草船借箭

cǎochuán-jièjiàn
idiom

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 4
Tā yòng cǎochuán-jièjiàn de fāngshì, cóng duìshǒu nàli huòqǔ le zīyuán.
He used a straw-boat strategy to extract resources from his opponent.
HSK 7-9
Zhè zhǒng cǎochuán-jièjiàn de cèlüè zhēnshì 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

cǎo
chuán
jiè
jiàn