The idiom "get to the bottom of it" means that the brushwork goes deep into the board. Describing the vigorous brushwork of calligraphy is also a metaphor for profound insights and proper discussion.
This idiom comes from Zhang Tang's book of Huai Yao, Jin Emperor's sacrifice to the northern suburbs, and Wang Xizhi's book's engraving, which is incisive.
Wang Xizhi was born in the Jin Dynasty (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). He is the most famous calligrapher in the history of our country. Because he was a general of the right army, later generations called him Wang Youjun.
Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is the best in ancient and modern times. His calligraphy is vigorous and beautiful, combining rigidity with softness. Many calligraphers in later generations, no one can compare with him. So many people who study calligraphy take his handwriting as a model. At present, his most famous books and posts are Preface to Lanting Collection and Huang Tingjing.
Although Wang Xizhi's handwriting is so good, it has something to do with his talent, but the most important thing is his hard work. In order to practice his handwriting well, whether he is resting or walking, he always thinks about the structure of the font, imitates the shelf and momentum of the word, and keeps paddling his fingers on his skirt. So after a long time, even my clothes were cut.
Last stand-Fight a life-and-death battle.
Explanation: there is no way out to fight the river. Describe that if you don't go backwards, you will die if you don't succeed.
This idiom comes from Historical Records. Biography of Hou Huaiyin. Faith is to let 10,000 people go first, go out and learn from the past. ... this army is fighting to the death and cannot be defeated.
Han Xin was born in Huaiyin (now southwest of Qingjiang River in Jiangsu Province). He is a general under Hanwang Liu Bang. In order to defeat Xiang Yu and seize the world, he made a plan for Liu Bang, first capturing Guanzhong, then crossing the Yellow River eastward, defeating and capturing Wei who betrayed Liu Bang and surrendered to Xiang Yu, and then eastward attacking Zhao Wangxie.
Han Xin's troops will pass through a narrow mountain pass called Jingxingkou. Li Zuojun, the counselor of the Prince of Zhao, advocated sending troops to cut corners while blocking the mouth of Jingxing to cut off the supplies of the Han army. Without backup, Han Xin's expeditionary force will surely fail. But General Chen Yu refused to listen, relying on his military superiority, and insisted on fighting the Han army head-on.
Han Xin was very happy when he learned that. He ordered the troops to camp 30 miles away from Jingxing, and in the middle of the night, let the soldiers have some snacks and let them eat after winning the battle. Later, he sent 2,000 Qingqi to sneak forward from the path and let them rush into Zhao's camp quickly after Zhao left the camp and hang the Han flag. Another 10,000 soldiers were sent to deliberately turn their backs on the river to lure Zhao.
At dawn, Han Xin led the army to attack, and the two sides fought fiercely. Soon, the Han army defeated the backwater position for a pretence, and all Zhao troops left the camp and came to pursue. At this time, Han Xin ordered the main attack, and the soldiers who had no retreat turned around and pounced on the enemy. Zhao can't win and is going back to camp. Suddenly, the flag of the Han army was planted in the camp, and he fled everywhere. The Han army pursued the victory and won a total victory.
When celebrating the victory, the generals asked Han Xin, "According to the art of war, this array can carry mountains on its back and face the water. Now you've asked us to line up in last stand, and you've said that you're going to give Zhao a full meal. We didn't believe it at the time, but we really won. What kind of strategy is this? "
Han Xin smiled and said, "This is something in the art of war, but you didn't notice it. Didn't Sun Tzu's Art of War say,' You will be born when you are trapped, and then you will live'? If there is a retreat, the soldiers have fled, how can they be desperate! "
This story evolved from the idiom "the last battle", which is mostly used in military actions and can also be used in actions with the nature of "decisive battle".
Calling a deer a horse-deliberate misinterpretation
Qin Ershi's prime minister, Zhao Gao, is ambitious, planning to usurp the throne all day long. But how many people can be at his mercy?
Against him, he has no idea. So he thought of a way to test his prestige and find out who dared to oppose him.
One day, Zhao Gao brought a deer into the palace and said to Qin Ershi with a big smile, "Your Majesty, I will give you a good horse." Qin Ershi looked at it and thought: This is not a horse, this is obviously a deer! He smiled and said to Zhao Gao, "The Prime Minister has made a mistake. There is a deer here. How can you say it's a horse? " Zhao Gao said with a straight face: "Please see clearly, this is indeed a swift horse." Qin Ershi looked at the deer again and said incredulously, "Why does a horse have horns on its head?" Zhao Gao turned around, pointed to the ministers and said loudly, "Your Majesty can ask the ministers if you don't believe me." Ministers were all at a loss by Zhao Gao's nonsense, and whispered privately: What is this Zhao Gao doing? It's obviously a deer or a horse! Ministers see Zhao Gao sinister smile on his face, eyes staring at you in turn, suddenly understand Zhao Gao's intention. Some timid people with a sense of justice bow their heads and dare not speak, because telling lies is sorry for their conscience, and telling the truth is afraid of being hurt by Zhao Gao in the future. Some honest people insist that this is a deer rather than a horse.
There are also some adulterers who usually follow Zhao Gao closely and immediately support Zhao Gao's statement and say to the emperor, "This is indeed a swift horse!"
Afterwards, Zhao Gao punished those honest ministers who did not obey him by various means, and even copied them.
The story comes from Historical Records of Qin Shihuang. The idiom "referring to a deer as a horse" is a metaphor for deliberately reversing right and wrong and confusing black and white.
Quench thirst by thinking of plum-masturbating with illusory hope
One summer, Cao Cao led his army to crusade against Zhang Xiu. The weather is unusually hot, the sun is like fire, and there is not a cloud in the sky. The troops walked on the winding mountain road, and the dense trees and rocks scorched by the sun on both sides made people breathless. By noon, the soldiers' clothes were soaked, the marching speed slowed down, and several weak soldiers fainted on the side of the road.
Cao Cao was worried that the marching speed was getting slower and slower, and that the fighter plane would be delayed. However, at present, tens of thousands of people can't even drink water. How can we speed up? He immediately called the guide and asked him quietly, "Is there a water source near here?" The guide shook his head and said, "The spring is on the other side of the valley. It's a long detour. " Cao Cao thought for a moment and said, "No, it's too late." He looked at the forest in front of him, thought for a moment, and said to the guide, "Don't say anything, I'll think of something." He knew that even if he ordered the troops to speed up at the moment, it would not help. A brainwave, the solution came. He grabbed the horse by the stomach and quickly rushed to the front of the team. Pointing at the front with a whip, he said, "Soldiers, I know there is a large area of Merlin in front, where the plums are big and delicious. Let's hurry around this hill and go to Meilin! " Hearing this, the soldiers seemed to eat it in their mouths, and their spirits were greatly boosted, and their pace could not help but accelerate a lot.
The story comes from a false prophecy in Shi Shuo Xin Yu. The idiom "looking at plum to quench thirst" is to comfort yourself or others with fantasy.
make three calls at the thatched cottage/repeatedly request sb to take up a post
The yellow turban insurrectionary uprising at the end of Han Dynasty caused great chaos in the world. Cao Cao sat in the imperial court, Sun Quan sent troops to Dongwu, and Liu Bei, the imperial clan of the Han Dynasty, listened to Xu Shu (a native of Yuzhou in the Three Kingdoms, who was famous for finding soil) and (a native of Yangzhai in Yuzhou in the Three Kingdoms, who was also a famous counselor) and said that Zhuge Liang was very knowledgeable and talented, so he and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took gifts to Wolong (now Xiangyang County, Hubei Province) to invite him. It happened that Zhuge Liang was out that day, so Liu Bei had to turn back in disappointment.
Soon, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei braved the snowstorm and invited them for the second time. Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang went out for a walk again. Zhang Fei doesn't want to come again. Seeing that Zhuge Liang was not at home, he urged him to go back. Liu Bei had to leave a letter expressing his admiration for Zhuge Liang and asking him to come out of the mountain to help him save the country's crisis.
After a while, Liu Bei was a vegetarian for three days and was ready to invite Zhuge Liang again. Guan Yu said that Zhuge Liang may have a hollow reputation, but he may not have real talent and learning, so he doesn't have to go. Zhang Fei, on the other hand, advocated calling alone and tying the ground with a rope when he didn't come. Liu Bei scolded Zhang Fei and went to visit Zhuge Liang with them for the third time. At this time, Zhuge Liang was sleeping. Liu Bei dare not disturb him. He stood until Zhuge Liang woke up and sat down to talk to each other.
Zhuge Liang saw that Liu Bei was interested in doing things for the country and sincerely asked him for help, so he came out to help Liu Bei establish the Han Shu Dynasty.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms called Liu Bei's three personal invitations to Zhuge Liang "three visits to the cottage".
Cock crow and practice sword-diligence and self-discipline
Zu Ti in Jin Dynasty was an open-minded and ambitious person. But he was a naughty boy when he was a child and didn't like reading. When he entered his youth, he realized his lack of knowledge and felt that he could not serve his country without studying, so he began to study hard. He read widely and studied history carefully, so he began to study hard. He read widely and studied history carefully, from which he learned a wealth of knowledge and made great progress. He has been in and out of Luoyang, Kyoto for many times, and people who have contacted him say that Zu Ti is a talented person who can assist the emperor in governing the country. When Zu Ti was 24 years old, he was recommended as a lawyer, but he didn't agree. He still studies tirelessly.
Later, Zu Ti and his childhood friend Liu Kunyi became the main book of Sizhou. He and Liu Kun have deep feelings. They not only share the same bed, but also share the same lofty ideal: to make contributions, revitalize the state of Jin and become a pillar of the country.
Once, in the middle of the night, Zu Ti heard the cock crow in his sleep. He kicked Liu Kun awake and said to him, "Everyone else thinks it's unlucky to hear a rooster crow in the middle of the night. I don't think so. How about we get up and practice swords when we hear chickens crow in the future? " Liu Kun readily agreed. So every day after the rooster crows, he gets up to practice his sword, and the light of the sword flies and the sound of the sword is sonorous. Spring goes to winter, cold goes to summer, and it never stops. Many things happen. After long and arduous study and training, they finally became generalists who can write good articles and lead troops to win the battle. Zu Ti was named General Zhenxi, realizing his desire to serve the country. Liu Kun became the commander-in-chief in charge of military affairs in Hebei and Youzhou, and also gave full play to his literary talent and military talent.
This story comes from Biography of Jin Zu. The idiom "smell the chicken and dance" describes energetic and promising, and also means that people with lofty ideals should cheer up in time.