《刎颈之交》成语英译与典故

七十二、刎颈之交

战国时赵国有个惠文王，

朝中有一对名将相：

蔺相如廉颇这俩人，

是赵国的玉柱和金梁。

连那秦国也不敢小看赵，

尽管它比起赵国大又强。

蔺相如廉颇一度有矛盾，

到后来前嫌顿释互谦让，

誓同生死共患难，

结成了刎颈之交人颂扬。

那蔺相如地位本很低，

后来有人把他推荐给赵王，

赵王派他带上国宝“和氏璧”，

到虎狼秦国走一趟。

因为秦王贪心大，

倚仗国强逼赵王，

想骗取赵国和氏璧，

允诺用城池交换是假装。

赵国若不送玉去，

又怕秦国来打仗；

送玉究竟委派谁？

蔺相如经人推荐才把重任当。

秦廷没有辱使命，

“完璧归赵”人颂扬。

有一次秦赵两王渑（miǎn）池会，

秦王想当众辱赵王，

反被相如巧奚落，

想吃甜头却把苦头尝。

蔺相如两次立大功，

赵王便封他为国相，

位居上卿地位高，

官职竟在廉颇上。

廉颇也曾为国立大功。

凭战功才把大将当。

出生入死经百战，

不服气相如为国相。

他认为相如只凭一张嘴，

真正本事无一样。

廉颇说以后遇相如，

要给他一点厉害尝。

这话儿传到相如耳，

相如根本不放心上。

有一次见廉颇骑马从前边来，

气势汹汹朝前闯，

丝毫没有相让意，

相如就先朝一边让。

别人都以为相如心胆怯，

相如说廉颇将军比秦王哪个强？

秦王他那样厉害我都不怕，

我怎会见了将军心发慌？

之所以见了将军先避开，

我是考虑到国事上。

假如是我们二人闹矛盾，

那只会有利于秦王。

蔺相如明理明义一席话，

廉颇闻听愧得慌。

他袒露上身负荆条，

请罪亲到相府上。

将相和好嫌隙去，

结成了刎颈之交情意长。

生死与共朋友情，

以此形容最恰当。

A Ready⁃to⁃Behead⁃for⁃You Friend

During the Warring States Period（475—221B.C.），the king of the State of Zhao was Huiwen.In his court he had two famous ministers：One was Lin Xiangru and the other was Lian Po.Both of them were the backbones of the state.With the two at home，even the State of Qin wouldn't look down upon the State of Zhao，though it was much stronger.

Lin and Lian were once at a discord，but later they reconciled and united，and became sworn friends，to be praised by later generations.It was said that Lin Xiangru was at a low status，when he was recommended to the king of the State of Zhao.The king asked him to take the famous“Heshi Jade”，and go on a diplomatic errand to the State of Qin.

The king of Qin was very greedy，and used his power to bully the king of Zhao.He cheated to obtain Zhao's“Heshi Jade”，by pretending to offer one of his cities.The State of Zhao indeed didn't want to give the jade，but they feared that Qin would thence attack them.But who could take up this mission？Lin Xiang⁃ru was recommended to do the job.He lived up to his task in the court of Qin.“Returning the Jade Un⁃touched”was spoken highly then after.

The next time at Mianchi there was a summit，Qin's king wanted to insult Zhao's king publicly，only to find himself teased by Lin Xiangru，obtaining trou⁃ble instead of taking advantages.So Lin Xiangru was double⁃awarded，and the king appointed him prime minister，prior to all the ministers，and superior to Lian Po the general.

Lian Po had also achieved a great deal for the country，only by this he was awarded the title of gen⁃eral.Having braved his life and fought hundreds of wars，he didn't disagree with Xiangru's being a prime minister.He thought that Lin was only using his mouth，and there was nothing that could be called a real stuff.He said that if he met with him some day，he would give him an insult.

When Xiangru heard about this，he didn't mind at all.One day he saw Lian Po coming head⁃on，furious⁃ly driving along，meaning nothing at all of making way for him.So Xiangru had to move aside.People thought Xiangru was afraid of him.Xiangru then asked who was more fearful，General Lian Po or the king of Qin？

“I don't even fear the king of Qin at all，how could I be timid before the general！The reason I made way for him was just for the sake of the interest of the country.If we two were ploughed in a discord，that would be beneficial to the king of Qin.”That rea⁃sonable speech of Lin Xiangru's threw Lian Po into deep sorrow.He then came to Lin's residence to prof⁃fer a birch and ask for a flogging.Minister and gener⁃al were now reconciled，and became bosom friends ready to die for each other.

If you would like to denote two sworn friends，just remember to use this idiom！