Armchair Strategist | 纸上谈兵

English Original

During the Warring States Period, the State of Zhao had a famous general named Zhao She. His son, Zhao Kuo, was an avid reader of military texts and loved discussing strategy. He could recite military classics from memory and debated warfare with such clarity and logic that he even seemed to surpass his father in theoretical knowledge.

When the State of Qin attacked Zhao, the king ordered Zhao Kuo to lead an army of 400,000 men to resist the invasion. However, having no practical battle experience, Zhao Kuo was decisively defeated and lost his life.

This story gave rise to the idiom "armchair strategist," used to describe someone who is skilled only in theory but lacks practical experience.


中文翻译

战国时期,赵国有一位名将叫赵奢,他的儿子赵括非常喜欢阅读兵书、谈论战略。他能熟背兵书,讨论起军事来条理清晰、逻辑严密,甚至在理论上似乎超越了他的父亲。

当秦国攻打赵国时,赵王命令赵括率领四十万大军抵抗入侵。然而,由于赵括缺乏实战经验,最终惨败并丧命。

这个故事衍生出了成语“纸上谈兵”,用来形容那些只擅长空谈理论而缺乏实际经验的人。

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