草船借箭

cǎochuánjièjiàn

idiom

Meanings

1 borrowing arrows with straw boats
2 using a clever ruse to extract resources from an opponent

Characters

Examples

他用草船借箭的方式，从对手那里获取了资源。

Tā yòng cǎochuánjièjiàn de fāngshì, cóng duìshǒu nàli huòqǔ le zīyuán.

He used a straw-boat strategy to extract resources from his opponent.

这种草船借箭的策略真是高明。

Zhè zhǒng cǎochuánjièjiàn de cèlüè zhēn shì gāomíng.

This straw-boat-borrowing-arrows strategy is truly brilliant.

Tips

history

From 《三国演义》: during the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮) was ordered to produce 100,000 arrows in three days. He sent straw-covered boats up the Yangtze in heavy fog toward Cao Cao's camp; Cao, unable to see through the mist, ordered his archers to fire. The arrows stuck in the straw — and Zhuge Liang sailed back with more than enough.

Stroke Order

草 cǎo

船 chuán

借 jiè

箭 jiàn