Monday, April 18, 2011

Notes from China: Chapter 33: 反间计: Let the Enemy's Own Spy Sow Discord in the Enemy Camp

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33

  

 

 

33rd Stratagem


反间计

(fǎn jiàn jì)


Let the Enemy's Own Spy Sow Discord in the Enemy Camp


Another well known example from the novel 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' (cf. Stratagem 32), Cao Cao sent Jiang Gan (蔣干, fl. 209) as an emissary to Zhou Yu (周瑜, 175-210 A.D.) of Wu, one of Jiang Gan's own former classmates. After carousing for a while they both collapsed and dozed off. Zhou Yu fell asleep, but Jiang Gan only pretended. He got up and rummaged through Zhou Yu's desk, where he found a letter from two of Cao Cao's generals discussing a plot to assassinate Cao Cao. On his return, the generals were immediately beheaded. Of course the letter was a fake, placed there by Zhou Yu [15].


Let the Enemy's Own Spy Sow Discord in the Enemy Camp is associated with the eighth hexagram, Water over Earth. Water flowing over the open yin lines of the Earth can be an expression of agency turned against itself. Another interpretation is that the yin line in the second position is summoned to service by those above it (the yang line in the fifth position, in particular). This second line can be viewed as the reliable agent summoned to the opponent's camp [1], [28].

 

 

VOCAB LIST 33:



to invite: 邀请: yāoqǐng

party: 派对: pàiduì

to join/participate: 参加: cānjiā

to sow discord/to invert: 反间: fǎnjiàn

satisfied: 满意: mǎnyì

what if...?: ...假如?: ...jiǎrú?

steep: 陡峭: dǒuqiào

add/plus:: jiā

battery: 电池: diànchí

charger: 充电器: chōngdiàn qì

to charge: ...充电: gěi...chōngdiàn

disappeared: 不见了: bù jiànle

Zhou Yu: 周瑜: zhōuyú

equal: 等于: děngyú

more than a hundred: 一百多: yībǎi duō

less than a hundred: 一百不到: yībǎi bù dào

as soon as possible (ASAP): 尽快: jǐnkuài

in the dark: 在黑暗中: zài hēi'àn zhōng

took a shower: 洗了澡: xǐle zǎo

in advance: 提前: tíqián

relieved: 如释重负: rúshìzhòngfù

toilet (seat): 马桶: mǎtǒng

(some/few) individuals: 个别: gèbié

to solve (a problem): 解决: jiějué

(difficult) problem: 难题: nántí

public shower/bathhouse: 澡堂: zǎotáng



New Characters:

  


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Sample Sentences 33:



1) 他们邀请我参加一个派对。

Trans.: They invited me to a party.


2) 我要给手机充电,但是我弄丢了充电器。

Trans.: I want to charge my phone, but I lost the charger.


3) 请尽快给这个电池充电。


4) 他对这个马桶很满意。


5) 有个别人提前了一百多天到学校。


6) 在黑暗中,他的笔记本不见了。


7) 一加一等于二。


8) 假如这座山太陡峭了,我们就不可以开车上去。


9) 为什么很多人喜欢用反间计?


10) 这个难题终于解决了,我如释重负。


11) 我昨天在那个澡堂洗了澡,只花了一百不到。




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Linguistics and Information Theory