27
27th Stratagem
假痴不癫
(jiǎ chī bù diān)
Feign Madness but Keep Your Balance
Sun Bin's former classmate Pang Juan (庞涓, died 342 B.C.) was secretly jealous of him for surpassing him as a military strategist, and so framed him for treason and reported him to King Hui (魏惠王, 400–319 B.C.) of Wei. Believing these charges, the King was furious, and ordered that Sun Bin be executed. Pang Juan pretended, asking the king to spare his life, and the King agreed and condemned Sun Bin to a life of tattooing the faces of criminals (criminal branding), and had him crippled by removing his kneecaps. Pretending again to take pity on Sun Bin, Pang Juan tried tricking him into compiling his military knowledge into a book, and planned to kill him afterward. Some servants, though, knew the truth of Pang Juan's intentions, and told this to Sun Bin. Sun Bin then pretended to have gone mad. This caused Pang Juan to lose interest in killing him, and Sun Bin was able to escape from Wei to the State of Qi, where he eventually became a renowned military strategist and statesman [17].
Feign Madness But Keep Your Balance can be associated with the third hexagram, Water over Thunder, which symbolizes danger or chaos at the beginning of an enterprise. The yang line at the very bottom wants to move upward, but is held down by the yin lines of the Water trigram. One interpretation suggests that this initial chaos should not be rushed into, or, a situation where making an advancement might require hiding one's true intentions [1], [28].
VOCAB LIST 27:
weapon/arm: 武器: wǔqì
button (on one’s clothes): 纽扣: niǔkòu
zipper: 拉链: lāliàn
to button up: 扣起来: kòu qǐlái
to zip up: (把拉连) 拉起来: (bǎ lāliàn) lā qǐlái
to communicate: 沟通: gōutōng
to feign: 假: jiǎ
mechanic: 机械师: jīxiè shī
tool: 工具: gōngjù
sandals (or slippers): 拖鞋/凉鞋: tuōxié/liángxié
to put on (clothes/shoes): 穿起来: chuān qǐlái
to take off: 脱/脱下来: tuō/tuō xiàlái
pillow: 枕头: zhěntou
carpet: 地毯: dìtǎn
to get hurt (physically): 受伤: shòushāng
wound: 伤口: shāngkǒu
metal: 金属: jīnshǔ
plastic: 塑料: sùliào towel: 毛巾: máojīn
(table) lamp: 台灯: táidēng
dirt/ash: 灰: huī
sunglasses: 太阳眼镜: tàiyáng yǎnjìng
to open/turn on: 打开: dǎkāi
to turn off: 关机: guānjī
to get wet: 弄湿: nòng shī
by (or passive tense indicator): 被: bèi
expert: 家/专家/高手: jiā/zhuānjiā/gāoshǒu
to put on (e.g. sunglasses, scarf, belt, etc.): 戴起来: dài qǐlái
New Characters:
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Sample Sentences 27:
1) 不同的机械师用不同的工具。
Trans.: Different mechanics use different tools.
Trans.: In China, when entering into other people’s houses, you should take off your shoes and change into slippers.
3) 有一些武器是金属和塑料做的。
4) 他昨天告诉你的事是假的。
5) 他痴迷于植物学，像要癫狂了一样。
6) 我把台灯打开的时候，在空气里看到很多灰。
7) 没有太阳，你为什么戴太阳镜？
8) 在中国，有地毯的房子很少。
9) 他忘记把裤子拉链拉起来了。
11) Q: 这个伤口怎么弄的？
A: 我昨天摔倒，受伤了。
12) 我外套上的一些纽扣丢了，所以扣不起来了。
13) Q: 枕头怎么被弄湿了？
A: 我洗澡以后，把毛巾忘在枕头上了。
14) 请把电脑关机。
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