千里走单骑
A Thousand Li Alone
Name: ________________ Date: ________
刘备找了个机会，带着人马离开了许昌。曹操知道自己被骗了，气坏了，亲自带着大军来打他。刘备不是曹操的对手，三兄弟也被冲散了：刘备逃到了袁绍那里，张飞不知道去了哪里，关羽带着刘备的两位夫人，被曹操的人马围在一座小山上。
曹操早就想让关羽为自己做事，就派关羽的老朋友张辽上山去劝他。关羽本来想拼死一战，张辽说：“你这样死了容易，可是两位嫂子怎么办？你们在桃园结义的时候，说好了三个人要一起死，现在你大哥还活着，你却要先死吗？”关羽想了很久，说：“要我投降也可以，但是有三个条件。”
“第一，我投降的是汉朝的皇帝，不是曹操；第二，两位嫂子要好好照顾，谁也不许进她们的门；第三，只要我知道了哥哥在哪里，不管多远，马上就走。”
前两个条件，曹操都痛快地答应了。听到第三个，他犹豫了：“那我养着他有什么用？”张辽说：“刘备对关羽，不过是好一点罢了。丞相要是对他更好，还怕他的心不跟着您吗？”曹操这才点了头。
到了许昌，曹操对关羽好得不得了：三天一小宴，五天一大宴，又送金银，又送美女。曹操送他一件新袍子，关羽把它穿在里面，外面还穿着刘备给他的旧袍子。他说：“这是哥哥给我的，穿着它，就像见到哥哥一样。”
有一天，曹操看见关羽的马很瘦，就送了他一匹红色的好马。关羽一看，正是吕布当年骑的赤兔马。这一次，他高兴地拜了又拜。曹操觉得奇怪：“我送你那么多金银美女，你从来不拜，怎么一匹马就让你拜了？”关羽说：“这匹马一天能跑一千里。以后知道了哥哥在哪里，我骑着它，一天就能见到他！”曹操听了，后悔得不得了。
关羽知道曹操对他好，一直想为他做点事。后来，袁绍的大将颜良带兵来打白马城，一连杀了曹操的两个大将，没人敢再出去打。关羽骑着赤兔马冲了过去，颜良还没明白是怎么回事，就被他一刀砍下马来。关羽带着颜良的头又冲了回来，好像身边一个人也没有。
不久，关羽终于听到了消息：哥哥刘备就在袁绍那里！他马上去找曹操告别，可是曹操故意不见他。他去了好几次，大门都关着。
关羽不再等了。他把曹操送的金银全部留下，一样也没带走，又把官印挂了起来，然后骑上赤兔马，带着两位夫人上路了。
曹操听说以后，亲自追了上来，不过不是来抓他，而是来送他。曹操送他一件袍子，关羽怕有危险，没有下马，只用大刀的刀尖把袍子挑了过来，说了一声谢谢，就走了。
可是一路上，每到一个关口，守关的将领都不放他过去。关羽一路走，一路打，过了五个关口，杀了六个大将。这就是有名的“过五关斩六将”。
眼看就要见到亲人了，前面出现了一座古城。听说守城的正是三弟张飞，关羽高兴极了。可是城门打开以后，张飞拿着丈八蛇矛，大吼一声，直接朝他冲了过来。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 气 | qì | to make angry; to be angry |
| 兄弟 | xiōngdì | brother; bro (friendly address among men) |
| 座 | zuò | seat |
| 本来 | běnlái | originally; at first; of course (it goes without saying) |
| 死 | sǐ | to die; dead |
| 却 | què | but; yet; however (contrary to expectation) |
| 条件 | tiáojiàn | condition; term; requirement |
| 好好 | háohǎo | perfectly good; in good condition |
| 不过 | búguò | but; however |
| 要是 | yàoshi | if; in case |
| 后悔 | hòuhuǐ | to regret |
| 敢 | gǎn | to dare (to) |
Lesson plan: 45 minutes (for the teacher)
HSK 5 · A Thousand Li Alone. By the end, students can read it aloud, say what it is about and use 气 and 兄弟 in sentences of their own.
Warm-up 5 min
Write 千里走单骑 on the board. Ask what the class thinks it is about, then give the English: “A Thousand Li Alone”.
Key words 10 min
Teach 气 (qì, to make angry; to be angry), 兄弟 (xiōngdì, brother; bro (friendly address among men)), 座 (zuò, seat), 本来 (běnlái, originally; at first; of course (it goes without saying)), 死 (sǐ, to die; dead), 却 (què, but; yet; however (contrary to expectation)). Say each one, the class says it back, then ask for its meaning with the word covered. The rest are in the handout’s table.
Listen 10 min
Play it read aloud from mandarinthewild.com/library/read/a-thousand-li-alone-three-kingdoms-intermediate-chinese-5: once with the text face down, once reading along. Students tap any word there for its meaning.
Read and check 10 min
Students read it alone, then tell a partner in two sentences of Chinese what it says.
Use it 10 min
In pairs, each student writes two sentences of their own, one with 气 and one with 兄弟, and reads one to the class.
Homework. Students read it again at home and Review its words. Put it in a free class (mandarinthewild.com/teachers/class) and you see who read it.
English (for the teacher)
Liu Bei found his chance and left Xuchang with his men. When Cao Cao realised he had been tricked, he was furious and led a great army against Liu Bei himself. Liu Bei was no match for Cao Cao, and the three brothers were scattered: Liu Bei fled to Yuan Shao, no one knew where Zhang Fei had gone, and Guan Yu, with Liu Bei's two wives in his care, was surrounded by Cao Cao's men on a small hill.
Cao Cao had long wanted Guan Yu to serve him, so he sent Guan Yu's old friend Zhang Liao up the hill to talk him round. Guan Yu meant to fight to the death, but Zhang Liao said: "Dying like this is easy, but what will become of your two sisters-in-law? When you swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden, the three of you vowed to die together; your eldest brother is still alive, and you would die first?" Guan Yu thought for a long time, then said: "I'll surrender, but on three conditions."
"First, I surrender to the emperor of the Han, not to Cao Cao; second, my two sisters-in-law must be well looked after, and no one may enter their door; third, the moment I learn where my brother is, I leave at once, however far it is."
Cao Cao readily agreed to the first two conditions. When he heard the third, he hesitated: "Then what's the use of keeping him?" Zhang Liao said: "Liu Bei has only been a little kinder to Guan Yu, that's all. If you treat him even better, my lord, why fear that his heart won't follow you?" Only then did Cao Cao nod.
In Xuchang, Cao Cao treated Guan Yu extraordinarily well: a small banquet every three days and a great banquet every five, gifts of gold and silver, gifts of beautiful women. Cao Cao gave him a new robe, and Guan Yu wore it underneath, with the old robe Liu Bei had given him on top. He said: "This was my brother's gift; wearing it is like seeing my brother."
One day Cao Cao noticed how thin Guan Yu's horse was and gave him a fine red horse. Guan Yu looked, and it was Red Hare, the horse Lü Bu used to ride. This time he bowed his thanks again and again, delighted. Cao Cao found it strange: "I've given you all that gold and silver and all those beauties and you never bowed once, so why does one horse make you bow?" Guan Yu said: "This horse can run a thousand li in a day. When I find out where my brother is, I can ride it and see him within a day!" When Cao Cao heard this, he bitterly regretted the gift.
Guan Yu knew Cao Cao had been good to him, and he had always wanted to do something for him in return. Later, Yuan Shao's general Yan Liang led his army against Baima, killed two of Cao Cao's generals one after the other, and no one dared to go out and fight him. Guan Yu charged out on Red Hare, and before Yan Liang understood what was happening, one stroke of the blade cut him down from his horse. Guan Yu rode back with Yan Liang's head as if there were no one around him at all.
Before long, Guan Yu finally heard the news: his brother Liu Bei was with Yuan Shao! He went at once to Cao Cao to say goodbye, but Cao Cao deliberately refused to see him. He went several times, and each time the gate was shut.
Guan Yu waited no longer. He left behind all the gold and silver Cao Cao had given him, taking not a single piece, hung up his seal of office, then mounted Red Hare and set off with the two wives.
When Cao Cao heard, he rode after Guan Yu himself, not to capture him but to see him off. Cao Cao offered him a robe; fearing a trap, Guan Yu stayed in the saddle, lifted the robe over on the tip of his blade, said thank you and rode away.
But all along the road, at every pass, the general guarding it refused to let him through. Guan Yu fought his way along, through five passes, and killed six generals. This is the famous "crossing five passes and slaying six generals".
He was close to seeing his family again when an old city appeared ahead. Guan Yu heard that it was held by none other than his third brother, Zhang Fei, and he was overjoyed. But when the city gate opened, Zhang Fei came out with his Serpent Spear, gave a great roar and charged straight at him.