The couplet reads: "Where there is a will, there is a way; If you cross the rubicon, 102 Qin Guan will eventually return to Chu; " Hard-working people, everything comes to him who waits, and three thousand Yue families can swallow Wu. "In the couplets, there are allusions to Xiang Yu burning the boat and Gou Jian burning the pot.
According to Records of Historical Records of Xiang Yu, Zhao was besieged at the end of Qin Dynasty, and the prince of Zhao asked for help from various governors. However, when reinforcements arrived, they saw Qin Jun's powerful troops, and everyone stood by, including Yi Song, commander-in-chief of the Chu army. So Xiang Yu angered Yi Song and crossed the river with a great army to save Zhao.
"Xiang Yu was rewarded, and when he led his troops across the river, they all sank, destroying his cauldron and burning his house. He gave three meals to show that his soldiers would die, and none of them returned." After crossing the river, the ship was sunk, the pot was smashed, and all the soldiers miraculously won nine battles with the determination to die, destroying Qin Jun's main force. Then the Qin Dynasty perished, and Xiang Yu became the overlord of the place of Chu.
According to Gou Jian's Family History, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Fu Cha, the king of Wu, defeated the State of Yue, and Gou Jian, the king of Yue, surrendered to the State of Wu for a pretence. After the withdrawal of troops from Wu State, Gou Jian was taken to Wu State Pass for three years before he was released.
After returning to China, Gou Jian was afraid that a comfortable life would destroy his will for revenge, so he slept on the grass every night and tasted the bitter fruit every day.
"When Wu pardoned Yue, Gou Jian, the king of Yue, returned to China, but he was so worried that he dared not sit, sit or eat." Later, after ten years of hard struggle, the State of Yue finally turned weak into strong and defeated the State of Wu.
Extended data:
Pu Songling wrote this couplet because he wanted to inspire himself with Xiang Yu's tenacious struggle and courage and Gou Jian's enterprising spirit. Throughout Pu Songling's life, it is actually very bumpy. Pu Songling's family was originally a noble family in Zichuan, but when he was born, his family had gradually fallen into disrepair. At that time, it coincided with social unrest in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
When Pu Songling 19 years old, there should be a boy who won the first place in the county, politics and Taoism. At that time, it was a famous shock! But after taking the rural exam, I tried again and again until I was 72 years old.
? Pu Songling was poor all his life, with only a little money. He usually lives by teaching and assistants. He was obsessed with the imperial examination, but failed again and again, so he wrote this couplet to encourage himself.