e　to　a　boulder。　Drawing　his　sword　he　looked　up　to　heaven　and　prayed；　saying；　〃If　I　am　to　return　to　Jingzhou　and　achieve　my　intent　to　bee　a　chief　ruler；　then　may　I　cleave　this　boulder　asunder　with　my　sword。　But　if　I　am　to　meet　my　doom　in　this　place；　then　may　the　sword　fail　to　cut　this　stone。〃

Raising　his　sword　he　smote　the　boulder。　Sparks　flew　in　all　directions；　and　the　boulder　lay　split　in　twain。

It　happened　that　Sun　Quan　had　seen　the　blow；　and　he　said；　〃Why　do　you　thus　hate　that　stone？〃

Liu　Bei　replied；　〃I　am　near　my　fifth　decade　and　have　so　far　failed　to　rid　the　state　of　evil。　I　greatly　regret　my　failure。　Now　I　have　been　accepted　by　the　Dowager　as　her　son…in…law；　and　this　is　a　critical　moment　in　my　life。　So　I　implored　of　Heaven　a　portent　that　I　might　destroy　Cao　Cao　as　I　would　that　boulder　and　restore　the　dynasty。　You　saw　what　happened。〃

〃That　is　only　to　deceive　me；〃　thought　Sun　Quan。　Drawing　his　own　sword；　he　said；　〃And　I　also　ask　of　Heaven　an　omen；　that　if　I　am　to　destroy　Cao　Cao；　I　may　also　cut　this　rock。〃

So　he　spoke。　But　in　his　secret　heart　he　prayed；　〃If　I　am　to　recover　Jingzhou　and　extend　my　borders；　may　the　stone　be　cut　in　twain。〃

He　smote　the　stone　and　it　split　in　twain。　And　to　this　day　there　are　cross　cuts　in　the　stone；　which　is　still　preserved。

One　who　saw　this　relic　wrote　a　poem：

The　shining　blades　fell　and　the　rock　was　shorn　through；

The　metal　rang　clear　and　the　sparks　widely　flew。

Thus　fate　then　declared　for　the　dynasties　two

And　the　tripartite　rule　there　began。

Both　put　up　their　swords　and　returned　hand　in　hand　to　the　banquet　hall。

After　some　more　courses；　Sun　Qian　gave　his　master　a　warning　look；　and　Liu　Bei　said；　〃I　pray　you　excuse　me　as　my　drinking　powers　are　ve