This is one of several famous fables about legendary military strategist Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang was a real person who lived from 181 to 234 AD during the Three Kingdoms period, one of the most dramatic and chaotic eras in Chinese history. He served as the chief strategist and prime minister for Liu Bei, the ruler of the kingdom of Shu Han. After Liu Bei died, Zhuge Liang continued to serve Liu Bei’s son, remaining loyal to the end of his life. He died of illness while on a military campaign at the age of 53. He is very well documented in historical records, particularly in the 三国志 (Records of the Three Kingdoms), written by historian Chen Shou in the 3rd century.
However, many of the most famous stories about him, like this one, don’t have a historical basis. Instead, they come from the novel 三国演义 (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), written in the 14th century, about a thousand years after Zhuge Liang actually lived. So, similarly to Bao Gong, he is a real person that has become a larger-than-life semi-mythical figure after death.
This isn’t the only famous story about Zhuge Liang’s military genius In the following weeks, I’ll add some more Zhuge Liang stories to the archive.
Key vocab
平静 – píng jìng – calm/peaceful
城墙 – chéng qiáng – city wall
古琴 – gǔ qín – ancient Chinese zither
冒险 – mào xiǎn – to take risks
陷阱 – xiàn jǐng – trap
撤退 – chè tuì – to retreat
敌人 – dí rén – enemy
佩服 – pèi fú – to admire
空城计
那一天，诸葛亮的军队出去打仗了。城里只剩下诸葛亮和几个老兵。突然，有人跑来报告：”司马懿带着十五万大军来了！”
城里的人都非常害怕。士兵们问诸葛亮：”我们怎么办？我们打不过他们！”
诸葛亮想了一会儿，然后平静地笑了笑。他说：”不要怕。你们按照我说的去做。”
诸葛亮让士兵们把城门全部打开。然后，他让几个士兵穿上普通的衣服，在城门口扫地，就像什么事都没有发生一样。
诸葛亮自己走上城墙，坐下来，拿出古琴，开始弹琴。他弹得非常慢，非常平静。
不久，司马懿的大军到了城外。司马懿抬头一看，城门开着，城墙上只有诸葛亮一个人坐在那里弹琴。城门口有几个人在扫地。城里非常安静。
司马懿觉得非常奇怪。他心想：”诸葛亮这个人做事非常小心，从来不冒险。今天城门大开，他却坐在那里弹琴。这里面一定有陷阱。城里一定藏着很多士兵，等我们进去。”
司马懿看了很长时间，越想越害怕。最后，他对士兵们说：”撤退！快撤退！”
十五万大军就这样走了。
城里的士兵看到敌人走了，非常高兴。他们跑去问诸葛亮：”您为什么要这样做？您不害怕吗？”
诸葛亮笑着说：”我当然害怕。但是我知道司马懿这个人想太多。他看到城门开着，一定会以为里面有陷阱。所以我就坐在那里弹琴，让他更加害怕。”
士兵们听了，都非常佩服诸葛亮。
The Empty City Strategy
One day, Zhuge Liang’s army had gone out to fight a battle. Only Zhuge Liang and a few old soldiers remained in the city. Suddenly, someone came running to report: ‘Sima Yi is coming with an army of 150,000 soldiers!’
Everyone in the city was terrified. The soldiers asked Zhuge Liang: ‘What should we do? We can’t defeat them!’
Zhuge Liang thought for a moment, then smiled calmly. He said: ‘Don’t be afraid. Just do as I say.’
Zhuge Liang ordered the soldiers to open all the city gates. Then, he had a few soldiers put on ordinary clothes and sweep the ground at the city entrance, as if nothing was happening.
Zhuge Liang himself walked up onto the city wall, sat down, took out an ancient qin, and began to play. He played very slowly and very calmly.
Soon, Sima Yi’s great army arrived outside the city. Sima Yi looked up and saw the city gates wide open, with only Zhuge Liang sitting alone on the city wall playing the qin. A few people were sweeping at the city entrance. The city was very quiet.
Sima Yi found this very strange. He thought to himself: ‘Zhuge Liang is a very careful person who never takes risks. Today the city gates are wide open, yet he sits there playing music. There must be a trap here. There must be many soldiers hiding inside the city, waiting for us to enter.’
Sima Yi watched for a long time, and the more he thought about it, the more afraid he became. Finally, he said to his soldiers: ‘Retreat! Retreat quickly!’
And so the army of 150,000 soldiers left just like that.
The soldiers in the city were overjoyed when they saw the enemy leave. They ran to ask Zhuge Liang: ‘Why did you do this? Weren’t you afraid?’
Zhuge Liang smiled and said: ‘Of course I was afraid. But I know that Sima Yi is someone who overthinks things. When he saw the city gates open, he would definitely think there was a trap inside. So I just sat there playing the qin, making him even more afraid.’
When the soldiers heard this, they all greatly admired Zhuge Liang.
