战国中后期，秦国最为强盛，常常以武力威胁邻国。赵惠文王在位时，赵国得到了楚国著名的宝玉“和氏璧”。这块玉来历不凡，相传是楚人卞和冒着被砍去双脚的危险献给楚王的，因此天下闻名。
In the middle and late Warring States period, Qin was the most powerful state and often threatened its neighbors with force. During the reign of King Huiwen of Zhao, Zhao came into possession of the famous Chu treasure known as the He Shi jade. Its origins were extraordinary: legend holds that a man of Chu named Bian He presented it to the King of Chu at the risk of having his feet cut off, and for that reason it was renowned throughout the world.
秦昭王听说以后，派人送信给赵王，提出用十五座城换取这块玉。赵王与大将军廉颇等人反复商议：交出玉，怕秦国不守信用；不交，又怕秦国借机发兵。朝堂上迟迟拿不定主意。
When King Zhaoxiang of Qin learned of this, he sent a letter to the King of Zhao proposing to exchange fifteen cities for the jade. The King of Zhao, the great general Lian Po, and other ministers debated the matter again and again: to surrender the jade was to risk Qin’s bad faith, but to refuse was to invite an attack. For a long time the court could not decide.
宦官缪贤推荐了自己的门客蔺相如。蔺相如分析说，秦国强、赵国弱，不给玉是赵国理亏；如果交了玉而秦国不割城，理亏的便是秦国。临行前他向赵王保证：“城入赵而璧留秦；城不入，臣请完璧归赵。”
The eunuch Miao Xian recommended his retainer Lin Xiangru. Lin reasoned that Qin was strong and Zhao weak: to withhold the jade would put Zhao in the wrong, but to hand it over and receive no cities would put Qin in the wrong. Before setting out, he pledged to the King of Zhao: “If the cities enter Zhao, the jade stays in Qin; if they do not, I beg to return the jade to Zhao intact.”
到了秦国，秦昭王在章台宫接见他，态度十分轻慢。秦王拿到玉后，随手传给妃嫔和侍从观看，众人高声赞叹，却对十五座城只字不提。蔺相如立刻明白，秦国根本没有履约的打算。
On reaching Qin, Lin Xiangru was received at the Zhang Terrace Palace with scant courtesy. After taking the jade, the king casually passed it among his consorts and attendants, who exclaimed in admiration, while not a word was said about the fifteen cities. Lin understood at once that Qin had no intention of honoring the bargain.
他上前一步说：“这块玉上有一个小瑕疵，请允许我指给大王看。”秦王信以为真，将玉交还。蔺相如抱着玉退到柱子旁边，怒发冲冠，扬言秦国若再逼他，他就把玉和自己的头一起撞碎在柱上。秦王怕玉受损，只好道歉，并命人展开地图，指点那十五座城。
He stepped forward and said: “There is a small flaw in this jade. Permit me to point it out to Your Majesty.” The King of Qin believed him and returned the jade. Clutching it, Lin retreated to a pillar, his hair bristling with fury, and warned that if Qin pressed him further he would dash the jade and his own head against the pillar together. Fearing for the treasure, the king apologized and ordered a map spread out to show the fifteen cities.
蔺相如看出对方只是在敷衍，便提出：和氏璧是天下至宝，赵王送出前曾斋戒五日，秦王也应当斋戒五日，再以最隆重的九宾之礼正式受璧。秦王无奈，只得答应。
Seeing that this was mere pretense, Lin proposed that since the He Shi jade was the finest treasure in the world and the King of Zhao had fasted five days before parting with it, the King of Qin should likewise fast for five days and then receive the jade with the grandest of ceremonies, the Nine Guests rite. The king had no choice but to consent.
但蔺相如深知秦国自穆公以来从不守信，当天夜里就让随从把玉藏在怀中，沿着小路秘密送回赵国。五天后，他在朝堂上从容说明：自己怕被欺骗而辜负赵国，所以先送玉回国；秦国若真先割城，赵国绝不敢为一璧而得罪秦国。秦国君臣面面相觑，最终没有杀他。
Lin, however, knew well that Qin had kept faith with no one since the days of Duke Mu. That night he had an attendant conceal the jade in his robes and carry it back to Zhao by hidden paths. Five days later he explained calmly at court that, fearing deceit and the betrayal of Zhao, he had sent the jade home first; if Qin truly ceded the cities, Zhao would not dare offend so powerful a state over a single piece of jade. The Qin ruler and his ministers exchanged glances, and in the end they did not kill him.
蔺相如回国后，赵王认为他既勇敢又有智谋，任命他为上大夫。秦国始终没有交出那十五座城，赵国也没有把玉送给秦国。“完璧归赵”从此成为成语，用来形容把原物完好无损地送还，也用来称赞在外交中凭勇气和智慧维护国家尊严的人。
After Lin returned, the King of Zhao judged him both brave and resourceful and appointed him a senior minister. Qin never handed over the fifteen cities, and Zhao never gave up the jade. From this episode came the idiom 完璧归赵 — “returning the jade to Zhao intact” — used to describe returning something whole and unharmed, and to praise those who defend their state’s dignity abroad through courage and wit.