I sleep at night with my weapon as my pillow, eagerly waiting for the dawn to take up my weapon and fight on the battlefield(枕戈待旦) / He got the riding whip before me and rode on the horse to fight on the battlefield(先吾著鞭)
I sleep at night with my weapon as my
pillow, eagerly waiting for the dawn to take up my weapon and fight on the battlefield(枕戈待旦)
He got the riding whip before me and rode
on the horse to fight on the battlefield(先吾著鞭)
In the Western Jin Dynasty of China, there
was a famous general named Zu Ti. His story is written in history books.
He has a good friend named Liu Kun.
They met in 289 AD, when Liu Kun was 19 and
Zu Ti was 23. They were both working in a local government in the Western Jin
Dynasty at the time.
In 316 AD, a Pre-Han kingdom established by
nomadic tribes in northern China once again captured the capital of the Western
Jin Dynasty. The king of the Western Jin Dynasty was killed and the Western Jin
Dynasty fell. Many of the Western Jin lands north of the Yangtze River were
occupied by the Pre-Han. .
In the same year, a member of the royal
family of the Western Jin Dynasty announced that he would establish the Eastern
Jin Dynasty in southern China.
Under the orders of the Eastern Jin king,
Zu Ti trained an army to cross the Yangtze River. He led this army to attack
the former Han Kingdom. Because Zu Ti was good at fighting, he led the army to
win several battles in a row. He regained a large piece of land north of the
Yangtze River that had originally belonged to the Western Jin Dynasty.
Liu Kun was in the capital of the Eastern
Jin Dynasty at the time. When he heard the news, he was very happy, but also a
little worried.
Liu Kun said to his friend
I slept with my weapon as a pillow at
night, eagerly awaiting daybreak to fight on the battlefield.
I look forward to leading our troops on the
battlefield and serving our country soon.
Zu Ti and I both want to be a great
general, and I don't want to lose to him. I often fear that Zu Ti will get the
order to lead the army before me and lead the army into war.
I was afraid that he would get the whip
before me and ride into battle to defeat our enemies.
If he defeats all our enemies before I go
into battle, then I will have no chance of becoming a great general.
The literal translation of the first phrase
is that I use the weapon as a pillow to sleep at night. I eagerly wait for the
dawn to pick up the weapon and go to the battlefield to fight.
This idiom is used to describe a person who
is always ready to fight.
This idiom is also used to describe a
person who is always alert.
The direct translation of the second idiom
is that he got the riding crop before me.
This idiom is used to describe a person who
finishes something faster than another person.
Dear friend, what inspiration do you have
after listening to this story?
If there was a crisis in your country,
would you be willing to join the army? Will you and your good friends compare
and compete with each other?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
枕戈待旦(I sleep at night with my weapon as my
pillow, eagerly waiting for the dawn to take up my weapon and fight on the
battlefield)
先吾著鞭(He got the riding whip before me and
rode on the horse to fight on the battlefield)
中國的西晉王朝有一個著名的名字叫做祖逖的將軍，歷史書上記載了一個他的故事。
他有一個好朋友，這個好朋友的名字叫做劉琨。
他們兩個人認識的時間是在西元289年，那一年劉琨19歲、祖逖23歲。他們兩個人那個時候都在西晉王朝的一個地方政府內工作。
西元316年，中國北方一個由遊牧民族建立的前漢王國再次攻佔了西晉王朝的首都，西晉王朝的國王被殺，西晉王朝滅亡，西晉王朝位於長江以北的許多土地都被前漢王國所佔領。
同年，有一個西晉王朝的王室成員宣布他在中國的南方成立東晉王朝。
在東晉王朝的國王的命令下，祖逖訓練了一支軍隊渡過長江，他率領這支軍隊攻打前漢王國，由於祖逖很會打仗，他帶領軍隊連續打了好幾場勝仗，他收回的很大一塊長江以北的原本屬於西晉王朝的土地。
劉琨那個時候人在東晉王朝的首都內，他聽到這個消息後，他非常的開心，但是他又有一點焦慮。
劉琨對他的朋友說。
我晚上都用武器當作枕頭睡覺我急切地等待天明去戰場上戰鬥。
我熱切地期待可以早點帶領軍隊上戰場為我們的國家效力。
我跟祖逖都想要成為一個偉大的將軍，我不想輸給他，我常常會怕祖逖比我早一步拿到率領軍隊的命令並拿著領導軍隊出征。
我擔心他比我先拿到馬鞭並騎著馬上戰場打敗我們的敵人。
如果他在我上戰場前就先把我們的敵人全部打敗，那麼我就沒有機會成為一個偉大的將軍了。
第一句成語直接翻譯的意思是我晚上用武器當作枕頭睡覺我急切地等待天明後拿起武器去戰場上戰鬥。
這句成語被用來形容一個人隨時準備作戰。
這句成語也被用來形容一個人隨時都保持著非常機警的狀態。
第二句成語直接翻譯的意思是他比我先拿到馬鞭。
這句成語被用來形容一個人比另外一個人更快完成一件事情。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有什麼樣的或有什麼樣的啟發呢。
你的國家如果遭遇危機時你願意加入軍隊嗎?你和你的好朋友之間會相互比較與競爭嗎?
我希望這個故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為晉書-列傳32-劉琨傳