20
20th Stratagem
混水摸鱼
(hún shuǐ mō yú)
Disturb the Water to Catch a Fish
In the chaos following the defeat of mighty Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs (208 A.D.), Liu Bei was able to establish the Kingdom of Shu (221 A.D.), taking the strategic Yangzi city of Jinzhou. He was then able to take the city of Yizhou while its internal struggles distracted the dominant forces there [9].
Disturb the Water to Catch a Fish is associated with the seventeenth hexagram, Lake over Thunder. The Lake, being in the upper position, is understood to come first, and Thunder, being in the lower, follows. Thunder, representing motion, is initiated, thereby provoking a response, changing the orientation of the situation [1], [28].
VOCAB LIST 20:
to get stuck: 卡住: kǎ zhù
to break: 弄坏: nòng huài
any: 任何/随便: rènhé/suíbiàn
to put together: 拼: pīn
to feel: 感觉: gǎnjué
to try: 试: shì
it’s...turn (e.g. it’s his turn): 轮到...: lún dào...
canteen: 食堂: shítáng
from...(e.g. from point A): 从...: cóng...
to...(e.g. to point B): 到... : dào...
hole: 洞: dòng
blood: 血: xuè/xiě
to touch/to find out: 摸: mō
to discuss: 讨论: tǎolùn
curious: 好奇: hàoqí
to dig: 挖: wā
to bury: 埋: mái
to bleed: 流血: liúxiě
to sound... (e.g. to sound good): 听起来...: tīng qǐlái…
chaos/chaotic: 混乱/混乱的: hùnluàn/hùnluàn de
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New Characters:
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Sample Sentences 20:
1) Q: 那是什么声音？
A: 我不知道，听起来好像骆驼。
2) I. 能不能从这里走到餐厅？
II. 哪一个餐厅？
III. 随便哪个都好。
3) 飞机场现在非常混乱。
4) Q: 你为什么问我这个问题？
A: 我就是有点好奇。
7) 别弄坏了， 让我试一下。
Trans.: Don’t break it, let me try.
8) 轮到他的时候， 电脑卡住了。
Trans.: When it was his turn, the computer froze.
9) 爷爷摸了摸小男孩的头。
10) 我们应该讨论下，怎么把这个拼起来。
11) 你有没有感觉到有一点冷？