A Meeting in Mianchi(澠池之會)
During the Warring States Period in China, the Qin Kingdom sent troops to attack the Zhao Kingdom. After the Qin Kingdom won a battle and occupied a city in the Zhao Kingdom, the king of the Qin Kingdom sent an envoy to meet the king of the Zhao Kingdom.
The envoy said to the king of Zhao
The King of Qin wishes to meet you face to face in the city of Mianchi.
The King of Zhao was afraid that he would be in danger if he attended the meeting, so he did not want to go.
Two wise and loyal ministers from the Kingdom of Zhao spoke to him.
If you do not dare to attend this meeting, the King of Qin will know that you are afraid of Qin in your heart. If the King of Qin finds out that you do not dare to face him, he will order the Qin army to attack.
One of the ministers, a very wise man called Lin Xiangru, said
If you don't dare to go to this meeting alone, I can go with you.
A few days later, the king of Zhao and Lin Xiangru went to Mianchi to attend the talks.
The meeting took the form of a dinner.
When the dinner was half over, the King of Qin suddenly took out a Chinese musical instrument called (瑟).
The King of Qin said to the King of Zhao
I have heard that you play this instrument very well. I'd like to see you perform, could you play a piece for me?
The King of Qin's attitude was very strong, and the King of Zhao was frightened, so he had to take the instrument and play a song.
After the King of Zhao played a piece of music, the King of Qin clapped his hands in praise.
He turned and said to the recorder of the Qin court.
You have recorded in detail that during this meeting the King of Zhao played a song to make the King of Qin happy.
The King of Qin deliberately used this method to humiliate the King of Zhao.
After the King of Zhao was humiliated by the King of Qin, he was very angry, but he didn't know how to fight back and react.
(Lin Xiangru) suddenly stood up with an empty bowl of food in his hand and walked in front of the King of Qin.
He said to the King of Qin
We have heard that you are a good singer. I know that when the people of the Kingdom of Qin sing, they count the beats by beating their bowls. We really want to see you perform. Can you play a song for us?
The King of Qin was frightened by Lin Xiangru's actions and was unable to react for a while.
Lin Xiangru picked up the bowl, took another step forward, and said to the King of Qin
If you refuse to perform, it means you are disrespecting the king of our Zhao Kingdom.
When the Qin soldiers saw what Lin Xiangru had done, they took up arms and surrounded him.
(Lin Xiangru) was not afraid at all after seeing this situation. He opened his eyes wide and spoke loudly to the King of Qin.
We, the people of the Zhao Kingdom, are not afraid of death or mighty power. We would rather sacrifice our lives than have our king humiliated by you.
When the King of Qin saw this situation, he knew that he could not force the Kingdom of Zhao to surrender out of fear, as he had originally planned. He immediately thought calmly, and finally decided to take the bowl from Lin Xiangru's hand and knock it hard.
After seeing the actions of the King of Qin, (Lin Xiangru) turned to Zhao's meeting recorder and said.
You have recorded in detail that during this meeting the King of Qin used a bowl to beat the rhythm in order to make the King of Zhao happy.
After this unexpected incident, the meeting continued and the ministers of the Qin Kingdom tried to reverse the situation, but to no avail.
After the meeting, the King of Qin announced that he would no longer attack the Kingdom of Zhao. .
The literal translation of this idiom is a meeting in Mianchi.
It is used to describe a person who has made a great contribution to his country.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts do you have after listening to this story?
What do you think would happen if the King of Zhao did not attend the talks? If you were the King of Qin, would you be able to control your anger and not make a rash decision?
I hope this story can give you some new insights.
澠池之會(A Meeting in Mianchi)
中國的戰國時代秦王國派出軍隊攻打趙王國，秦王國打了一場勝仗並且佔領了一座趙王國的城市之後，秦王國的國王派出一個使者去見趙王國的國王。
這個使者對趙王國的國王說。
秦王國的國王希望與你在澠池這座城市內進行一場面對面的會談。
趙王國的國王很擔心他如果出席這場會談會發生危險，所以不想參加這會談。
趙王國有兩個聰明又忠誠的大臣對他說。
若是你不敢參加這場會談，秦王國的國王便會知道你的內心對秦王國感到恐懼，當秦王國的國王發覺你不敢與他對抗後，他就會命令秦王國的軍隊在度發動進攻。
其中一個名字叫做(藺相如)的很有智慧的大臣說。
如果你不敢一個人去參加這場會議，那麼我可以陪著你一起去。
幾天後，趙王國的國王跟(藺相如)一起到了澠池參加會談。
這場會談是以晚宴的形式舉辦。
這場晚宴進行到一半的時候，秦王國的國王突然拿出一支名字叫做(瑟)的中國樂器。
秦王國的國王對趙王國的國王說。
我聽說你很擅長演奏這種樂器。我很想要看你表演，你可以為我演奏一首曲子嗎?
秦王國的國王的態度非常的強勢，趙王國的國王感到恐懼，所以他只好接過這樂器並且演奏了一首曲子。
趙王國的國王演奏完一首曲子後，秦王國的國王拍著手表示讚美。
他轉頭對秦王國的會議紀錄員說。
你詳細記錄下來，這次的會談中，趙王國的國王為了讓秦王國的國王感到開心，所以他吹奏(瑟)並演奏了一首曲子。
秦王國的國王故意用這種方式來羞辱趙王國的國王。
趙王國的國王被秦王國的國王羞辱後，他很生氣但他又不知道該如何反擊與回應。
(藺相如)突然從座位上站起來，他手上拿著一個裝食物的空碗走到秦王國的國王的面前。
他對秦王國的國王說。
我們聽說你很擅長歌唱，我知道秦王國的百姓們在唱歌的時候、會邊敲打碗邊數著拍子，我們很想要看你表演，你可以為我們演奏一首曲子嗎?
秦王國的國王被藺相如的行動嚇了一跳，他一時反應不過來。
(藺相如)拿著這個碗又往前走一步，他對秦王國的國王說。
如果你不肯表演，那就表示你藐視我們趙王國的國王。
秦王國的士兵們看見(藺相如)的行動後便拿起武器包圍住(藺相如)。
(藺相如)看見這情況後沒有絲毫恐懼，他瞪大眼睛對著秦王國的國王大聲說。
我們趙王國的人民不怕死也不畏懼強大的武力，我們寧可犧牲生命也不會讓我們的國王受到你的羞辱。
秦王國的國王見到這情況，他知道自己無法照自己原先的構想讓趙王國因為恐懼而屈服。他立刻冷靜的思考，他最後選擇接過藺相如手上的那個碗並且用力敲了一下。
(藺相如)看到秦王國的國王的動作後他轉頭對趙王國的會議紀錄員說。
你詳細記錄下來，這次的會談中，秦王國的國王為了讓趙王國的國王感到開心，所以他用一個碗敲奏拍子。
這個突發事件後會議繼續進行，秦王國的大臣們還試著想要扭轉情勢，但卻是沒有辦法。
這場會議結束之後，秦王國的國王宣布停止對趙王國發動攻擊。。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是一場在澠池的會談。
這句成語被用來形容一個人為了他自己的國家立下了巨大功勞。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你認為如果趙王國的國王不去參加這會談，會有怎樣的後果呢?你如果是秦王國個國王你可以忍住怒氣不做出魯莽的決定嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為史記-藺相如列傳
https://ctext.org/shiji/lian-po-lin-xiang-ru-lie-zhuan/zh
2025/02/22更新