【Original text】
冬，晋文公卒。庚辰，将殡于曲沃（1）。出绛（2），柩有声如牛（3）。卜偃使大夫拜（4），曰：“君命大事（5）将有西师过轶我（6），击之，必大捷焉。”
In winter, Duke Wen of Jin died. Gengchen will be buried in Quwo (1). When Jiang comes out (2), the coffin makes a sound like an ox (3). Bu Yan sent the official to pay homage (4) and said: "Your Majesty has ordered us to do something important (5). A Western army will pass by me (6). If we attack him, we will definitely win a great victory."
杞子自郑使告于秦曰（7）：“郑人使我掌其北门之管（8），若潜师以来（9），国可得也（10）。”穆公访诸蹇叔（11）。蹇叔曰：“劳师以袭远，非所闻也。师劳力竭，远主备之（12），无乃不可乎？师之所为，郑必知之。 勤而无所（13），必有悖心（14）。且行千里，其谁不知？”公辞焉。召盂明、 西乞、白乙使出师于东门之外（15）。蹇叔哭之曰：“盂子！吾见师之出而不见其人也！”公使谓之曰：“尔何知，中寿，尔墓之木拱矣（16）” 蹇叔之子与师，哭而送之，曰：“晋人御师必于崤（17），崤有二陵焉（18）。 其南陵，夏后皋之墓也（19）；其北陵，文王之所辟风雨也，必死是间， 余收尔骨焉（20）！”秦师遂东。
Qi Zi reported to Qin from Zheng's envoy (7): "The people of Zheng have asked me to take charge of the north gate (8). If the Qianshi come (9), the country can be gained (10)." Duke Mu visited Zhu Jian Shu (11). Jian Shu said: "It is unheard of to work a teacher to attack a distant place. The teacher is exhausted, and the master from afar prepares it (12). Is it nothing wrong? Zheng must know what the teacher is doing. Being diligent but doing nothing (13) must be contrary to one's heart (14). Who doesn't know about traveling a thousand miles?" Gongci Yan. Summon Yuming, Xiqi, and Bai Yi to set out outside the east gate (15). Uncle Jian cried and said: "Jianzi! I saw the master coming out but not the person!" The envoy said to him: "How did you know that in Zhongshou, the wood of your tomb is arched (16)" Uncle Jian's son and the master cried and sent him off, saying: "The imperial master of Jin must be in Gu (17), and there are two mausoleums in Gu (18). The southern mausoleum is the tomb of Xia Hou Gao (19); the northern mausoleum was built by King Wen in the wind and rain. He will surely die here, but his bones will be collected (20). "The Qin army then went east.
【注释】
【Note】
（1）殡：停丧。曲沃：晋国旧都，晋国祖庙所在地，在今山西闻喜。 （2）绛：晋国国都，在今山西翼城东南。 （3）柩（jiu）：装有尸体的棺材。 （4）卜偃：掌管晋国卜筮的官员，姓郭，名偃。 （5）大事：指战争。古时 战争和祭祀是大事。 （6）西师：西方的军队，指秦军。过轶：越过。 （7）杞子：秦国大夫。 （8）掌：仑理。管，钥匙。 （9）潜：秘密地。 （10）国：国都。 （11）访：询问，征求意见。蹇叔：秦国老臣。 （12）远主：指 郑君。 （13）勤：劳苦。所：处所。无所：一无所得。 （14）悖（bei）心： 违逆之心，反感。 （15）孟明：秦国大夫，姓百里，名视，字孟明。秦国元 老百里奚之子。西乞：秦国大夫，姓西乞，名术。白乙：秦国大夫，姓白乙 名丙。这三人都是秦国将军。 （16）中（zhong）寿：满寿，年寿满了。拱： 两手合抱。 （17）崤（xiao）：山名，在今河南洛宁西北。（18） 陵：大山。崤山有两陵，南陵和北陵，相距三十里，地势险要。 （19）夏后 皋：夏代君主，名皋，夏桀的祖父。后：国君。 （20）尔骨：你的尸骨，焉：在那里。
(1) Funeral: stop the funeral. Quwo: The old capital of the Jin State, the location of the Jin State's ancestral temple, in Wenxi, Shanxi today. (2) Jiang: The capital of the Jin Kingdom, located southeast of today's Yicheng, Shanxi. (3) Coffin (jiu): a coffin containing a corpse. (4) Divination Yan: The official in charge of divination in Jin State, whose surname was Guo and whose given name was Yan. (5) Major events: refers to war. In ancient times, wars and sacrifices were important events. (6) Western Division: The army in the west refers to the Qin Army. Guo Yi: to cross over. (7) Qi Zi: Doctor of Qin State. (8) Palm: ethics. tube, key. (9) Hidden: secretly. (10) Country: Capital. (11) Visit: inquire, solicit opinions. Uncle Jian: An old minister of the Qin State. (12) Far Lord: refers to Zheng Jun. (13) Diligence: hard work. Place: place. Nothing: gain nothing. (14) Rebellion (bei): disobedience, disgust. (15) Meng Ming: A senior official of the Qin State, his surname was Baili, his given name was Shi, and his courtesy name was Meng Ming. Qin Guoyuan is the son of Lao Bailixi. Xiqi: A doctor of the Qin State, whose surname was Xiqi and whose name was Shu. Bai Yi: A doctor of the Qin State, whose surname is Bai Yi and whose given name is B. These three people are all generals of Qin. (16) Zhongshou: full life, full life. Arch: Put your hands together. (17) Wei (xiao): The name of the mountain, located in the northwest of Luoning, Henan Province. (18) Mausoleum: Mountain. There are two tombs in Xiaoshan, the Nanling and the Beiling, which are thirty miles apart and the terrain is dangerous. (19) Xia Queen Gao: The monarch of Xia Dynasty, named Gao, the grandfather of Xia Jie. After: king. (20) Er Gu: Your bones, Yan: Where are they.
【译文】
【Translation】
冬天，晋文公去世了。十二月十二日，要送往曲沃停放待葬。刚走出国都绛城，棺材里发出了像牛叫的声音。卜官郭偃让大夫们向棺材下拜，并说：“国君要发布军事命令，将有西方的军队越过我们的国境，我们袭击它，一定会获得全胜。”
In winter, Duke Wen of Jin passed away. On December 12, it will be sent to Quwo for burial. Just after leaving Jiangcheng, the capital of the country, a sound like a cow's braying came from the coffin. Guo Yan, the diviner, asked the officials to bow down to the coffin and said: "The monarch is going to issue a military order. A Western army will cross our border. If we attack it, we will definitely win a complete victory."
秦国大夫杞子从郑国派人向秦国报告说：“郑国人让我掌管他们国都北门的钥匙，如果悄悄派兵前来，就可以占领他们的国都。” 秦穆公向秦国老臣蹇叔征求意见。蹇叔说：“让军队辛勤劳苦地偷袭远方的国家，我从没听说有过。军队辛劳精疲力竭，远方国家的君主又有防备，这样做恐怕不行吧？军队的一举一动，郑国必定会知道。军队辛勤劳苦而一无所得，一定会产生叛逆念头。再说行军千里，有谁不知道呢？”秦穆公没有听从蹇叔的意见。他召见了孟明视，西乞术和白乙丙三位将领，让他们从东门外面出兵。 蹇叔哭他们说：“孟明啊，我看着大军出发，却看不见他们回来了！” 秦穆公派人对蹇叔说：“你知道什么？你的年寿满了，等到军队回 来，你坟上种的树该长到两手合抱粗了！”蹇叔的儿子也参加了出 征的队伍，他哭着送儿子说：“晋国人必定在崤山抗击我军，崤有 两座山头。南面的山头是夏王皋的坟墓，北面的山头是周文王避 过风雨的地方。你们一定会战死在这两座山之间，我到那里收拾 你的尸骨吧！”秦国军队接着向东进发了。
Qi Zi, an official of Qin State, sent someone from Zheng State to report to Qin State: "The people of Zheng State asked me to hold the key to the north gate of their capital. If I send troops quietly, I can occupy their capital." Duke Mu of Qin asked Uncle Jian, an old minister of Qin State, for advice. Uncle Jian said: "I have never heard of letting the army work so hard to attack a distant country. The army is exhausted from hard work, and the monarch of the distant country is on guard. I'm afraid it can't be done like this? Zheng Guo will definitely know every move of the army. The army has worked hard but gained nothing, and it will definitely have the idea of rebellion. Besides, marching thousands of miles, who doesn't know?" Duke Mu of Qin did not listen to Uncle Jian's opinion. He summoned three generals, Meng Mingshi, Xiqishu and Bai Yibing, and asked them to send troops from outside the east gate. Uncle Jian cried to them and said, "Meng Ming, I watched the army set out, but I couldn't see them coming back!" Duke Mu of Qin sent someone to say to Uncle Jian, "What do you know? Your life is over, and when the army comes back, the tree planted on your grave will be as big as two hands can hold it!" Uncle Jian's son also joined the expedition. He sent his son off crying and said, "The people of Jin will definitely fight against our army in Weishan. Two hills. The hill in the south is the tomb of Wang Gao of Xia, and the hill in the north is where King Wen of Zhou escaped from the wind and rain. You will definitely die between these two mountains. I will go there to collect your bones!" The Qin army then marched eastward.
【读解】
【Interpretation】
卜官郭偃和老臣蹇叔的预见有如先知，料事真如神，秦军后 来果然在崤山大败而归，兵未发而先哭之，实在是事前就为失败 而哭，并非事后诸葛亮。
The fortune teller Guo Yan and the veteran minister Jian Shu were like prophets, and their foresight was as true as God's. The Qin army was defeated and returned from Mount Laoshan. They cried before the troops were launched. It was really crying for the failure beforehand, rather than being smart after the fact.
郭偃托言的所谓“君命大事”，不过是个借口，人们根据经验 完全可以作出类似的判断，乘虚而入，乱而取之，是战争中常用 的手法。作为政治家和军事家，如果不具备这种经验和头脑，应 当属于不称职之列。从蹇叔一方看，他作为开国老臣，也具有这 方面的经验：对手并非等闲之辈，不可能在非常时刻没有防备，因此，此时出征无异于自投罗网。
The so-called "important matter of the emperor's order" that Guo Yan excused is just an excuse. People can make similar judgments based on experience. Taking advantage of a weak point and taking it randomly are commonly used methods in war. As politicians and military strategists, if you do not have this kind of experience and intelligence, you should be considered incompetent. From Jian Shu's point of view, as a veteran of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he also has this experience: the opponent is not an ordinary person, and it is impossible to be unprepared at an emergency moment. Therefore, going on an expedition at this time is tantamount to throwing yourself into a trap.
秦穆公急欲扩张自己势力的心情，导致他犯了一个致命的常 识性的错误，违反了“知己知彼”这个作战的基本前提。敌手早 有防备，以逸待劳，必定获胜；劳师远袭，疲惫不堪，没有战斗 力，必定惨败。其中原因大概是攻城掠地的心情太急切了，以至 连常识都顾不上，当然是咎由自取。
Duke Mu of Qin's eagerness to expand his power led him to make a fatal common-sense mistake, which violated the basic premise of "know yourself and the enemy" in warfare. If the enemy is well prepared and waits for work, he will definitely win; if he works hard to attack from afar, he will be exhausted and has no fighting ability, and he will definitely lose miserably. The reason is probably that they were so eager to conquer the city that they didn't even care about common sense. Of course, they brought the blame on themselves.
马有失前蹄的时候，人也有过失的时候，而在利令智昏的情 况下所犯的错误，则是不可宽恕的。利令智昏而犯常识性的错误， 更是不可宽恕。
When a horse stumbles, people also make mistakes. Mistakes made when one is weak and ignorant are unforgivable. It is even more unforgivable to make common-sense mistakes when one is blinded by profit.
再说，当初秦国曾与晋国一起企图消灭郑国，后来又与郑国 订立盟约。此时不仅置盟约不顾，就连从前的同伙也成了觊觎的 对象。言而无信，自食其言，不讲任何道义、仁德，这同样应当 遭天遣，遭惩罚。
Besides, the Qin State once attempted to destroy the Zheng State together with the Jin State, and later made an alliance with the Zheng State. At this time, not only were the covenants ignored, but even former accomplices became coveted targets. Those who do not keep their word, go back on their word, and do not practice any moral principles or benevolence should also be punished by heaven.
当人心目中没有权威之时，便没有了戒惧；没有了戒惧,就会私欲急剧膨胀；私欲急剧膨胀便会为所欲为,无法无天。春秋的诸候混战，的确最充分地使人们争权夺利的心理。手法、技巧发挥到了极致，也使命运成了最不可捉模和把握的东西。弱肉强食是普遍流行的无情法则，一朝天子一朝臣，泱泱大国可能在一夜之间倾覆，区区小国也可能在一夜之间暴发起来。
When there is no authority in people's minds, there will be no fear; without fear, selfish desires will expand rapidly; when selfish desires expand rapidly, people will do whatever they want and be lawless. The melee among the princes in the Spring and Autumn Period indeed fully aroused people's mentality of fighting for power and gain. Techniques and skills are brought to the extreme, making fate the most unpredictable and unpredictable thing. The law of the jungle is the universal and ruthless law. Once the emperor and his courtiers appear, a large country may overturn overnight, and a small country may also explode overnight.
“先知”是没有的；而充满睿智并富有经验者，往往被人们 为是“先知”。
There is no "prophet"; people who are full of wisdom and experience are often regarded as "prophets".
