

Once across, the Han army rushed straight for the Wei capital Anyi; the King of Wei turned pale with shock, hurried back with his troops, and was defeated and captured.

Zhè jiùshì “shēng dōng jī xī” —— zuǐ shàng hǎn dǎ dōngbian, shǒu lǐ què tōutōu dǎ xībian, ràng dírén wánquán mō bù qīng fāngxiàng.

This is “make a sound in the east, strike in the west”: shout about attacking the east while secretly striking the west, so the enemy can't tell your true direction.

Bǐrú tī zúqiú shí, nǐ yǎnjing kàn xiàng zuǒbian, shēntǐ yě cháo zuǒ huàng, què tūrán bǎ qiú chuán dào yòubian.

For example, in soccer, your eyes look left and your body feints left, but you suddenly pass the ball to the right.

Tā de guānjiàn shì: yòng jiǎ dòngzuò xīyǐn zhùyìlì, zhēnzhèng de yì zhāo, yǒngyuǎn cáng zài yìxiǎng-bùdào de dìfang.

The key: use a fake move to draw attention; the real strike is always hidden where it's least expected.