【Original text】
夏，齐孝公伐我北鄙。……
In the summer, Duke Xiao of Qi attacked me in the north. …
公使展喜犒师（1），使受命于展禽（2）。齐侯未人竟（3），展喜从之， 曰：“寡君闻君亲举玉趾（4），将辱于敝邑，使下臣犒执事（5）”齐侯 曰：“鲁人恐乎？”对曰：“小人恐矣，君子则否。”齐侯曰：“室如 县磐（6），野无青草（7），何恃而不恐？”对曰：“恃先王之命。昔周公、 大公股肱周室（8），夹辅成王。成王劳之，而赐之盟，曰：‘世世子 孙无相害也！’载在盟府（9），大师职之（10）。桓公是以纠合诸候，而谋 其不协，弥缝其阙（11），而匡救其灾，昭旧职也（12）。及君即位，诸侯 之望曰：‘其率桓之功（13）！’我敝邑用是不敢保聚（14），曰：‘岂其嗣世 九年，而弃命废职？其若先君何？君必不然。’恃此而不恐。”齐 侯乃还。
Minister Zhanxi rewarded the master (1), and the envoy was ordered by Zhanqin (2). The Marquis of Qi was not surprised (3), so Zhan Xi followed him and said: "I heard that the king personally raised the jade toe (4), and he will humiliate the city and ask his ministers to reward the deacons (5)." The Marquis of Qi said: "Are the people of Lu afraid?" He said to him: "The villain is afraid, but the gentleman is not." The Marquis of Qi said: "The room is like this. There is no green grass in the county (6). How can we not be afraid?" He said to him, "Rely on the order of the former king. In the past, the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Zhou were appointed as kings. After becoming the king, they gave him an alliance and said: "The descendants of this generation have no harm to each other!" He did not cooperate and repaired the gap (11), but rescued him from the disaster and showed his old position (12). When the king came to the throne, the princes looked at him and said: "What a success in leading Huan!" After nine years, he gave up his life and abandoned his position. What if he was the emperor? "You must not be afraid of this." The Marquis of Qi returned.
【注释】
【Note】
（1）公：指鲁僖公。展喜：鲁国大夫。（2）受命：请教。展禽：鲁国大 夫，又称柳下惠。 （3）齐侯：齐孝公，齐桓公之子。竟：同“境”。（4）玉趾： 表示礼节的套话，意思是贵足、亲劳大驾。（5）执事：左右办事的官员，用 作对方的敬称。（6）县：同“悬”。磐：石制打击乐器。（7）野无青草： 指旱情严重。 （8）大公：太公，齐国始祖姜尚，又称姜大公。股肱 （gong）：大腿和手臂。这里的意思是辅佐。（9）载：盟约也叫载书，简称 为载。（10）大师：太师，当为太史，主管盟誓的官。职：掌管。（11）弥 缝：填满缝隙。这里的意思是补救。（12）昭：发扬光大。旧职：指大公的 旧职。 （13）率：遵循。桓：指齐桓公。（14）保聚：保城聚众。
(1) Gong: refers to Duke Xi of Lu. Zhan happy: Doctor of the State of Lu. (2) Ordered: Ask for advice. Zhan Qin: A doctor from the state of Lu, also known as Liu Xiahui. (3) Marquis of Qi: Duke Xiao of Qi, son of Duke Huan of Qi. Actually: the same "realm". (4) Jade toe: A cliché to express etiquette, which means honoring one’s feet and doing one’s best work. (5) Deacon: An official who handles affairs, used as an honorific title for the other party. (6) County: Same as "Xuan". Pan: Stone percussion instrument. (7) There is no green grass in the wild: It means the drought is serious. (8) Grand Duke: Grand Duke, Jiang Shang, the founder of Qi State, also known as Grand Duke Jiang. Gong: thigh and arm. The meaning here is to assist. (9) Zai: The covenant is also called Zai Shu, or Zai for short. (10) Master: Taishi, should be Taishi, the official in charge of alliance oaths. Position: in charge. (11) Fill the gaps: fill the gaps. The idea here is to remedy. (12) Zhao: Carry forward. Old position: refers to the old position of the Grand Duke. (13) Rate: Follow. Huan: refers to Duke Huan of Qi. (14) Baoju: Gather the crowd to protect the city.
【译文】
【Translation】
夏天，齐孝公领兵攻打我国北部边境。……
In the summer, Duke Xiao of Qi led troops to attack the northern border of our country. …
鲁傅公派遣展喜去犒劳齐国军队，让他先向展禽请教犒赏时 的辞令。齐孝公还没有进入鲁国国境，展喜就出境去跟着齐孝公， 对他说：“我们国君听说您亲劳大驾，将要屈尊光临敝国，特派臣 下来犒劳您的侍从们。”齐孝公说：“鲁国人害怕吗？”展喜回答说： “平民百姓害怕，君子大人不害怕。”齐孝公说：“百姓家中空空荡 荡像挂起来的磐，田野里光秃秃地连青草都没有，你们凭借什么 不害怕？”展喜回答说：“凭借先王的命令。从前周公和齐太公辅 佐周王室，在左右协助成王。成王慰劳他们，还赐给他们盟约，盟 约上说：‘世世代代的子孙都不要互相残害！’这个盟约保存在盟 府里，由太史掌管着。齐桓公因此集合诸侯，商讨解决他们的纠 纷，弥补他们的过失，救助他们的灾难，这是为了发扬光大齐大 公的旧职。等到您当上国君，诸侯们都盼望着说：‘他会继承桓公 的功业！’我们敝国因此不敢保城聚众，人们会说：‘难道他继承 桓公之位才九年，就丢弃使命、放弃职责吗？他怎么对先君交待 呢？君王一定不会这样做的。’人们凭借这一点就不害怕。”于是 齐孝公就领兵回国了。
Lu Fugong sent Zhan Xi to reward the Qi army, and asked him to first ask Zhan Qin for instructions on how to reward him. Before Qi Xiaogong entered the territory of Lu State, Zhan Xi went out to follow Qi Xiaogong and said to him: "Our king heard that you have done such a great job personally, and will deign to come to our country and send a special minister to reward your attendants." Qi Xiaogong said: "Are the people of Lu State afraid?" Zhan Xi replied: "Common people are afraid, but gentlemen are not afraid." Qi Xiaogong said: "The people's homes are empty. The mountains are like hanging rocks, and there is no grass in the fields. Why are you not afraid?" Zhan Xi replied: "In the past, the Duke of Zhou and the Grand Duke of Qi assisted the Zhou royal family. King Cheng comforted them and gave them a covenant. The covenant said: 'No descendants from generation to generation should harm each other.' This covenant is preserved in the covenant! The palace is under the control of Taishi. Therefore, Duke Huan of Qi gathered the princes to discuss and resolve their disputes, to make up for their mistakes, and to save their disasters. This was to carry forward the old duties of Duke Huan of Qi. When you become the king, the princes will all hope to say: "He will inherit Duke Huan's achievements!" Therefore, our country dare not defend the city and gather people. People will say: "How can he inherit the throne?" Duke Huan has only been in office for nine years, and he has given up his mission and responsibilities? How can he tell the emperor that he will not do this? ” So the people were not afraid because of this.
【读解】
【Interpretation】
面对入侵的大兵压境，鲁国的政治家们并没有惊慌失措，没有义愤填膺，而是想出了一个即使在今天看来也依然是妙绝的高招：犒赏前来入侵的敌军，并对之以令敌手无言以对的绝妙外交辞令，真能使人拍案叫绝。
Faced with the invading troops, the politicians of the Lu State did not panic or be filled with righteous indignation. Instead, they came up with a clever trick that is still considered brilliant even today: reward the invading enemy troops and use wonderful diplomatic rhetoric to make them speechless, which is really amazing.
其实，鲁国人之所以“有恃无恐”，不仅仅是他们的先君曾有过“和平友好条约”，恐怕更在于他们的自信——自信道义是在自己一边，自信自己拥有对付入侵者的智慧，也自信自己有同敌手对抗的实力。如果没有这些东西作后盾，大概也难以用，“一言”让敌手退却，毕竟来者不善，敢于来犯，也就意味看来者不会顾及什么先君之盟。
In fact, the reason why the people of Lu are "confident" is not only because their ancestors had a "peace and friendship treaty", but probably also because of their self-confidence - they are confident that morality is on their side, they are confident that they have the wisdom to deal with the invaders, and they are also confident that they have the strength to fight against the enemy. Without the backing of these things, it would probably be difficult to use it. "One word" can make the enemy retreat. After all, the attacker is not good and dares to attack, which means that the attacker will not take into account the alliance of the ancestors.
所谓大义凛然，只有在这种关键时刻才会显现出来，英雄本色也只有在这时才会显现出来。战场上的浴血奋战、刀光剑影是一回事，谈判桌上的唇枪舌剑、巧妙应对又是一回事，并不一定非要真刀真枪地厮杀才算得上英雄。
The so-called awe-inspiring righteousness can only be revealed at this critical moment, and the true nature of a hero can only be revealed at this time. The bloody battles on the battlefield and the flash of swords are one thing, and the verbal exchanges and clever responses on the negotiation table are another thing. It is not necessary to fight with real swords and guns to be considered a hero.
不过，也有一点差别：对于丧失了良知、丧心病狂、歇斯底里的战争贩子来说，再绝妙的外交辞令和应对技巧，都是无济于事的。强盗自有强盗的逻辑，有时甚至连逻辑也不讲。八国联军火烧圆明园时，何曾讲过逻辑？日本人发动卢沟桥事变时，何曾讲过逻辑？希特勒发动第二次世界大战时，又何曾讲过逻辑？强盗总归是强盗，有时他们可能假惺惺地找借口，有时则赤裸裸地烧杀抢掠。
However, there is one difference: for the war-mongers who have lost their conscience, are crazy and hysterical, no matter how wonderful diplomatic rhetoric and coping skills are, it will be of no avail. Robbers have their own robber's logic, and sometimes they don't even follow logic. When the Eight-Power Allied Forces burned the Old Summer Palace, did they ever talk about logic? When the Japanese launched the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, did they ever talk about logic? When Hitler launched World War II, why did he talk about logic? Robbers are still robbers. Sometimes they may make hypocritical excuses, and sometimes they may burn, kill, and loot outright.
照这种标准来看，齐孝公这样的人，也还算是天良尚未丧尽， 还没有达到丧心病狂的地步，在无言以对之后还知道退兵。这种好事肯定不多了，大概也只有讲究礼义廉耻的古代才会有。现代社会中，要么是赤裸棵地恃强凌弱，要么是谈判桌上的利益交换。
According to this standard, people like Qi Xiaogong still have not lost their conscience and have not reached the point of madness. They know how to retreat even after being speechless. There are definitely not many good things like this anymore, and they probably only existed in ancient times where etiquette, justice and shame were important. In modern society, it is either outright bullying or an exchange of interests on the negotiation table.
要真正具有与敌手抗衡的实力，应当软、硬两手兼备，既要在外交场合周旋的智慧和技巧，也要有军事的、国力的、民众的实力作为后盾，才能立于不败之地。
To truly have the strength to compete with opponents, one must have both soft and hard skills. It requires not only the wisdom and skills to deal with diplomatic situations, but also the backing of military, national power, and people's strength to remain invincible.
