煮酒论英雄
Heroes Over Warm Wine
Name: ________________ Date: ________
一转眼，很多年过去了。吕布后来被曹操抓住杀了，刘备也丢了自己的城，只好带着关羽、张飞，跟着曹操住在许昌。表面上，曹操对刘备很好，皇帝也认了他做“皇叔”，也就是皇帝的叔叔；可是实际上，曹操一直在看着他。
刘备心里也有一个秘密：他已经和几个大臣说好，要一起对付曹操。为了不让曹操怀疑，他每天都在院子里种菜、浇水，好像对国家大事一点兴趣也没有。关羽和张飞看不懂：“大哥不关心国家大事，怎么学起种菜来了？”刘备只说：“这个你们不懂。”
一天，关羽、张飞都出去了，刘备正在院子里浇水，曹操忽然派了几十个人来请他：“丞相请您马上过去。”刘备心里一惊，只好跟着他们去了。
一见面，曹操就笑着说：“你在家做的好大事啊！”刘备吓得脸都白了。没想到曹操拉着他的手走到园子里，又说：“学种菜，可不容易啊！”刘备这才放下心来。
曹操说：“刚才看见树上的梅子青青的，我忽然想起去年带兵出去，路上找不到水，大家渴得走不动了。我就用马鞭往前面指了指，说前面有一片梅林。大家一听，嘴里都流出了口水，一下子就不渴了。今天看见梅子，酒又正好煮好了，所以请你来喝一杯。”
两个人在小亭子里坐下，桌上放着一盘青梅，一壶煮好的酒。喝到一半，天上的乌云越来越多，很快就要下大雨了。曹操问：“你去过那么多地方，说说看，现在谁是英雄？”
刘备说自己不知道，曹操却一定要他说。刘备只好说：“淮南的袁术，有很多人马，也有很多粮食，他是不是英雄？”曹操笑道：“他就像坟里的一堆白骨，我早晚要抓住他！”刘备又说：“河北的袁绍，家里四代都做大官，手下的能人也多，他是不是英雄？”曹操又笑：“袁绍看上去厉害，其实胆子很小；喜欢想办法，可是到了关键的时候，总是不知道该怎么办；做大事的时候怕死，看见一点小好处又什么都忘了。他不是英雄！”
刘备又说了好几个人，曹操都拍手大笑：“这些人，有什么好说的！”刘备说：“除了这些人，我真的不知道还有谁了。”曹操说：“真正的英雄，要有远大的理想，肚子里要有好办法，还要能把整个天下都装在心里。”刘备问：“谁能做到呢？”
曹操先指着刘备，又指着自己，说：“现在天下的英雄，只有你和我两个人罢了！”
刘备听了，大吃一惊，手里的筷子一下子掉到了地上。正好这时大雨下来了，天上响起一声雷。刘备不慌不忙地把筷子捡起来，说：“这雷真响，吓了我一跳。”曹操笑道：“大丈夫也怕打雷吗？”刘备说：“古代的圣人听到打雷，脸色都会变，我怎么能不怕呢？”曹操听了，就不再怀疑他了。
可是刘备知道，这一次是运气好，下一次就不一定了。许昌不能再待下去了，他必须想办法离开曹操。他还不知道，这一走，三兄弟就要走散了。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 城 | chéng | city; town |
| 只好 | zhíhǎo | to have no choice but to; to be forced to |
| 就是 | jiùshì | exactly; precisely; is (emphatic) |
| 实际上 | shíjìshàng | in fact; actually; in reality |
| 院子 | yuànzi | courtyard; yard |
| 忽然 | hūrán | suddenly; all of a sudden |
| 表面 | biǎomiàn | surface; face |
| 认 | rèn | to recognize; to know (as in 认得) |
| 秘密 | mìmì | secret; secret; confidential |
| 大事 | dàshì | major event; big deal; important matter |
| 派 | pài | to send; to dispatch |
| 煮 | zhǔ | to boil; to cook |
Lesson plan: 45 minutes (for the teacher)
HSK 5 · Heroes Over Warm Wine. By the end, students can read it aloud, say what it is about and use 表面 and 认 in sentences of their own.
Warm-up 5 min
Write 煮酒论英雄 on the board. Ask what the class thinks it is about, then give the English: “Heroes Over Warm Wine”.
Key words 10 min
Teach 表面 (biǎomiàn, surface; face), 认 (rèn, to recognize; to know (as in 认得)), 秘密 (mìmì, secret; secret; confidential), 大事 (dàshì, major event; big deal; important matter), 派 (pài, to send; to dispatch), 煮 (zhǔ, to boil; to cook). 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/heroes-over-warm-wine-three-kingdoms-intermediate-chinese-4: 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 表面 and one with 认, 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)
In the blink of an eye, many years passed. Lü Bu was later captured and killed by Cao Cao, and Liu Bei, having lost his own city, had no choice but to take Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and live under Cao Cao in Xuchang. On the surface Cao Cao treated Liu Bei very well, and the emperor himself had acknowledged him as "Imperial Uncle", that is, the emperor's uncle; but in fact Cao Cao was watching him all the time.
Liu Bei had a secret of his own: he had already agreed with a few ministers to work together against Cao Cao. So that Cao Cao wouldn't suspect him, he spent every day growing vegetables and watering them in the courtyard, as if he had no interest at all in affairs of state. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei couldn't make sense of it: "Brother, you don't care about affairs of state, so why have you taken up growing vegetables?" Liu Bei only said: "This is something you don't understand."
One day, when Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both out and Liu Bei was watering in the courtyard, Cao Cao suddenly sent dozens of men to fetch him: "The chancellor asks you to come at once." Liu Bei's heart jumped, but he had no choice but to go with them.
As soon as they met, Cao Cao said with a smile: "What great things you've been doing at home!" Liu Bei went white with fear. But Cao Cao took him by the hand, led him into the garden and added: "Learning to grow vegetables isn't easy, is it!" Only then could Liu Bei breathe again.
Cao Cao said: "Just now I saw the plums on the trees, all green, and I suddenly remembered leading my troops out last year: there was no water on the road, and the men were so thirsty they could hardly walk. So I pointed ahead with my whip and said there was a plum grove up ahead. When they heard that, their mouths watered, and all at once they weren't thirsty any more. Seeing the plums today, with the wine just warmed, I invited you over for a cup."
The two of them sat down in a little pavilion, with a plate of green plums and a pot of warmed wine on the table. Halfway through, dark clouds piled up in the sky, and it was about to pour. Cao Cao asked: "You've been to so many places; tell me, who are the heroes of today?"
Liu Bei said he didn't know, but Cao Cao insisted he answer. Liu Bei had no choice: "Yuan Shu of Huainan has plenty of men and plenty of grain; is he a hero?" Cao Cao laughed: "He's like a pile of bones in a grave; sooner or later I'll catch him!" Liu Bei went on: "Yuan Shao of Hebei, whose family have been high officials for four generations, and who has many able men under him; is he a hero?" Cao Cao laughed again: "Yuan Shao looks fearsome but is a coward at heart; he loves making plans, but when it really counts he never knows what to do; when there's a great deed to be done he fears for his life, and when he sees a small gain he forgets everything else. He is no hero!"
Liu Bei named several more, and each time Cao Cao clapped and roared with laughter: "Those people? Not worth mentioning!" Liu Bei said: "Apart from these, I truly don't know who else there could be." Cao Cao said: "A true hero has great ambitions and good plans in his belly, and can hold the whole world in his heart." Liu Bei asked: "And who can do that?"
Cao Cao pointed first at Liu Bei, then at himself, and said: "The only heroes in the world today are you and I!"
At these words Liu Bei was so startled that his chopsticks dropped to the floor. Just then the rain came down, and a clap of thunder sounded in the sky. Without any hurry, Liu Bei picked up his chopsticks and said: "That thunder was loud; it gave me a fright." Cao Cao laughed: "A grown man, afraid of thunder?" Liu Bei said: "Even the sages of old changed colour when it thundered; how could I not be afraid?" After hearing this, Cao Cao no longer suspected him.
But Liu Bei knew he had been lucky this time, and next time might be different. He could not stay in Xuchang any longer; he had to find a way to get away from Cao Cao. What he did not yet know was that when he left, the three brothers would be scattered.