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卧薪尝胆 (wo4 xin1 chang2 dan3) - Biding time for revenge
By Zhang Ciyun |
August 24, 2008, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
One of the most cherished virtues among Chinese is to show great patience or undergo self-imposed hardships in order to achieve a goal. This is particularly true when the goal is revenge.
The Chinese language, therefore, has many popular sayings in praise of this attribute. The best known is perhaps the expression wo xin chang dan which means "to sleep on the firewood and taste the bitter gall."
The story behind this idiom is about Gou Jian (520-465 BC), the king of the State of Yue.
Toward the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), Gou was captured in a war with Wu, a neighboring state. While captive, the king swallowed his humiliation and worked very hard as a horseman for the king of Wu. As a result, three years later, he was set free.
After returning home, the king refused to live in his former palace. Instead, he slept on a pile of firewood and hung a pig gallbladder in his hut. Every night the king would taste the bitter gall to remind himself of the humiliation he and his country had suffered.
The king purposely designed this austere life to prevent himself from giving up his determination for revenge.
In the meantime, Gou Jian was taking steps to rebuild his country and army. He also recruited a team of top advisers to help him map out a military plan for attacking the Wu.
To lull his former captors into complacency, he kept sending them a continuous stream of luxurious gifts which included beautiful young women, priceless gems, fine horses and other luxuries.
It took seven years, but when the opportunity came, the king launched an all-out and merciless offensive. Within a few days, the State of Wu was conquered.
Even today, as this idiom is still frequently quoted in people's conversation and written works, the king remains a role model for his iron-clad determination and impressive self-restraint.
The Chinese language, therefore, has many popular sayings in praise of this attribute. The best known is perhaps the expression wo xin chang dan which means "to sleep on the firewood and taste the bitter gall."
The story behind this idiom is about Gou Jian (520-465 BC), the king of the State of Yue.
Toward the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), Gou was captured in a war with Wu, a neighboring state. While captive, the king swallowed his humiliation and worked very hard as a horseman for the king of Wu. As a result, three years later, he was set free.
After returning home, the king refused to live in his former palace. Instead, he slept on a pile of firewood and hung a pig gallbladder in his hut. Every night the king would taste the bitter gall to remind himself of the humiliation he and his country had suffered.
The king purposely designed this austere life to prevent himself from giving up his determination for revenge.
In the meantime, Gou Jian was taking steps to rebuild his country and army. He also recruited a team of top advisers to help him map out a military plan for attacking the Wu.
To lull his former captors into complacency, he kept sending them a continuous stream of luxurious gifts which included beautiful young women, priceless gems, fine horses and other luxuries.
It took seven years, but when the opportunity came, the king launched an all-out and merciless offensive. Within a few days, the State of Wu was conquered.
Even today, as this idiom is still frequently quoted in people's conversation and written works, the king remains a role model for his iron-clad determination and impressive self-restraint.
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