Returning the Jade Intact

Reading level: Beginner

When the King of Qin offers fifteen cities for a priceless jade, the King of Zhao sends a little-known retainer named Lin Xiangru to Qin — and Lin must bring the treasure home intact. A graded Chinese retelling of a famous contest of courage and wit.

两千多年前，中国分成很多小国，其中两个是赵国和秦国。秦国很强，赵国比较弱。

赵国有一块非常有名的玉，叫“和氏璧”。它是一块美玉，天下的人都想得到它。

秦国的国王听说了，就写信给赵王，说：“我愿意用十五座城换这块玉。”

赵王很为难。给吧，怕秦国不给城；不给吧，又怕秦国生气，派兵来打。

一个大臣对赵王说：“我家里有一个叫蔺相如的人，他聪明又有胆量，可以让他去。”

蔺相如对赵王说：“秦国给城，我就把玉留下；不给城，我一定把玉完完整整地带回来。”

到了秦国，秦王拿着玉，非常高兴，只顾着给别人看，根本不提十五座城。蔺相如知道秦王不想给城。

蔺相如说：“玉上有一点小毛病，让我指给您看。”他拿回玉，退到柱子旁边，说：“您不给城，我就把玉砸碎！”

秦王怕玉被砸坏，答应斋戒五天，再举行大礼。可是蔺相如已经叫人连夜把玉送回了赵国。秦王没有办法，只好放他回去。赵王很高兴，让他做了大官。

Sources

Records of the Grand Historian (史记 · 廉颇蔺相如列传), by Sima Qian, c. 91 BC — Principal source for Lin Xiangru’s mission to Qin and the He Shi jade; a public-domain classical text.
Han Feizi (韩非子 · 和氏), by Han Fei, 3rd century BC — Public-domain pre-Qin text telling the origin of the He Shi jade and the story of Bian He of Chu.

History and legend

That Zhao possessed the He Shi jade and that Qin sought it is the framework of the story told in Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian, written about two centuries after the events, in the joint biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru; the episode is traditionally dated to about 283 BC, though the precise year is uncertain and the dialogue is the historian’s literary reconstruction. The jade’s origin, told in the Han Feizi as the story of Bian He of Chu, belongs to legend rather than documented history. Lin’s pledge “完璧归赵” appears in the Shiji, but the four-character idiom became a set phrase only in later centuries. The Chinese retelling and English translation on this page are our own.