Lesson 10 Yī gŭ zuò qì 一鼓作气, Chinese idioms,freelance translators

Group Homepage >> Chinese Idioms(Learning Chinese) >> View Topics

Lesson 10 Yī gŭ zuò qì 一鼓作气

nicholae 2008

To Rouse the Spirits With the First Beats of the Drum

During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), the State of Qi prepared itself for battle with the State of Lu. Qi drummers goaded the Lu army to fight. As the Lu ruler was about to give the order to attack, his counselor Cao Gui stopped him and said: "We should wait until the third drum roll, sire." The Lu ruler was perplexed by this advice, but decided to heed it. On the third drum roll, the Lu army launched their attack and won. After the battle, the Lu ruler asked Cao Gui the reason for his odd piece of advice. Cao Gui answered: "Fighting requires spirit, sire. The Qi soldiers' spirits were roused by the first drum roll, but were depleted by the second. And, by the third, they were completely exhausted. We attacked when their spirits were exhausted. That's why we won."

This idiom now describes a situation where something is done in one go, in one sustained and concentrated effort.

0 Replies on this Topic ( Reply )

Reply: Please log on to reply Log On

>  Initiate a Topic
>  Back to the topics
>  Back to the topics

Find translators	Chinese to English translatorsJapanese to English translatorsFrench to English translators
Translation Community	Source PoolTranslation PoolSubjectRecommend SourceRecommend & Translate Dictionary
Profile	ProjectElanPayResumeMessages