三国隘秦
Three States Obstructed Qin
【原文】
三国溢秦。周令其相之秦，以秦之轻也，留其行。有人谓相国曰： “秦之轻重，未可知也。秦欲知三国之情，公不如遂见秦王，曰‘请（谓)[为]王听东方之处’，秦必重公。是公重周，重周以取秦也。齐重*故有 周，而已取齐。是周常不失重国之交也
【今译】
韩、赵、魏三国阻碍了秦国向东方扩展自己的势力。东周国君命令 他的相国出使秦国。由于担心自己被秦国轻视，相国没有前往。有人 对相国说秦国是轻视您还是重视您，还未为可知呢。秦国渴望知道这三个国家的实情，您不如就去参见秦王并对他说：‘请让我替大王探听东方三个国家的详情。’秦王一定会重视您。这样一来，您就使得东 周受到重视，东周受到重视是因为争取到了秦国D夺国重视东周，东周 有威信是因为已经有了齐国的支持。这样东周才能经常保持与大国的 邦交。”
Three states—the states of Han. Zhao and Wei— obstructed the state of Qin from expanding eastward and the sovereign of the state of East Zhou ordered his prime minister to pay a visit to Qin. However, the prime minister thought that he might be looked down upon by Qin, so he did not go there. Someone told the prime minister, “We don’t know whether you will be welcomed or belittled by the state of Qin. Qin wants to know the situation of these three states. So you'd better go to see the sovereign of Qin and tell him, ‘Your Majesty，please allow me to collect information on these eastern states. ’Thus, Qinwill definitely attach importance to you. As a result. East Zhou will gain the recognition of other states because of you. The reason why East Zhou gains the recognition of other states is that it has won over the state of Qin. East Zhou is held in high esteem because it is very close to the state of Qi after winning its support. In this way, we can maintain friendly relations with those powerful states. ”