S7E07 | I Should’ve Known Better
Saying: “borrowing chopsticks to illustrate strategy”
Pinyin: Jiè Zhù Dài Chóu
Chinese: 借箸代筹
This time around we're reaching all the way back to those fateful years following the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the contentious period of conflict between Liu Bang of Han and Xiang Yu of Chu. As these two rivals battle it out, Liu Bang sought advice from one of his advisors on a plan of action. But as we'll see, that plan is blown out of the water by the great hero of the early Han, Zhang Liang. In order to persuade Liu Bang of the folly of this plan, Zhang Liang will 借箸代筹 Jiè Zhù Dài Chóu, borrow chopsticks to illustrate his strategy. And using these chopsticks as a prop to illustrate his point, Zhang Liang blows this advisor's good idea out of the water.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Chéngyǔ | 成语 | A Chinese Saying or idiom |
| Jiè Zhù Dài Chóu | 借箸代筹 | To plan for others, To use chopsticks as a prop to elaborate on a plan for someone else |
| Liú Hóu Shì Jiā | 留侯世家 | The Family of Marquis Liú (Zhang Liang),the chapter of the Record of the Grand Historian from which this chengyu is derived |
| Jiè | 借 | borrow, lwnd; to make use of |
| Zhù | 箸 | chopsticks |
| Dài | 代 | take the place of; substitute |
| Chóu | 筹 | prepare, plan, raise; strategy, a (gambling) chip |
| Dài chóu | 代筹 | A shortened version of this four character chengyu. If you use these two characters alone, a literate person would likely understand your meaning |
| Sīmǎ Qiān | 司马迁 | Han Dynasty literary figure and official. Called "The Grand Historian", son of Sima Tan. Together they wrote The Records of the Grand Historian |
| Chǔ Hàn Zhànzhēng | 楚汉战争 | The Chǔ-Hàn Contention of 206-202 BC was a power struggle between Liu Bang of Han and Xiang Yu of Chu |
| Xiàng Yǔ | 项羽 | Xiang Yu the Conquerer (232-202 BC). He was a warlord in post-Qin China who fought Liu Bang for supremecy in China but was defeated and killed |
| Liú Bāng | 刘邦 | 256?-195 BC, bandit leader who became the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, reigning as Han Gaozu |
| Qín Dynasty | 秦朝 | The Qin Dynasty that lasted 221-207 BC, founded by Ying Zheng, remembered as Qin Shihuang |
| Yíng Zhèng | 嬴政 | See above |
| Chǔ | 楚 | One of the Warring States into which China was divided during thge Eastern Zhou Period (770-256BC),occupying what is now Hubei and northern Hunan |
| Hàn | 汉 | The area where Liu Bang had established himself as King. Later he adopted this name for his Dynasty |
| Xíngyáng | 荥阳 | A city in Henan located in today’s western Zhèngzhōu |
| Lì Shíqí | 郦食其 | 268-204 BC, political advisor to Liu Bang and military figure duyring the early Han. Note that Li Yiji's given name 食其 is pronounced "Yìjī" and not "Shíqí" in Mandarin. The Chinese character 食, when used in a person's name, is pronounced "Yì". The Chinese character 基 did not exist during the Han dynasty, and the 土 radical was only added later, so 其 is pronounced "jī" in ancient Chinese just like 基 in modern Chinese. |
| Xià Dynasty | 夏朝 | The earliest dynasty in Chinese history, considered mythical. It existed around 2000 BC |
| Shāng Dynasty | 商朝 | China's earliest dynasty that ran 1600-1046 BC |
| King Wǔ of Zhōu | 周武王 | King Wu of Zhou (d. 1043 BC),personal name Ji Fa 姬发, reigned 1046-1043 BC as the first king of the Western Zhou Dynasty |
| Zhāng Liáng | 张良 | Shang Dynasty (11th century BC),considered one of the cruelest tyrants in Chinese history |
| King Tāng of Shāng | 商汤王 | 1646-? BC legendary founder of the Shang Dynasty |
| King Zhòu | 商纣王 | The last emperor of the Shang Dynasty |
| Chéngyǔ Yánjiū Zhōngxīn | 成语研究中心 | The Teacup Chengyu Research Center, led by Emma |
