中国成语故事中英对照 纸上谈兵

In the Warring States Period, the State of Zhao had a famous general called Zhao She, whose son, Zhao Kuo, was very fond of reading books on military science and discussing strategy. He could recite military texts by heart, and when discussing warfare he spoke so clearly and logically that it seemed that even his father was not his match. When the State of Qin attacked the State of Zhao, the ruler of Zhao ordered Zhao Kuo to lead 400,000 men to resist(抵抗) the attack. But since Zhao Kuo had no practical experience of battle, he was defeated and lost his life.

赵括从小学习兵法，自以为天下没有人能够与其匹敌。他的父亲赵奢曾经评论说：“打仗是非常危险的事情，而赵括把它说得太容易了，假使将来赵国不任命他为将军，那也就算了，如果一定要拜他为将军，导致赵军大败的人必定是赵括无疑。”后来赵括果然代替廉颇做了大将军，长平一战被秦将白起打败，四十万赵军全部被消灭，赵括自己也战死了。

Later people used this idiom to describe those who are good only at theorizing, and lack practical experience.

在纸面上谈论打仗。比喻空谈理论，不能解决实际问题。也比喻空谈不能成为现实。