唇亡齿寒With Lips Gone, Teeth Are Exposed to Cold

With Lips Gone, Teeth Are Exposed to Cold（成语 唇亡齿寒 英文）


Earlier on, Duke Xian of the State of Jin.bade Xun Xi, launch an expedition against the State of Guo by wav of the State of Yu(1). Thereupon Xun Xi ventured to suggest:" To secure Duke Yu's promise to let our army pass when we come to Yu, the surest way is to buy him over with our Chuji jade(2) and Quchan steeds."(3)

"But the stone is a treasure by inheritance and the horses are for my own sue," said Duke Xian." Suppose Duke Yu accepted our gifts but refused our request, what is to be done then?"

"Well, if he didn`t mean to let us pass, he wouldn`t accept them; if he did and accepted, we'd only be allowing a temorary shift of the jade from our own stable to the kept in somebody else's," answered Xun Xi."What is there to be worried about?"

Duke Xian nodded with approval and readily sent Xun Xi to the State of Yu to achieve his purpose of attacking Guo by way of Yu.

The horses were soon displayed in the courtyard of Yu, with Xun Xi holding the precious stone in his hand. Duke Yu, greedy for the fine gifts, was about to make the messenger a promise when his subject Gong Ziqi came forward to protest:"There shall be no promise of any kind, Your Highness. What Yu is to Guo is like gums to cheeks. Gums are closely related to cheeks and cheeks to gums,(1) which exactly represents the situation of Yu in relation to Guo. Our ancestors had a saying,"If the lips are gone, the teeth will be exposed to cold.' That Guo is able to subsist depends on Yu while Yu's ability to survive hinges on Guo. If we make way for Jin, then the day will see Guo perish in the morning to be followed by Yu in the evening. Why should we ever let Jin pass?"

Duke Yu, however, refused to listen and gave the Jin troops access to Guo. Thus Xun Xi attacked Guo and conquered it, and on the way back attacked Yu and conquered it ,too.

Xun Xi triumphantly returned the jade and the horses to Duke Xian who, greatly pleased, said in a good humour:"The jade remains the same, but the horses have got some more teeth!"

The lesson is:"Seek a small gain, only to harm vital interests."

______________remark________________
(1) All these three states were in Shanxi Province during the Zhou Dynastic rule, with Jin occupying an area of present-day Shanxi Province and the southern part of Henan Province, and Yu and Guo founded in and around present-day Pinglu County.
(2) Chuiji in Shanxi Province was then famous for producing excellent jade stones.
(3) Quchan in Shanxi Province was at that time renowned for its fine horses.

唇亡齿寒(chinese idioms)


昔日晋献公让荀息借虞国之道来攻打虢国，荀息说：“请用垂棘宝玉和屈产宝马来 贿赂虞公，来借他的地方，必定可以得到啊！”晋献公说：“垂棘宝玉是我们先人的宝物， 屈产宝马是我的坐骑。若拿了我的钱财宝物而不借路给我，那怎么办呢？”荀息说：“ 不是这样的，他若不借道，必定不会接受我们的礼物。若接受赠礼而借给我们，不就像是从屋里藏到无外，从里面的马厩放到外面的马厩一样吗。您还怕什么呢？”献公同意了 让荀息用屈产宝马做为礼物，加上垂棘宝玉，用来同虞国借道而攻打虢国。虞公因为宝物宝马，想要借道给他。宫之奇上柬说：“您不可以啊。我们虞国与虢国，就象车有辅轴，车要依靠辅，而辅也依靠车，这就是虞国和虢国的形势啊。先人说过：‘嘴唇没有了牙齿就会感到寒冷’虢国没有灭亡是倚仗我们虞国，我们虞国没有灭亡也是倚仗虢国啊。若把道路借给 他们，那早上虢国灭亡，而我们虞国晚上就会灭亡啊！你怎么能借道给他们呢？”虞公不听他的劝告而借道给晋国，荀息攻打虢国，攻克了，返回时又攻打虞国，又攻克了。荀息拿着宝玉，牵着宝马向献公报告。献公开心的说：“宝玉还是完好的，马也是很健康的啊。” 所以说，贪图小利反而失去大的利益。