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Records of the Grand Historian 《史记》

These lines come from biographical and annalistic passages in the Records of the Grand Historian. Their source context matters as much as their modern application.

4 verified lines0 linked authors5 connected themes

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4 curated lines
✓ Verified sourceBilingual

运筹策帷帐之中，决胜于千里之外。

Yùn chóu cè wéi zhàng zhī zhōng, jué shèng yú qiān lǐ zhī wài.

Close English reading

Form strategies within the command tent and decide victory a thousand miles away.

Plain meaningGood strategy shapes results long before the final action.

Source
Sima Qian· Western Han dynasty · Basic Annals of Emperor Gaozu
Records of the Grand Historian
Why it fitsIt praises the kind of planning whose effects reach far beyond the room where decisions are made.
Original context and translation note
夫运筹策帷帐之中，决胜于千里之外，吾不如子房。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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✓ Verified sourceBilingual

桃李不言，下自成蹊。

Táo lǐ bù yán, xià zì chéng qī.

Close English reading

Peach and plum trees do not speak, yet paths form beneath them.

Plain meaningReal character and ability attract respect without self-promotion.

Source
Sima Qian· Western Han dynasty · Biography of General Li
Records of the Grand Historian
Why it fitsPeople repeatedly walk toward fruit and shade; the image becomes a lesson in influence earned without boasting.
Original context and translation note
桃李不言，下自成蹊。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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✓ Verified sourceBilingual

燕雀安知鸿鹄之志哉！

Yàn què ān zhī hóng hú zhī zhì zāi!

Close English reading

How could sparrows and swallows know the ambition of a great swan?

Plain meaningPeople with small horizons may not understand a larger dream.

Source
Sima Qian· Western Han dynasty · The House of Chen She
Records of the Grand Historian
Why it fitsThe contrast between small birds and the great swan gives defiant language to misunderstood ambition.
Original context and translation note
燕雀安知鸿鹄之志哉！

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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✓ Verified sourceBilingual

仓廪实而知礼节，衣食足而知荣辱。

Cāng lǐn shí ér zhī lǐ jié, yī shí zú ér zhī róng rǔ.

Close English reading

When granaries are full, people understand rites; when food and clothing are sufficient, they understand honor and shame.

Plain meaningMaterial security supports social dignity and order.

Source
Sima Qian· Western Han dynasty · Biographies of Guan Zhong and Yan Ying
Records of the Grand Historian
Why it fitsThe line links moral and social order to the material conditions in which people live.
Original context and translation note
仓廪实而知礼节，衣食足而知荣辱。

English wording on Gu Ren Said is an original reading aid, not a claim that there is only one valid literary translation.

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Ambition & successWisdomWork & leadershipCourageFamily & reunion

Historical scenes and judgments about reputation, ambition, strategy, character, and leadership. This page is a curated bilingual selection, not a claim to translate the complete source.

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